U.S. women’s basketball training camp set

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The U.S. women’s basketball team will practice July 28 to 31 in Palo Alto and then leave for China. The training camp at Stanford’s Ford Center (closed to the public) will be the first time that U.S. head coach and three-time Olympian Anne Donovan will have all the members of her team on the court at the same time.

The 12-member roster features three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie (Sparks), two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith (Detroit Shock) and five other gold medalists: Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Sparks), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Tina Thompson (Houston Comets).

First-time Olympians include Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs), Candace Parker (Sparks) and Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury).

After camp, the team will travel to Haining, China, for the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament. The U.S. opens against Japan on Aug. 3 and faces Russia on Aug. 4. After preliminary round play, teams will be seeded for the tournament finals, which begin Aug. 5.

‘This group is stacked with talent, and they have the motivation and drive to get us where we want to be,’ Donovan said. ‘The FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament will be a great test in our preparation. The tournament has all the perceived favorites to medal in Beijing, and I’m sure it will be extremely competitive.”

The women’s Olympic basketball competition starts Aug. 9. The U.S. squad will be trying for its fourth consecutive Olympic gold. The U.S. has collected five golds, one silver and one bronze since women’s basketball was added at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

-- Greg Johnson