Lauren Ware was left nearly speechless — which is rare.
Winning a gold medal will do that to someone.
Weeks later, the Arizona Wildcats’ sophomore still doesn’t remember much from the moments following her FIBA U19 World Cup win. The best parts — standing on the top of the platform next to her teammates, a medal hanging from her neck — were a blur.
“It’s not something I ever thought I would be able to do — not something I thought I’d have the opportunity to do,” Ware said. “Every kid dreams of this — it was one really big dream of mine as a kid was to play for Team USA. I think that anytime you’re able to do that, it’s an honor. It was a really cool experience for me.”
Ware tried out for the team in May, competing against some of the best players in the United States between 18 and 19 years old. Coaches added her to the roster right before they trained for the event, which was held in Hungary.
From the start, Ware showed she belonged.
Ware averaged nearly 16 minutes of playing time over the course of the tournament, the most of any forward or center on the team. She averaged 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
“I still something that I look back on and I can’t believe that actually happened,” Ware said. “I think that going in and knowing that I was able to play that many minutes and make an impact on a team like that with just amazing group of girls — the best players in the country, in the world actually. That’s a testament to how hard I’ve been working. I think I have improved a lot over the summer.”
Team USA dominated throughout the tournament. The last game — a rematch with an Australia team that the Americans had beaten by 40 points earlier in the tournament — was a bit different.
At halftime, Team USA was up by only eight. The Americans played better in the third quarter, holding Australia to 10 points en route to a 70-52 victory.
“Going into the locker room (at halftime), we were saying, ‘We need to relax and just play our game,’” Ware said. “Throughout the tournament the third quarter was kind of like our quarter. … Most of us were calm and I think we were just like, ‘We have one more half to get this gold medal.’ That’s what we put our minds to, and we really put into action what Coach Cori (Close) told us to do.
“That was the fun part. The whole tournament we rolled through everybody. Those are good games where you can learn things but it’s also fun to just have those games where it’s close. Those are the games you kind of play for. I think that was fun and I think that kind of got us going and more focused going into the second half.”
Ware was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention as a UA freshman, collecting 30 blocks (second only to Sam Thomas’ 33) and 103 rebounds while averaging 3.9 points per game as the Wildcats made the national championship game. Ware is eager to show off her improved game this season.
She said she will be more physical, and has been working on her balance and strength. She is finishing better at the rim and working on an outside jumper. Ware will try to stand out alongside transfer Aliyah Copeland and freshman Aaronette Vonleh.
Ware will also bring back what Close called “gold-medal habits.”
“It’s the little things that make a difference for our team,” Ware said. “The work that we put in, that’s not something I’ve experienced before — gone for a month, strictly basketball, that’s all. That’s a different perspective. The sacrifices that sometimes need to be made in order to do hard things like win a gold medal — that’s just what you have to do. None of this was easy. We were there for a month; the time difference was super hard. Everything was a struggle.
“I think that’s going to stick with me for a long time. Having that experience I think it’s going to help me a lot — knowing like what it takes to do something really hard like that. The work you have to put in will push me to keep working harder throughout the season.”
Rim shots
Ware said she and her teammates also had fun along the way. Close, who coached UCLA when not with Team USA, had a rule: If you forgot something or were late, you had to sing a song in front of everyone. Ware left her bag behind one day; she sang “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj.
“I wouldn’t even call it a punishment; it was just funny,” Ware said.
Upon returning to Tucson, Ware hung her Team USA jerseys on her bedroom wall. Next up is her gold medal. “That’s something I will not be losing, I will be taking it with me everywhere I go,” Ware laughed. “My jerseys are easy to hang up but my medal, I want to do something a little more special. That’ll be next for me to decide.”
The Wildcats recently hosted KK Bransford, a Class of 2022 guard who’s ranked among the best prospects in the country. ESPN rates Bransford as No. 1 at her position and 14th overall. Bransford has also visited UCLA, and is also considering Louisville, Duke, Tennessee, Baylor, Texas, UConn, Maryland and Notre Dame. The Wildcats have two verbal commitments for the ’22 class, Kailyn Gilbert and Maya Nnaji.
Two Class of 2023 prospects named Arizona in their list of finalists on Tuesday. Idaho’s Amari Whiting, a combo guard and a 4.0 student, is also looking at Stanford, BYU, Oregon, UCLA and Utah. La Jolla (Calif.) Country Day’s Breya Cunningham, a five-star post player, also included UConn, Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Texas on her list.
