Even with all of the uncertainty regarding whether the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will still take place, USA Basketball is proceeding as if there will be a lit flame at Japan’s Olympic cauldron this summer.
USA Basketball announced that 19 athletes will participate in a four-day minicamp at the University of South Carolina – where current national team coach Dawn Staley also coaches.
Those that received invites included Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Sylvia Fowles and Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Diamond DeShields, Stefanie Dolson and Kahleah Copper (Chicago Sky), Arike Ogunbowale, Allisha Gray and Katie Lou Samuelson (Dallas Wings), A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Nneka Ogwumike, Chelsea Gray and Sydney Wiese (Los Angeles Sparks), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Kelsey Mitchell and Tiffany Mitchell (Indiana Fever) and Ariel Atkins (Washington Mystics).
We’ve got a great mix of veteran leadership and younger players, most of whom know how I run practices, and I anticipate we’ll have four extremely competitive days of practice here in South Carolina. We’re missing a few pieces of the puzzle, we have 36 players in our pool, but it will be incredibly helpful in our preparations for the Olympics in Tokyo this summer.
–Dawn Staley, USA Basketball and South Carolina coach (release)
The camp will take place from February 4 through February 7.
