USA Basketball officially announced the 31 players invited to the trials on Wednesday, May 8, after the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee issued the invitations.
Among the players is Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper who earned honorable-mention All-America honors for the second straight season in 2012-13 while helping Nebraska to the NCAA Sweet 16. The 6-2 forward from Alliance, Neb., led the Huskers in scoring and rebounding with 17.9 points and 8.8 boards per contest while powering Nebraska to a 25-9 overall record.
A three-year starter for the Huskers, Hooper was a candidate for the Wade, Naismith and Wooden National Player-of-the-Year awards as a junior. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection enters her senior season at Nebraska ranked 10th in career scoring with 1,685 points, while ranking fifth in career rebounding with 811. She also ranks second in career three-pointers made with 215.
Hooper will be in a talented player pool that includes 10 players who have won gold medals with USA Basketball in international competition. The team will be coached by Oklahoma's Sherri Coale, along with assistants Brian Giorgis (Marist) and Coquese Washington (Penn State). Wisconsin's Bobbie Kelsey and Tulsa's Matilda Mossman will serve as court coaches during the trials.
Following the completion of the World University Games Trials on May 19, a 12-player roster will be announced. Those 12 players selected to represent USA Basketball will hold training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs June 25-July 1.
The 2013 World University Games women's basketball competition will be held in Kazan, Russia, July 8-15.
|