Senior Tina Charles and junior Maya Moore were among the 12 players added to the 2010-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster, USA Basketball announced today. The 12 athletes bring the pool of players from which the 2010 USA World Championship Team and, should the USA qualify, the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team will be selected to 20.
Former UConn All-Americans Renee Montgomery, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones, former Louisville All-American and 2009 WNBA Rookie of the Year Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Shameka Christon (New York Liberty), Candice Dupree (Chicago Sky), Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx) and Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx) were also added to the roster. The selections were made by the five member USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee.
“I’m excited because it’s a great mixture of veterans, young players, players who are versatile enough to give us an awful lot of options as to how we want to play,’’ USA National Team and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “Certainly we take into consideration winning and all of these players are winners. They’ve been on winning programs all their lives. I’m anxious to get to work with them and anxious to mix them in with the group that was announced earlier. I’m thrilled with the make-up of the group. We have the best players in the world and this is just another example of how deep the pool is that the U.S. can draw from.’’
This latest group of players joins USA National Team members and two-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), along with 2008 gold medalists Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) and Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury).
“The first group is obviously so experienced and so used to winning, having been in the Olympics and having won a gold medal,’’ Auriemma said. “This next group represents an opportunity for us, not only to continue to build a stronger USA National Team for this coming World Championship and beyond, but it will help us identify who that next core group may be going forward.’’
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Rich
