Four Gamecocks Set for USA Basketball Training Camp
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Four current and former South Carolina Gamecocks will participate in the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp set to take place in Columbia, S.C., Sept. 3-5. Along with a trio of World Cup gold medalists, current South Carolina junior point guard Tyasha Harris joins Gamecock alumnae Allisha Gray, Tiffany Mitchell and A’ja Wilson for the camp next week.
Following two days of practice, the USA squad will compete in a Red-White intrasquad exhibition contest at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Lexington Medical Center Box Office inside Colonial Life Arena, through ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
“The Red-White game is going to fun for our fans,” South Carolina and USA Basketball Women’s National Team head coach Dawn Staley said. “Our fans here at South Carolina are basketball fans. They support basketball. And, the Red-White game is a prelude to our basketball team’s season, especially with four Gamecocks on the roster.”
Of the 18 athletes expected to participate in training camp in hopes of being named to the 2018 USA World Cup team, 12 are current members of the USA National Team pool, while the remaining six are athletes who possess prior USA Basketball experience.
USA Basketball veterans Tina Charles (Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks) and Odyssey Sims (Los Angeles Sparks), headline the camp roster, which also includes Layshia Clarendon (Connecticut Sun); Napheesa Collier (University of Connecticut); Diamond DeShields (Chicago Sky); Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky); Ruthy Hebard (University of Oregon); Sabrina Ionescu (University of Oregon); Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever); Arike Ogunbowale (University of Notre Dame); Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces); Jessica Shepard (University of Notre Dame); and Morgan Tuck (Connecticut Sun).
The USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee issued invitations to attend the Sept. 3-5 camp to DeShields, Harris, Hebard, Ionescu, Ogunbowale and Shepard, who are not members of the 2018-20 USA National Team pool. However, all six have earned gold medals playing on USA Basketball junior teams and are among some of the top, young athletes in the nation.
In addition to her two World Cup gold medals, Charles is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and will provide veteran leadership at the camp. Further, Ogwumike and Sims, who were members of the 2014 USA World Cup Team that captured gold and, along with Dolson, were among 25 finalists named for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.
Members of the USA National Team pool who are participating in the 2018 WNBA playoffs will not be available for the beginning of the camp, but may be added at a later date. Those athletes include: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm); Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics); Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury); Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta Dream); Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm); Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm); Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury); and Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta Dream).
Traveling up the coast to Bridgeport, Connecticut, the USA continues its exhibition schedule with a 7 p.m. (EDT) game against Canada on Sept. 8 at Webster Bank Arena, and closes out its domestic tour against Japan at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 at George Washington University’s Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. In addition to the USA’s exhibition games, Canada and Japan will square off at Webster Bank Arena at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7.
Prior to arriving in Tenerife, Canary Islands, for the World Cup, the USA will play in a four-team, international tournament in Antibes, France, Sept. 15-17, against Canada, France and Senegal.
The final 12-member 2018 USA World Cup Team will be selected by the USA Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee prior to the start of the World Cup.
Assisting Staley through the World Cup are Dan Hughes (Seattle Storm), whose Seattle Storm is still in the WNBA playoffs and will join the team upon the conclusion of the Storm’s season, Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) and Jennifer Rizzotti (George Washington).
As was the case over the past three quadrenniums, the 2018-20 USA National Team roster will be fluid. It is expected that the official, 12-member 2018 USA World Cup and 2020 U.S. Olympic teams, should the USA qualify to compete in Tokyo, will be comprised of players from the 2018-20 USA National Team.
USA Basketball Women’s National Team director Carol Callan chairs the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee, which includes three-time Olympic and two-time World Cup gold medalist Katie Smith as the athlete representative; representing the WNBA is Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller and Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler; and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma, who coached USA teams to gold medals at the past two Olympics and FIBA World Cups, serves as a special advisor.
