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Former UConn National Player of Year recipients Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi became two-time Olympians Saturday. They were among the nine players named to the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team during a news conference held by USA Basketball.
Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith, Cappie Pondexter and Tina Thompson were also named. Former UConn standout Swin Cash, who was a member of the 2004 team, remains eligible for one of the three remaining roster spots.
The final three members of the 12-person team will be announced no later than July 1. The team will begin training July 28 in Stanford, Calif.
“I feel like these nine individuals were no-brainers with such talent and such a great combination of players in terms of experience,’’ Team USA head coach Anne Donovan said. “I don’t think we could have possibly done a better job than with these nine individuals. All have been with us the last couple years so everyone has experience in our program. We just have not had all nine together yet, but we look forward to that July 28 when we get together.’’
Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault, University of Texas coach Gail Goestenkors and University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley will assist Donovan.
Bird and Taurasi each helped lead the U.S. to its third straight gold medal in Athens in 2004. They are the first two-time Olympians in UConn history. Rebecca Lobo (1996, Atlanta), and Kara Wolters (2000, Sydney) have also represented the United States. Wolters was an alternate in 1996. Nykesha Sales was an alternate in 2000.
Former Huskies All-American Svetlana Abrosimova played for Russia in 2000 and Rashidat Sadiq played for Nigeria in 2004. Also, UConn-bound transfer Jess McCormack will represent New Zealand in Beijing this summer.
“There is just a special feeling when you get to the Olympics,’’ Taurasi said. “The minute you get off the plane, the minute you get to the arena there is just a certain buzz and energy. I think the great thing about the nine people we have named is that everyone in their own right has been in a setting that’s been pressure-filled and will be able to handle the situation. We have a great team, and if we put it together right it will be very special.’’
Team USA, which is 42-3 in its previous seven Olympic appearances, will begin its quest for a sixth gold medal Aug. 9 against a team that will be determined at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Madrid, Spain June 9-15. It will face China Aug. 11, Mali Aug. 13 and another opponent still to be determined Aug. 15. It will complete preliminary play in Group B Aug. 17 against New Zealand.
The quarterfinals will be held Aug. 19, while the semifinals and final are scheduled for Aug. 21 and Aug. 23, respectively.
“It feels a little bit different (this year) because the last time I was straight out of college and I don’t even think I had a clue about what was really going on,’’ Bird said. “But this time, especially with the loss (to Russia) in the (2006 FIBA) World Championship there’s definitely a different feel to entering the Olympics now.’’

Rich

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USA Basketball has scheduled a news conference for Saturday afternoon to announce nine of the 12 members of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team. Former UConn All-Americans Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird are both expected to be on the roster. Along with Swin Cash, Taurasi and Bird helped lead the U.S. to the gold medal in Athens in 2004.
Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles are also expected to be named.

Rich

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UConn-bound recruits Heather Buck and Kelly Faris have each accepted an invitation to attend the 2008 USA Basketball Women’s U-18 National Team trials June 9-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. UConn recruits Kelsey Bone and Skylar Diggins are also among the approximately 30 players that have been invited.
The field will be cut to 16 and will then return to Colorado Springs for the start of training camp July 8. The final 12-member team will vie in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship for Women July 23-27 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“I was invited and will be attending,’’ said Buck, a 6-foot-4 center who will be a freshman at UConn next season. “I am thrilled to be invited to tryout and hope to be able to participate further with USA Basketball, as it is such an honor to be a representative of our country while participating in an activity that I love.’’
This will be the second straight year Buck has competed in a USA Basketball function. She averaged 4.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the USA Red team at the Youth Developmental Festival last June.
Faris, Diggins, a 5-8 guard from South Bend, Ind. who has recently become a prime recruiting target for the Huskies, and Bone, a 6-5 center from Sugar Land, Texas who is the top player in the Class of 2009, also competed at the Youth Developmental Festival last year. Diggins and Bone helped lead the White team to the gold medal.
Bone averaged 9.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists, while Diggins averaged 8.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals. Faris, a 5-11 junior guard from Plainfield, Ind. who made an oral commitment to play for UConn in March, averaged 3.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.2 steals for the Blue team.

Morgan Valley is on the move again. After one year at New Hampshire, she has accepted an assistant coaching position at Towson.

Rich

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Jess McCormack, a 6-foot-5 freshman forward/center who played last season at Washington, has decided to transfer to UConn. It was one of several schools she contacted during the process.
McCormack, a native of Auckland, New Zealand who will be a member of the New Zealand Olympic team this summer in Beijing, is the first player to transfer to UConn since Brittany Hunter left Duke following her freshman season in 2004.
McCormack said she informed the UConn coaching staff of her decision about a month ago.
“UConn was the only school I really ever considered,’’ McCormack said in an e-mail Friday. “The program is an amazing renowned program with a great team of coaches and players around it.’’
There was speculation that McCormack would choose not to attend Washington last year due to the firing of former head coach June Daugherty March 18, 2007 and the hiring of Tia Jackson a month later. McCormack finally left the program February 19.
Four of the six players in Washington’s freshman class have transferred.
“Washington just did not work out for me,’’ McCormack said. “I went in with an open mind but unfortunately it did not meet what I had expected. It was a good experience, but I’m glad to be moving on with my life and basketball career.’’
McCormack, who missed six games due to injury and another due to illness this season, averaged 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 20.3 minutes in 19 games (14 starts) for the Huskies. She reached double figures in scoring in nine games and had one double-double (17 pts., 11 reb. vs. UC Davis Nov. 16).
She recently participated with the New Zealand national team in China, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in six games in the Good Luck Beijing International Invitational Tournament, and has been tabbed as a Lauren Jackson-type player.
“We certainly wish Jess all the success in the world, especially in the upcoming 2008 Olympics,’’ Jackson said in a statement. “But, more importantly, we wish her peace of mind and complete happiness.’’
McCormack became the youngest player selected to the New Zealand senior women’s national team in 2005 when she was 15. She helped New Zealand win the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She was also a member of New Zealand’s U-19 team, averaging 10.7 points and leading the team in rebounding (11.7) and blocks (2.3).
McCormack will have to sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but she will have three years of eligibility remaining. She will be permitted to practice with the team.
The Huskies continue their involvement with high school juniors Kelsey Bone, a 6-5 center from Sugar Land, Texas who is considered the top player in the class, Taber Spani, a 6-foot-1 guard from Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Kerri Shields, a 5-10 guard from Radnor, Pa.
Kelly Faris, a 5-11 guard from Plainfield, Ind., became the first player from the Class of 2009 to commit when she made an oral commitment in March. Depending on whether or not junior swingman Kalana Greene elects to petition the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, the Huskies will have at least two scholarships remaining for the 2009-10 season.

Rich

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The dates, times and television coverage of the Big East portion of the Huskies’ 2008-09 schedule is still to be finalized. But the team that is expected to be the prohibitive favorite to win the national championship will again receive plenty of national exposure in non-conference play.
UConn will host Oklahoma on ESPN Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. and LSU on CBS Jan. 3. Either ESPN or ESPN2 will carry its matchup at North Carolina Jan. 19. The latter carried the Big Monday games last season.
ESPNU will air the Huskies/Penn State game in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden Dec. 14. UConn had seven regular season games appear on national television last season. This includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS and CSTV.
Other non-conference games include home games against Holy Cross, Hartford, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island and San Diego State and road games at BYU and South Carolina. UConn will meet Florida State, Washington and a team still to be determined at the Caribbean Classic MTE in Cancun, Mexico in December.

Rich