Kathy Richey-Walton

Kathy Richey-Walton named
Head Coach of 2010 USA Basketbal
Women's Youth Olympic Games Team

by USA Basketball

Colorado Springs, Co. - Kathy Richey-Walton, head coach at Southwest Dekalb High School in Decatur, Ga., today was named head mentor for the 2010 USA Basketball Women's Youth Olympic Games Team.

In 2005, Richey-Walton led her first USA Basketball team to a silver medal as head coach of the USA White Team in the USA Basketball Women's Youth Development Festival. In eight seasons at the helm of the Southwest Dekalb Panthers (2002-03 to present), Richey-Walton has tallied a 182-53 overall record (.774 winning percentage) and won the past three Georgia Class 4A state titles.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to coach some of the most talented young basketball players in the country and to be a part of the developmental process for USA Basketball," Richey-Walton said. "I'm excited to have some additional exposure to the international game and to be a part of the best our country has to offer in girl's basketball."

The four-member 2010 USA Women's Youth Olympic Games Team will be selected following the USA Basketball Women's U17 World Championship/Youth Olympic Games Team Trials, June 8-11 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Players eligible for this competition must have been born between Jan. 1, 1993 and Dec. 31, 1994.

"I think our team will definitely have to be in tremendous shape," Richey-Walton continued. "A lot of conditioning and development of the fundamentals will help them in the three-on-three format, and playing together to get to know each other will make them a strong team."

Athletes for the 2010 USA Women's Youth Olympic Games Team are selected by the USA Basketball Women's Developmental Committee, chaired in a non-voting position by Carol Callan, the USA Basketball Women's National Team Director. Richey-Walton's selection is pending approval of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors.

"Kathy is a tremendous fit for the 2010 USA Women's Youth Olympic Games Team," Callan said. "The Youth Olympic Games will require not only an experienced, knowledgeable coach for a 3-on-3 tournament, which Kathy certainly is, but she is also someone who can help this team understand what Olympic values and this competition are all about."

The USA U17 World Championship/Youth Olympic Games Team trials roster features 10 players from the gold medal winning 2009 USA U16 National Team, including 2009 FIBA Americas U16 MVP Elizabeth Williams (Princess Anne H.S./Virginia Beach, Va.) and the USA's leading scorer Kaleena Lewis (Mater Dei H.S./Anaheim, Calif.); as well as gold medalists Jordan Adams (Mater Dei H.S./Irvine, Calif.); Cierra Burdick (Butler H.S./Matthews, N.C.); Bashaara Graves (Clarksville H.S./Clarksville, Tenn.); Betnijah Laney (Smyrna H.S./Clayton, Del.); Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook H.S./Bolingbrook, Ill.); Breanna Stewart (Cicero North Syracuse H.S./North Syracuse, N.Y.); Kiah Stokes (Linn Mar H.S./Marion, Iowa); and Alexyz Vaioletama (Mater Dei H.S./Fountain Valley, Calif.).

Rounding out the trials roster are: Ameryst Alston (McKinley H.S./Canton, Ohio); Danielle Ballard (Memphis Central H.S./Memphis, Tenn.); Alyson Beebe (St. Joseph H.S./Santa Maria, Calif.); Kayla Brewer (Jean Ribault H.S./Jacksonville, Fla.); Briyona Canty (Trenton Catholic Academy/Willingboro, N.J.); Andraya Carter (Buford H.S./Flowery Branch, Ga.); Sidney Cook (Southmoore H.S./Moore, Okla.); Kaela Davis (Norcross H.S./Norcross, Ga.); Diamond DeShields (Norcross H.S./Norcross, Ga.); Alexa Gallagher (Germantown Academy/Elkins Park, Pa.); Taylor Greenfield (Ballard H.S./Huxley, Iowa); Isabelle Harrison (Hillsboro H.S./Nashville, Tenn.); Amber Henson (Sickles H.S./Tampa, Fla.); Rachel Hollivay (New Hope H.S./Columbus, Miss.); Malina Howard (Twinsburg H.S./Twinsburg, Ohio); Moriah Jefferson (Texas Home Educators Sports Association/Glenn Heights, Texas); Niya Johnson (PK Yonge Developmental Research School/Gainesville, Fla.); Alexis Jones (Irving MacArthur H.S./Irving, Texas); Jewell Loyd (Niles West H.S./Lincolnwood, Ill.); Xylina McDaniel (Spring Valley H.S./Blythewood, S.C.); Alexis Prince (Edgewater H.S./Maitland, Fla.); Tiffany Rice-Mitchell (Providence Day School/Charlotte, N.C.); Bonnie Samuelson (Edison H.S./Huntington Beach, Calif.); Bria Smith (Christ the King H.S./Massapequa, N.Y.); Imani Stafford (Winward H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.); and Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook H.S./Bolingbrook, Ill.).

Under Coach Walton the Lady Panthers from Southwest DeKalb have won 3 concecutive Georgia State Championships.

All sessions will be held at the training center's Sports Center II. The first session will take place June 8 at 5:30 p.m. (all times are MDT); followed by sessions on June 9 at 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m.; and June 10 at 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 4:00-6:00 p.m. The 2010 USA Youth Olympic Games Team will be announced on the morning of June 11 and will remain in Colorado Springs for training through June 15.

The USA Women's Youth Olympic Games Team will reassemble on Aug. 5 at a site to be determined and train through Aug. 10 before departing for Singapore.

Richey-Walton has collected numerous coaching awards, including the 2008 and 2010 Garland F. Pinholster High School Coach of the Year; 2009 Black Coaches and Administrators National High School Coach of the Year; 2009 Bobby Cremins State Coach of the Year; 2008, 2009 and 2010 DeKalb County Coach of the Year; and 2009 Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Teacher of the Year.

Richey-Walton also coaches for the Georgia Metros AAU, where she has led the Metros 16-and-Under team to four national championships. Winning the 16-and-Under AAU Nationals and the 17-and-Under U.S. Junior Nationals in 2005, the Georgia Metros went on to repeat as the 17-and-Under U.S. Junior National champions and won the Nike National Championship in 2006. Players such as 2009-12 USA Women's National Team member Maya Moore (Connecticut), Kelley Cain (Tennessee), Ashley Houts (Georgia), Jordan Greenleaf (Auburn) and Janae Stokes (South Florida) were members of those teams.