Just a few things before picnic time

Devan Newman leaves Louisville to take the assistant coach gig at Weber State.

Nicky Anosike finds her new location with the Washington Mystics suits her well.

ESPN cautions fans not to expect too much from rookie Maya Moore this season.

SLAMonline's WNBA previews archives.

Have a great Memorial Day.

U16 team announced

Big things poppin - here they are:

Recee’ Caldwell
Jordin Canada
Kaela Davis
Rebecca Greenwell
Linnae Harper
Stephanie Mavunga
Erica McCall
Taya Reimer
Mercedes Russell
Jannah Tucker
Sydney Umeri
Jatarah White

I'm not surprised at any of the selections - particularly Erica McCall and Mercedes Russell, who I've previewed and photographed for this space for a while now.

Congratulations to all.

Justine Hartman to attend Cal

The former UCLA signee, granted a release from her Letter of Intent two weeks ago, will play for Cal.

Catching up with the WNBA

Last night the Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Phoenix Mercury 83-72 in Albequerque, New Mexico. It's too bad the Sparks' news release doesn't include the attendance figures for the game, as the WNBA was testing the site for interest in considering the city for a team.

This morning the Atlanta Dream played in its Great Britain exhibition, handily putting away the host team 82-51.

This afternoon, the Seattle Storm pulled one out against the Tulsa Shock, who fought hard. The final score was 76=71. Superstar Australian import Elizabeth Cambage, in her first WNBA game for the Shock, said she was so nervous she threw up before the game. It's refreshing to hear about that kind of passion and caring in this day and age.

And then there were 34

U16 team is cut again today, from 53 to 34. Here's who is left standing.

Camp is over and the final, final cut will come soon.

My two horses are still in the race, so I'm pleased.

U16 roster cut to 53

There were two cuts today at camp - one around lunch time and the second late this afternoon. Here is who is still standing:

Lindsay Allen

Lynee' Belton

Jayda Bovero

Tasia Butler

Recee’ Caldwell

Sierra Calhoun

McKenzie Calvert

Jordin Canada

Alexis Carter

Jamie Cherry

Alaina Coates

Nia Coffey

Kendall Cooper

Kaela Davis

LaJahna Drummer

Sadie Edwards

Courtney Ekmark

Mackenzie Engram

Makayla Epps

Allisha Gray

Gabrielle Green

Rebecca Greenwell

Taryn Griffey

Linnae Harper

Kelli Hayes

Kianna Holland

Breonn Hughey

Jessica Jackson

Alex Lapeyrolerie

Erin Mathias

Stephanie Mavunga

Erica McCall

Kelsey Mitchell

Mariya Moore

Jaime Nared

Mikayla Reese

Taya Reimer

Jordan Reynolds

Alyssa Rice

Taylor Rooks

Mercedes Russell

Karlie Samuelson

Vanessa Smith

Lindsey Spann

Jannah Tucker

Brianna Turner

Sydney Umeri

Mikayla Venson

Jessica Washington

Makayla Waterman

Kendall Waters

Jatarie White

Peyton Whitted

USA Basketball stuff

USA Basketball interviews five of the participants after day two of the U16 trials.

In further USA Basketball news, it's nice to see Jacki Gemelos doing well. One publication thought so, too.

NCAA:

New UCSB Coach Carlene Mitchell has hired two former Rutgers players as her assistants.

WNBA:

Storm media day notebook has some good bits. According to player tweets, they had a lot of fun on their media day yesterday.....again. (Maybe that's one of the reasons they win so much together).

Sheryl Swoopes and Betty Lennox are ready to lead the Shock to success.

Hires of non-whites in women's basketball declining, organization says

A study by the Black Coaches and Administrators found that the hiring of non-whites to major positions in women's basketball is in decline.

Yikes.

One week until the start of WNBA season

Pro:

WNBA President Laurel Richie has issued a statement on the passing of Margo Dydek earlier today.

The league is testing for interest in Albequerque, New Mexico by staging a game there tomorrow: Sparks vs. Mercury at 6 p.m. MDT. The Sparks and their coaching staff left on a plane this morning.

Connecticut Sun guard Kara Lawson discusses the next step in the evolution of her game.

Prep:

ESPN has done a story like mine on Oregon prep star Mercedes Russell. In theirs, they even use the term "under the radar," like we did. But they might want to note that Russell is from Springfield - not Eugene.

She is currently trying out for the U16 team in Colorado. ESPN's Chris Hansen is there, and will provide full reports soon.

NCAA approves three-point line rule change

Remember that proposal to move the women's line back? It's been approved:

In women's basketball, the 3-point line will be moved back to 20 feet, 9 inches, which is the standard in the men's game. That means those floors that have been home to both men's and women's games no longer must contain multiple 3-point lines.

This is supposedly to encourage more inside play, but is this fair?