UAB'S Jackson Names to the USA Basketball R. Williams Jones Cup Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UAB's Deanna Jackson, who led the Blazers to the Sweet 16 in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, was named to the 12-member, USA Basketball R. William Jones Cup squad today by the USA Basketball Women's Select Committee, following the five-day Women's Summer Development Camp/Jones Cup Team trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jackson, a 6-2, junior-to-be forward who led the nation with 24 double-doubles last year while averaging 19 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, was among 45 women's basketball players from across the country who were invited to the tryouts.

A C-USA first team All-Conference selection, Jackson and the rest of the U.S. team, which features four players from SEC schools and three from the 2000 National Champion Connecticut Huskies, will return to the U.S. Olympic Training Center July 3, where they will train before departing on July 13 for the R. William Jones Cup. The tournament is scheduled for July 16-20 in Taipei, Taiwan.

The USA Basketball R. William Jones Cup Team will reassemble on Aug. 29 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to begin training for a Sept. 3 exhibition game with the U.S. Women's Senior National Team. The contest, held at the University of Hawaii, will be televised nationally at 5:00 p.m. (EST) by ESPN2 and will be the final domestic exhibition game for the USA National Team before it leaves for Australia to continue preparations for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Included on the 2000 R. William Jones Cup Team are Brandi McCain, Florida; Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt; Kelly Shumacher, Connecticut; Michelle Snow, Tennessee; Sue Bird, Connecticut; Marie Ferdinand, Louisiana State; Camille Cooper, Purdue; Loree Payne, Washington; Shea Ralph, Connecticut; Jackie Stiles, SW Mo. State; Brooke Wycoff, Florida State and Jackson.