NBA, union, NCAA will collaborate to expand Men's Junior National Team program

The announcement comes three weeks after the NCAA announced major changes that impacted "elite" high school players, a move that seemingly caught the NBA and NBPA by surprise.

The NBA, its player's union, and the NCAA will collaborate to help expand the reach and focus of the Men's Junior National Team program, USA Basketball announced on Wednesday.

The announcement comes three weeks after the NCAA announced major changes that impacted "elite" high school players, a move that seemingly caught the NBA and NBPA by surprise.

In the new partnership, the groups will look to provide player development on and off the court to more than 80 high school players.

About 20 athletes from each high school class will take part in six training camps and competitions through the 2018-19 calendar year, with an off-court emphasis on health and wellness and life skills through year-round player-development programming.

The first minicamp for the Junior National Team runs Oct. 5-7 in Colorado Springs, Colo. under Don Showalter, who has led the U-16 and U-17 USA men's teams since 2009, going 62-0 and winning 10 gold medals.

"It's a natural fit to take the excellent life skills instruction and off-court development programs we provide for NBA players and stretch them out so that we can provide support and guidance to young, developing talent," NBAPA executive director Michele Roberts said. "This is an effort that is long overdue."

The new partnership could help NBA commissioner Adam Silver in his reported pursuit of abolishing the current age limit, which requires players to be a year removed from their high school graduating class before they can be selected by an NBA team.

The Rice Commission on College Basketball advised doing away with the rule in a wide-ranging report on college basketball issued in May.

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