Former Lady Vol Kara Lawson also on roster
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Basketball has added University of Tennessee redshirt freshman Candace Parker (Naperville, Ill.), a member of the gold medal winning 2004 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, to the roster for the 2006 USA Women's Senior National Team's final spring training session, April 1-12. Parker joins former Lady Vol All-American Kara Lawson on the squad. The training will begin in Boston April 1-4, where the U.S. will prepare for the April 7-12 Opals World Challenge, featuring Australia, China and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), in Cairns and Canberra, Australia.
"I'm glad to be able to add Candace to this training camp roster," said USA head Coach Anne Donovan. "She, along with the other collegiate players, will give a different look to this team for our final training session. It will be really good for me, my staff and the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee to get a look at these young players competing against the top teams we'll face in Australia."
As a member of the 2004 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that rolled to a 5-0 record en route to the gold medal, Parker started all five games and averaged team highs of 16.6 ppg, 4.8 apg and 2.4 bpg, while also posting USA second bests of 8.8 rpg and 3.4 spg in just under 20 minutes of action per contest. Additionally, Parker dunked three times during the tournament.
"Being selected to this team and having the chance to play in Australia is a tremendous honor," said Parker en route to Boston. "USA Basketball has provided me with some great basketball experiences and this is an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
During her first year at Tennessee as a redshirt freshman in 2005-06, Parker aided the Lady Vols to a 31-5 record, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament crown and a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight. She started all 36 games for UT and led the squad in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg), while adding a third best 2.9 apg. She was listed as one of 30 mid-season finalists for the 2006 Naismith Player of the Year Award and one of 18 finalists for the 2006 John R. Wooden Award, was named as the 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year, the 2006 SEC Tournament MVP, 2006 All-SEC first team by conference coaches and All-SEC second team by the Associated Press and was also selected a 2006 Kodak/WBCA All-Region 3 and a Kodak/WBCA All-America finalist. She was also named to the 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional All-Tournament Team.
"I'm very excited for Candace to have the opportunity to compete with and against some of the very best players in woemn's basketball. This international experience will give her the opportunity to grow and expand her game," said Tennessee Lady Vol head coach Pat Summitt.
Parker joins four other collegiate All-Americans, including Louisiana State University's Seimone Augustus (Baton Rouge, La.) and Sylvia Fowles (Miami, Fla.), Ohio State University's Jessica Davenport (Columbus, Ohio) and Rutgers University's (N.J.) Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, Ill.), who will train alongside Olympic gold medalists and WNBA standouts during this final spring training session.
Olympic gold medalists Swin Cash (Detroit Shock), Ruth Riley (Detroit Shock), Katie Smith (Detroit Shock), and Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) will provide the veteran leadership for a squad that will feature young WNBA talent in Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Shameka Christon (New York Liberty), Kristin Haynie (Sacramento Monarchs) and former Lady Vol All-American Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs).
In addition to the 12-member squad that will compete in Australia, three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes (Houston Comets) will practice during the team's Boston training camp. Due to prior commitments, she is unable to compete in Australia.
Due to the timing of the 2006 WNBA Draft, Donovan and USA assistant coach Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun will arrive in Australia after the team's first game. Because of that, USA assistant coach Dawn Staley of Temple University (Pa.) will act as the team's head coach for the first game in Australia. USA athletes involved in the Final Four and/or the 2005 WNBA Draft will join the squad in Australia.
USA Basketball will announce the final 12-member 2006 USA World Championship Team by the end of June.
The U.S. will gather in Boston for four practices before departing for Australia, beginning with an April 1 training session that gets underway at 10:00 a.m. (all times local) at Harvard University's Malkin Athletic Center. The USA's final three practices will be held at Boston College's Conti Arena and will begin on April 2 at 12:00 p.m., at 10:30 a.m. on April 3, and the final practice in Boston will tip-off at 9:00 a.m. on April 4.
In addition to team training, several players will speak to young athletes at NCAA YES Clinics, participate in a clinic at the NCAA Hoop City, and the U.S. team will host area youths during the April 2 practice, followed by an autograph session.
The Australia-hosted Opals World Challenge tips-off in Cairns with the U.S. opening with China on April 7 and facing Australia on April 8. The tournament then moves to Canberra, where the Americans will play China again on April 10, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) on April 11, and the Opals World Challenge concludes with the second USA-Australia clash on April 12.
USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team
This marks USA Basketball's third of three spring training camps, which will see 2006 USA World Championship Team hopefuls go against top national and professional club teams from around the globe to help determine the 12-member roster for the 2006 USA Women's World Championship Team. The USA has previously posted an overall 6-0 record over top professionals during two training camps in Europe, March 2-9 and March 18-24.
The USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee, chaired by Rene Brown, the WNBA's Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations, selected the athletes for the three spring training camps. The spring training will give the coaching staff and USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee a chance to evaluate a variety of candidates competing for the 12 roster positions on the 2006 USA World Championship Team.
Following the 2006 WNBA season, the USA will regroup in late August for a final training camp before heading to Brazil to defend its World Championship title at the 15th FIBA World Championship, slated to be played Sept. 12-23 in Sao Paulo.
Donovan will be assisted at the 2006 FIBA World Championship by Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibault, and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors of Duke University (N.C.) and Dawn Staley of Temple University (Pa.).
2006 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Roster - Opals World Challenge
NAME POS HGT WGT DOB WNBA TEAM COLLEGE HOMETOWN
Seimone Augustus F 6-1 170 04/30/84 n/a Louisiana State Baton Rouge, LA
Alana Beard G 5-11 160 05/14/82 Washington Duke Shreveport, LA
Swin Cash F 6-2 162 09/22/79 Detroit Connecticut McKeesport, PA
Shameka Christon G/F 6-1 170 02/15/82 New York Arkansas Hot Springs, AR
Jessica Davenport C 6-5 191 06/24/85 n/a Ohio State Columbus, OH
Sylvia Fowles C 6-5 200 10/06/85 n/a Louisiana State Miami, FL
Kristin Haynie G 5-8 147 06/17/83 Sacramento Michigan State Mason, MI
Kara Lawson G 5-8 160 02/14/81 Sacramento Tennessee Alexandria, VA
Candace Parker F 6-4 172 04/19/86 n/a Tennessee Naperville, Ill.
Cappie Pondexter G 5-9 160 01/07/83 n/a Rutgers Chicago, IL
Ruth Riley C 6-4 204 08/28/79 Detroit Notre Dame Macy, IN
Katie Smith G 5-11 181 06/04/74 Detroit Ohio State Logan, OH
*Sheryl Swoopes F 6-0 145 03/25/71 Houston Texas Tech Brownfield, TX
Tina Thompson F 6-2 178 02/10/75 Houston Southern Cal Los Angeles, CA
* Due to prior commitments, Swoopes will train with the USA Basketball team in Boston, but will not compete in Australia
Head Coach: Anne Donovan, Seattle Storm
Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun
Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, Duke University (N.C.)
Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, Temple University (Pa.)
2006 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team's Boston Training & Media Availability Schedule
DATE TIME EVENT SITE
April 1 11:00 a.m. Practice Harvard University - Malkin Athletic Center
April 2 12:00 p.m. Practice Boston College - Conti Forum
April 3 10:30 a.m. Practice Boston College - Conti Forum
April 4 9:00 a.m. Practice Boston College - Conti Forum
Opals World Challenge
Cairns Convention Centre / Cairns, Australia
April 6 TBD Practice
April 7 6:00 p.m. USA vs. China 8:00 p.m. Australia vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
April 8 5:00 p.m. China vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 7:00 p.m. USA vs. Australia
Australia Institute of Sport Arena / Canberra, Australia
April 10 10:30 a.m. USA vs. China 12:30 p.m. Australia vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
April 11 6:00 p.m. USA vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 8:00p.m. Australia vs. China
April 12 6:00 p.m. China vs. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 8:00 p.m. USA vs. Australia
NOTE: Schedule subject to change. All times local, times not listed are TBD. Following this weekend's USA daylight-saving time change, Australia will be +14 from EDT.
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