Olympic great Sue Bird to be first managing director of USA Basketball women’s national team

Sue Bird helps US basketball further support and becomes the managing director of the women’s national team.

The five -time Olympic champion was appointed to the newly created position on Thursday and marks a big change in the way the organization creates its roster and your coaching team.

“I played basketball for USA for so long and always really enjoyed my time with them,” said Bird in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. “I love to represent my country. I love to be competitive on this stage. It is exciting to have this opportunity to do this in a different role.”

Before the change, a committee made these decisions, but now Bird will be the one who is responsible for putting things together in a move, similar to the US men’s national team. Grant Hill plays the same role on the side of the men.

“We are very, very excited about Sue for so many reasons,” said Jim Tooley, CEO of the USA basketball, in a telephone interview. “Your family tree and you stand in sport is so strong. Not only in women’s basketball, but in the entire sport. She is an enormous leader and we are very excited that she has taken on this for us.”

The men’s team has had a managing director for two decades, in which Jerry Colangelo serves at this place from 2005 to 2001 before Hill took over.

“She had five Olympic gold medals herself and understands what participates,” said Tooley. “The position of the managing director makes it easier to work with the employees for a long -term vision of the program. It is difficult to do this with a committee that meets and meet a few times.”

Tooley said that bird observation will be for four years – just like the Olympic cycle – and the change in this structure for several years, long before the decision not to choose Caitlin Clark for the 2024 Paris Games team that some people upset has not been chosen.

“Discussions occurred after the 2002 Olympic Games served the last quad in front of the board,” said Tooley. “We played discussions about the role of the managing director and sat with her for a while and she took into account and thought about it. It is enormous responsibility.”

Bird said she was used to the pressure of the USA basketball, where he basically wins a gold medal or bust. The Americans won eight in a row, including one at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.

“This is a different kind of pressure,” she said. “I hope to bring everything I have learned as a player, all my experience, all my understanding. The whole goal is to win a gold medal, and it is sometimes the only option.

Before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the Americans will play at the FIBA ​​World Cup in Germany next year. The first qualified event will take place in November. In addition to the output, not only finding out which players will be in this team, Bird has to decide who will train the squad. At the moment there is no clear choice.

“Of course I started to think about it and have written down some names here and there,” said Bird. “It is undoubtedly the first priority. There are so many qualified coaches in college and in the WNBA.”

Bird said that she has no certain time frame for a trainer.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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