• Day 3 Practice Report

• GALLERY: Day 3 Action

• VIDEO: Elena Delle Donne

One night nearly nine years ago still fuels members of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, because it’s the one that got away.

Over the last 20 years the various players that have earned roster spots have compiled a ridiculous 86-1 record in major international competitions, including gold medals in the last five Olympics, a 2007 title in the FIBA Americas Championship and gold in four of the last five FIBA World Championships. That one blemish, a 75-68 loss to Russia, came in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and by the organization’s own absurdly high standards the game still stands out.

“That’s what USA Basketball is at this point,” said guard Sue Bird, who just completed mini-camp in pursuit of her fourth Olympic gold medal. “It’s not a story if we win, it’s a story if we lose.”

Forward/center Candace Parker is one of the veterans now, a player to be leaned on for her experience and success. But back in 2006 she was one of the new players eager for her first taste of major international experience, and after defeating Russia during the preliminary round the rematch, and thus the tournament, didn’t go as planned.

“You don’t want to be on that team,” Parker said. “You view it as a learning experience, but you can’t change it.”

Three players who practiced in this week’s three-day mini-camp at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center — Bird, Parker and guard Seimone Augustus — were on that squad, as were current USA National Team members Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings. Since then they’ve formed the core of a team that responded more motivated than ever.

There have been several close calls and tough games over the years, more than fans probably realize, but that loss obviously stood out. It served as the driving force, Bird said, of a 2008 Olympic gold-medal run that included the largest margin of victory (37.6 points per game) of any of the competitions over the last two decades.

“We were a machine in that Olympics,” Bird said. “Why? Because we had lost two years before. There was another champion and we needed to take that crown back.”

When the goal is not just greatness but perfection, even the smallest blemishes stand out. Parker was disappointed by a bronze medal as her debut but since then she’s grown up fast in the system, helping to win two Olympic golds along the way.

“I came here wide-eyed and now I’m 29,” Parker said. “It’s a unique experience and it goes fast. You turn from a rookie to a vet very quickly.”

That process has featured not only the progression of age but, more importantly, the progression of abilities. Every time the USA Basketball Women’s National Team assembles, there’s a group of young players looking for their chance to break in to the final roster, and along the way players in that core group have fought for their positions and fought off the competition.

“If they had stayed the same as they were seven years ago, some of these guys might have passed them,” head coach Geno Auriemma said. “What makes them who they are is they get better.”

It’s a major piece of the teaching philosophy every time a camp roster is assembled. A player doesn’t make the invitation list if they’re not supremely talented, so that ability alone is not enough. It takes an extra amount of commitment to find out what it’s going to take to get to, and then stay, at that top level and then devote yourself to it.

That core group is nearing the end of its run in USA Basketball, but it’s not done yet. They’ve worked too hard to keep themselves near the top of the player pool, and assuming they make the roster once again there’s no reason to expect them to not do anything necessary to bring home another gold medal.

“We know what it’s like to lose,” Bird said, “and we never want to experience that again.”

• VIDEO: Elena Delle Donne Interview

• GALLERY: Day 3 Action

After the final buzzer sounded, USA Basketball Women’s National Team head coach Geno Auriemma gathered his players around one last time before this week’s three-day mini-camp ended. There were several messages, but one of the most important was that the evaluations for the team that will compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, don’t end when they leave Las Vegas.

The five-member selection committee will have their eyes on players moving forward into the WNBA season and beyond as they look for the pieces that will best fit together to chase a sixth-straight Olympic gold medal.

“Give us a reason that we have to have you,” Auriemma told the group. “Not just want you here, but have to have you.”

Several of USA Basketball’s top players didn’t participate in this camp at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center, including Tamika Catchings, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, though the latter was still in town cheering from the sidelines. Their absences gave more court time to players who could be big factors in the next wave of USA Basketball talent, though Auriemma emphasized that they don’t necessarily have to wait their turn.

Experience gives the veterans an advantage but they have to prove their worth the same as everyone else.

“You have to earn your way onto this team, and you’re going to make this team based on merit,” Auriemma said. “Because guess what, we’ve won Olympics and we’ve won World Championships with you and without you.”

Forward/center Breanna Stewart has a few USA Basketball gold medals already on her resume, including the 2014 FIBA World Championship, and next year could be her first shot at the Olympics. She still has another season to play for Auriemma at Connecticut but in the time Stewart has spent around USA Basketball her coach has seen her transform into a “completely different player.” The goal is for that to continue.

“If I can keep gaining experience and realizing what I need to get better at, then I can take that back to school and get better this summer and hopefully make another appearance at training camp at the end of fall,” Stewart said.

Getting another invite is the ideal for scenario for each player who participated in this camp. Some won’t make it, and even many who do won’t make the final Olympics roster.

It’s a reality of the system but the fate it still in the players’ hands, Auriemma said. What they do next matters, and then down the road the difficult job of paring the group down is the challenge for the group tasked with naming the final roster.

“I feel sorry for the committee,” said guard Skylar Diggins, “because picking 12 players is going to be tough with all this talent.”

Moore Only Knows One Speed

Auriemma had been a little worried about the players letting up or getting sloppy on the third and final day of mini-camp but outside of one lopsided scrimmage he was pleased with the results.

Overall he liked the group’s performance throughout camp. Players took great efforts to work within the team structure and not just be the stars they are for their regular teams. Well, most of them did.

“Everybody was trying to blend in, except Maya Moore,” he said. “Maya just dominates every situation she’s in.”

Bird Gets Social

It takes a while to cultivate team chemistry, and with only three days together it’s not the easiest thing to accomplish. In an attempt to make up for that, veteran guard Sue Bird said she tries to come out of her shell earlier and more often to create relationships within the group.

Bird is an expert on both USA Basketball and Auriemma, whom she played for at Connecticut, so she has a lot to offer as a leader. And when camp gets started she forces herself to provide some of those insights sooner than later so that by the time it’s done she’s been able to add some elements to the team’s chemistry.

“That kind of stuff usually needs a lot of time to develop and we don’t have a lot of time, so you want to get a jump start on it,” Bird said.

Thanks for passing the torch Pops! Cool moment with him in the Hornet Uni #FathertoSon pic.twitter.com/kSBhxhYSNK

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) February 15, 2015