Youth Festival Rosters Announced

[NYTraveller]

"...Selected to play for the USA Red Team were: Sarah Boothe (Warren Township H.S. / Gurnee, Ill.); Heather Buck (Stonington H.S. / Stonington, Conn.); Emilee Harmon (Pickerington H.S. Central / Pickerington, Ohio); Tayler Hill (South H.S. / Minneapolis, Md.); Nneka Ogwumike (Cy-Fair H.S. / Cypress, Texas); Brooklyn Pope (Paul L. Dunbar H.S. / Forth Worth, Texas); Brittany Rayburn (Attica H.S. / Attica, Ind.); Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (T.C. Williams H.S. / Alexandria, Va.); Nikki Speed (Marlborough H.S. / Pasadena, Calif.); DeNesha Stallworth (Pinole Valley H.S. / Pinole, Calif.); Shekinna Stricklen (Morrilton H.S. / Morrilton, Ariz.); and April Sykes (East Oktibbeha H.S. / Crawford, Miss.).

Representing the USA White Team will be: Kelsey Bone (Dulles H.S. / Stafford, Texas); Ashley Corral (Prairie H.S. / Vancouver, Wash.); Skylar Diggins (Washington H.S. / South Bend, Ind.); Caroline Doty (Germantown Academy / Ft. Washington, Pa.); Tiffany Hayes (Winter Haven Sr. H.S. / Winter Haven, Fla.); Briana Gilbreath (Cinco Ranch H.S. / Katy, Texas); Amber Gray (Lakota West H.S. / Cincinnati, Ohio); Lynetta Kizer (Potomac H.S. / Woodbridge, Va.); Monique Oliver (North Las Vegas H.S. / North Las Vegas, Nev.); Samantha Prahalis (Commack H.S. / Dix Hills, N.Y.); Taylor Turnbow (Tucker H.S. / Clarkston, Ga.); and Shanay Washington (Del Valle H.S. / Austin, Texas).

USA Blue Team players include: Alyssia Brewer (Sapulpa H.S. / Sapulpa, Okla.); Jasmine Dixon (Polytechnic H.S. / Long Beach, Calif.); Ayana Dunning (Eastmoor Academy / Columbus, Ohio); Kelly Faris (Heritage Christian / Plainfield, Ind.); Ashley Gayle (Bishop Gorman H.S. / Las Vegas, Nev.); Lexie Gerson (Peddie School / Ft. Washington, Pa.); Glory Johnson (Webb School of Knoxville / Knoxville, Tenn.); Alicia Manning (Etowah H.S. / Woodstock, Ga.); Casey Morris (Peidmont H.S. / Fairfield, Calif.); Shay Selby (Regina H.S. / Geneva, Ohio); Chay Shegog (Brooke Point H.S. / Stafford, Va.); and Ieasia Walker (Copiague H.S. / Amityville, N.Y.)...."

Here's the complete story:

http://www.usabasketball.com/women/2007/07_wydf_invitees.html

It looks like a super-talented field - I wish I could see those practices!

[ladiesfirst]

Thanks a lot, Traveller! Those practices would certainly be a treat.

Any predictions?

[YourCrimsonNightmare]

As I looked over the Youth Festival rosters, the thought occurred to me, from looking at a lot of those rosters over time. Does USA Basketball ever find talent, or do they just read the websites out there and pick their players from who has the buzz?

I'm just asking. Last year they had one of the best players in the country in their own backyard and never even noticed her. Of course, no one else noticed her either, since she didn't play on a club team that traveled extensively in the summer.

So then Wyco Pride decided to play in a big tournament out of state for maybe the first time last year, and Melissa Jones became an overnight sensation. Colorado Springs, the headquarters of USA Basketball, is maybe 90 miles from where Jones played ball.

Like I said, do they really find the good players, or do people like Glenn have to do all the heavy lifting?

[txbasketball24]

Congratulations to all who were invited and especially the girls from the great state of Texas.

[scoutnwhoops]

As I looked over the Youth Festival rosters, the thought occurred to me, from looking at a lot of those rosters over time. Does USA Basketball ever find talent, or do they just read the websites out there and pick their players from who has the buzz?

I'm just asking. Last year they had one of the best players in the country in their own backyard and never even noticed her. Of course, no one else noticed her either, since she didn't play on a club team that traveled extensively in the summer.

So then Wyco Pride decided to play in a big tournament out of state for maybe the first time last year, and Melissa Jones became an overnight sensation. Colorado Springs, the headquarters of USA Basketball, is maybe 90 miles from where Jones played ball.

Like I said, do they really find the good players, or do people like Glenn have to do all the heavy lifting?

They have a panel, some that are well connected to the high school and club ball circuit and others that see kids too. Do they do as much direct evaluating as we do or as much as the scouting services do? No.

[YourCrimsonNightmare]

Thanks Chris.

I've known that they rely heavily on the input of others, as I've read their published explanation of their process of selecting players. I did not know that a player must be nominated to be considered, but I honestly wouldn't work that way if I represented our national teams. For various reasons some top players won't even get considered because of the nomination requirement, and if I was USA Basketball I would scour the nooks and crannies of America to find the very best to bring to the development programs.

I also understand that they operate with a strict budget under the oversight of the USOC, so bureacracy could be a factor. But we rarely if ever see "out-of-the-blue" surprise invites to the teams, but often see what seem to be oversights, or else for one reason or another a player could not accept an invitation.

I wish they'be be a little more open with their process, starting with announcing who they have invited, so that we have a reference point when we see what could be omissions, or lack of referral, or inability to participate.

Anyway, our younger teams at least have been going like gangbusters for some time, so I'm pretty enthusiastic about the future. We simply have reached a critical mass of high talent unmatched by any other country. Hopefully these young players will continue to develop through their careers.