Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark among invites to USA Basketball camp ahead of Paris Olympics

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Caitlin Clark has been invited to what would be her first senior national team training camp next week as USA Basketball continues to evaluate players ahead of naming the Olympic team closer to the Paris Games.

The camp is April 3-5 in Cleveland, site of the NCAA Final Four from April 5-7.

The 12-player Olympic roster, which can include players not at this camp, must be named by early July. A committee picks the team.

Clark could miss the camp if her Iowa Hawkeyes reach the Final Four. USA Basketball said her attendance is “contingent on University of Iowa’s progression through the NCAA Tournament.”

Iowa plays in the Sweet 16 on Saturday against Colorado in Albany, New York. If the Hawkeyes win that game, they play LSU or UCLA in the Elite Eight on Monday in Albany for a spot in the Final Four.

The 14-player camp roster includes the most decorated active national teamers: five-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi, two-time gold medalists Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart, plus A’ja Wilson, the U.S.’ leading scorer at the Tokyo Games.

The full camp roster, which is subject to change:

usa-basketball-camp-roster.jpg

Clark, who has said she will turn pro after this season, has never played for the senior national team.

She does have junior national team experience at the U19 and U16 levels. She last suited up for Team USA in tournament play as MVP of the 2021 U19 World Cup.

USA Basketball has put recent college stars on Olympic teams.

Taurasi (2004), Candace Parker (2008), Sylvia Fowles (2008) and Stewart (2016) made Olympic teams following their final college season. They all played games for the senior national team before being named to the Olympic team.

The American women won the last seven Olympic titles and are currently tied for the longest gold-medal streak in any Olympic team sport with the U.S. men’s basketball team, which won seven in a row from 1936 through 1968.

USA Basketball will have four teams at the Paris Games including 5-on-5 men and women, whose tournaments…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/diana-taurasi-aja-wilson-caitlin-182827126.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-28 18:28:27

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