LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell may have spent the last year promoting purple and gold, but this summer she represented red, white and blue. The USA Basketball Women’s U-18 National Team selected Caldwell to be an assistant coach at the FIBA Americas Championship. Caldwell said she was ecstatic when she received a phone call from Women’s National Team Director Carol Callan asking her if she was interested in taking the job. She particularly looked forward to the chance to work with Miami Head Coach Katie Meier, who was head coach for the tournament, and Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves, who assisted along with Caldwell. “I was honored and immediately said yes,” Caldwell said. “I was excited to coach that caliber of kids and I was equally excited to work with Katie and Kelly.” Caldwell acknowledged that when gathering a group of such talented athletes, many of whom have never played with each other, it is hard to predict how the team chemistry will shape up. Fortunately, she said the team knew what it was playing for and matured quickly. “It was a great experience,” Caldwell said. “We were able to bring a group of young ladies together to play for a common goal.” Other than a small scare against Brazil in the finals match, the United States cruised to a gold medal, defeating their opponents by an average of 47.4 points per game. Despite the uneventful nature of Team USA’s victory, Caldwell said it didn’t take anything away from earning the gold medal. “It was a memorable moment standing on that podium and being able to raise your hands high,” Caldwell said. “We enjoyed the fact that we were first place and being able to hear the national anthem.” Caldwell was able to use the trip as an educational experience. ____
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