AURORA | Fran Belibi’s game is going international, as the Regis Jesuit High School standout basketball player has made the USA Under-16 national team.
The budding 6-foot-1 forward survived four days of cuts as a group of 133 invitees was pared down to 18 on Monday, then she made it onto the final roster of 12 as announced by USA Basketball Wednesday morning.
Belibi will remain in Colorado Springs for a short training camp with the other 11 selections before the team departs on Sunday for Buenos Aires, Argentina, site of the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship June 7-11.
Per a press release from USA Basketball, the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee is responsible for the selections. Players eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens born on or after Jan. 1, 2001.
“We are thrilled about these 12 players that the committee has chosen,” USA head coach Carla Berube said in a statement. “I think we bring a lot of athleticism, strength and a high-basketball IQ. I think they are going to play some really great defense, along with creating for each other. We are going to work the next five days, and get ready for Argentina and put together a strong team that plays together, plays hard, plays smart and represents the United States the way it should be. And, hopefully make our country proud.”
Belibi, 15, had already been on the USA Basketball radar with her play at the organization’s 3-on-3 national tournament in April. The versatile 6-foot-1 forward has been adding more and more facets to her game since she began to play basketball just two years ago and now has hundreds of standing college scholarship offers after her dunks went viral.
Belibi helped her Regis Jesuit team make it to the Class 5A state semifinals in the winter season as she averaged 15.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 2.6 steals per game. She also played in the inaugural A-Town All-Stars girls game in March.
The full USA U-16 roster: FRAN BELIBI (REGIS JESUIT H.S.); Aliyah Boston (Worcester Academy/Worcester, Mass.); Samantha Brunelle (William Monroe H.S./Ruckersville, Va.); Paige Bueckers (Hopkins H.S./Eden Prairie, Minn.); Caitlin Clark (Dowling Catholic H.S./West Des Moines, Iowa); Zia Cooke (Rogers H.S./Toledo, Ohio); Azzi Fudd (Potomac School/Falls Church, Va.); Jordan Horston (Columbus Africentric Early College/Columbus, Ohio); Diamond Miller (Franklin H.S./Somerset, N.J.); Jordyn Oliver (Prosper H.S./Prosper, Texas); Celeste Taylor (Long Island Lutheran H.S./Valley Stream, N.Y.) and Kylee Watson (Mainland Regional H.S./Linwood, N.J.).
