Pondexter Joins USA Basketball Training Camp
Aug 30 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Former Rutgers women's basketball standout Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) has joined USA Basketball at its training camp in Durham, NC. She will be one of several players competing for two remaining spots on the United States' 2006 FIBA World Championship Team.
Pondexter, who was joined by Tennessee's Candace Parker and the Houston Comets' Michelle Snow as late invitees to the training camp, will work out with the group at Duke University Aug. 29 - Sept. 7. The U.S. has already named 10 of the 12 members of the World Championship Team, which will compete Sept. 12-23 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition to the three late additions, several players currently competing in the WNBA Finals are also under consideration for the final two roster spots.
Pondexter recently finished her rookie season as a member of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. A member of the All-Rookie Team, the 5-9 guard finished fourth in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and 10th in free-throw percentage (.853), adding 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. Selected to the Western Conference team for the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game, Pondexter established a new rookie scoring record when she poured in 35 points in a 91-76 victory at Detroit July 6. For the games of June 5-12, the guard posted a league-high 28.5 points per contest, shooting 60.5 (23-38) percent from the floor and 72.7 (8-111) percent from the free-throw line, to earn the distinction of being the WNBA Player of the Week. On June 2, she registered 30 points in a 97-87 loss at Seattle, and on June 6, she posted 30 points in a 90-76 victory against Sacramento, becoming the third player in league history to register back-to-back 30-point totals (Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes). Pondexter was the second overall selection of the 2006 WNBA Draft.
Pondexter has been a part of numerous USA Basketball teams, most recently competing with the Senior National Team at the 2006 Opals World Challenge this past April in Australia. As a five-time member of USA Basketball's junior national teams, she earned four gold medals and one bronze in international play. Pondexter co‑captained the 2005 USA World University Games Team that captured the gold medal with a perfect 7‑0 record in Turkey and averaged 8.9 points per game while adding 3.1 rebounds and a team‑high 23 assists. Acting as the co‑captain of the 2003 USA World Championship For Young Women Team that captured the gold medal with a 7‑1 record in Croatia, she averaged 5.3 points per game for that squad. She also served as co‑captain of the 2002 USA World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team that finished with a 4‑0 record and the gold medal in Brazil, was a member of the 2001 USA Junior World Championship Team that posted a 6‑1 record and earned the bronze medal, and first donned a USA Basketball uniform while playing for the 2000 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that recorded a 5‑0 record and earned the gold medal in Argentina.
A finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy, the Naismith Award, the Women's Wooden Award, the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, the Honda Sports Award for Basketball and the Nancy Lieberman Award (nation's top point guard), the Pondexter was picked as the Women's Basketball News Service National Player of the Year. She was named to the Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America First Team, the Associated Press All-America First Team, the ESPN.com All-America First Team, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team, the WBNS All-America First Team, the Women's Wooden Award All-America Team, the Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team, the Full Court Press All-America First Team and the Gballmag.com All-America First Team, and was the unanimous selection 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. Picked as the WBCA National Player of the Month for January, she started all 32 games for the Scarlet Knights during the 2005-2006 season, averaging 21.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Named to the NCAA Tournament All-Cleveland Region Team, Pondexter scored her 2,000th career point at West Virginia Feb. 10 and competed with the USA Basketball Senior National Team at the Opals World Challenge in Australia April 8-12. Pondexter played in 121 career games, making 103 starts, and averaged 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She finished her time "On the Banks" first in three-point field-goal percentage (164-385, .426), second in scoring (2,211), free throws made (427), field goals made (810) and field goals attempted (1,768), third in scoring average (18.3 ppg), three-point field goals made (164) and free throws attempted (539), fourth in three-point field goals attempted (385), fifth in assists (470), tied for sixth in free-throw percentage (427-539, .792) and tied for seventh in steals (213) on the RU career charts.
