COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As always, USA Basketball tryouts end with surprises, and the U17 and U18 women's version over Memorial Day weekend were no exception.
The most uncertainty surrounds the younger team's tryouts, as any eligible player can come to the open tryouts. Of course, 39 players were invited, and unlike last year, the final 12-girl roster came entirely from the invitee list.
Still, it was a surprise that Kennedy Burke (Sierra Canyon High School) made her way onto the team that will travel to the Czech Republic for the FIBA U17 World Championships June 28-July 6, though the 6-foot-1 wing is one of the top players in the 2015 class. After all, almost every top player in both the 2015 and 2016 classes was in attendance, and picking the 12 best out of that group was no easy task for the five-person selection committee (which did not include coach Sue Phillips of Archbishop Mitty High School).
Others who surpassed expectations – or filled roles the selection committee felt needed to be filled – were Natalie Chou (Plano West High School), Kristine Anigwe (Desert Vista High School), DeJanae Boykin (Flowers High School) and Joyner Holmes (Cedar Hill High School). That trio, plus Burke, are more than 6 feet tall, and combine athleticism with skill. Bigger, stronger posts, such as Kalani Brown (Salmen High School) and Erin DeGrate (LaVega High School) were passed over this time around, especially given the presence of 6-9 Nancy Mulkey (Cypress Woods High School) and 6-4 Lauren Cox (Flower Mound High School). Mulkey, slender and still developing, improved dramatically in the past year, while Cox, though not playing exceptionally well at the tryouts, is tall, strong and athletic.
The backcourt competition was fierce throughout, and emerging from the pack were Anna Wilson (Collegiate School VA) and Te'a Cooper (McEachern High School), and one combo guard – Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte High School) – who started for the U16s last year was kept as the only alternate.
Of course, there were players who were considered pretty much a lock going in, and Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei High School), Asia Durr (St. Pius X High School) and Arike Ogunbowale (Divine Savior Holy Angels High School) didn't disappoint.
The U18 trials were much more focused, as only 28 (as opposed to the 146 for the U17s) were fighting for those 12 spots. This group had both 2014 and 2015 players, and Beatrice Mompremier (Miami High School), Teaira McCowan (Brenham High School), at 6-4 and 6-7 respectively, were somewhat unexpected selections for Dawn Staley's team, which will compete in the FIBA American U18 qualifier Aug. 6-10 in Colorado Springs.
Paris Kea (Page High School/signed with Vanderbilt) played well to take a point guard slot, and Napheesa Collier (Incarnate Word High School) showed off a solid all-around game to surprise some by earning a place on the roster.
Mariya Moore (Salesian High School, CA) and Jessica Shepard (Fremont High School, NE) also pushed their way onto the roster, while it was less of a surprise that Ariel Atkins (Duncanville High), Recee Caldwell (UCLA), Brianna Turner (Manvel High, Notre Dame), Marina Mabrey (Manasquan High School, committed to Notre Dame), Destinee Walker (Lake Highland Prep School) and A'ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall High School/South Carolina) made the final cut.
One unexpected highlight of the trials was when U17 guard Anna Wilson's brother dropped by – and the gym was buzzing when Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson arrived to cheer on his sister. Suffice it to say that many selfies were taken.
