Twenty-Two athletes expected to attend USA Women’s National Team Camp; Lindsay Whalen retires from USA Basketball
Twenty-two athletes are expected to participate in the USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp Feb. 9-11, 2018, at the University of South Carolina. The list includes 16 members of the 2017-20 USA National Team plus six athletes who were invited to participate by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee in hopes of being named to the USA National Team pool.
The USA will train at 10 a.m. (EST) on Feb. 9-10 and 9 a.m. (EST) on Feb. 11 at the Carolina Coliseum.
Minnesota Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen, a member of the past two U.S. Olympic (2012, 2016) and USA World Cup (2010, 2014) gold-medal winning teams will not participate in the camp. She has retired from USA Basketball.
“I’ve cherished all of my time with USA Basketball since I was 20,” Whalen said. “This was a very tough decision, but I feel like it’s time in my career to step aside and give another young player the opportunity. I started with USA Basketball in Brazil, so finishing at the Olympics back in Brazil seems like I’ve come full circle. It was definitely a tough decision given the gold medal culture that Carol (Callan) and Dawn (Staley) and Geno (Auriemma) and everyone else has created, it’s the best to be in that. Because not only is it amazing on the court, but everybody truly cares for each other off the court. You become a family for that month, month-and-a-half that you’re together. I’m certainly going to miss that, but I’ll always enjoy my memories with USA Basketball as a player.”
Mini camp Participants
- Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)
- Tina Charles (New York Liberty)
- Layshia Clarendon (Atlanta Dream)
- Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics)
- Skylar Diggins-Smith(Dallas Wings)
- Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky)
- Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury)
- Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta Dream)
- Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm)
- Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream)
- Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx)
- Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces)
- Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
- Morgan Tuck (Connecticut Sun)
- Courtney Williams (Connecticut Sun).
- Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings)
- Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Tiffany Mitchell (Indiana Fever)
- Brittney Sykes (Atlanta Dream)
- Sydney Wiese (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta Dream)
Members of the USA National Team pool who are unavailable to participate in the February camp are: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx); Napheesa Collier (University of Connecticut); Asia Durr (University of Louisville); Jantel Lavender (Los Angeles Sparks); Kayla McBride (Las Vegas Aces); Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State University); Chiney Ogwumike(Connecticut Sun); Katie Lou Samuelson (University of Connecticut); Odyssey Sims (Los Angeles Sparks); and A’ja Wilson (University of South Carolina).
Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx) and Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) currently are competing in China. Their inclusion on the training camp roster will depend on the performance of their teams in the Chinese league playoffs
