Mike Siroky's SEC Report: Nine Conference Stars Invited to Trials For 2015 Summer International Play

By Mike Siroky

Now that the training camp for future Olympic participants at the Rio Games has ended, USA basketball moves on to this year’s competitions.

The Southeastern Conference of women’s basketball is again well- represented in the coming assemblages for the Pan American Games and the World University Games.

These will be picked by May 17, at the end of the three-day workouts. The rules state all must be U.S. citizens still enrolled in college or university with eligibility remaining.

No WNBAers or players from other pro teams across the world. These athletes are truly the future USA players for Olympics to come.

Holly Warlick is an assistant coach for the University Games. Pat Head Summitt played in the Pan Ams in 1975 and for the University Games in 1974.

Invited SEC Players: Victoria Vivians (Mississippi State); Linnae Harper (Kentucky); Diamond DeShields and Mercedes Russell (Tennessee); Tiffany Mitchell and Alaina Coates (South Carolina) Jessica Jackson (Arkansas) and the two Courtneys from Texas A&M: Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams.

Harper, Mitchell, Russell and DeShields are among previous Gold Medal winners for USA Basketball on various teams.

The others in that category: Lexie Brown (Maryland); Jordin Canada (UCLA); Kaela Davis (Georgia Tech); Rebecca Greenwell (Duke.); Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut); Alexis Jones (Baylor); Stephanie Mavunga (North Carolina); Erica McCall (Stanford); Imani McGee-Stafford (Texas.); Kelsey Plum (Washington); Taya Reimer (Notre Dame); (Tennessee/Springfield, Ore.); and Brianna Stewart (UConn).

An additional 10 invitees have participated in at least one USA Basketball trials: Jillian Alleyne (Oregon.); Ameryst Alston (Ohio State); Allisha Gray (North Carolina); Whitney Knight (FGCU); Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State); Sydney Wiese (Oregon State).

Twenty-eight players will be participating in their first USA Basketball event: Sophie Brunner (Arizona State); Kahleah Copper (Rutgers); Caroline Coyer (Villanova); Nina Davis (Baylor); Aliyyah Handford (St. John's); Alexa Hart (Ohio State); Katie Hempen (Arizona State); Myisha Hines-Allen (Louisville); Bria Holmes (West Virginia); Tori Jankoska (Michigan State); Mercedes Jefflo (California);

Chanise Jenkins (DePaul); Alisia Jenkins (South Florida; Kaylee Johnson (Stanford); Brionna Jones (Maryland); Jasmine Joyner (Chattanooga); Kelsey Lang (Texas); Adrienne Motley (Miami); Aerial Powers (Michigan State); Courtney Range (California); Ivey Slaughter (Florida State); Annie Tarakchian (Princeton);

Lili Thompson (Stanford); Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (Maryland.); Caira Washington (George Washington); Kaylon Williams (Oklahoma); and Courtney Williams (South Florida/Folkston).

The Pan American Games and World University Games team trials will take place on the same days as the 2015 USA Women’s U19 World Championship Team Trials, although at different times.

Several U19 participants, because they have played a year of college basketball, also are eligible for the Pan American and World University Games competitions.

Pan American Games

The Pan American Women’s Basketball Team players and coaches will return to Colorado on July 3 for the start of training camp and will depart for the competition in Toronto on July 8.

The women’s basketball competition will take place July 16-20.

The USA women have been placed into Group A and will take on Brazil on July 16, Dominican Republic on July 17 and Puerto Rico on July 18 in the preliminary round. Competing in Group B will be Argentina, Canada, Cuba and Venezuela.

The top two teams from each preliminary-round group will advance to the medal-round semifinals on July 19, while the third and fourth-placed teams will for fifth-eighth places. The semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal on July 20, while the semifinal losers will play for Bronze.

The Pan Ams are a multi-sport event featuring teams from North, South and Central American and the Caribbean that are organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) and played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics (2015, 2019, etc.).

Since the first Pan American Games for women in 1955, the USA has compiled an overall record of 87-15 and won eight Gold medals, three Silver and two Bronze.

Most recently in 2011, a U.S. team comprised of collegians and one high school senior in Stewart that began training just one week prior to its first game, finished in seventh place with a 2-2 record.

The USA’s last Gold medal came in 2007, under the direction of 10-time USA Basketball Gold medalist and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

World University Games

The selected USA players and coaches will return to Colorado Springs for training camp on June 18-July 2. The 2015 World University Games women’s basketball competition will be held July 4-13 in Gwangju, South Korea.

The USA women have drawn Group C and will play Italy at 10 a.m. (all times listed are local, Gwangju is +13 hours from EDT) on July 5, China at 5:30 p.m. on July 6 and Czech Republic at 8 p.m. on July 7.

Playing in Group A will be Canada, Hungary, Mozambique and South Korea; Group B includes Japan, Mexico, Russia and Sweden; and Group D features Australia, Brazil, Taipei and Uganda.

The quarterfinals are July 9, the semifinals are July 11, the Bronze medal game is July 12 and the Gold medal game is July 13.

Held every other year, the World University Games are organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).

The WUGs are a multi-sport competition open to men and women who are between the ages of 17 and 24 (born between 1/1/88 and 12/31/98), who are enrolled as a full-time college student with remaining eligibility for the 2015-16 school year.

USA Basketball women’s teams have participated in 17 World University Games and collected a record nine Golds, six Silvers and one Bronze medal.

Since 1973, the first year the USA women competed in the World University Games, USA women’s teams have compiled a 101-15 record.

The USA has won Gold medals in the past five Worlds in which it has competed (2001, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013).

In 2013, led by tournament co-MVP Odyssey Sims, who went on to earn Gold as a member of the 2014 USA World Championship Team, the USA won by an average of 34.8 points per game and finished 6-0 to claim the Gold.


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