COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Feb. 7, 2020) – USA Basketball today released rosters for the training camps from which the 2020 USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Teams will be determined, and 11 women will take part Feb. 12-13, while 16 men will train Feb. 13-14 at the Pullman Community Center in Chicago, Illinois.
From that pool of athletes, the USA Basketball 3×3 player selection committees will name four men and four women to represent USA Basketball at the 2020 FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament March 18-22 in Bengaluru, India. The top three finishing men’s and women’s 3×3 teams will earn berths into the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games 3×3 basketball competition. As per FIBA regulations, all teams taking part in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament must include at least two athletes who are ranked among the federation’s top 10 FIBA 3×3 athletes.
“This is an extremely exciting time for USA Basketball as we prepare for the first-ever 3×3 Olympic Qualification Tournament. This training camp is the next step towards earning a berth into the Olympic Games, so it is incredibly important,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “Many of our country’s top available 3×3 players will be participating, and USA Basketball will be looking to select the best USA 3×3 teams possible for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. We know it will be a very competitive training camp, and the selection committee will have a difficult challenge to narrow down the rosters.”
Taking part in the women’s training camp will be: Cierra Burdick (University of Tennessee ‘2015/Charlotte, N.C.); Layshia Clarendon (Connecticut Sun/San Bernadino, Calif.); Natasha Cloud (Washington Mystics/Broomall, Pa.); Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx/O’Fallon, Mo.); Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky/Port Jervis, N.Y.); Kelly Faris (University of Connecticut ‘2013/Plainfield, Ind.); Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings/Sandersville, Ga.); Linnae Harper (Chicago Sky/Chicago, Ill.); Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces/Poway, Calif.); Katie Lou Samuelson (Chicago Sky/Huntington Beach, Calif.); Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces/Princeton, Ind.).
The USA women earned their spot in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament by virtue of their status on the FIBA 3×3 world rankings.
Participating in the men’s training camp will be: Canyon Barry (Iowa Wolves/Colorado Springs, Colo.); Kidani Brutus (Manhattan College ‘2012/Bronx, N.Y.); Pawel Buczak (Princeton University ‘2010/Moorestown, N.J.); Zahir Carrington (Lehigh University ‘2010/Philadelphia, Pa.); Marcel Esonwune (York College ‘2011/Queens, N.Y.); Damon Huffman (Brown University ‘2008/Petoskey, Mich.); Robbie Hummel (Purdue University ‘2012/Valparaiso, Ind.); Domonique Jones (Fort Hays State University ‘2011/Harlem, N.Y.); Joey King (University of Minnesota ‘2016/Eagan, Minn.); Kareem Maddox (Princeton University ‘2011/Los Angeles, Calif.); Dan Mavraides (Princeton University ‘2011/Los Angeles, Calif.); Craig Moore (Northwestern University ‘2009/Doylestown, Pa.); Antoinne Morgano (New Jersey City University ‘2005/Newark, N.J.); Michael Poole Jr. (Rutgers University ‘2014/New York, N.Y.);
Dave Seagers (Dowling College ‘2010/Bronx, N.Y.); and Dylan Travis (Florida Southern College ‘2016/Omaha, Neb.).
The USA men earned their spot in the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament by winning the 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup. That team, which captured the USA men’s first FIBA 3×3 World Cup gold medal, featured tournament MVP Hummel, alongside Barry, Huffman and Maddox.
On the women’s side, Clarendon, Collier, Dolson, Gray, Plum and Samuelson are members of the 2020 USA Basketball Women’s National Team; and overall, eight athletes have won gold medals with USA Basketball. Clarendon and the Connecticut Sun faced off against WNBA champion Cloud and the Washington Mystics in the 2019 WNBA Finals.
Notable to 3×3, Burdick won gold at the 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, Collier and Samuelson won gold at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, which is a 3×3 competition; Samuelson added 2013 FIBA 3×3 U18 and FIBA Americas 3×3 U18 golds; and Harper won bronze at the 2016 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
On the men’s side, in addition to the 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup gold medalists, Jones and Maddox earned gold at the 2019 Pan American Games 3×3 basketball competition.
Carrington, Huffman, Mavraides and Moore suited up for USA Basketball at the 2017 FIBA 3×3 World Cup; while Moore also represented the USA in the 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
Only Hummel, who was named the 2019 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, has previous USA Basketball five-on-five experience, winning bronze at the 2009 World University Games.
Alongside Hummel, Huffman, Maddox and Mavraides, won the 2019 Red Bull USA Basketball 3X Nationals, where Hummel also was named MVP. Buzcak, Carrington and Moore finished second at that tournament.
The 2020 Olympics for the first time will feature the inclusion of 3×3 basketball with eight men’s and eight women’s teams competing for gold July 25-29 in Tokyo.
FIBA’s top three ranked men’s 3×3 nations – Serbia, Russia and China – qualified for the 2020 Olympics, as did the host nation Japan. On the women’s side, Russia, China, Mongolia and Romania earned Olympic bids by virtue of their top FIBA 3×3 world rankings.
Twenty men’s and 20 women’s teams will compete for three Olympic qualifying berths in the March 18-22 FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. The USA men will play in Group B, along with Lithuania, Belgium, South Korea and New Zealand. Playing in Group A will be Mongolia, Poland, Brazil, Turkey and Czech Republic. Group C will include Slovenia, France, Qatar, Philippines and Dominican Republic. And, finally, Group D features the Netherlands, Latvia, Canada, Croatia and host India.
The USA women at the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament will play in Group A with France, Germany, Uruguay and Indonesia. Group B includes Iran, Japan, Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Australia. Group C features Netherlands, Estonia, Belarus, Hungary and Sri Lanka. And, in Group D will be Italy, Taipei, Switzerland, Spain and host India.
The eighth and final Olympic 3×3 qualifying spots will be awarded based on FIBA’s universality clause, which is designed to offer an Olympic 3×3 berth to one country in the men’s tournament and the women’s tournament who did not have a team at the 2012 or 2016 Olympic basketball tournaments. The FIBA Universality Qualifying Tournaments, which will be held in April 2020 in Budapest Hungary, will include six men’s and six women’s teams. The top men’s and women’s finishers will advance to the Olympics.
An exciting and fast-paced game, 3×3 officially was unveiled in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and since has become a fan favorite at FIBA 3×3 World Cup events. Played on a half court with a 10-minute clock, and a 12-second shot clock, the first team to 21 points, or the team in the lead at the end of regulation, is the winner.