Youth movement highlights Kara Lawson's first USA camp

DURHAM, N.C. -- Paige Bueckers already has a nickname for herself and the other nine players who are making their debuts with the U.S. senior national women's basketball team this weekend at Duke: "The Young and Turnt Corps."

"That's the kind of vibes that we want to bring to this camp," Bueckers said.

With or without the moniker, it wasn't hard to identify that this camp -- the first under Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson -- marks a time of transition for Team USA, which has captured eight consecutive Olympic gold medals.

Inside the Krzyzewski Center on Friday morning, with several WNBA coaches and front office personnel watching from the sidelines, the gym floor was populated by some of the most recognizable rising stars the sport.

Training with the squad for the first time alongside Bueckers, the WNBA Rookie of the Year, were Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Sonia Citron, Veronica Burton, Kiki Iriafen, and collegiate talents Lauren Betts of UCLA and JuJu Watkins of Southern California.

Watkins didn't participate in any scrimmages or workouts on the court as she recovers from an ACL injury that occurred in an NCAA Tournament game in March. Her inclusion is a sign that she's part of the equation and future of Team USA as it prepares for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

"It means so much, it means the world," Watkins said. "It gives me confidence in myself as well, even though I'm not playing, to be able to have experiences like this."

Clark, arguably the biggest star in the sport who has helped drive surges in viewership and attendance for the WNBA, battled her own injuries last season. While grappling with ailments to her ankle, quad and groin, she missed 31 games for the Indiana Fever.

The superstar shooting talent said Friday she is now 100 percent healthy and joked that the shots she missed in practice were just her knocking off the rust. When the WNBA season ended, Clark called playing with Team USA her "top priority" this offseason. She seemed elated to be in the camp wearing the stars and stripes.

"Here, everybody loves basketball, everybody wants to be the best. You just feel that energy," Clark said. "It's not something that's spoken about. It's just the way everybody competes and wants to get better. At the end of the day, that just elevates everybody's game and elevates mine. That's what you want to be around."

Like Clark and Bueckers, Reese has brought a new legion of fans into the WNBA and has played her own role in helping the league grow in popularity. The double-double machine has been in youth national camps before and is taking this opportunity to learn all she can from the leaders who have been entrenched in Team USA for many years, like Lawson and managing director Sue Bird.

"We're the young ones coming up and trying to get in the groove of what USA Basketball means," Reese said. "It's an honor to be here. I've watched Kara play for the USA team, I've watched Sue play for the USA team, and to be able to walk in their footsteps and be here as the next generation is really cool. ... I'm here to work."

Showing the rookies the ropes, setting the tone and sharing the meaning of what it is to be included in Team USA are a handful of decorated veterans, including former Duke star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Chelsea Gray.

The Las Vegas Aces point guard -- coming off a season when she won her fourth WNBA championship -- was happy to be back in Durham and excited to be coached by Lawson, but she also expressed a willingness to serve as a mentor to the newcomers.

"These youngins can hoop," Gray said. "They're really competitive, they're really good. What I have just said to them is just have fun with it, enjoy the moment, compete. These years go by fast. So embrace the change, the uncomfortableness of it, and have fun."

--Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media