Apple Valley's Tyus Jones Wins Spot on U.S. U16 Team

Apple Valley High School student and basketball star Tyus Jones has earned one of 12 spots on the U.S. National Developmental Team roster, according to a blog post by the Star Tribune's Myron P. Medcalf. The team will compete in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Men in Cancun, Mexico, from June 21-25.

Medcalf writes about Jones' performance, and "was impressed by Jones's development at the training camp," he wrote. The blog post says Jones played with few mistakes during the three-day tryout with 26 other top athletes from around the nation, but still seemed "raw ... around the basket."

Jones was sidelined for several weeks of the Apple Valley High School's basketball season with a kidney injury. Despite that, he was a first-team all-South Suburban Conference pick this year along with teammate Tom Schalk, and put up an 18.3 points-per-game average playing in half the season's games.

Read more of Medcalf's analysis of Jones' performance in Colorado and the student-athlete's college prospects in Medcalf's "Gold in the Barn" blog post. One of Medcalf's previous stories for the Star Tribune also takes an in-depth look at Jones' basketball past, present and his future prospects.