For those of you who cannot wait until Midnight Madness tips off this fall, you can see the stars of tomorrow in a couple of weeks at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Featuring the best basketball players in the world ages 19 and younger, the USA will try to return to its gold medal ways after winning the bronze medal in 2017 with an assortment of talent that included Carsen Edwards/Romeo Langford/Cam Reddish. 1 of this year’s finalists to make the USA roster is Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who won a gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship last summer, led IMG Academy to a win over Oak Hill Academy in the Hoophall Classic last January, and was named MVP of the GEICO high school national finals in April. Team USA will head to Greece later this month for the U19 World Cup, but before they do HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jeremiah about choosing Villanova for college and winning a gold medal.
You grew up in Kansas and won 3 straight state titles at Bishop Miege High School: what did it mean to you to win a state title year after year after year? It means a lot and proved that the work I put in has shown on the court. It is great to have a winning mentality, which I also got from winning a gold medal last year.
You have many relatives who served in the military: what kind of value does your family place on serving your country? It is not something that I think about every day but it is important to represent team USA with all of my energy and give it everything that I got.
Your father Lester played basketball at LSU/Kansas and then professionally overseas: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to go with him as far as an athlete with all of the dunking/jumping…but I would choose myself as the best overall player.
Last October you signed with Villanova (over Arizona/Kansas/North Carolina/Notre Dame): what made you choose the Wildcats, and how hard was it to turn down both your father’s alma mater (Kansas) and his former coach (UNC coach Roy Williams)? Their coaching staff is all-in as to what they do. They were all calling/texting me during the year, which I respected. It was not too hard to tell the other coaches of my decision: they appreciated me telling them in advance so it was not too bad. My dad did not push me to go anywhere, which also helped.
You are 6’9”: what position did you play in high school, and what position do you expect to play in college? I was mainly the biggest guy in Kansas City but stretched the floor more at IMG Academy. Villanova has a position-less offense so I feel that I can fit in by both stretching the floor and going inside.
In January at the Hoophall Classic you had 18 PTS/26 REB in a 5-PT win over Oak Hill Academy: what is your secret for being a great rebounder? Just going after the ball every single time. I feel that I am a smart player and know where the ball will come off the rim so I just try to be patient and have good timing and then go after it.
In March at the McDonald’s All-American Game you scored 13 PTS for the West in a loss to the East: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Precious Achiuwa/Cole Anthony/Oscar Tshiebwe/other)? That is a hard question because they are all so great at what they do. I do not remember anyone standing out: everyone in that game was 1 of the best.
Villanova has another incoming McDonald’s All-American in Bryan Antoine: how often do you 2 talk, and what makes him such a great player? We talk all the time and have been on campus together since last week. He is a great shooter, very athletic, and can spread the floor to allow the rest of us to drive.
2 of your teammates at IMG Academy (Josh Green/Armando Bacot) were also McDonald’s All-Americans: how dominant was your squad en route to winning the GEICO high school national finals in April (you were named MVP with 18 PTS/7 REB/6 AST/0 TO)? We were really dominant but we also had a great relationship off the court that allowed us to play better together on the court.
You played for team USA at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and now you are a finalist for the 2019 U19 Championship team: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal last year, and how is the team looking this year? It meant the world to me to win a gold medal: there are only a select few who can say that. I feel that it is going really well this summer: we will have the next cut in a couple of days and then put a team on the floor that will try to win the gold medal.