Walz, USA Women Open Training Camp in Preparation of FIBA Americas
July 20, 2018 | Women's Basketball
The 2018 FIBA Americas Championship will be played Aug. 1-7 in Mexico City.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In preparation of the 2018 FIBA Americas Championship, University of Louisville women's basketball head coach Jeff Walz and the 2018 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team open training camp today at the United States Olympic Training Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.
A summer after leading the U23 team to a perfect 3-0 record at the U24 Four Nations Tournament in Tokyo, Walz is serving as head coach of the U18 team. He previously helped USA Basketball to gold medals as an assistant coach for the 2014 USA Women's U18 and 2015 USA U19 national teams.
The United States will compete in Group A, along with Argentina, Chile and Puerto Rico in the FIBA Americas Championship. The championship will be played Aug. 1-7 in Mexico City. Group B includes Canada, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico.
After the conclusion of preliminary round play, which will be played Aug. 1-3, teams will be seeded for the Aug. 5 quarterfinals. The semifinals will be played on Aug. 6 and the finals on Aug. 7.
While the USA U18 women will be in the hunt for a remarkable ninth-straight gold medal, also on the line will be a qualifying berth into next summer's FIBA U19 World Cup 2019, which will be awarded to the top four finishing teams.
USA women's teams boast a remarkable 53-2 overall record in U18/Junior qualifiers and have won gold in 1988, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016; while capturing silver medals in 1992 and 1996.
The 2018 USA Women's U18 National Team includes: Aijha Blackwell (Whitfield School/Berkeley, Mo.); Jenna Brown (The Lovett School/Smyrna, Ga.); Desiree Caldwell (Byron P. Steele II H.S./Cibolo, Texas); Maori Davenport (Charles Henderson H.S./Troy, Ala.); Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker (Gilmour Academy/Cleveland, Ohio); Rhyne Howard (Bradley Central H.S./Cleveland, Tenn.); Ashley Joens (Iowa City H.S./Iowa City, Iowa); Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Winder-Barrow H.S./Winder, Ga.); Anaya Peoples(Schlarman H.S./Danville, Ill.); Sedona Prince (Liberty Hill H.S./Liberty Hill, Texas); NaLyssa Smith (East Central H.S./Converse, Texas); and Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian School/Little Rock, Ark.).
The USA's assistant coaches are Natasha Adair, head coach at the University of Delaware, and Cori Close, head coach at UCLA.
In 2017-18, Walz was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to a 36-3 record, the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles and the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
Overall at Louisville, he has led the program to 10 NCAA Tournaments, eight NCAA Sweet 16s, four Elite Eights, three Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game. Ten times he has led Louisville to at least 20 wins in a season, and three times his squad has tallied at least 30 victories.
He is the winningest coach in program history with a 299-96 (.757) record.
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About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and chaired by retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. 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 national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five and 3x3 international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball.
Connect with USA Basketball USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth, Twitter (@usabasketball @USABYouth, @USAB3x3, Instagram (@USABasketball; @USABYouth) and YouTube (therealusabasketball).
A summer after leading the U23 team to a perfect 3-0 record at the U24 Four Nations Tournament in Tokyo, Walz is serving as head coach of the U18 team. He previously helped USA Basketball to gold medals as an assistant coach for the 2014 USA Women's U18 and 2015 USA U19 national teams.
The United States will compete in Group A, along with Argentina, Chile and Puerto Rico in the FIBA Americas Championship. The championship will be played Aug. 1-7 in Mexico City. Group B includes Canada, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico.
After the conclusion of preliminary round play, which will be played Aug. 1-3, teams will be seeded for the Aug. 5 quarterfinals. The semifinals will be played on Aug. 6 and the finals on Aug. 7.
While the USA U18 women will be in the hunt for a remarkable ninth-straight gold medal, also on the line will be a qualifying berth into next summer's FIBA U19 World Cup 2019, which will be awarded to the top four finishing teams.
USA women's teams boast a remarkable 53-2 overall record in U18/Junior qualifiers and have won gold in 1988, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016; while capturing silver medals in 1992 and 1996.
The 2018 USA Women's U18 National Team includes: Aijha Blackwell (Whitfield School/Berkeley, Mo.); Jenna Brown (The Lovett School/Smyrna, Ga.); Desiree Caldwell (Byron P. Steele II H.S./Cibolo, Texas); Maori Davenport (Charles Henderson H.S./Troy, Ala.); Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker (Gilmour Academy/Cleveland, Ohio); Rhyne Howard (Bradley Central H.S./Cleveland, Tenn.); Ashley Joens (Iowa City H.S./Iowa City, Iowa); Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Winder-Barrow H.S./Winder, Ga.); Anaya Peoples(Schlarman H.S./Danville, Ill.); Sedona Prince (Liberty Hill H.S./Liberty Hill, Texas); NaLyssa Smith (East Central H.S./Converse, Texas); and Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian School/Little Rock, Ark.).
The USA's assistant coaches are Natasha Adair, head coach at the University of Delaware, and Cori Close, head coach at UCLA.
In 2017-18, Walz was named ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to a 36-3 record, the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles and the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
Overall at Louisville, he has led the program to 10 NCAA Tournaments, eight NCAA Sweet 16s, four Elite Eights, three Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game. Ten times he has led Louisville to at least 20 wins in a season, and three times his squad has tallied at least 30 victories.
He is the winningest coach in program history with a 299-96 (.757) record.
Â
About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and chaired by retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. 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 national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five and 3x3 international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball.
Connect with USA Basketball USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball, USABYouth, Twitter (@usabasketball @USABYouth, @USAB3x3, Instagram (@USABasketball; @USABYouth) and YouTube (therealusabasketball).
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