Carl Wheatle & Sam Japhet-Mathias Selected as UK Representatives at Jordan Brand Classic

England Under-16s Carl Wheatle and Sam Japhet-Mathias have been selected to participate in this year’s prestigious Jordan Brand Classic International Tour from 7-9th March in Barcelona.

Wheatle, a 1998 born guard, signed a four year deal with Italian side Angelico Biella in November (originally a London Greenhouse Pioneers product), and represented England Under-16s this past summer a year young at the Division B European Championships, averaging 6.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game.

Japhet-Mathias, a 1998 born 6’9″ big man, is a product of Peckham Pride and also represented England Under-16s a year young last summer. He averaged 4.1 points, 7.6 rebounds (12th in the tournament) and 1.9 blocks per game (fourth in the tournament), and has been receiving interest from various European teams over the past year or so.

The UK’s allotment at the camp has increased to two this year, as last year Josh Steel was the sole representative in Barcelona.

The eighth annual European basketball training camp featuring the top 40 Under-16 players throughout the continent will be held at FC Barcelona’s Ciutat Esportiva Training Facility in Barcelona, Spain for the second consecutive year.

The three-day camp will see the players compete over two days to earn a spot in the International Game at the Jordan Brand Classic this April. Only the ten best 15-16 year olds from the camp will join the team in Brooklyn, along with ten other players who will be chosen at a later date from around the world. The complete Jordan Brand Classic International roster will be unveiled in April.

“We are honoured to be holding our basketball camp in the beautiful city of Barcelona, where many legendary moments in basketball history have taken place,” said Larry Miller, President of Jordan Brand. “The camp will be a way for us to witness some of the great international talents and give them the opportunity to come to the United States and train with some of the nation’s most highly-regarded coaches at the Jordan Brand Classic.”

The first and second day of the basketball camp in Barcelona will focus on strength and conditioning training sessions as well as skills instruction with star coaches from both the U.S. and Europe. The final day of the camp will be highlighted by an all-star game featuring the top 20 players, as chosen by the coaches, at the famous Camp Nou starting at 6:30 PM local time.

The 10 Most Valuable Players will be chosen at the conclusion of the European camp to represent their countries in Brooklyn on April 18 in the Jordan Brand International Game, before the nationally televised Jordan Brand All-American game later that evening.

Last year, Josh Steel became just the third British player to make the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in the US, joining Jules Christian and Kenroy.

Other British players that made the initial Jordan Brand Classic international camp are Theo Oghide and Liam Carpenter (2012), Tyrell Isaacs, Kingsley Okoroh, Mo Soluade and Ben Mead (2011), Omari Coates (2010), Dale Francis (2010), Joe Hart (2009), & Devon Van Oostrum (2009).

Hoopsfix wants to wish Carl and Sam all the best for the experience!