Photo by: Steve Maikoski/USA Basketball
Sykes Named To USA U18 National Team
5/21/2012 3:30:38 PM | Women's Basketball
USA Basketball Release | Roster | FIBA Americas Schedule
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Syracuse women's basketball incoming freshman Brittney Sykes has been named to the USA Basketball U18 National Team. The Newark, N.J. native will compete at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Puerto Rico on Aug. 15-19.
Sykes is one of 12 players selected for the U18 squad after five trials sessions held May 19-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Also competing at the trials was another SU incoming freshman, Brianna Butler of Brooklyn, N.Y., giving Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman two of the 26 players invited to the trials.
“I feel throughout the sessions I played extremely well,” Sykes said. “I fought through it, and my mental focus is what got me through it. It's priceless. I am just so proud to go back home and them I made it.”
Sykes averaged 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists for University High in Newark this season. She was named New Jersey All-State as well as Second-Team All-USA by USA Today. The 5-9 guard is rated as the Nol. 30 overall recruit in the 2012 class and the No. 9 guard.
Sykes played in the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago as she and Butler became the third and fourth Syracuse recruits to ever be chosen for the prestigious game. They headline a five-member class signed by Hillsman that is ranked No. 6 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz.
"I am very proud of Brittney," Hillsman said. "She is a very hard-working kid with an unbelievable work ethic. This is a great opprtunity for her to compete for her country."
The U18 National Team was selected by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee chaired by Sue Donohoe, executive director of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Sykes was one of just three first-time USA Basketball players named to the team.
Sykes and the rest of the U18 team will regroup at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. for its first training camp from May 28-June 2. The team will return to the USOTC for its final training camp Aug. 3-12.
The USA U18 National Team will compete in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 15-19, in hopes of securing a berth in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women (dates and site TBD). The FIBA Americas U18 Championship will feature eight national teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, with the top three finishing teams qualifying for the 2013 FIBA U19 Worlds. Players eligible for this competition must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1994.
University of Miami head coach Katie Meier will serve as head coach of the U18 squad, while collegiate head coaches Nikki Caldwell of Louisiana State University and Kelly Graves of Gonzaga University will act as assistant coaches.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Syracuse women's basketball incoming freshman Brittney Sykes has been named to the USA Basketball U18 National Team. The Newark, N.J. native will compete at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Puerto Rico on Aug. 15-19.
Sykes is one of 12 players selected for the U18 squad after five trials sessions held May 19-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Also competing at the trials was another SU incoming freshman, Brianna Butler of Brooklyn, N.Y., giving Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman two of the 26 players invited to the trials.
“I feel throughout the sessions I played extremely well,” Sykes said. “I fought through it, and my mental focus is what got me through it. It's priceless. I am just so proud to go back home and them I made it.”
Sykes averaged 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists for University High in Newark this season. She was named New Jersey All-State as well as Second-Team All-USA by USA Today. The 5-9 guard is rated as the Nol. 30 overall recruit in the 2012 class and the No. 9 guard.
Sykes played in the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago as she and Butler became the third and fourth Syracuse recruits to ever be chosen for the prestigious game. They headline a five-member class signed by Hillsman that is ranked No. 6 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz.
"I am very proud of Brittney," Hillsman said. "She is a very hard-working kid with an unbelievable work ethic. This is a great opprtunity for her to compete for her country."
The U18 National Team was selected by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee chaired by Sue Donohoe, executive director of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Sykes was one of just three first-time USA Basketball players named to the team.
Sykes and the rest of the U18 team will regroup at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. for its first training camp from May 28-June 2. The team will return to the USOTC for its final training camp Aug. 3-12.
The USA U18 National Team will compete in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 15-19, in hopes of securing a berth in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women (dates and site TBD). The FIBA Americas U18 Championship will feature eight national teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, with the top three finishing teams qualifying for the 2013 FIBA U19 Worlds. Players eligible for this competition must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1994.
University of Miami head coach Katie Meier will serve as head coach of the U18 squad, while collegiate head coaches Nikki Caldwell of Louisiana State University and Kelly Graves of Gonzaga University will act as assistant coaches.
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