Three Scarlet Knights to Attend USA Basketball Trials
May 09 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Three members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team – Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ), Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) and Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY) – have accepted invitations to the USA Basketball Under-20 National Team trials May 18-21 in Colorado Springs.
Thirty-seven players will be competing for one of 12 spots on the United States’ 2006 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship Team. That tournament will be conducted this Aug. 9-13 at a site yet to be determined. The top three teams will advance to the 2007 Under-21 Women’s World Championship July 27-Aug. 5 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Following the sessions May 18-21, the field will be reduced to a list of finalists, who will reconvene for a training camp and final cuts in late July.
Ajavon previously competed at the 2004 USA Basketball Junior National Team trials, and at the 2003 Developmental Festival, helping to lead the East Team to a gold medal with 7.4 points per game. The 5-8 guard averaged 12.6 points and team bests of 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals per game for Rutgers as a sophomore this past season. A member of the 2006 All-BIG EAST First Team, she was a preseason candidate for the 2005-2006 Naismith National Player of the Year Award and was picked as the 2005 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Carson helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2005 Under-19 World Championship June 14-24 in Tunis, Tunisia. A starter in all eight games for the Americans, the 6-0 guard averaged 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals per contest, shooting 51.3 (20-39) percent from the floor. Carson helped Team USA qualify for the World Championship as a part of the gold-medal 2004 Women’s Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament Team that played in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. Carson also helped lead the East Team to the gold at the 2003 Developmental Festival with 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She posted 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest as a Rutgers sophomore this past season, was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Carson has been granted a medical waiver and will not attend the May trials session in Colorado Springs.
Vaughn played for the East Team at the 2004 Developmental Festival, averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while ranking second among all players in blocked shots (2.2 bpg). The 6-4 center posted 6.3 points to go along with team bests of 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game as a rookie Scarlet Knight this past season. During the final 17 games of the season, she averaged 7.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per contest.
Rutgers’ group of three attendees is the second-highest total this year, trailing only California (four). Eight BIG EAST Conference representatives will participate at the trials, the largest number from any single conference.
