USA - Auriemma back at work with USA Basketball team
It would have been easy to confuse the first day of the U.S. national team training camp with a UConn practice. There was U.S. coach Geno Auriemma cracking jokes from the sidelines of Gampel Pavilion with his UConn assistants helping to run drills. Even half the players in attendance went to Connecticut. "I'm in a familiar surrounding here," Auriemma said. "A lot of our managers and practice players are here, so for me it's almost like being back during the season. That's what makes it so relaxing."
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It would have been easy to confuse the first day of the U.S. national team training camp with a UConn practice.
There was U.S. coach Geno Auriemma cracking jokes from the sidelines of Gampel Pavilion with his UConn assistants helping to run drills. Even half the players in attendance went to Connecticut.
"I'm in a familiar surrounding here," Auriemma said. "A lot of our managers and practice players are here, so for me it's almost like being back during the season. That's what makes it so relaxing."
The U.S. women's basketball team was holding a weeklong training camp in Storrs to start preparing for the upcoming World Championships this September.
"There's no pressure to get ready for a game Wednesday," Auriemma said. "Let's work on our skills. Get a little bit better, get comfortable with what we're doing. There's no stress on anybody."
It's a very different situation than what Auriemma, Maya Moore and Tina Charles went through last week, becoming the first women's team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons. Despite having a busy schedule since returning from San Antonio with the school's seventh NCAA title, Moore was happy to be part of the national team pool.
"Usually I take a few weeks off after the season ends, but I'm ready to go," Moore said. "I had a mini vacation after we got back Wednesday. I'll have more time off when camp ends this weekend."
Charles has had an even busier time than Moore this week. The 6-foot-4 center was the top choice in the WNBA draft on Thursday by the Connecticut Sun and has been doing a media tour since Thursday.
The two were joined by former teammate Renee Montgomery and 2002 UConn grad Swin Cash.
"There definitely is a comfort zone," Montgomery said. "It's 100 percent the same stuff we did. Coach will run that whoever he is working with."
Also in camp were 2008 Olympians Seimone Augustus and Kara Lawson, who were both working their way back from offseason injuries. Angel McCoughtry earned a spot in the pool after a strong Fall camp. The WNBA rookie of the year averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as the U.S. team took the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg Invitational last October.
Nine players were originally available to participate in the weeklong camp, but Stanford's Jayne Appel -- who is trying to earn a spot in the national team pool -- was sidelined with a sprained ankle and stress fracture on an outer bone of her right foot.
She was also at the camp in Washington D.C. last Fall but couldn't play then, either, as she was recovering from a knee injury.
Mystics guard Alana Beard also was supposed to play this week, but she didn't come to camp while she also works her way back from a foot injury. Beard was replaced by Candice Dupree.
The national team players will scrimmage against a group of college players toward the end of the week. That team will be coached by Debbie Ryan and Dawn Staley.
Auriemma will finally get to work with most of the national team pool in the middle of July at the WNBA All-Star weekend. He will coach a USA squad against the league's All-Stars at Mohegan Sun on July 10.
The Americans will try and rebound from their bronze medal performance in the 2006 world championships. However, they did win their fourth straight Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008.