Former University of Minnesota All-America guard Lindsay Whalen is among the 14 finalists to make the 12-player USA Women's World Championship Team, as announced by USA Basketball on Sunday.
Whalen has been participating in USA Basketball's two-week training camp, which included four exhibition contests. She has averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, as USA Basketball won three of the four exhibitions, and her shooting has been phenomenal at 84.2 percent (16-of-19).
"It's a huge honor (to be among the 14 finalists)," Whalen said. "I want to keep trying to work hard and help the team in any way. I have to keep doing whatever I'm doing, keep working hard and having fun."
In addition to Whalen, the other remaining finalists are Jayne Appel (San Antonio Silver Stars); Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx); Sue Bird (Seattle Storm); Swin Cash (Seattle Storm); Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever); Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun); Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury); Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky); Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun); Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun); Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream); Maya Moore (University of Connecticut); and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).
Asked what she thought she could contribute to the team, Whalen said, "Being able to get us organized, offensively. Taking the ball to the basket, finding people, getting to the lane and making things happen. Defensively, keeping good pressure on the ball, keeping people out of the lane, things like that. Then just trying to work hard, bring effort and energy every day, just being a good teammate."
Now that the team has arrived in the Czech Republic, Whalen said she's familiar with many of the Czech players and coaches, having played professionally in Prague. She said it almost felt like home when USA Basketball's flight touched down in the country on Sunday.
"Yeah, flying into the airport yesterday, I saw some familiar sights," Whalen said. "I've been to that airport lots of times, then seeing the city on our way out of town, there's some familiarity. I know a little bit of the language. Then lots of my teammates and coaches are on the Czech team, so it's fun to see some familiar faces."
She was then asked if she had given the USA Basketball players and coaches a scouting report on the Czech Republic team they'll scrimmage Monday.
"Yeah, I let everybody know what everyone's strengths are," Whalen said. "I've played with a lot of them for three years. I know everybody's game pretty well."
Whalen was asked what she felt she had learned after going through USA Basketball's two-week training camp and competing against many of the best players in the world.
"I learned lots of different cuts, motion cutting. I learned how professional everyone is on a day-to-day basis, how everyone handles themselves," Whalen said. "Learning from great players, this is what I feel like I want to be. Watching the people who have been on Olympic teams before, winning championships, just watching coach and how he carries himself, watching people like that makes you want to carry yourself in a professional manner.
"I think just learning those things, and then on the court, learning things, getting better playing against great players every day makes you better," Whalen said. "In this competitive spirit, it really brings the best out of everyone. It's been a really fun atmosphere and a really great group to be around."
The FIBA World Championship begins Thursday, Sept. 23, with USA facing Greece at 11:00 a.m. (CT) in a Pool B preliminary round game televised on NBA TV. USA Basketball's 12-player roster needs to be submitted to FIBA by Sept. 22, and will be determined by the Women's National Team Player Selection Committee of Renee Brown, Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations; Dan Hughes, General Manager of the San Antonio Silver Stars; Chief Operating Officer/General Manager of the Indiana Fever Kelly Krauskopf; athlete representative and five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards; and USA Basketball Women's National Team Director Carol Callan.
The FIBA World Championship will continue through October 3 in the Czech Republic, with games taking place in Brno, Karlovy Vary, and Ostrava. The gold medal-winning country receives a berth into the 2012 Olympic Games.
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