Villanova signee, Ryan Arcidiacono hadn't played in a competitive basketball game in almost a year after opting to get back surgery that held him out of the 2011-12 high school season. He returned to the court recently in the Donofrio Classic, an annual showcase tournament that features some of the top high school players in the Philadelphia area. Prior to that, he had played only in pick-up games as he recovered.
Next up, he will travel to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was invited to a camp that will determine a 12-man roster for the Team USA under-18 team. If he makes the team, he will represent the country in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, on June 16-20 in Sao Sebastiáo do Paraiso, Brazil.
That tournament will feature eight national teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands. The top four nations will qualify for the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship next year. USA is 38-2 in the tournament since it started and have won gold five times, most recently in 2010.
The training camp will be held from June 5-12 in Colorado and additional work-outs and practices will be held in Brazil in the three days prior to the event.
In Arcidiacono's last outing, at the Donofrio tournament, he scored 17 points and dished out seven assists in 33 minutes. His Bucks County All-Stars team knocked off DeStefano Electric, 101-90 on Wednesday night. "He played vey well, was smooth out there," Bucks County coach Jim Kenny said.
They play again on Wednesday at 8:30 pm.
He will follow in the footsteps of James Bell, who played for the USA under-19 team last summer, as well as Scottie Reynolds, Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter and a number of other Villanovans who have represented USA in international competitions.
Arcidiacono had had been rated the nation's No. 34 recruit in the ESPNU 100 before requiring surgery to repair a herniated disk. He is a major piece of a Villanova recruiting class that a year ago was considered one of the best in the country counting commitments from Daniel Ochefu and Savon Goodman. Savon Goodman decommitted from Villanova in August and has yet to commit to another program. Villanova’s 2012 recruiting class is now ranked #28 by ESPN.