WNBA All-Star Basketball Without Borders camp is opportunity for international players to be seen

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Georgia Amoore went to an international basketball camp at the 2019 Final Four and was seen for the first time by Virginia Tech coaches.

That led to a scholarship at the school where the Australian guard eventually led the Hokies their first Final Four in 2023. Now the Washington Mystics rookie is an instructor at a Basketball Without Borders camp, which is in its third year, that’s connected to the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend.

“It’s a full circle moment,” Amoore, who was the No. 6 pick by the Mystics in April, told The Associated Press on Saturday. “It was my first time exposure, my first time getting a real scholarship offer. Now it’s amazing because I can help and talk to all these girls from so many countries.”

More than 25 different countries and territories were represented at the camp with players coming from as far as Japan and Australia. There were dozens of college coaches ranging from Power 4 schools to mid-majors in attendance, as well as WNBA general managers.

Last year’s camp in Phoenix yielded more than 30 college scholarships for the players, including Bianca Quiñonez, a 6-foot-2 forward from Milagro, Ecuador, who will be headed to defending champion UConn this fall.

“If you look at the history of Basketball Without Borders, as it pertains to girls, especially, there are players who consistently go to college, consistently get drafted so that in and of itself is proof that this is important and meaningful,” said camp director Allison Feaster, who is also the Boston Celtics’ vice president of team operations and organizational growth.

Amoore remembers that in her international camp, her current Mystics teammate Aaliyah Edwards of Canada and Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl of Croatia participated as well.

The trio became friends at the camp and Muhl stopped by Saturday afternoon. She and Amoore are both going through ACL rehabs right now.

Amoore said that while there are language barriers with so many different countries represented, the teams are able to communicate through the sport.

“A lot of demonstrating a lot of kind of like sign language,” she said. “A lot of these girls are so impressive because even if they don’t speak good English, they speak well enough to be able to, you know, translate or get them anywhere.”

Feaster said she has seen how these camps can change players’ lives.

“When open doors you get a chance to see their levels to all of this,” she said. “It plants the seed for them to want to continue and succeed.”

All of the camp’s players will attend the All-Star Game on Saturday night.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball