Sophomore Center Chatrice White has the opportunity to represent the United States with USA Basketball this summer at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. White is one of 14 student-athletes selected for the team, and will travel to Alicante, Spain, to compete in a round-robin tournament July 11-13 against U19 national teams from Australia, Canada and Spain prior to arriving in Russia for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. Chatrice has just arrived in Colorado for pre-tournament practices and has a message for all Illini fans, here's what she had to say:
Hey Illini fans,
Just wanted to check in and say that I made it to Colorado Springs! After a long day of flights, and a little miscommunication, I finally made it to the Olympic Training Center an hour before my first practice. I was greeted at the door with so much USA gear I could hardly contain my excitement, most of all because it was all Nike. Although I was tired, hungry and slightly grumpy, I made sure to have a great practice.
The 19U team consists of 12 girls from across the country going to various colleges like Louisville, Notre Dame, Duke, South Carolina, among others. We also have several youngins, being that they are just rising high school seniors! We have a great group of girls with a lot of talent and potential, and I am beyond excited to get to work with them for the entire month.
The coaches for my team are Dawn Staley (South Carolina), assisted by Jeff Walz (Louisville), and Kim Barnes-Arico (Michigan). I have tremendous respect for all three of these coaches and am excited to return to campus with new knowledge for the game. The second day has come and gone and was my first official two-a-day in several years. It was a little rough! But at the end of the day, I feel incredibly accomplished and excited for the rest of my time here at the Olympic Training Center, and to spend my time with such elite athletes.
Speaking of elite athletes, I was able to take a selfie (from a distance) with Michael Phelps!! So far that is the highlight of my trip!
Your Fighting ILLINI,
Chatrice White
