USA Women’s National Team October Mini-Camp Deemed a Success
court on the morning of Oct. 4 until the final whis- tle blew in the intra-squad scrimmage on Oct. 6, the USA Women’s National Team’s mini-camp in Las Vegas was filled with fierce competition between veter- ans, newcomers, Olympic gold medalists, WNBA All- Stars and college All- Americans. After the Atlanta
F
Dream and Minnesota Lynx advanced to the WNBA Finals and one of the seven collegians on the roster of 33 USA National Team hopefuls stayed home to rest an ankle, the list of athletes in attendance at the mini-camp was reduced to 27. Recently named 2013-16 USA
rom the moment the first player stepped onto the
comfortable, once you get a little experience,” said the Chicago Sky’s Courtney Vandersloot, who was also invited to a USA mini-camp short- ly after graduating from Gonzaga University in 2011. “I’ve played with these girls a couple
USA coach Geno Auriemma talks during the mini-camp with one of the program’s most heralded players - three-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings.
he added. “And a weekend like this illustrates that.” While Auriemma directed the camp,
National Team and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma deemed the weekend a success and appreciated that the talent level of ath- letes vying for a spot in the pool was higher this year than it was four years ago when he first took over the USA National Team. “One of the things I pointed out was
there are four former Olympians from 2012 who weren’t here because of the WNBA Finals,” said Auriemma. “(But), there are enough good players here to make you think, ‘You know what? If something were to happen and we had to go play, I’m not saying we would be as good, but we would be a lot better than we thought we would be four years ago. Now obviously when those four players come on board, whenever that is, that just takes it to a whole other level. So, I think the pool is getting significantly bigger each and every year. “I think we’re at the point now with
USA Basketball where present Olympians and present All-WNBA players, the gap between them and the next level of players is probably narrow- er than it’s been in a long, long time,”
USA Basketball News
four successful and experienced head coaches, including DePaul University’s Doug Bruno, Chicago Sky’s Pokey Chatman, University of Hartford’s Jennifer Rizzotti and University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, served as court
Watch All-Access Video From 2013 USA Basketball Women's National Team Mini-Camp
http://bit.ly/1itH6Kn
coaches during the mini-camp. The Minnesota Lynx’ Cheryl Reeve was also selected as a court coach, however, she was unable to attend after leading the Lynx to its third-straight WNBA Finals and their second WNBA championship. With several veteran players sitting
out of most of the drills and scrimmages due to nagging injuries, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee was able to get a better look at some of the younger athletes; and those athletes savored the opportunity to show the committee they belong on the team. “This time it was a little bit more
times now, instead of just playing against them (in the WNBA). It’s always fun. It’s competitive, and I always learn a lot. I know what I need to work on and what I need to do to hope- fully make this team at some point. I got better, had fun, all those things.” Auriemma used the
Oct. 4 session to work on various drills and talk about what type of offense and
defense he wants to see the team play. But on Oct. 5, with his system instilled as much as possible in a day, Auriemma split the group into three teams, which faced off against each other in heated five-on-five scrimmages. For the Oct. 6 scrimmages, the
roster was split into two teams that were coached by three-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, both of whom did not take to the court during the mini-camp due to injuries. As if the competition wasn’t already intense, the competitive nature of Bird and Taurasi took it up another notch. Players were diving on the floor for
loose balls, setting hard picks and taking charges. All they wanted to do was leave an impression on the committee and Auriemma. “It’s going to be difficult,” said the
Phoenix Mercury’s Candice Dupree, who was on the 2010 USA World Championship Team, but missed the cut in 2012. “It’ll be pretty hard. You saw quite a few college players who are extremely good. Then you’ve got to think about all the players who were on the last national team and those in between. So, it’s not going to be easy. I think quite a few people played really well.”
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Caroline Williams/USA Basketball
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