USA Basketball Updates – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
USA U19 Men
The 2007 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team, despite being considered underdogs, traveled to Novi Sad, Serbia, in hopes of ending the USA’s gold medal drought at the U19 Worlds. While the squad, which included Ohio State’s David Lighty, didn’t achieve its goal, the American men played like a team should – proud, together and in sync – and came away with the silver medal and an 8-1 mark.
Women’s Basketball
Marscilla Packer, a senior guard, and Jantel Lavender, a freshman forward, of the Ohio State women’s basketball team each helped their respective USA Basketball programs win gold medals at the FIBA World Championships this summer. Packer was the team leader in steals (12) for the undefeated (8-0) USA U21 team that won the tournament in Moscow. Lavender was the second-leading scorer (16.0 ppg) and rebounder (8.1 rpg) for the 9-0 USA U19 team that claimed gold in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Congrats to the Latest USA Gold Medal Winners!
Sunday night the 2007 USA U19 Women’s National Team captured the FIBA U19 World Championship gold medal with an unblemished 9-0 slate in Bratislava, Slovakia. Led by future UConn Husky Maya Moore’s 16.3 ppg. and 6.4 rpg., and Ohio State incoming freshman Jantel Lavender’s 16.0 ppg. and 8.1 rpg., the young Americans dominated their opponents by 34.6 ppg. (90.0 ppg. to 55.4 ppg.) en route to the title. The 2007 edition, which was coached by DePaul’s Doug Bruno, upped the USA’s mark at the U19 Worlds to 41-10 and captured a record third gold for the U.S. at the event, including three of the past four U19 World Championships.
USA U21 Women
Coached by Duke’s Joanne P. McCallie, the USA U21 Women’s World Championship Team captured the gold medal in Moscow Region with an unblemished 8-0 slate. Not only that, but the squad closed out its four-year age-group competitions with four gold medals and an undefeated mark of 26-0 in official FIBA and FIBA Americas tournaments. Ohio State’s Packer played in each of the last two gold-medal efforts for the U20 and U21 teams.
USA Basketball’s Summer Heats Up With a Pair of Olympic Qualifiers in August, September
USA Basketball in August and September will look to qualify both its men and women for the 2008 Olympics. First up is the men and FIBA Americas Championship 2007 in Las Vegas Aug. 22 – Sept. 2 and then the women take to the court in Valdivia, Chile, Sept. 26-30 to try and punch their ticket to Beijing. Here’s a closer look at the process for each.
The USA Women’s Senior National Team have a 22 member roster that’s well-stocked with talent, including the likes of Olympic gold medalist and former Buckeye Katie Smith and recent three-time Big Ten Player of the Year Jessica Davenport. They are seasoned international veterans who are hungry to win the gold in Chile. But first, they’ll take on the Australia National Team in a pair of games in Trenton (Sept. 16) and at the Mohegan Sun (Sept. 19). Want more on the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team? Read about it here!
Get your tickets to the USA-Australia contests at usabasketball.com
