UConn flavors Team USA roster against WNBA All-Stars

The 11 members of the United States’ national team that will take on the WNBA All-Stars on July 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena was announced Thursday. The national team will have a decided Connecticut flavor with more than half having ties to UConn.

Led by Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, former Huskies Sue Bird and Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tina Charles and Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and current Husky Maya Moore will represent their country. Also playing for the national team will be Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) and Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty).

“This training camp is the first and only opportunity that I’m going to have the chance to be with the majority of the players that were in the last Olympics that were a part of our core group,” Auriemma said in a statement. “So whatever amount of time we have, it’s going to be used in the best way that we can. We’ll get a chance to see how they interact with each other. They’ll get a feel for me, and I’ll get a feel for them and we’ll play the game and go from there.

“I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to coach them and to get a feel for them in game situations,” Auriemma continued. “So, I’m really excited. Some of them I haven’t seen play yet, and I really haven’t had a chance to see some of the guys that I had coached before. I haven’t had a chance to be around them since they graduated, so all-in-all I think the Stars at the Sun game will be great opportunity for me, and it’s a great opportunity for them as well.”

Team USA will be in town from July 7-11, holding a training camp that includes national team members not selected for the game against the WNBA’s finest, and an exhibition against the Australian national team on the final day of its stay in eastern Connecticut. The additional team members are Seimone Augustus and Lindsey Whalen (Minnesota Lynx), Shameka Christon (Chicago Sky), Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics), Asjha Jones and Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun).

San Antonio’s Jayne Appel, Ebony Hoffman (Indiana Fever) and Kia Vaughn (New York Liberty) will practice with Team USA.

The team’s July 9 practice at Mohegan Sun Arena will be open to the public at 2:45 p.m.