USA Basketball announced the 2013 World University Games Team today, and Amber didn't make the cut.
Seven of the twelve selected are returning USA Basketball gold medallists, including guards Ariel Massengale, Bria Hartley and Odyssey Sims.
I'm sure that the Cardinal will benefit next season from Amber's experience against such tough competition.
Amber didn't make the cut when she tried out for the USA Women's U18 National Team summer three years ago. But, she said, "I think it made me want to become a better player. I wanted to prove to myself that one day I could represent the United States."
Now she has a second chance as she tries out for the World University Games Team, and she came to Colorado Springs prepared.
Click here for USA Basketball's story about Amber at the trials.
In her blog for espnW, Chiney pays tribute to her mother, Ify, for always protecting her and her sister's best interests with basketball, life and everything in between.
WNBA
Will Diggins, Wiggins, Pedersen and Powell put Tulsa on the road to success? Coach Klopp is thinking playoffs.
Has Jeanette recovered from her torn ACL and Katie Douglas from her ankle injury? Will the Fever be back-to-back champions? Coach Dunn is living in the present.
It will be a tough season for San Antonio with six rookies and without star Sophia Young, who tore her ACL in January. Jayne, in her third season with the Silver Stars, will provide valuable experience and leadership. Jayne comments from training camp.
What superlative will Nneka provide for the Los Angeles Sparks in her sophomore season? It's hard to improve on WNBA Rookie of the Year and Polish Player of the Year! Perhaps she'll continue to expand her game beyond the perimeter. She made just one 3-pointer with the Sparks last summer, but made 25 in 42 Polish League and EuroLeague games at a rate of 38%.
The WNBA season begins on May 24th. Click here for the schedule.
USA Basketball
Will Amber shine in the World University Game trials? Will Team USA bring home its eighth consecutive gold medal?
SF Bay Area Pro-Am
Will any Cardinal hoopsters participate in the SF Bay Area Pro-Am League at Kezar this year? It's entirely up to them, and none chose to do so last year. We won't find out until the rosters are posted early in June. Click here for the schedule.
PAC-12
What can we expect in the Pac-12 next season? Read Bob Kinder's preview of each team beginning in August.
2013-14 Schedule
The official complete schedule probably won't be announced until late in the summer, but we already know some things about next season.
The Cardinal will participate in the Puerto Vallarta Hardwood Tournament of Hope, November 26-28. Click here for a report of last year's tournament.
In conference play, the Cardinal will play just one game against Arizona and Arizona State (in Tucson and Tempe) and Washington and Washington State (at Maples).
Our non-conference opponents will include UConn (in Hartford) and Tennessee (at Maples).
National Awards
Will Chiney be on all the national award preseason watch lists?
PREDICTIONS AND PROSPECTS
Charlie Creme (espnW) put the Cardinal at #4 in his first preseason top 25. Will they stay in the favored top five until November?
Foreign Travellers
Look for news from Chiney, who may blog again about her Nigerian adventures. You can keep track of her on her Facebook page.
The team is planning a trip to Italy in September, pending final approval from the NCAA. Fans are welcome to go with them, but must take care of their own travel and lodging arrangements. Look for the itinerary and contact information after the NCAA gives its OK.
Amber is among the 31 players to accept an invitation to participate in the trials for the 2013 USA Basketball World University Games Team, which will be held May 16-19 in Colorado Springs.
The 12-player roster is expected to be announced the morning of May 19.
The 2013 World University Games will take place July 8-15 in Kazan, Russia.
Click here for the USA Basketball announcement.
Chiney reports from Nigeria:
Lions are not roaming through the streets. My ride is not the back of an elephant. I'm not living in a hut.I am in Africa, studying abroad in the country of my mother and father, a country with so much primitive beauty, potential, promise; I am in Nigeria!
Click here for Chiney's espnW blog
This quarter, [Chiney] will be fulfilling the international relations major’s study abroad requirement by serving as an assistant to the senior advisor for the minister of petroleum in her parents’ native Nigeria for seven weeks.... and continuing with details about Chiney's projects and her reasons for undertaking them. Click here for the article.However, [Chiney] said that she most looks forward to the last week of her time in Nigeria when she will be volunteering for Access to Success (A2S), a non-profit foundation based in Benin City that aims to provide underprivileged youth with athletic, educational and spiritual programs.
He puts Stanford at #4 with this evaluation:
The Cardinal will be big favorites for a seventh straight 30-win season and 14th consecutive Pac-12 regular-season title. They lose only Joslyn Tinkle and add a top-10 recruiting class. More importantly, Chiney Ogwumike is back for one last run at a Wade Trophy and a national championship.Click here to read about the other 24.
Stanford Athletics has posted the final game notes of the 2012-13 season, which summarize the many accomplishments from which the Cardinal draw pride.
The text is interspersed with several videos, including "2013 Banquet Video" (the season overview that was shown at the Spring Banquet)
Click here for the article.
Mechelle Voepel (espnW)thinks that Stanford is one of the top five contenders for 2013-14 because,
"Speaking of player-of-the-year candidates, the Cardinal will have one in senior Chiney Ogwumike. She'll join Thomas, UConn's Breanna Stewart and Baylor's Odyssey Sims as strong contenders for that honor. If Stanford has guard Toni Kokenis back healthy and Amber Orrange continues her improvement, the Cardinal could make a run at a 12th Final Four."
Click here to read about the other four.
