COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Following the successful open trials for the 2011 and 2013 USA Women’s U16 National Teams, USA Basketball announced it will hold open tryouts to select the 2014 USA Women’s U17 World Championship Team. The USA U17 squad will compete in the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, scheduled to be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from June 26-July 6, 2014.
Featuring up to 150 athletes age 17-or-younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1997), trials will be held May 22-26 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition to the application process, the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee will issue invitations to attend trials to approximately 35 athletes.
Athletes wishing to participate should complete and submit their application to USA Basketball by March 3, 2014 (www.usabasketball.com/about/usa_basketballforms.html). Participants will receive confirmation of acceptance by April 18. Should the number of applicants exceed 150, the USA Developmental National Team Committee will determine the final roster of participating athletes.
“Through our previous two open trials, we have found success in expanding USA Basketball’s reach to develop the total athlete,” said Carol Callan, USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director and non-voting chair of the USA Developmental National Team Committee. “We are looking to identify potential current and future USA Basketball team members and to continue to get our message out to these young athletes about the responsibilities and rewards of representing their country. We feel this is an integral component that has contributed to the great success enjoyed by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team program through the years.”
The five-day trials will begin with an evening skills session on May 22 and continue with a morning skills session on May 23. The skills sessions will include individual drills and position work. While the committee will evaluate athletes throughout the process, trials sessions begin on the afternoon of May 23 and conclude on May 25. Due to the number of participants, players will be divided into two groups for the skills sessions and the first few trials sessions. Roster reductions may begin following the completion of the second trials session, and the team is expected to be announced on May 26.
In 2011, 115 young athletes participated in the USA U16 National Team Trials. That list was pared to 53 by the third day of trials, to 34 on the fourth day and on the fifth and final day the 12-member team was selected.
In 2013, a total of 124 athletes took to the court to vie for a spot on the USA U16 National Team. Following three cuts – from 95 to 70 to 43 – the final 12-member USA squad was announced on May 27. In 2012, several of the applicants from the 2011 U16 National Team Trials were invited to participate in the USA U17 World Championship Team Trials, two of whom, Lindsay Allen (St. John’s College H.S. / Bowie, Md.) and Jessica Washington (Jenks H.S./Tulsa, Okla.), earned spots on the 2012 squad and helped the U.S. capture the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship gold medal.
Two of the applicants from the 2013 USA U16 trials, Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte H.S./Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Taylor Murray (Annapolis Area Christian School/Odenton, Md.), made it through the final round of cuts and helped the 2013 USA U16 National Team earn gold at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship. In addition to Callan, the 2013-16 USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee is comprised of National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) appointees Jody Patrick (Flint Hill School, Va.) and Jill Rankin Schneider (Monterey H.S., Texas); AAU appointees Bill Larson (North Tartan Basketball AAU, Minn.) and Sherri Pegues (GBL Cal Sparks AAU, Calif.); as well as athlete representative Yolanda Griffith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
FIBA U17 World Championship
The 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship will feature 16 national teams comprised of athletes age 17-and-under from around the world. Qualified to compete are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, Mali, Mexico, Spain, USA and the top three finishing nations from the 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championship, scheduled for Nov. 23 – 30 in Sri Lanka.
2010 marked the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship for Women, which is held every two years. USA Basketball’s U17 National Team captured the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship gold medal after defeating opponents by a 37.4 points per game scoring margin. Further, seven of the USA’s team members went on to capture the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship gold medal. The 2012 USA U17 World Championship Team averaged a 35.0 ppg. margin of victory and went 8-0 to extend the USA’s winning record to 16-0 at the event, while collecting a second gold medal. The USA qualified for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship by virtue of capturing gold at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
