LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The Team USA U19 team currently competing at the FIBA World Cup – the squad played its third game Wednesday, in front of a packed crowd at 9,600-seat Vaudoise Arena – has a handful of future NBA players on its 12-man roster.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd leads the talented squad, and one of those future NBA players is incoming Wildcats freshman forward Koa Peat. Lloyd could be seen pulling Peat, a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder, aside multiple times during Wednesday’s game to give direction. It’s an added perk for the duo, getting time together in an ultra-competitive atmosphere before Peat has played a college game.
“I’m just learning how good of a coach he is,” Peat told Hoops HQ. “He sees all the little things and he knows where to get me open and knows how to run good offense and good defense. Just talking to him off the court and building that trust has been great. I’m just happy to be getting coached by Coach Lloyd, and I think I made the right decision at Arizona, for sure.”
Over three games, Peat – a five-star recruit from Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry, in the Phoenix suburbs – is averaging 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals. In the most recent game, against Cameroon, Peat had four points and four offensive rebounds in the first five minutes of the game, including one of the best dunks of the tournament.
Peat is part of an incoming freshman class at Arizona that consists of five-star guard Brayden Burries as well as Dwayne Aristode, Sidi Gueye and Bryce James. The Burries-Peat tandem will draw plenty of NBA scouts to Tucson next season.
“I’m super excited for the season, and I think me and Brayden are going to be really good for each other,” Peat said. “We’ll both feed off each other. And then also having the vets already there … our ceiling is super high and we just have to put the work in.”
It’s been a positive experience for Peat and Lloyd to get this kind of extended time together before the season to learn more about each other, on and off the court.
“We have a group of really good players and really good guys that have an understanding of how to play basketball the right way,” Lloyd said of the U19 World Cup team. “Koa’s aggressive, plays a simple game and I’ve been impressed.”
Lloyd shied away from showing Peat any sort of favoritism during the U19 tryouts, and his corrections in-game are consistent across the board with every player.
“I’m just going to carry this momentum into the college season and keep working and learning every day from Coach Lloyd and the rest of the Arizona coaching staff,” Peat said. “It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but that’s what I’m about.”
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Peat has been everywhere on the court at the World Cup. He’s making simple plays on offense and doesn’t force bad shots. He crashes the boards, makes plays at the rim and has great body control and footwork when catching passes in the lane. He seemingly is getting productive offensive touches every other possession.
“I’m not trying to force anything,” Peat said. “I’m just playing in the flow of the offense, but also having that confidence to know that I’m a good enough player to take shots when I have them. I trust my teammates to make plays, as well, and we’ve just found a really good rhythm.”
In addition to impressing Lloyd, Peat is impressing his teammates.
“Koa Peat is a dog,” said teammate Caleb Holt, a 2027 five-star guard prospect. “Just watching him dominate and how he gets to his spots – I’m picking up little things from him, for sure. And just going against him in practice has really helped my game.”
Peat has been one of the best players in his class since he was a 10th grader. He committed to Arizona on March 27, choosing the Wildcats over Baylor, Arkansas, Arizona State and Houston. He finished his high school career by leading Perry to a fourth consecutive state championship while playing with a fractured right hand. He initially injured his hand during practice a week before the state tournament and elected to keep playing before having surgery. If there was any pain or discomfort in his hand, which was taped, he didn’t show it: Peat finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals in the title game.
“Coming in with a fractured hand, I thought my season was over. But I didn’t lose faith and I was just blessed to play and compete in my fourth state championship,” Peat said.
Peat – whose dad, Todd, was a guard in the NFL for nine seasons – had surgery to repair the fracture soon afterward, and subsequently had to sit out the high school all-star games, including the McDonald’s All American game, the Nike Hoop Summit and the Jordan Brand Classic. The U19 USA Basketball trials in early June were the first time Peat had been on the court in more than three months.
“I feel like it was good to get a little bit of rest and just reset,” said Peat, whose older brother, Andrus, was a first-round pick as an offensive lineman in the 2015 NFL Draft. “I feel great and I was ready to go right away after not playing for so long. I just spent a lot of time in the gym, so I’m just trying to get better each and every day. Hopefully, I can come out here and show all the work I’ve been putting in.”
Peat entered the tournament with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. NBA scouts and executives attended the major postseason all-star events and saw players who are projected to be one-and-dones and a big part of next year’s draft. Peat didn’t have that opportunity, and the FIBA World Cup is the perfect stage to remind scouts who he is. In ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft, Peat is slotted at No. 18. Tankathon has him at No. 17, and Peat isn’t even projected to be drafted at NBADraft.net. But through the first three games, he has been one of the best players on the court among all 16 teams.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to remind people that I’m still one of the best players in the country,” Peat said. “I didn’t play in McDonald’s or Nike Hoop Summit, and I feel like I’ve been kind of forgotten. I’m just trying to remind people and show them what I’m about.”
More than 200 NBA scouts and college coaches are in Switzerland to watch all the young talent that is one or two years away from the NBA. Team USA’s roster is loaded and includes BYU freshman wing AJ Dybantsa, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, and Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., a potential top-five pick to some.
“AJ might be the player with the most NBA upside, but Koa … he’s been one of the best players here,” one NBA scout said. “His combination of positional size and how well he cuts off the ball is blindingly obvious and good traits to have when you’re playing alongside other great players who also require multiple offensive touches.”
Team USA has rolled through pool play, and Peat and Brown are at the top of every statistical category for the American squad.
Summer typically is a time for players to work on their game quietly and behind closed doors. Peat is doing the opposite and making his presence known at the FIBA World Cup. Where he ends up landing in the 2026 NBA Draft obviously is unknown, but he has done enough to make an impression on those who may have forgotten who he was.
