It’s an opportunity he wouldn’t trade for anything.

It’s an opportunity that can only be replicated if you’re the best of the best in your sport.

It’s an opportunity to proudly wear USA across your chest on the globe’s biggest stage in international competition.

An opportunity Trey Thompkins of the Georgia men’s basketball team received this summer when he helped the United States U19 team win the gold medal in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand with a win over Greece in the gold medal game.

“It was great,” Thompkins said of the chance to play for his country. “It was something that you can’t trade for anything in the world.”

“I think Trey, one of the things he was able to do this summer was he did play for team USA and that’s a privilege, a privilege that very few of us ever have the chance to experience – wear the USA on your chest – so I think he was really able to gain an appreciation for that,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said.

The win marked the first victory in the competition for the American squad since 1991, snapping an 18-year drought.

Thompkins was able to continue his stellar play from the 2008-2009 season, in which he was named SEC 1st-team All-Freshman, averaging 10.6 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game for a United States team that went 9-0 in the competition.

“I feel like I played pretty good. I think I played good enough to win, which we did, so that was good enough for me,” said Thompkins of his play.

Along with representing your country, competing for one’s national team also affords players the opportunity to learn under some of the sport’s best coaches.

Thompkins was able to learn from three of the college game’s premier coaches: USA U19 national team and University of Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon, U19 national team assistant coach Chris Lowery, head coach of Southern Illinois and Matt Painter, head coach of Purdue.

Playing for three coaches known for their team’s defensive prowess, Thompkins learned immediately that he would have to step up his focus and intensity on that end of the floor.

“I learned that if you can’t stop anybody, then you can’t beat anybody. With me being an offensive player, that’s something I had to learn, because mainly I was a guy who focused on offense, and he made me realize that if I can’t guard my man, there is nothing that I can do.”

Since NCAA rules only allow limited time for coaches to workout players over the summer, his new coach believes his time working with three of basketball’s brightest defensive minds will surely pay dividends in the upcoming season and beyond as both started practice on Friday.

“I think in playing for Jamie Dixon, Chris Lowery and Matt Painter, he was able to play for three coaches who are proven defensive coaches, proven winners, and I think he got a taste of some different philosophies that will help improve him,” Fox said.

“Jamie has been a long time friend of mine, and he was very pleased with Trey’s production and his performance. And I think that experience can only help him mature and become a better player, and it also helped him stay in shape over the summer quite frankly.”

Improvement on the defensive end was not the only aspect Thompkins further enhanced in his game as he learned to play with other great players surrounding him, which should help him when he ultimately decides to take his game to the professional level.

“I think I became a better athlete, knowing how to play above the rim and knowing how to play with great players,” Thompkins said.

“I learned how to play without being the keyed-in-on guy and it just let me be a part of a great unit.”