April 8, 2010
USA Basketball ReleaseSTANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike was among 10 players named to the USA Basketball Select Team, USA Basketball announced Thursday. Ogwumike, a veteran of the USA Basketball U18 and U19 gold medal-winning squads the past two summers, will be part of the select squad that will train in Storrs and Hartford, Conn. From April 15-18.
Debbie Ryan (Virginia) and Dawn Staley (Temple) will serve as the on-court coaches for the select team, while the squad will be directed by the USA Senior National Team coaching staff which includes Doug Bruno (DePaul) and Jennifer Gillom (Los Angeles Sparks).
Ogwumike joins Kalana Greene (Connecticut / Saint Stephen, S.C.), Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska / Eagle River, Alaska), Allison Hightower (LSU / Arlington, Texas), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State / Cleveland, Ohio), Jacinta Monroe (Florida State / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State / Dallas, Texas), Danielle Robinson (Oklahoma / San Jose, Calif.), Jasmine Thomas (Duke / Fairfax, Va.) and Monica Wright (Virginia / Woodbridge, Va.).
"This unique experience will give these elite athletes a chance to continue to work on their skills in a USA Basketball setting, where they'll also get a valuable glimpse into the USA National Team program," said USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO Jim Tooley.
"I had a chance to work with a select team years ago when Tara (VanDerveer) was coaching the Olympic team," said 2009-12 USA Basketball Women's National Team head coach Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut. "I thought it was a great opportunity for those young kids to get a feel for what USA Basketball is and what it entails to be part of that special group. For those young players to be in that environment, I think it's a great learning experience for them. It's a great opportunity for us as coaches to evaluate them, see where they are now and let them know where they need to be down the road. It's something that I'm glad we're able to do and I hope we keep doing it in the future. It's a great group. They're all distinguished players from great programs with a history of winning. That's certainly one of the most important things about being with USA Basketball, making sure that we get character kids who know nothing but winning.
"I couldn't be happier that Dawn and Debbie have agreed to do this. Dawn has had such a long and distinguished career with USA Basketball and had so much success on the playing side winning gold medals, on the coaching side winning gold medals, she's a natural. And then having Debbie, who's been doing this for so long, who coached Dawn and who I have tremendous respect for and I'm so fond of, is great. I think it'll be a great learning experience for the two of them, as well as for me to be around the two of them."
Ogwumike completed a breakout sophomore season Tuesday in the national championship game in San Antonio, Texas, averaging 18.5 points and 9.9 rebounds while shooting 59.8 percent from the field. Through six NCAA Tournament games, Ogwumike averaged 19.7 points and 12.3 rebounds a game in leading Stanford to its second national championship game appearance in three years.
The Cypress, Texas native earned a slew of honors in 2009-10, including her first State Farm Coaches' All-America selection, along with a spot on the Final Four All-Tournament Team and the Sacramento Region All-Tournament team in the NCAA Tournament.
Ogwumike was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year as well as the MVP of both the Pac-10 Tournament and the Sacramento Region. She led the Pac-10 with three conference player of the week selections.
Seven of the USA Select Team members have prior USA Basketball experience, including FIBA U19 World Championship gold medalists Lavender (2007), Ogwumike (2009), Thomas (2007) and Wright (2007). Lavender, Monroe and Robinson aided the 2009 USA World University Games Team to a gold medal last summer; Lavender (2006) and Ogwumike (2008) earned gold medals at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, qualifying the U.S. for the following summer's U19 World Championship; while Hightower (2005), Ogwumike (2007) and Wright (2005) participated in a USA Basketball Youth Development Festival.