Henry selected to try out for Team USA World Cup qualifying team

Myke+Henry+graduated+from+DePaul+in+2016.+%0A%28Olivia+Jepsen+%2F+The+DePaulia%29

Myke Henry graduated from DePaul in 2016. (Olivia Jepsen / The DePaulia)

Myke Henry has come a long way since he donned the DePaul blue and red from 2014 until 2016.

After graduating from DePaul, he didn’t hear his name called in the 2016 NBA draft. But, he latched onto the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA D League. Then, he went south to play professionally in Mexico. Last season, he returned to the Oklahoma City Blue, now part of the newly named G League, before signing a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies in January and eventually playing 20 games at the NBA level where he averaged 5.4 points in 18.9 minutes per game.

Now, the 6-foot-6-inch forward from Chicago has a chance to represent his country.

USA Basketball confirmed the 14 athletes who will attend its Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team Training Camp at the end of June. Henry’s name was one of the 14. The training camp is essentially a tryout to determine Team USA’s 12-man roster for the third window of FIBA World Cup qualifying games which will commence June 28 and July 1 against Mexico and Cuba respectively.

Teams are divided into groups and play two games in each qualifying window to determine which teams advance to the next qualifying round.

The United States sits 4-0 after the first two windows of qualifying in the first round. As a result, they have secured a spot in the second round of qualifying which begins at the end of August and includes another three windows of games. The FIBA Basketball World Cup begins Aug. 31, 2019 in China and the United States has won the event the last two times it has occurred.

Thirty two teams advance past the qualifying rounds to the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Five teams from Africa, five from the Americas (North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean), seven from Asia (includes Australia, New Zealand, etc.), 12 teams from Europe, and host China will comprise the 32-team final.

The USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team Committee will make its selections on who will represent Team USA in the third window of qualifying by June 26.