Jalen Crutcher, former Dayton Flyers guard, will make Team USA debut in AmeriCup qualifying

Former Dayton Flyers guard Jalen Crutcher will play for Team USA in the AmeriCup qualifying tournament later this month.

Crutcher, a 2021 University of Dayton graduate playing in the NBA G League for the fourth season, was one of 12 players named to the roster Monday.

The team will hold a training camp Feb. 14-18 in Miami, Fla. It will play Puerto Rico in its first qualifying game at 8:10 p.m. Feb. 20 in San Juan, P.R., and then will play the Bahamas at 7:10 p.m. Feb. 23 in Nassau.

The roster also includes Norris Cole, a Dunbar High School graduate and former NBA champion who’s playing in Puerto Rico this season.

The other players on the roster are: former Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop; Robert Covington; John Jenkins; Miller Kopp; Nassir Little; Ruben Nembhard Jr.; Reggie Perry; Jahmi’us Ramsey; Javonte Smart; and Malik Williams.

Former Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas will coach the team. NBA legend Patrick Ewing and Ty Ellis will serve as assistant coaches.

Team USA will qualify for the FIBA AmeriCup by winning one of the two games. It finished 3-1 in the first two windows of qualifying and beat Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in November in Washington, DC.

The AmeriCup will take place Aug. 23-31 in Managua, Nicaragua.

Crutcher made his NBA debut in February 2024. He appeared in one game for the New Orleans Pelicans. This season, in his second season with the Birmingham Squadron in the G League, he’s averaging 19.4 points and a career-high 7.3 assists in 16 games.