Jasiah Jervis and Ethan Taylor made Michigan State fans proud last week when they were named to the final 12-man Team USA U18 men’s basketball roster for the FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico.
The two were competing for a spot on the roster with about three dozen top recruits from around the country and they were able to impress the Team USA coaching staff enough to make the final cut. It came as no surprise that Jervis made the roster considering he’s been receiving a ton of praise this offseason, even being touted as a potential top-10 NBA draft pick in 2027.
Taylor, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise because he had such a quiet senior year at Link Academy which is looking more and more like it was a coaching issue than anything else. He’s even gotten the start for Team USA at the center spot.
On Saturday, Team USA beat Brazil to advance to the gold medal game at the FIBA AmeriCup event in Mexico and the two Spartan signees and incoming freshmen have played a key role in that run.
Although they’re not putting up crazy numbers, they’re doing the little things really well and it’s been impressive to see the growth of Taylor happening in real time. Jervis was hampered with an injury in the first couple of games, but he’s starting to get that confidence back.
These two may not be the stars of the team, but they’re playing perfect complementary roles.
How the two Spartans have been playing
Like I said above, Jervis suffered a bit of a setback after making the team and was limited through the first couple of games. Now, he’s playing a decent amount and he just bounced back from a two-point performance in the final game of the group phase to score eight in the semifinal game against Brazil.
The rest of his numbers were really good, too. Also, peep the +28 in the +/- category.
Jasiah Jervis and Ethan Taylor have a much better game in the Americup Semifinals.
— Msuabovetherim (@msuabovetherim) June 7, 2026
Jasiah Jervis stats:
8 points
3 rebounds
4 assists
4 steals
4/6 FG
0/1 3FG
+28 +/-
17 mins
Ethan Taylor stats:
4 points
5 rebounds
1 assist
1 steal
1 block
2/2 FG
+22 +/-
12 mins pic.twitter.com/tzNjFrJ6YW
As you can see, Taylor, too, bounced back from a rough game in the finale of group play, scoring four points with five rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block with a +22 in 12 minutes. That’s what you call impactful play.
Combined, the Spartan signees had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five steals, shot 6-for-8 from the field, and both killed it in the +/- category.
This just goes to show that these guys are going to be incredibly impactful in East Lansing next year. Jervis was already expected to have a major impact as a potential starting shooting guard, but Taylor is further along than people expected.
They’ll look to outperform their semifinal showing on Sunday night at 10 p.m. ET against Canada in the gold medal game. You can watch it on FIBA Basketball’s YouTube page.
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