June 14 & 15, 2007 • Colorado Springs, Colorado

Yukking it Up Competitors on the court during the season, the ACC representatives on the 2007 USA U21 team from Duke & Maryland are all laughs during the summer. (Photo: Steven Maikoski)

Ok, we've taken the liberty of lumping days together. Call it Groundhog Day if you will – we have a lot of those on the road with USA Basketball – but there was no sense in rehashing a two-a-day type of day. Wake up, eat breakfast, get taped, go to practice, work your butt off, finish, eat lunch, return to the hotel, shower, nap, wake up, get taped ... you get the picture.

Anyhoo ... Thursday was pretty much the same as Tuesday and Wednesday. So we pretty much skipped that day and went to Friday. Yes, Friday was another ‘two-a-day,' however, there was something a little different in the air at practice Friday morning. With the final cut taking place that morning, you could see the relief on the faces of the 12-member team as they took to the court at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. It was definitely palpable. Yes, they were sad to see two who were considered to be teammates go, but they were also happy and relieved to know they had made the team.

Joanne P. McCallie put more plays in during practice and around noon she called them all together for a huddle. This is the time normally reserved for those mundane announcements:

"Make sure your laundry is in by 1:00 p.m."

or ...

"I need to see Kia, Abby, Pack and Harp for interviews."

or ...

"If any of you need ice, make sure you come to the training room before you head to lunch."

But this day was a little different.

Coach P called everyone together and passed out a homework assignment. (Homework!? Homework!?!? What!?!?!?!?!? It's summertime!!!!) She split the team into pairs (they did it by picking names) and then passed out the assignments. Instead of giving everyone a few pages of information on the South of France or Moscow, coach P decided the athletes should research various items and give a presentation on the area:

         What kind of food is typical of the region?
         What cultural differences are there?
         What is there to do in the area, culture-wise?

You get the idea. The players were pretty excited and being the competitors that they are, they ALL wanted to give the best presentation to the group and win first prize – whatever that might be.

"Can we cook food?" asked Jolene Anderson.

"Can I do a Power Point presentation?" queried Courtney Paris.

She received a bunch of blank stares as if to say, "is she for real?" To which she replied, "for real. Can I?"

Yes, Virginina, these really are competitors on and off the court!

We talked with some of the team members after practice to find out what they thought of the last two days and how they're going to win the challenge. Read on!

Laura Harper, University of Maryland
It looks like the team is progressing through the week, each practice you all look better and better. What do you think?
I think the second part of the trials is good for everyone. It's been definitely taking a toll on our bodies and it's being nice to be able push through, see who can play, get used to everyone. We've been playing under pressure in front of the coaches and committee, but it's been great.

How tough was it, knowing that there was one more cut to be made?
For me, personally, I knew I really was not happy with my play back in Colorado during the first time (May 17-20 USA National Team Trials) and I was like, ‘all I need is a second chance.' This time there was another cut, but I needed to just play and be confident. I think everyone did. It stinks having to see two people go home. But I felt good, I had fun and that's all I really care about when I play basketball.

Did you guys get a chance to say goodbye to Charel Allen or Amy Jaeschke?
Charel was my roommate so I came in, she was on the phone, then I said goodbye. Then I had to go eat breakfast, talk to my mom and stuff. My mom is really excited about it.

Can you talk about your ‘homework assignment?'
We're kind of doing a geography slash culture slash history on the two countries we're going to. (We're doing it) just so we're not ignorant about where we're going, we'll have some background information on it. We have partners and we'll be presenting the different aspects of their culture. I'm working with Abby (Waner) and we're doing geography and sights to see in Russia. It should be interesting!

Marscilla Packer, Ohio State University
You were sick at the beginning of the week and even missed a couple of practices. Can you tell me about your progression through the week?
It was rough. I wasn't feeling to well over a couple of days, but I got some rest while I was here and I was able to come out and play one good day of practice. It got better, definitely.

How nervous were you about being sick, missing some sessions and trying to make the team?
Really nervous. It was nerve-wracking The whole morning we were all being called in by Carol (Callan, assistant executive director for women's programs at USA Basketball) one-by-one to find out who made the team. But the committee knows what they're doing and I'm just thankful that they gave me this opportunity.

How do you think the team has progressed through the week?
It's definitely getting better and they've been really helpful to me when I was out, as far as plays and stuff. I think most of us have been on a team with USA Basketball before, there are a lot of veterans, now we're excited and we're having fun out here so far.

You're heading to France tomorrow and will play three games against France. How important is it to get some international competition under your belt prior to the U21 Worlds?
Really important. I know we're all excited about the challenge and the opportunity. A lot of us played last year and we're looking forward to the challenge to really prove what we can do.

Can you talk about your ‘homework assignment?'
My partner is Jolene Anderson and we got history, food and pop culture for France. We have to give presentations and whoever is the most creative wins the prize, but we don't even know what the prize is yet.

Do you know anything about France?
No. I know a little French. But that's it.

Kia Vaughn, Rutgers University
It looks like the team is progressing through the week, each practice you all look better and better. What do you think?
Starting off from day one, the competition was very, very strong. It was difficult because everyone was like, ‘who's going to make it?' I think everybody here worked very hard and deserved to be here. Now, with the 12 of us, we're ready to go out and do some damage.

Were you a little bit nervous about the cuts?
Yeah, last night against the guys I was really struggling with my shots. I was like, ‘oh my Lord, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?' Then I thought, defense, I will stick to defense because that's what I know best and hopefully that's what they'll look at.

You're heading to France tomorrow and will play three games against France. How important is it to get some international competition under your belt prior to the U21 Worlds?
Very important. Even if we don't get competition against other teams, we have to get it against ourselves. We have to push each other every day in practice and fight each other.

How difficult was it this morning to say goodbye to Charel Allen and Amy Jaeschke?
It was sad. It was like in American Idol when you have to say goodbye to each other, or America's Next Top Model. We all bonded, when it came down to the 14 of us, we really bonded and became a team. I actually spoke to Amy and I told her to keep her head up, kick the under 19's behinds. She'll be fine, she's a great player. She's going to progress, she just needs some college experience under her belt.

Can you talk about your ‘homework assignment?'
Myself and DeWanna Bonner have to do pop culture and history on Russia. That should be interesting. We're going to get some music, I'm going to dance. Hopefully we'll win the prize!

Abby Waner, Duke University
It looks like the team is progressing through the week, each practice you all look better and better. What do you think?
Yeah, our first practice was what you'd probably expect. But with this group, everybody plays hard at least, that's really evident. We've come a long way, learning the plays, running through things, getting a lot of muscle memory and today coach P really talked about elite teams and how they adapt to each other. They know about each other's strengths and weaknesses and even though we've only been here for three or four days, you can tell that we're already learning about where everybody wants the ball and how to get the most out of each other.

There were 14 of you here and you were all bonding, but then you had to see two go home. How tough was that?
It was hard. It was probably harder because there were only two. In years past there were a couple more, but when there's only one or two I think that makes it even harder. Everybody here from the very beginning deserved to be here. I think it came down to what the committee thought the team needed. We still wish those two the best of luck. I think Amy still has another opportunity to play USA Basketball this summer, so that's good.

You're heading to France tomorrow and will play three games against France. How important is it to get some international competition under your belt prior to the U21 Worlds?
I think it will be great. I know from my past experience, we went over to Hungary (before the 2005 U19 World Championship) and we really killed Hungary in one exhibition game and we actually lost in the second. We took so much from that one loss before we went to Tunisia for the Worlds and we really tore it up over in Africa. You really can learn a lot from those exhibition games. By no means are we going into them not being as competitive as we're going to be in the Worlds. We're going to be as competitive and want to win as we'll be in Moscow.

Can you talk about your ‘homework assignment?'
We got geography and sights to see in Russia. What we're going to do is going to be a big surprise because we're absolutely going to tear apart all the other groups and win the prize.

So this is a big competition?
Oh yes (laughs)! It is a competition. I think that any sort of competition with this group of girls is going to be intense.