Tennessee rising junior Yves Pons is spending his summer with the U20 French National Team in preparation for the FIBA U20 European Championships July 13-21 in Israel.
The French U20 squad boasts a FIBA world ranking of No. 5 and is competing out of Group A along with Great Britain, Montenegro and Turkey. There are four four-team groups.
France’s first game in the group phase is against Montenegro on July 13 in Ramat Gan.
Prior to the championships, Pons and the French team are playing a pair of exhibitions against Turkey this weekend.
Pons is one of two NCAA student-athletes on the French U20 squad, joining Central Arkansas sophomore Eddy Kayouloud.
As a sophomore for the Vols last season, Pons appeared in 35 games with 13 starts. He shot .516 from the field and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He scored five or more points six times last season, with a career-high 10 points in Tennessee’s win over Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 28.
