Bird will get newly made position on U.S. girls’s crew

NEW YORK — Sue Bird is giving every other lend a hand to USA Basketball, turning into the managing director of the ladies’s nationwide crew.

The five-time Olympic champion used to be named to the newly created place Thursday, and it marks a significant trade in the best way the group creates its roster and training personnel.

“I played for USA Basketball for so long and always really enjoyed my time with them,” Bird informed The Associated Press. “I love representing my country. I love being competitive on that stage. To have that opportunity to do it in a different role is exciting.”

Before the trade, a committee made the ones selections, however now in a transfer very similar to what the U.S. males’s nationwide crew does, Bird would be the one chargeable for placing issues in combination. Grant Hill has the similar position at the males’s facet.

“We are really, really excited about Sue for so many reasons,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley stated. “Her pedigree and standing in the sport is so strong. Not just in women’s basketball, but all of sport. She’s a tremendous leader, and we’re very excited that she took this on for us.”

The males’s crew has had a managing director for 20 years with Jerry Colangelo serving in that spot from 2005 to 2021 prior to Hill took over.

“She’s had five Olympic gold medals herself and understands what’s involved,” Tooley stated. “Having the managing director position makes it easier to work with the staff for long-term vision of the program. It’s hard to do that with a committee that comes and goes and gets together a handful of times.”

Tooley stated Bird’s time period will probably be for 4 years, the similar because the Olympic cycle.

The trade to this construction has been within the works for a couple of years, neatly prior to the verdict no longer to choose Caitlin Clark for the 2024 Paris Games crew that left some other people disenchanted.

“Discussions happened after the ’21 Olympics, and Sue served on the board last quad,” Tooley stated. “We got in discussions about the managing director role, and we sat with her a while and she gave it a lot of consideration and thought. It’s an enormous responsibility.”

Bird stated she is used to the force of USA Basketball the place it is mainly win a gold medal or bust. The Americans have gained 8 instantly, together with on the Paris Games.

“This is a different type of pressure,” she stated. “I’m hoping to bring all that I learned as a player, all my experience, all my understanding. The whole goal is to win a gold medal, and it feels at times that’s the only option. … I know what it’s like to be a player, know what it’s like as a player to build teams and have teams come together and see what clicks.”

Before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Americans will play within the FIBA World Cup in Germany subsequent yr. The first qualifying tournament will happen in November. Besides working out what avid gamers will probably be on that crew, Bird must come to a decision who will probably be training the squad. There is not any simple selection at the moment.

“Of course I’ve started to think about it, jotting some names down here and there,” Bird stated. “It’s the first priority without a doubt. There are so many qualified coaches in college and the WNBA.”

Bird stated she does not have a selected period of time to have a trainer in position.