Jameel Warney Honored as 2017 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year
December 17, 2017 - NBA G League (G League)
Texas Legends News Release
Jameel Warney helped USA Basketball to gold at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup in early September, and then returned to help the USA to two FIBA World Cup Qualifying wins in November.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 15, 2017) - In recognition of his MVP performance while helping lead USA Basketball to a gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 and to two FIBA World Cup Qualifying wins in November, Jameel Warney (Texas Legends) today was announced as the 2017 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
"To be mentioned with those greats who have been named (USA Basketball) athlete of the year is a tremendous feeling for me, a tremendous achievement," Warney said. "I couldn't have done this without my teammates, and the coaching staff putting me in a great position. I'm just honored."
At the AmeriCup, Warney averaged a team-high 8.6 rebounds to go with a team second-best 12.8 points in an average of 21.0 minutes per game while coming into the games off of the U.S. bench. He shot 64.9 percent from the field and was named MVP of the 12-team tournament.
Warney also retuned to play for USA Basketball as a member of the 2017 USA Men's World Cup Qualifying Team that wrapped up wins against Puerto Rico 85-78 on Nov. 23 and Mexico 91-55 on Nov. 26.
"USA Basketball could not be more grateful to Jameel for his dedication and commitment," said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. "He was a major contributor to USA Basketball while going undefeated during his gold-medal performance at the FIBA AmeriCup and the first two games of FIBA's World Cup Qualification."
This year marks the 38th time USA Basketball has presented its Male Athlete of the Year award, which was established in 1980 to recognize a USA Basketball athlete who, during the year of the award, made a significant impact on the success of his team's performance.
"He always played his best when his best was needed, and that is one of the best things you can say about any athlete," said Jeff Van Gundy, USA head coach for both of Warney's USA teams. "When you need their best, they deliver their best. That is what Jameel has done both with the AmeriCup team and with the (FIBA World Cup) qualifying window we just participated in."
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