USA - Taurasi has third straight title in mind

ISTANBUL (Olympics) - Just once in her career has USA superstar Diana Taurasi travelled to a major international basketball event and not captured a gold medal.

She went to Athens and won the Olympic title in 2004, and did the same in Beijing four years later.

In 2010, Taurasi won the FIBA World Championship in the Czech Republic.

The only time she has failed to reach the top of the podium was in 2006 at the FIBA World Championship in Brazil and even then, she snatched a bronze.

Going to London and claiming a third straight Olympic title is the only result that will be acceptable to Taurasi, and judging from the 11 players who were recently confirmed to be in the squad, that looks to be the most likely outcome.

Taurasi, Sue Bird, Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Angel McCoughtry, Tina Charles and Maya Moore are in, with one spot yet to be filled.

“I think they put together a team that top to bottom is pretty solid,” Taurasi said to FIBA.com.

“Experience, young players, I think they added some pieces that are really going to help us from the worlds to the Olympics and the committee did a great job.

“Seimone didn’t make the worlds (World Championship) because of injury. Seimone is one of the best players in the world.

“To not have her on the team would be absurd.

“Candace is the same. Injury prevented her from being on the Olympic team.

“Those two are going to make us really good.”

Augustus was the MVP of the 2011 WNBA Finals after leading Minnesota to their first title and is currently playing with Taurasi’s former team, Sparta&K Moscow Region, while Parker has returned to top form while playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia.

The EuroLeague Women Final Eight MVP Asjha Jones, who led her Rivas Ecopolis team into the title game, was not among the 11 players named for the USA squad.

Jones played on the USA’s gold-medal winning World Championship squad two years ago and would seem to be a strong contender for the last place in the Olympic team.

Taurasi, who plays for Galatasaray in Turkey, competed against Jones at the Final Eight in Istanbul.

“Asjha is a winner,” Taurasi said of her former University of Connecticut teammate.

“I know her really well.

“I played with her many years.

“If she’s on the team, I don’t see how it could be a mistake.

“This year, you would think that after what she did in Europe and after what she’s done in the WNBA the last couple of years, she really played at the highest level of her career ever in the Final Eight.”

Meanwhile, Taurasi says she still expects a very, very good Australia to show up in London, perhaps one that will play with even more determination following the loss of Penny Taylor to an ACL injury.

Taylor was the MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil.

“Penny?” Taurasi said. “This is the beauty of a team like Australia. They have so much depth, they prepare like no other team."

FIBA