Key, Johnson among first round of cuts for U19 World Cup team

The USA Basketball Junior National Team announced 17 finalists for its U19 World Cup roster on Monday night, and Ohio State's Zed Key and Meechie Johnson Jr. did not make the list.

The two Buckeyes, fresh off of their first seasons of college basketball in Columbus, were two of the first nine cuts from the national team, which departs for Latvia next Monday to play in the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup. The event begins July 3 and runs through July 11.

“We not only had a lot of very talented players at this training camp, but the group to a man worked extremely hard which made for a competitive four practices and some difficult selection decisions,” Matt Painter, USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee chain and Purdue head coach, said in a release.

Key and Johnson were two of the 26 players invited to try out for the team in Fort Worth, Texas, but after two days and four practice sessions, their bids to participate in the international tournament have ended.

Among the 17 finalists, who will be coached by TCU head coach Jamie Dixon, are Rivals.com No. 1 2021 prospect Chet Holmgren, as well as rising Purdue sophomore guard Jaden Ivey.

The roster will be boiled down even further before the teams leaves the country though, as the national team will consist of just 12 players before the aforementioned June 28 departure date.

Key, a four-star forward from Bay Shore, New York, in Ohio State's class of 2020, averaged 5.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds for the Buckeyes in a little over 11 minutes per game last season.

Johnson, who could have been a high school senior during the 2020-21 season, made 17 appearances for Ohio State during his true freshman season, and shot 6-for-12 from 3, scoring in six different games.

The Buckeyes replaced veteran point guard CJ Walker with Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler this offseason, but Johnson figures to be more of a factor for the Scarlet and Gray in the forthcoming year nonetheless.