Outpoll | Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese bring a youth movement to USA Basketball camp

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Down in Durham, at a USA Basketball camp that feels less like a formal gathering and more like the coolest pickup run you’ve ever imagined, the future of the women’s game just showed up and took its seat at the table. The headline act? A trio of names that have dominated college hoops and are now taking the WNBA by storm: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese.For years, we’ve watched them go at each other’s throats in epic NCAA battles and now as pro rivals, but this weekend at Duke, they’re finally on the same side, slipping on that red, white, and blue practice gear for the first time with the senior national team. It’s a passing of the torch you can actually see happening in real time, with legends like Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird (now the managing director for USA Basketball) having stepped off the court, making room for this explosive new class.Bueckers, always with a knack for the perfect vibe, even slapped a nickname on their crew: “Young and Turnt,” a throwback phrase used by past youth teams that perfectly captures the infectious energy they’re bringing. It’s not just those three, either.The camp roster reads like a who’s-who of next-gen talent—Cameron Brink, Aaliyah Boston, and the phenomenal freshman JuJu Watkins are all there, getting their first taste of what it means to represent the USA at the highest level. The average age of the 17 players is just over 25, which is wild when you consider the legacy they’re stepping into: eight straight Olympic gold medals and four consecutive world championships.That’s a dynasty built by the very veterans they’re now learning from. Bueckers hit the nail on the head talking about that dynamic, saying the young group wants to “ask them questions, soak it up, be a sponge” to absorb that championship experience.But what’s really fascinating here is the built-in chemistry. These players aren’t strangers; they’ve been battling since their AAU and FIBA youth national team days.That familiarity, as Bueckers pointed out, creates an immediate comfort level. “We kind of know each other and it's more comfortable that way, too,” she said.“We're all coming in and we're having the same expectations of just wanting to go in there and compete and have fun and bring our vibes in and just be us. ” That’s a powerful foundation.Sue Bird, from her new front-office perch, framed this camp as a crucial tone-setter. “What is it to wear USA on your chest?” she asked, drawing from her experience of winning five Olympic golds.“Whether it's a World Cup qualifier we'll get to in March or hopefully the gold-medal game of a big competition, you have to set the tone on Day 1. ” This camp is that Day 1 for so many of these athletes.

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#USA Basketball

#Caitlin Clark

#Paige Bueckers

#Angel Reese

#WNBA

#Olympic team

#youth movement

#training camp