Lauren Ware was surprised when she opened up an email in late April inviting her to try out for Team USA’s U19 team.
Playing for her country wasn’t on her radar at all — even though UA coach Adia Barnes told her last summer that if there had been international competitions, she likely would have been asked to try out.
Ware called the invitation “surreal.” The 6-foot-5-inch forward was chosen from among thousands of high school seniors and college freshmen.
“When I was younger, I don’t think I ever had that thought in my mind that I was going to be able to do this,” Ware said. “… Getting that email. You open it and you’re just shocked, like, ‘Wow, I really have the chance to compete to compete for my nation, represent my country.’ It was just really cool and (a) really cool experience.”
The 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup runs from Aug. 7-19 in Debrecen, Hungary. Team USA has already named nine players to its roster; Ware is a finalist for one of the three remaining spots that will be awarded at a training camp that starts July 19.
Ware played in all 27 games for the national runner-up Wildcats as a true freshman, finishing second on the team in blocks (30) and fourth in rebounds (103) while shooting 43% from the field. The North Dakota native was named to the Pac-12’s honorable mention All-Freshman team.
Ware initially the U19 team at a tryout camp last weekend in Colorado Springs. She said she was a little nervous since she didn’t know anyone personally, but got over it. After all, Ware said, Team USA picked her for a reason.
It helped that she talked to Barnes before, during and after the tryout.
“I told Coach Adia I was a little nervous and she told me, ‘Be yourself, do what you always do. And just be confident and show them your abilities.’ Because that’s really what it was all about — showing them what I was able to do, and just being confident,” Ware said. “She definitely gave me some words of affirmation. That helped a lot.”
Another thing that helped: Ware’s training sessions with her dad, Joe, in the weeks leading up to the tryout. The two focused on skill work and conditioning. Ware hadn’t played in a game for more than a month, and knew that the Colorado Springs altitude would pose a challenge.
“I ran a lot on the treadmill and stuff like that and just doing a lot of high-intensity workouts with my dad — trying to get my heart rate up,” Ware said. “I think that helped. But I mean … you don’t really know what you’re going to get going to the trials. I didn’t really know what to prepare for.”
Ware will have a better idea of what to expect in July, when she returns to Colorado for another training camp. Team USA’s coaches, led by UCLA’s Cori Close, encouraged the finalists to contact them before they arrive to learn more about their evaluations. Ware will work with her dad and then be in Tucson for the start of UA’s summer training before heading back for the next round.
Ware was a five-star recruit who sat out her senior year of high school after tearing her ACL. The opportunity to represent her country so soon after the injury means a lot to her. Ware, a two-sport star in high school, announced this week that she’ll spend her sophomore season focusing on basketball.
“The rankings and stuff like that don’t really matter when you get to college because it’s a totally different game,” Ware said. “You are playing with people older than you, and rankings don’t mean anything in college — you basically start over.
“I think knowing that I’m still one of the top players in the country and being able to have that experience and knowing that I can compete for a roster spot with some of the best people, it’s a humbling experience … (and it’s) really validating knowing that I’ve worked hard to get there.”
