The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Dangerfield eyes spot on U.S. squad
Crystal Dangerfield had already experienced life as a gold medalist at the FIBA U19 World Championships and certainly none of the decision makers at USA Basketball would have thought any less of her had she politely declined the invitation to try out for this year’s squad.
Dangerfield was coming off a grueling freshman season at UConn and was less than a year removed from hip surgery forcing her to give up her spot on last summer’s U.S. U-18 national team. Yes, the thought of saying thanks but no thanks entered her mind especially with the memories fresh in her mind of her freshman season at UConn coming to an end with a stunning overtime loss to Mississippi State at the Final Four.
However, Dangerfield is at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and if she is named to the 12-player roster on Sunday, she would join former UConn stars Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck, current WNBA rookie guard Alexis Jones and reigning national player of the year A’ja Wilson as the only U.S. players to take part in two FIBA U-19 tournaments.
“It is part of the reason that I am out here,” Dangerfield said. “It would have been easy to sit and sulk at how our season ended, so I am out here trying to get the confidence back and get ready for sophomore year.”
Dangerfield experienced a little bit of everything in her freshman season at Connecticut. She lit up Baylor for 19 points in her second collegiate game, had 12 games with at least five assists and a run of three straight double-digit scoring games late in the regular season.
However, her debut season came crashing to an end as she had one point and two assists in a quiet 17-minute performance in the Final Four loss. After having 16 points and six assists in the NCAA opener against Albany, Dangerfield had seven points on 3 of 12 shooting in the last four NCAA tournament games.
The loss to Mississippi State ended UConn’s NCAA basketball record 111-game winning streak and Dangerfield took the defeat rather hard.
“I was feeling like we live in a fairy tale kind of world, never losing in over 100 games,” Dangerfield said. “We are taking it as a learning process coming back focused and we go back at the end of the month and I am sure it if going to be intense because we don’t want to feel like that again next year.”
What would Dangerfield liked to have done differently in the national semifinal?
“Just being able to control the pace,” Dangerfield said. “They sped us up and credit to them, that is their game, that is their playing style so just being able to calm the team down, (run) the offense and get some easy buckets instead of trying to force things.”
Dangerfield is in a leadership role at the trials considering that she has won gold medals with the U-16 team in 2013 and the U-19 squad in 2015. Among the players she is trying to mentor are her soon to be UConn teammates Mikayla Coombs and Megan Walker.
“Mikayla, she is out here playing defense, getting steals, getting her hands on the ball, knocking down 3s and playing really well,” Dangerfield said. “Megan, she is doing her thing. Smooth is all I can say about her, she is hitting those shots and running the floor really well.”
Dangerfield credits her experience playing with Napheesa Collier on the U-19 team two summers ago aiding her during the transition to the college game.
“It definitely helps,” Dangerfield said. “Playing with Napheesa, during the year a pick and roll with her, it is (as simple as) breathing almost, it is easy. Being able to play with both of them, they have been on my team (in 5 on 5 drills) and being able to build the chemistry before we get on the campus at the end of the month so when we get in there, we will keep building on it.”
Speaking of a sense of familiarity, Dangerfield returned home to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and stopped in at Blackman High School.
“It was like a homecoming,” Dangerfield said, “I love them, they love me and the whole community has been behind me since middle school and that is my family back home. Being able to go back there, the team that I started with, talk to the kids and tell them what it is like, the work they have put it, not to give up on themselves, believe in themselves and see the look in their eyes, it is special.”
Williams taking her time
Christyn Williams is the youngest player at the U-19 trials as she celebrated her 17th birthday on Saturday. One of the underrated aspects of her time in Colorado is the chance to share the court with players would she may play with in college.
Although Baylor, Notre Dame and UCLA don’t have any current players or incoming freshmen at the trials, Tennessee does have signee Evina Westbrook. Then there is the other school in her list of finalists. Not only is Dangerfield in attendance but so are UConn incoming freshmen Coombs and Walker along with Class of 2018 UConn commit Charli Collier.
“A lot of the girls will be there on my official visits so when I get on campus, I will know them already,” Williams said. “It’s been pretty cool being able to play with them to see how we play together.”
Williams, a 5-foot-11 guard at Central Arkansas Christian and the two-time Gatorade state player of the year in Arkansas, plans on taking official visits to each of her five finalists before making her decision before the start of her senior season.
“People say that recruiting process is stressful, but it’s been pretty fun with me,” Williams said. “I am just enjoying it.”