USA Basketball names roster: Takeaways, what to watch for

Ahead of Thursday night’s game between USA Basketball and China at Key Arena in Seattle, head coach Dawn Staley named her roster of 13 for the contest.

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“”These are hard decisions to be made, when you have to send such good players home,” Staley said in a press release Thursday evening. “But, their sacrifice will one day pay off, hopefully in the near future for them. The 13 players that were assembled to compete against China will give us an opportunity to see some of our experienced players back together again, along with some of the younger, inexperienced players. It’ll give them some experience playing international basketball at a high level alongside Olympians. You can’t take for granted playing China. We’re going to play to win the basketball game, but we’re also going to utilize some players so we can see them play in a game like this.”

The 13 players are: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx); Sue Bird (Seattle Storm); Layshia Clarendon (Atlanta Dream); Elena Delle Donne(Washington Mystics); Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings); Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky);Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx); Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta Dream); Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm);Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever); Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm); Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury); and Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta Dream).

So what do these selections tell us?

For one thing, it is notable to see Clarendon get the nod. There’s certainly a school of thought that, when assembling the ideal USA Basketball team, finding the five best scorers to blow opponents off the court is the shortest distance between here and a gold medal. But there’s only one ball, after all, and utilizing the American leader in assist percentage last season (Clarendon finished at 38.4 percent, trailing only Courtney Vandersloot, who plays for Hungary) to distribute doesn’t seem like a bad idea. A front line with, say, Fowles, Delle Donne and Stewart, with Taurasi launching threes at shooting guard, will score plenty.

It also feels very Dawn Staley, with Clarendon joining with her teammates from the Dream, Elizabeth Williams and Tiffany Hayes, in an emphasis on defense that harkens back to the 2017 South Carolina Gamecocks.

SEATTLE, WA – APRIL 24: Kelsey Mitchell of USA Basketball Women’s National Team dribbles the ball during training camp on April 24, 2018 at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Scott Eklund/NBAE via Getty Images) /

It will also be fascinating to watch Kelsey Mitchell with the best ensemble of her basketball life. She plays the game at a speed that, at times, eclipsed what any of her Ohio State teammates could take advantage of, something she needn’t worry about with running mates like these. Will Staley play her off the ball, however, next to Bird? Is that the plan with Diggins-Smith and Loyd as well? Or will the offense be more fluid with multiple ball-handlers?

Lastly, let’s hope we see some of the aforementioned Stewart-Delle Donne lineups. The two each do many of the same things, but it is for precisely that reason setting them up on opposite wings and letting them each go to work (imagine the spacing that creates for, say, Fowles, too) makes for the most exciting lineup USA Basketball can deploy. We have two talents pushing boundaries on what is possible. Let’s see them together, please. (UPDATE: Delle Donne is a gameday scratch with a neck injury. She is replaced on the roster by Morgan Tuck. The point stands, but I’m also pleased to see Morgan Tuck make the roster!)

You can see all this and more Thursday night, 10 PM EST, here and on USA Basketball’s Facebook and Twitter channels.

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