Danielle Hood Invited to USA Basketball Under-20 Tryouts

Posted  5/18/2006
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Hartford forward Danielle Hood is one of 37 women selected to participate in tryouts for the USA Basketball Under-20 Team.
Hartford forward Danielle Hood is one of 37 athletes selected to participate in the tryouts for the USA Basketball Under-20 Team. The tryouts begin today (May 18) and will continue through Sunday (May 21) at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Hood was invited by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's Vice President of Division I women's basketball. The team to be selected will consist of 12 members who will work under Joanne P. McCallie, the head coach at Michigan State.

The 12-person team will be announced on Sunday and will reconvene in late July for training camp prior to departing for the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Americas Under-20 Championship. The tournament is scheduled for August 9-13 at a site to be determined, and will feature eight teams from North, South and Central Americas and the Caribbean. The top-three finishing teams will qualify for the 2007 FIBA Under-21 Women's World Championship that will be held in the summer of 2007 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Danielle to showcase her talent on a national level," said Hartford women’s head basketball coach Jennifer Rizzotti. "Looking at the field of athletes invited she is among the best in her age group. Danielle is a talented player who will only get better by the experience of playing with some of the best athletes in the country.”

Rizzotti herself has been selected as one of two assistant coaches for USA Basketball’s Under-18 Team. The 2006 Women's FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship tournament will take place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from June 28 to July 2. DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno has been selected to lead the Under-18 team and will be assisted by Carol Owens (Northern Illinois) and Rizzotti.

“It’s an honor to be coaching for USA Basketball,” Bruno said. “I’m looking forward to coaching the talented athletes that we should see in Colorado Springs and to working with two great young coaches in Carol Owens and Jennifer Rizzotti.”