May 15, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – For the second consecutive year, South Carolina women’s basketball sophomore Demetress Adams earned an invitation to represent her country on the hardwood, as USA Basketball invited the Gamecock sophomore to its 2007 Under-21/Pan Am National Team Trials held from May 17-20 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., it was announced today.
The U21 National Team will participate in the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship in Moscow, Russia from June 29 through July 8 and the Pan Am Team will participate in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 19-27. Adams is under consideration for both teams.
“I am very grateful and very thankful for the opportunity to go back and try out with USA Basketball,” Adams said. “When I went out there last year and saw the level of the players and their talents and abilities, it showed me that I have to work harder to improve and now that I have been invited back, I have been given a second chance. I am going to go out there and do my best and hopefully earn a spot on the team. This is very exciting and I am very grateful for the opportunity.”
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Demetress and we are very proud of her,” Head Coach Susan Walvius said. “She has worked very hard and continues to work hard in the offseason and we are excited about her development. She has been very dedicated to getting ready for this tryout ever since the season ended and has put herself in a position to be successful. She tried out with USA Basketball last year and even though it didn’t work out, she made a strong enough impression that they invited her back.”
The 6-foot-4 Adams averaged 5.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocked shots per game her sophomore year in helping the Gamecocks to an 18-15 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the Women’s NIT. She enjoyed the best game of her career to date when she scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out two assists, blocked two shots and made two steals in the Gamecocks’ 80-48 win over in-state rival Clemson in 2006. The Bishopville native (Lee Central HS) matched a Colonial Center record with five blocked shots in Carolina’s 70-61 win over Auburn in 2007, including a crucial block late in the game that helped seal the victory.
Adams earned an invitation to the USA Basketball U20 National Team Trials last summer but did not make the squad. She was a Freshman All-SEC selection and earned both SEC Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week accolades in her first year at the collegiate level. As a freshman, Adams averaged 8.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots and 1.2 steals per game and was a key component of a Carolina defensive unit that ranked second nationally in field goal percentage defense and third in blocked shots per game.
A total of 45 players will participate at the trials. After evaluating the players, the selection committee will invite approximately 15 players back to Colorado Springs for U21 National Team training camp beginning June 12. From that group, the 12-player final roster will be comprised. Approximately 15 different players will be invited back to Colorado Springs for Pan Am Team training camp beginning July 6, with the 12-player final roster for that team comprised of the players competing in Pan Am training camp.
USA Basketball U21/Pan Am National Team Trials Invitees Jessica Adair (George Washington / Washington, D.C.); Demetress Adams (South Carolina / Bishopville, S.C.); Matee Ajavon (Rutgers / Newark, N.J.); Charel Allen (Notre Dame / Monessen, Pa.); Alex Anderson (Chattanooga / Stone Mountain, Ga.); Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin / Port Wing, Wis.); DeWanna Bonner (Auburn / Fairfield, Ala.); Essence Carson (Rutgers / Paterson, N.J.); Marissa Coleman (Maryland / Cheltenham, Md.); Tanae Davis-Cain (Florida State / Dawson, Ga.); Krystal Ellis (Marquette / Racine, Wis.); Emily Fox (Minnesota / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Mercedes Fox-Griffin (Oregon State / La Jolla, Calif.); A’Quonesia Franklin (Texas A&M / Tyler, Texas); Megan Frazee (Liberty / Xenia, Ohio); Laura Harper (Maryland / Elkins Park, Pa.); Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee / Duluth, Ga.); Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee / Charleston, W.Va.); Charde Houston (Connecticut / San Diego, Calif.); Ashley Houts (Georgia / Trenton, Ga.); Tasha Humphrey (Georgia / Gainesville, Ga.); Briann January (Arizona State / Spokane, Wash.); T.J. Jordan (Old Dominion / Portsmouth, Va.); Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.); Crystal Langhorne (Maryland / Willingboro, N.J.); Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.); Rashanda McCants (North Carolina / Asheville, N.C.); Angel McCoughtry (Louisville / Baltimore, Md.); Nicole Michael (Syracuse / Queens, N.Y.); Britany Miller (Florida State / Tallapoosa, Ga.); Marscilla Packer (Ohio State / Pickerington, Ohio); Ashley Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Courtney Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Allie Quigley (DePaul / Joliet, Ill.); Angel Robinson (Georgia / Marietta, Ga.); Dominic Seals (South Plains / Dallas, Texas); Takia Starks (Texas A&M / Houston, Texas); Mel Thomas (Connecticut / Cincinnati, Ohio); Kirsten Thompson (Arizona State / Monroe, Wash.); Kia Vaughn (Rutgers / Bronx, N.Y.); Ashley Walker (California / Modesto, Calif.); Abby Waner (Duke / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Candice Wiggins (Stanford / San Diego, Calif.); Earnesia Williams (Texas / Sapulpa, Okla.); and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton (Purdue / Naperville, Ill.).
