Gilbert Perry’s Koa Peat scores 26 points, leads USA to gold at U17 World Cup

Gilbert Perry star Koa Peat scored a team-high 26 points and had eight rebounds as the USA junior national team won gold at the U17 World Cup on Sunday with a 129-88 win over Italy.

Over seven games in the event, Peat averaged 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists.

THROW IT DOWN. 😤

🇺🇸 @kpeat10 x #FIBAU17 pic.twitter.com/zR37VKR0As

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) July 7, 2024

Peat was the lone returning member from USA’s 2022 gold-medal winning team, and became the first athlete in U17 World Cup history to win gold twice.

He now owns three golds medals overall, including one at the U16 Americas Championship in 2023.

The future of @usabasketball is so bright. 🥇

🇺🇸 #USABMU17 x #FIBAU17 pic.twitter.com/ta1zvaPcyK

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) July 7, 2024

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound Peat won state championships in each of his three seasons at Perry, including a 6A title as a freshman and Open Division titles as a sophomore and junior.

Peat cut his recruiting down to 10 schools in January, a list that included both Arizona State and Arizona.

His brother, Keona, is currently a walk-on offensive lineman at ASU.

The forward was named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year each of the last two years, and USA Basketball dubbed him Male Player of the Year in 2023.

He is a top-5 overall prospect in the 2025 class according to 247 Sports, and is accompanied in the top five by two of his USA teammates, A.J. Dybantsa (No. 1) and Cameron Boozer (No. 2).

Dybantsa averaged 14.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in Turkey.

Boozer led USA in points (20.1) and rebounds (9.9) per game on his way to being named the cup’s MVP while his twin brother Cayden averaged 4.9 points and 6.4 assists. The twins are the sons of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer.

USA cleared the 100-point mark in all seven games across the tournament, while the rest of the field only cleared the mark five times.

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