Georgia’s Next Generation Heads to USA Basketball Minicamp
Georgia will be well represented when some of the nation’s top young basketball talent arrives in Colorado for the 2026 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp.
Eight players with Georgia ties received invitations, with the group spanning four graduating classes and featuring players at very different points in their USA Basketball journeys.
For some, Colorado is familiar territory.
AJ Williams enters camp already knowing what it feels like to represent his country and win at the highest level. The Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy guard is a two-time USA Basketball gold medalist and returns with another opportunity to show how his game has progressed.
Asa Montgomery and Bentley Lusakueno also arrive with gold medals on their résumés. Both were part of USA Basketball’s 2025 U16 team that captured gold, giving them experience that goes beyond simply receiving an invitation to camp.
That experience has shaped the way they view USA Basketball.
Williams described sacrifice as one of the biggest parts of playing for the national team, explaining that bringing together some of the best players in the country requires everyone to give up pieces of their individual game for the team.
For Lusakueno, the experience created something bigger than basketball. He reflected on battling through a thigh injury during the 2025 gold-medal run and the relationships formed along the way.
“You form a bond with your guys and the coaches that make it super special,” Lusakueno told VD Athlete.
Kevin Savage III and Chase Lumpkin return to camp with a different perspective.
Both have been through the USA Basketball minicamp environment before without ultimately making the national team. Now they get another opportunity.
Savage didn’t shy away from what getting cut meant to him.
“Realizing I got cut from USA was definitely a mental moment that could’ve got the best of me, but I took it as a lesson,” Savage told VD Athlete. “It lit a different fire in me that I didn’t have before.”
Lumpkin has a similar goal. Making a future USA Basketball roster would represent validation of the work he has put into his game and another chance to prove that he belongs at that level.
Hear Directly From the Players
Eight players shared their perspective with VD Athlete ahead of USA Basketball minicamp. Swipe through to hear what they had to say.
Then there’s the younger group.
Austin Leonard and Cadien Hudson Jr. are members of the Class of 2029, while Deuce Grayson is part of the Class of 2030. They are receiving national opportunities early in their high school careers, but their responses show that the recognition hasn’t changed the focus.
Leonard views his invitation as evidence that his work is beginning to pay off while also understanding how selective an opportunity like this is.
Hudson, who now plays at Faith Family Academy in Texas but has strong Georgia roots, offered one of the more revealing perspectives of the group. Despite the recognition he has already received, he remains focused on how far he still has to go.
“I’m grateful for the recognition, but I’m still hungry and I know I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet,” Hudson told VD Athlete.
For Grayson, the opportunity is a chance to test the area of his game he has spent considerable time developing: his athleticism. The Holy Innocents’ guard wants to see how that work translates against an elite group of his peers.
Different classes. Different paths. Different experiences with USA Basketball.
That is what makes this group interesting.
Some already know what it feels like to have a gold medal placed around their neck. Others know what it feels like to leave camp without making the team. The youngest are getting an early look at the standard required to eventually wear USA across their chest.
Ahead of the October minicamp, all eight players shared their perspective with VD Athlete on those experiences, the opportunity in front of them and what they hope to show in Colorado.
For eight players connected by Georgia basketball, the destination is the same. How each of them arrived there is a different story.
