Two more ex-UConn Huskies are Tokyo bound.
The Chicago Sky’s Stefanie Dolson and Seattle Storm’s Katie Lou Samuelson, who last month secured Team USA a spot in 3x3 basketball for the Tokyo Olympics, were officially named to the U.S. 3x3 Olympic roster on Wednesday, alongside the Las Vegas Aces’ Kelsey Plum and Dallas Wings’ Allisha Gray.
The two former UConn All-Americans and national champions will join in Tokyo five other former Huskies from the Team USA’s women’s 5x5 basketball team (Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier). The 3x3 basketball event is in its first year of Olympic competition, and this is Samuelson’s and Dolson’s first Summer Games.
“Being an Olympian is something that I’ve always dreamed of since I’ve been little playing basketball watching the USA team always go for gold,” Samuelson, 24, told reporters Wednesday. “To actually achieve it and do it in a different route than I might have thought at first because this wasn’t an option growing up, it’s just really cool to be part of that first group, and to have Olympian around your name, that’s just crazy”
“It’s special in its own way,” added Dolson, 29, who’s been a longtime part of the U.S. national team pool. “I’ve been trying to make 5-on-5, which we all know is a very hard team to make, especially for me who’s someone who does more of the little things.
“But to be able to make a team and to be able to make the 3-on-3 team is even cooler, honestly. It’s a new sport in the Olympics, so to get that honor is even, I think, better. We have this smaller team of just four people so we all get to highlight what we’re good at, so I’m just very excited.”
The 3x3 team is coached by Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson.
“I’m thrilled for these four women, all first time Olympians.” Lawson said in a statement. “Their dedication these past 18 months to help position USA Basketball in Tokyo is being rewarded. Now, the real work begins. I’m confident that this group will be able to put together performances that represent our standard. This will be our most challenging tournament to date, but I love the competitors that we are bringing with us.”
In the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in May, the U.S. squad finished in first place according to FIBA’s rankings, which are determined by points scored. The USA averaged 21.2 points, with the winner of 3x3 games being the first to score 21 points. Samuelson, Dolson, Gray and Plum weren’t technically guaranteed spots in Tokyo (the Olympic roster was formalized after the USA Basketball 3X Nationals), but they were presumptive top contenders to represent their country.
“I’m very happy that it’s the same team that was able to go to the qualification tournament in Austria,” Dolson said. “The four of us have worked hard to get to where we are now with 3-on-3. We’ve been training together in the offseason. We’ve put a lot of time and work into it, so for them to reward us, to actually put us on the team means a lot to us and just shows that the hard work has paid off.”
“3-on-3 is a hard game to just pick up with any group,” Samuelson added. “If you can get practice together and really create that chemistry, you have a better advantage in trying to go as far as you can. We really felt like at the end of that Olympic qualifying tournament, we were playing our best basketball together, and so we’re excited to just pick up from there and continue on in Tokyo.”
The U.S. went undefeated in the Olympic qualifying tournament, with Gray leading the team in scoring with an average of 6.5 points, followed by Dolson (5.7), Plum (5.3) and Samuelson (3.7).
The team will have a short training camp, which will be held after the WNBA season pauses for its Olympic break, before departing for Tokyo. The 3x3 Olympic competition will feature eight women’s teams — the U.S. China, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, France, Japan and Italy. The preliminary round will be held July 24-27, with the quarterfinals occurring on July 27 and the semifinals and finals both set for July 28.
“It’s just more fun, a little bit more streetball-esque,” Dolson said. “I think people will really enjoy it and like watching it when they really give it a chance.”
It’ll be a little bittersweet for the players that they can’t enjoy the full Olympic experience: Samuelson and Dolson weren’t entirely sure what sorts of protocols they’ll have to follow once in Tokyo, including whether they can attend other events and meet up with other athletes. Their families won’t be able to attend amid the ongoing pandemic. Samuelson at least got to share the special moment she got the call informing her she made the team with her father, who happened to be in town that day.
“It’s been my dream, but it’s also been my family’s dream to see me go, so it is sad, it is disappointing that my family can’t come,” Dolson said. “I know they all would have come. But they’ve already been talking about when they have to be up for the games, my sister already bought my niece Olympic pajamas. They’ll be supporting from afar.”
