Amanda Butler Named to USA Basketball's 2009 Women's U19 World Championship Coaching Staff
Thursday, April 23, 2009 | Women's Basketball
University of Florida head coach Amanda Butler has been selected to the 2009 USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship Team coaching staff. Northern Illinois University head coach Carol Owens has been selected to head the staff, while Butler and Bill Fennelly of Iowa State University will serve as assistants.
Two-time defending FIBA U19 World Championship gold medalists, the USA will look to capture its third straight gold medal at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, scheduled for July 23 - Aug. 3 in Bangkok, Thailand. Coaching staff selections were made by the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee, chaired by NCAA representative Sue Donohoe (Vice President for Division I Women's Basketball).
“It's an overwhelming honor just to be considered and to be in that conversation of possibilities and to actually be selected, for me it's staggering,” Butler said. “It's something I'm very excited about and something I'm looking forward to. I'm going to put every ounce of energy and effort I can into it in making sure we handle our business.
“Carol Owens is someone whose reputation precedes her, everyone recognizes her in the basketball community as an outstanding individual and someone who contributed to one of the most successful eras in Notre Dame history. Bill Fennelly's resume speaks for itself as well, especially with this year's team's success. It was a historic year for their programs. Both of them are great individuals who are very, very talented coaches and I've enjoyed the small bit of time I've had to share with them and I think there will be great chemistry between the three of us.”
Having recently concluded her second season as Florida's head coach, Butler made an immediate impact on her alma mater, inheriting a program that won just nine games in the season prior to her arrival. In 2007-08, her first season at Florida's helm, Butler guided the Gators to a 19-14 mark and the WNIT Round of Sixteen. Not only was it one of the biggest turnarounds of the year nationally, the 19 victories tied as the most wins posted by a first-year Florida coach in program history.
In 2008-09, Butler continued on her quest to return Florida to a powerhouse program and piloted the Gators to a 24-8 slate and the NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual champion University of Connecticut in the second round.
"I'm really excited," said Owens, who led the USA to gold at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. "I had an opportunity to be an assistant with the last U19 team and Doug Bruno and I had an awesome experience. The competition is really good and it'll be a tough road for us, but I'm really looking forward to this challenge. I know we're going to have a very good team and be ready to compete. All in all, I'm really excited and honored to be coaching the U19 team."
"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," said Donohoe. "They, along with Amanda Butler, are talented coaches who know how to mold a group of individuals into a single, hard-working unit. The Committee feels that this coaching staff has what it takes to continue our gold medal run at the U19 World Championship."
"I feel very fortunate to be able to work with both Bill Fennelly and Amanda Butler," continued Owens. "Bill and I worked together last summer and he was a huge help. His knowledge and experience in the game that he brought to the team, the input that he gave, really helped me. The addition of Amanda Butler, I know she's going to be huge. I know she's excited, I'm excited. I've watched her coach her team at Florida and I've heard a lot of great things about her and I'm really excited to be working with both of them. I think we have a great staff.
"I always think the USA's chance of winning gold is good. Obviously most of the group that played last year will be trying out and I have faith in our committee that they'll assemble a great group that will be competitive, that will compete at a high level against some very good teams at the U19 World Championship."
Owens returns for her fourth USA Basketball stint, having served as head coach for the 2008 USA U18 National Team that went 5-0, captured the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and qualified the U.S. for this summer's competition. Previously she was an assistant coach to DePaul University's Doug Bruno and the 2006 USA U18 National Team and 2007 USA U19 World Championship Team, both of which compiled unblemished records en route to gold medals.
An assistant on last summer's USA U18 National Team staff, this marks Fennelly's second USA Basketball assignment, while this will be the first time Butler walks the USA Basketball sidelines.
Trials to select finalists for the '09 U19 squad will be held May 14-17 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Training camp will begin on June 8 in Colorado Springs, and the eventual 12-member roster will be announced prior to the team departing for Thailand.
The 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship features 16 national teams comprised of athletes 19-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1990) that qualified through their FIBA zone tournaments. Included in the field of nations are: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia and the USA.
The complete competition schedule of for the team can be found at: http://usabasketball.com/women_team.php?page=wu19wc_schedule
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