Pondexter to Train, Compete with USA Basketball
Mar 28 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) will be one of four college All-Americans to join USA Basketball’s Senior National Team for workouts in Boston April 1-4 prior to the Opals World Challenge April 7-12 in Cairns and Canberra, Australia.
Pondexter, who has won four golds and one bronze medal as a member of USA Junior National Teams, will join the Senior National Team for the first team. The team will conduct four practices in Boston before leaving for Australia. The US will take on China April 7 and 10, Australia April 8 and 12, China and Chinese Taipei April 11. USA Basketball is evaluating talent as it prepares for the FIBA World Championship Sept. 12-23 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In addition to fellow collegians Seimone Augustus (LSU), Sylvia Fowles (LSU) and Jessica Davenport (Ohio State), Pondexter will be joined by Alana Beard, Swin Cash, Shameka Christon, Kristin Haynie, Kara Lawson, Ruth Riley, Katie Smith and Tina Thompson on the Opals World Challenge Team. Sheryl Swoopes will practice with the group in Boston, but will not compete in Australia due to previous commitments.
The 2006 Women’s Basketball News Service National Player of the Year, Pondexter has been named a finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy (national player of the year), the Naismith Award (national player of the year) and the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, as well as one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard) and a member of the national ballot for the Women’s Wooden Award (national player of the year). She averaged 21.6 points per contest (tied for sixth nationally as of March 22), adding 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season. Named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Player of the Month for January was the unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team four times during her career. The MVP at the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 and the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge Dec. 3-4, the 5-9 guard was selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team for the fourth straight year (22.5 ppg) and she has also received four BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-week awards (Jan. 2, Jan. 16, Feb. 6, Feb. 13) and six berths on the BIG EAST Honor Roll (Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Jan. 30). Pondexter was a frequent member of preseason honor lists this fall, earning first-team All-America accolades from the Associated Press and Women’s Basketball News Service, second-team All-America mentions from Gballmag.com, Lindy’s and Athlon Sports, and a spot on the Street & Smith’s “Terrific 10” Preseason All-America Team.
Pondexter helped the Americans post a 7-0 record at the 2005 World University Games in Turkey, as the U.S. struck gold at the competition for the first time since 2001. Pondexter served as a co-captain for the Americans, starting four of the seven games and averaging 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and a team-best 3.3 assists per contest.
The 5-9 guard spent four straight summers (2000-2003) with the USA Basketball program as a member of the U.S. 20-and-Under National Team. Pondexter led the Americans to the gold medal at the 2003 FIBA World Championship For Young Women in Sibenik, Croatia, serving as the team co-captain and the starting point guard while averaging 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. She won a gold medal at the 2002 World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Tournament in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, posting a tournament-best 6.5 assists-per-game average as the starting point guard and a team co-captain.
She tallied 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game and shot 51.9 (14-27) percent from the field and 62.5 (5-8) percent from three-point range at the 2002 qualifying tournament. As a member of the 2001 U.S. Junior National Team, Pondexter won a bronze medal at the FIBA World Junior Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, and she also was a member of the 2000 U.S. Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that struck gold in Mardelplata, Argentina.
Pondexter helped lead No. 9/9 Rutgers to a 27-5 overall record, advancing to the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights posted a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play to win their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown.
