COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close and the USA Basketball Women's U19 National Team concluded training camp on Wednesday afternoon at the United States Olympic Training Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Close, who will serve as an assistant for the U19 World Cup Team, said a culture built on gold-medal habits sets the tone for USA Basketball.
"It's a really unique environment," said Close. "The standard is gold medal or bust, but the focus is gold-medal habits. If you focus on gold-medal habits, then the rest of it takes care of itself. That's not just on the hardwood, but it's also how we represent our country, how we treat one another, how we practice, how we carry ourselves, how we dress. It's such an honor to be a part of it."
The camp, which took place July 5-10 at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, consisted of morning practices and full-court scrimmages against male practice players. Close will serve alongside head coach Jeff Walz (Louisville) and assistant coach Natasha Adair (Delaware). The 13th FIBA U19 World Cup take place July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand, where the USA will look to capture its eighth gold medal.
Following its Colorado Springs training, the U.S. team will travel to Tokyo, Japan, where it will practice and scrimmage against the Japan U19 National Team July 13-15. Team USA has an additional three days of training and a pair of scrimmages in Bangkok against Argentina and Germany, July 17-19, before the FIBA U19 World Cup tips off July 20.
Close, who has never been to either Tokyo or Bangkok, said that while she is excited to compete, she looks forward to enjoying the new cultures as well.
"I want to soak it all in. I want to be able to experience new cultures and new environments, and at the same time, coach at the highest level and compete at the highest level."
No. 1 in FIBA's world youth women's rankings, the USA will play in preliminary round Group C and will open the competition July 20 against No. 7 Australia (1:15 a.m. EDT), followed by a July 21 contest against No. 15 South Korea (1 a.m. EDT). After a rest day, the USA will cap preliminary games July 23 against No. 14 Hungary (1 a.m. EDT).
Group A includes Canada, Latvia, Mozambique and Thailand; Group B features Argentina, Belgium, China and Mali; and drawn into Group D were Colombia, Germany, Japan and Spain.
Following the preliminary round, all teams will advance to the July 24 round of 16. The winners of the round of 16 will advance to the July 26 medal quarterfinals, and the losers will play out for ninth-16th places. The semifinals will be played on July 27, and the gold and bronze medal games on July 28.
FIBA U19 World Cup for Women
Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years starting in 1985. FIBA changed its calendar in 2005 and now conducts the U19 World Cup every other year.
USA women's teams are 79-13 in U19/Junior World Cups, capturing a sixth-consecutive gold in 2015 with a 7-0 record. In 2017, USA Basketball fell four points short against Russia in the gold medal game in an attempt to capture a seventh-straight gold medal.
Notable players to represent the U.S. include: Angela Aycock (1993), Alana Beard (2001), Essence Carson (2005), Tamika Catchings (1997), Crystal Dangerfield (2015, 2017), Ruthy Hebard (2017), Crystal Langhorne (2005), Erlana Larkins (2005), Jantel Lavender (2007), Lisa Leslie (1989), Rebecca Lobo (1993), Maya Moore (2007), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2009), Vickie Orr (1985), Courtney Paris (2005), Cappie Pondexter (2001), Katie Smith (1993), Dawn Staley (1989), Azura Stevens (2015), Breanna Stewart (2011 and MVP of the 2013 U19 World Cup), Diana Taurasi (2001), Morgan Tuck (2011 and 2013) and A'ja Wilson (2013 and MVP of the 2015 U19 World Cup).
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 at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball and USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3, @USABJNT), Instagram (@USABasketball) and YouTube (therealusabasketball).
Close, who will serve as an assistant for the U19 World Cup Team, said a culture built on gold-medal habits sets the tone for USA Basketball.
"It's a really unique environment," said Close. "The standard is gold medal or bust, but the focus is gold-medal habits. If you focus on gold-medal habits, then the rest of it takes care of itself. That's not just on the hardwood, but it's also how we represent our country, how we treat one another, how we practice, how we carry ourselves, how we dress. It's such an honor to be a part of it."
The camp, which took place July 5-10 at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, consisted of morning practices and full-court scrimmages against male practice players. Close will serve alongside head coach Jeff Walz (Louisville) and assistant coach Natasha Adair (Delaware). The 13th FIBA U19 World Cup take place July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand, where the USA will look to capture its eighth gold medal.
Following its Colorado Springs training, the U.S. team will travel to Tokyo, Japan, where it will practice and scrimmage against the Japan U19 National Team July 13-15. Team USA has an additional three days of training and a pair of scrimmages in Bangkok against Argentina and Germany, July 17-19, before the FIBA U19 World Cup tips off July 20.
Close, who has never been to either Tokyo or Bangkok, said that while she is excited to compete, she looks forward to enjoying the new cultures as well.
"I want to soak it all in. I want to be able to experience new cultures and new environments, and at the same time, coach at the highest level and compete at the highest level."
No. 1 in FIBA's world youth women's rankings, the USA will play in preliminary round Group C and will open the competition July 20 against No. 7 Australia (1:15 a.m. EDT), followed by a July 21 contest against No. 15 South Korea (1 a.m. EDT). After a rest day, the USA will cap preliminary games July 23 against No. 14 Hungary (1 a.m. EDT).
Group A includes Canada, Latvia, Mozambique and Thailand; Group B features Argentina, Belgium, China and Mali; and drawn into Group D were Colombia, Germany, Japan and Spain.
Following the preliminary round, all teams will advance to the July 24 round of 16. The winners of the round of 16 will advance to the July 26 medal quarterfinals, and the losers will play out for ninth-16th places. The semifinals will be played on July 27, and the gold and bronze medal games on July 28.
FIBA U19 World Cup for Women
Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years starting in 1985. FIBA changed its calendar in 2005 and now conducts the U19 World Cup every other year.
USA women's teams are 79-13 in U19/Junior World Cups, capturing a sixth-consecutive gold in 2015 with a 7-0 record. In 2017, USA Basketball fell four points short against Russia in the gold medal game in an attempt to capture a seventh-straight gold medal.
Notable players to represent the U.S. include: Angela Aycock (1993), Alana Beard (2001), Essence Carson (2005), Tamika Catchings (1997), Crystal Dangerfield (2015, 2017), Ruthy Hebard (2017), Crystal Langhorne (2005), Erlana Larkins (2005), Jantel Lavender (2007), Lisa Leslie (1989), Rebecca Lobo (1993), Maya Moore (2007), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2009), Vickie Orr (1985), Courtney Paris (2005), Cappie Pondexter (2001), Katie Smith (1993), Dawn Staley (1989), Azura Stevens (2015), Breanna Stewart (2011 and MVP of the 2013 U19 World Cup), Diana Taurasi (2001), Morgan Tuck (2011 and 2013) and A'ja Wilson (2013 and MVP of the 2015 U19 World Cup).
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 at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball and USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3, @USABJNT), Instagram (@USABasketball) and YouTube (therealusabasketball).