USA - Fennelly named assistant on U19 national team
Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly has been named an assistant on the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship team. There really wasn’t much of a decision. Of course Bill Fennelly would want to be an assistant on the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship team. “They called and they asked, and it took me about two seconds to say yes,” the Iowa State women’s basketball coach said. “Every time you get to represent your country and Iowa State, it’s good.”
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Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly has been named an assistant on the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship team.
There really wasn’t much of a decision.
Of course Bill Fennelly would want to be an assistant on the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship team.
“They called and they asked, and it took me about two seconds to say yes,” the Iowa State women’s basketball coach said. “Every time you get to represent your country and Iowa State, it’s good.”
For the second consecutive summer, Fennelly will try to help America win a gold medal in international competition as the United States competes in the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships July 23 to Aug. 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Fennelly was also an assistant coach on the USA team which won the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship last summer.
“You focus on wining the gold medal,” Fennelly said. “Everything is secondary to the task at hand. You adjust to everything else and don’t worry about anything else.”
Fennelly wasn’t sure if he’d get another go-around with the national team. Assistant coaches typically rotate from season to season so new people can work with USA Basketball.
But USA Basketball was impressed enough with Fennelly, along with U18 head coach Carol Owens, to bring them both back for the world championships.
“Carol Owens and Bill Fennelly worked with this group last summer and did a tremendous job with what could be the core of this year’s team,” USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee chair Sue Donohoe said.
Fennelly said it’s an added bonus that he’s already familiar with international competitions and possibly most of the roster. USA Basketball has yet to announce the tryout list, but Fennelly wouldn’t be surprised to see several members of the U18 team make this year’s squad.
He will head to Colorado Springs, Colo. May 14 to 17 for the tryouts and return June 8 for training camp before departing for the 16-team tournament where USA is the two-time defending champion.
Between national team duties, Fennelly will hit the road recruiting for ISU.
“This does limit my ability to recruit and puts more pressure on my staff,” Fennelly said.
But it’s something the Cyclone coaches are used to.
They went through the same thing last year as Fennelly helped the USA U18 team win all five of its games, including the gold medal game, and secure a spot in this summer’s competition.
Fennelly, who led ISU to an Elite Eight berth this season, said the hardest thing about international play is building team chemistry in under a month.
“You have to get these kids to buy into a team concept in three weeks and every one of them is a star, at a major university or on their way to one,” Fennelly said. “It’s so much about force feeding them to be a team and that you are all stars, but you can’t all play. When you are trying to win, some kids are playing six to eight minutes.”
That’s just what has to happen if the USA is to win its third straight gold.
“You want to enjoy the experience, represent USA Basketball and come back with a medal,” Fennelly said.