Jasiah Jervis and Ethan Taylor were looking to pick up a quick gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup down in Mexico before making their way up to East Lansing to join their Michigan State teammates.
Unfortunately, Canada had other plans.
The Spartan duo played sparingly on Sunday night as Team USA fell short against Canada, 67-65, in the gold medal game at the AmeriCup event in Mexico. That ended a streak of seven straight golds for the Team USA’s U18 squad. This also meant that the Spartan duo will be headed home with silver which obviously feels like failure to them.
That feeling sticks with players and Jervis made that known on Twitter with a message following the loss:
Im a remember this… watch 😶
— Jasiah Jervis (@Jasiah_Jervis) June 8, 2026
The chip on Jervis’ shoulder is growing not just because he won silver and not gold, but also because he didn’t see enough action throughout the tournament. He played minimally over five games and had a couple of really solid performances, but he was otherwise forgotten in the rotation. That was partially due to poor rotations and coaching but a rumored injury early last week limited him.
Jervis isn’t going to let this feeling linger for long. He’s ready to get to East Lansing and make sure that he doesn’t suffer this type of heartbreak at Michigan State.
That’s a national title mindset that he’s already carrying before even stepping foot on campus.
Michigan State’s incoming freshman class is special
We already know about Jervis and the fact that he has legit one-and-done potential at a position that could use a boost, but Taylor also proved that he’s going to be a key member of that 2026-27 Spartan rotation. He held his own for Team USA en route to the gold medal game and he was a much more willing rebounder and defender than I think any of us gave him credit for.
Then there’s Carlos Medlock Jr. who already has a rapport built up with Taylor as his teammate at Link Academy this past season. He’s a special point guard who may not be the biggest, but he makes up for that with the aggression that he plays with.
Lastly, Julius Avent often gets lost in the mix, but he’s a top-100 recruit with plenty of potential to play either the three or four with his 6-foot-7 frame. He can play inside-out and help with floor spacing but I think he plays minimally this year before his role expands in 2027-28.
I don’t know about you, but this freshman class is getting me excited for basketball again — especially now that Jervis and Taylor are coming in with that chip on their shoulders.
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