Eight Athletes Named To 2012 USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s 3x3 National Teams
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Colorado Springs, Colo. • July 8, 2012
Four men’s players and four women’s players were named to the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team and will represent the USA in the inaugural FIBA 3x3 World Championship as the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team Training Camp/Tournament concluded at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) on Sunday.
On the men’s side, Adetayo Adesanya (Naperville, Ill.), Ira Brown (Corsicana, Texas), Tyree Hardge (Surprise, Ariz.) and Allen DuBois Williams (Tempe, Ariz.), playing for Desert Pro-Am, won the men’s tournament with an 8-0 record and were later selected to the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team.
“With the Desert Pro-Am team going undefeated throughout the entire tournament, along with the way they conducted themselves on the court and off the court, the USA Basketball 3x3 National Team Committee all agreed that this would be the best overall team to represent USA Basketball at the 2012 FIBA 3x3 World Championship in Athens, Greece,” said USA Basketball 3x3 Program Director Travis Johnson.
The women’s 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team will feature Skylar Diggins (University of Notre Dame/South Bend, Ind.), Bria Hartley (University of Connecticut/North Babylon, N.Y.), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford University/Cypress, Texas) and Alyssa Thomas (University of Maryland/Harrisburg, Pa.), who went 3-0 in the women’s tournament on Sunday to capture gold.
“The selected women’s team also went undefeated throughout the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team Tournament and brought to the tournament the level of intensity they are used to playing at, while also coming together as a team,” said Johnson. “The competitive edge they showed at the tournament is the starting point of how we expect them to perform at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship.”
The men’s and women’s teams were chosen by the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team Committee, consisting of Johnson, as well as Washington Wizards Vice President of Player Personnel Milt Newton and Deer Lakes High School (Cheswick, Pa.) boys basketball head coach Joe Lewandowski.
Desert Pro-Am defeated Castle Rock 21-10 in the men’s gold medal game to finish the tournament with an 8-0 record. Hardge led the way for Desert Pro-Am with 12 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc and 7-of-8 shots overall.
“My teammates believed in me and kept giving me opportunities to shoot, so that’s what I did,” Hardge said of his on-fire performance in the title game.
The four players from Desert Pro-Am became familiar with one another by playing in different leagues and gyms in the Phoenix, Ariz. area before competing in the Desert Pro-Am League in Phoenix to earn an invitation to the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 Training Camp/Tournament.
“I appreciate even having the opportunity to come here, then to go out with my teammates and fulfill that to the fullest, it’s a prestigious opportunity,” said Adesanya of being named to the USA Basketball 3x3 National Team. “We want to go out there (at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship) and represent and show them what we’re made of and come out with a win.”
The women’s team chosen to the USA Basketball 3x3 National Team also went undefeated to win gold this weekend, going 3-0 on Sunday and defeating a team consisting of players from the University of Denver 21-10 in the title game. Diggins and Thomas each scored seven points to lead their team in the championship game.
Diggins, Hartley and Ogwumike all bring prior USA Basketball experience to the women’s USA 3x3 National Team. Diggins and Ogwumike were teammates on the 2011 USA World University Games Team, Hartley and Ogwumike were teammates on the 2010 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team, Hartley played on the 2011 USA FIBA U19 World Championship Team and Diggins played on both the 2009 USA FIBA U19 World Championship Team and the 2008 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team.
The members of the 2012 USA Basketball 3x3 National Team will represent the U.S. at the inaugural FIBA 3x3 World Championship played August 23 – 26 in Athens, Greece. Prior to departing for Athens, the men’s and women’s teams will reconvene at the USOTC for a training camp from August 17 – 20.
About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions.
Since 2008, USA Basketball men’s and women’s teams have compiled a sterling 134-6 win-loss record in FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions. USA teams are the current men’s and women’s champions of the Olympics and FIBA World Championship; FIBA women’s U19 world champions; the men’s and women’s title holders for the FIBA U17 World Championship; and the men’s and women’s U18 and U16 FIBA Americas champions. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA's world ranking categories, including combined, men's, women's, boys and girls.
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