USA Women’s Team Information
Q. What is the USA Basketball Women’s National Team?
A. The Women’s National Team is a revolutionary undertaking for USA Basketball and United States women’s basketball as a whole. The National Team is a special one-time program designed
specifically to develop the USA’s talent pool prior to the selection of the 1996 USA Olympic Team and to enhance it chances of capturing the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. A secondary goal of
the program is to increase the USA’s popularity and interest in women’s basketball.
Q. Why is USA Basketball creating the National Team program?
A. After evaluating all the aspects of its women’s program — elite players, a great development system and excellent coaches — USA Basketball detemmined that the best way to prepare a team to win the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta was to foster team play over an extended training period at home in the United States. The National Team will allow the USA’s best women’s basketball players to compete together for and in their own country instead of playing professionally for different teams throughout the world.
Q. Is the National Team the Olympic Team?
A. The goal of the National Team is to develop the USA’s elite players during the year preceding the designation of the Olympic Team and for that reason it is USA Basketball’s intention that the members of the 1995-96 National Team will become the core of the
Olympic Team. However, the National Team and Olympic Teams are two separate squads and the ’96 Olympic Team will not be officially designated until the summer of 1996.
Q. When will the National Team be selected?
A. The National Team was selected from the May 18-25, 1995 Trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado by the Women’s Player Selection Committee. Trials began on May 18 with an evening session and continued through May 24 with daily morning practices and evening scrimmages and culminated with the naming of the National Team on May 25.
Q. Who will coach the National Team?
A. Seventeen-year coaching veteran Tara VanDerveer, one of the United States’ finest coaching talents, was named the 1995-96 USA Women’s National Team and 1996 USA Olympic Team head coach by USA Basketball on April 13, 1995. A seasoned international coach, VanDerveer has served as head coach of six previous USA Basketball teams, including the gold medal winning 1994 Goodwill Games Team and bronze medal winning 1994 World Championship Team. VanDerveer comes to USA Basketball from Stanford University (CA) where in 10 seasons her teams captured two NCAA championships, made four Final Four appearances, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and earned six Pacific-10 Conference titles. Renee Brown of the University of Kansas and Nell Fortner of Louisiana Tech will serve as National Team assistant coaches.
Q. What is the National Team’s schedule and training plans?
A. The National Team will be based at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado beginning in September of 1995 as part of the USOC Resident Athlete Program, which includes over 100 athletes from a dozen sports. The team’s competition schedule consists of an extensive series of exhibition games during 1995-96 against prominent NCAA Division I women’s teams and conference all-star teams, as well as international tours to Europe, Australia and Asia in the winter and spring of 1996.
Q. Will the National Team members be paid while paying for USA Basketball?
A. The National Team members will be equally compensated while under contract with USA Basketball beginning with team training in September until the designation of the 1996 USA Olympic Team. The coaching staff will also be employees of USA Basketball while working with the National Team. USA Basketball will not pay coaches or players to be members of the 1996 USA Olympic squad.
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