Jelani Watson-Gayle named in Initial GB U20 Squad

Jelani Watson-Gayle has been named in the initial list of sixteen players have been named to the preliminary Great Britain Under-20 men’s squad for the summer of 2018.

Alumni Jelani Watson-Gayle, who was apart of two U16 National Finalist teams during his time at Youngbloods as well as the Under-16 MVP at the inaugural Hoopsfix All-Star Classic in 2014 went on to join Westminster Academy, Augusta following his time with Youngbloods, where he scored over 1000 points in two seasons for Westminster.

After two great years with Westminster, he then signed with Benedict College Tigers, NCAA Division 2 school participating in the SIAC Conference. Watson-Gayle, as a Freshman this past season, was among the top 3-point shooters in the conference during his first season. He averaged 12.5 points per game and led the team in 3-pointers made (67) and was second in 3-point percentage (.462). He ranked third in the league in 3-point percentage and fourth in 3-pointers made. He was named 2018 SIAC Freshman of the Year as well as HeroSports D2 Men’s Newcomer of the Year Award amassing over 1500 votes.

The initial list of 16 players will be whittled down to a Final 12 through training camps and preparation games before heading off to Chemnitz, Germany, for their Division A campaign at the European Championships after gaining promotion last summer, and have been drawn in Group A alongside Turkey, Montenegro and Lithuania.

The European Championships get underway on July 14 with GB’s opening game against Turkey.