A’ja Wilson returns to USA Basketball camp in Phoenix during Final Four week
PHOENIX (AP) — Two-time Olympic gold medalist A’ja Wilson will take part in a USA Basketball training camp in Phoenix during the women’s Final Four.
This is the first time that Wilson will take part in a training camp since helping the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
She’ll be joined by Olympic teammate Sabrina Ionescu.
There will also be a handful of players who just competed for the U.S. this month at the FIBA World Cup qualifier in San Juan, Puerto Rico — Monique Billings, Rae Burrell and Paige Bueckers. The U.S. went undefeated in that tournament and will next compete at the World Cup this September in Berlin.
Caitlin Clark, who made her national team debut in that World Cup qualifier event, was not in the camp.
Other WNBA players participating in the camp include Cameron Brink, Veronica Vurton, Stefanie Dolson, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes and Kayla Thornton. Dolson won a gold medal in 3-on-3 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Thornton will be making her USA debut.
Two-time Olympian Napheesa Collier will be at the camp, but unable to participate because she’s recovering from an injury she suffered at the end of the last WNBA season.
The WNBA group will be joined by a pair of college players with Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes and Southern California’s JuJu Watkins. Watkins, who has been recovering from an ACL injury she suffered in last year’s March Madness, was at the USA camp at Duke in December.
USA coach Kara Lawson will lead the camp and be assisted on court by Nate Tibbetts, Natalie Nakase and Stephanie White. The trio were all part of the World Cup qualifying tournament. Shea Ralph and Niele Ivey will also serve as court coaches.
There will be a lot of rooting interest by the players for the Final Four with Wilson’s Gamecocks playing UConn. There are a bunch of Huskies alums with Bueckers, Dolson, Collier and Stevens. Billings starred at UCLA.
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