Angel McCoughtry Named to USA National Team Pool
McCoughtry is one of 12 former Olympic gold medalists named to the pool for the USA National Team roster, having starred for the 2012 U.S. team that won gold in London, England. McCoughtry was the team�s second-leading scorer (10.9 points per game) and added 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.1 assists per contest. Her 20 steals were six more than any other player at the Olympics.
McCoughtry also helped lead the USA National Team to a gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championships as well as the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational and the 2007 Pan American Games.
The USA Basketball Women�s National Team over the next three years will compete in the 2014 FIBA World Championship (Sept. 27 - Oct. 5 in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey), and if the USA qualifies, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games (Aug. 5 - 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), as well as additional USA training camps and exhibition games
�I would be honored to be able to play in the World Championship again, especially with it being in Turkey,� said McCoughtry, who plays for the Turkish club Fenerbahce during the WNBA offseason. �It would feel like I�m playing at home.
�To earn a spot on this team I must continue to show growth and improvement in my game, and also, maturity as a leader.�
Members of the USA Basketball Women�s National Team Player Selection Committee include USA Basketball women�s national team director Carol Callan; WNBA appointees Rene� Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations, Dan Hughes, San Antonio Silver Stars head coach and general manager, and Chris Sienko, Connecticut Sun vice president and general manager; and three-time Olympic and two-time FIBA World Championship gold medalist Katie Smith, who played in nearly 200 games for USA Basketball from 1993-2008, and serves as the athlete representative.
�The committee has a harder time picking 12 players than any other women's basketball team in the world,� said McCoughtry. �It�s great to have the amount of talent that we have in America but very hard knowing there are only 12 spots.�
For more information and a complete listing of players named to the pool, visit www.usab.com.
The three-time Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream completed its sixth season in the Women�s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2013 with a trip to the WNBA Finals. The Dream has qualified for the playoffs in each of the past five seasons, including conference titles in 2013, 2011 and 2010. Season tickets for the 2014 season are now available and can be purchased by calling (877) 977-7729 or visiting www.AtlantaDream.net.