UConn great Taurasi ready to chase sixth Olympic gold medal
STORRS — Diana Taurasi’s name is on the walls of Gampel Pavilion as part of the Huskies of Honor and among the UConn women’s basketball team’s standouts who have been named national Player of the Year.
While she was on campus over the weekend to take part in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 2003 and 2004 teams she led to national championships, Taurasi took time for herself Saturday morning to get in a workout at the Werth Champions Center to prepare for a USA Basketball national team camp that starts Friday.
On a wall in the women’s practice gym at Werth are banners celebrating UConn’s Olympic gold medalists. And there is Taurasi’s name again with the years 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 under it. The 2012 and 2016 teams were coached by UConn’s Geno Auriemma.
“You look up at it all and don’t believe it, really,” Taurasi said Saturday night. “I came over this morning to work out. You look around and you’re like, man ... You’re lucky. You’re lucky to be a part of this. You’re lucky to be around Coach Auriemma and CD (associate head coach Chris Dailey). Just lucky.”
With the Olympics in Paris six months away, the evaluation process is ongoing for USA Basketball as it looks to continue its domination of the Games with an eighth consecutive gold medal. Taurasi will be among 18 players — including 11 Olympians — who will be at the national team camp Friday through Sunday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn hoping to build their case for one of the 12 spots with Team USA in France.
Following training camp, 12 players will be selected by a USAB committee to represent the United States at the 2024 FIBA women’s Olympic qualifying tournament Feb. 8-11 in Antwerp, Belgium.
“I’ve been ramping up, getting ready for the four days in Brooklyn and hoping to make the Belgian trip to get back on the international stage,” Taurasi said. “It’s been awhile. I missed the world championships and I’m anxious to get the jersey back on.”
Team USA has already qualified for Paris with its gold-medal winning performance at the 2022 FIBA World Cup.
Other Olympic champions expected at camp are Taurasi’s fellow UConn graduates Breanna Stewart (2016, 2020) and Napheesa Collier (2020) along with Ariel Atkins, Allisha Gray, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson, and Jackie Young. Rounding out the participants are Aliyah Boston, Kahleah Copper, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Arike Ogunbowale, and the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas.
The team is coached by the Minnesota Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve, assisted by former Sun’s coaches Mike Thibault and Curt Miller.
“We are excited to bring together a group of athletes who aspire to represent the United States not only in Antwerp, but ultimately Paris,” USAB women’s national team chair Jennifer Rizzotti said in a statement. “Not only will the training camp
be tremendously valuable but the qualifying tournament in Belgium will offer a meaningful opportunity to compete against worldclass talent as we get one step closer to selecting the 2024 USA women’s national team.”
Team USA will face off against host Belgium on Feb. 8, Nigeria on Feb. 9, and Senegal on Feb. 11 in Antwerp.
For Taurasi, the next six months is an opportunity to add to her legacy and make more history. The three-time national champion and All-American at UConn is seeking to break a tie with her former Huskies’ teammate Sue Bird by becoming the first to win six Olympic gold medals. She also owns three FIBA world championships gold medals and is a four-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.
In the last Olympics in
Tokyo in 2021 that were delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she averaged 5.8 points and 3.5 assists as Team USA went 6-0.
Last summer for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, the association’s alltime leading scorer averaged 16.0 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game but was limited to 26 games due to injuries.
But she’s feeling healthy and her Mercury teammate, former UConn
All-American guard and four-time national champion Moriah Jefferson, likes Taurasi’s chances that she’ll be on the team in Paris.
“It’s been great to play with her and have her around every day,” Jefferson said. “To be around her, watch her routine, see how she gets things done, she’s been amazing. She’s a great teammate and she’s still a great player. She’s still got it.” In November, Taurasi took part in
Team USA exhibition wins over Tennessee and Duke, scoring 11 points in 18 minutes versus the Lady Vols (who she went 7-1 against including wins in the 2003 and 2004 NCAA finals at UConn) and seven points in 21 minutes versus the Blue Devils.
She made her USAB debut in 2000 with the Auriemma-coached U-18 national team. She is one of 12 players overall and seven UConn graduates — also Bird, Stewart, Swin Cash,
Asjha Jones, Maya Moore, and Kara Wolters — to win Olympic and world championship gold along with NCAA and WNBA titles. She’ll be 42 when the opening ceremonies are held in Paris on July 26.
So, how much longer can she go?
“You know, at this age you just take it day-byday,” Taurasi said with a smile. “It’s day-by-day from now on. But I’m looking forward to what will possibly be ahead.”