Former Kentucky, Louisville stars to play for Team USA in Olympics

Start sharpening your knowledge about three-on-three basketball because two players with Kentucky ties will be representing Team USA in that sport at this summer’s Olympic Games in France.

Rhyne Howard, who starred at Kentucky, and Hailey Van Lith, who launched her decorated college career at Louisville, are part of the four-player United States roster that will head to Paris July 26-Aug. 11. The three-on-three schedule starts with pool-play games July 30 and ends with the gold medal game on Aug. 5.

Joining Howard and Van Lith will be former Stanford star Cameron Brink of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and Cierra Burdick, a former Tennessee standout who now plays professionally overseas.

The four athletes were chosen for the Olympic team after a recent training camp in Springfield, Massachusetts, and each has previous USA Basketball experience in both the five-on-five and three-on-three formats.

Jennifer Rizzotti, president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, will coach the team with assistance from Rhode Island’s Tammi Reiss.

Three-on-three is played on a halfcourt with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams “clear” the ball behind the 2-point line after a made basket, defensive rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points via 1-point field goals or 2-pointers behind the arc is victorious; or if time expires then the team leading wins.

Howard, a two-time WNBA All-Star and unanimous 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year, is in her third season playing for the Atlanta Dream. Seven games into this season, the 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 16.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, helping the Dream to a 4-3 record.

Her 2.6 steals per game are the second-most in the league.

Howard will be the first women’s basketball player in program history to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. She finished her four seasons at Kentucky from 2018-2022 as UK’s second-leading career scorer with 2,290 points.

Van Lith spent her first three college seasons at Louisville, where she helped lead the Cardinals to an NCAA Final Four and an Elite Eight. She played last season at LSU, helping the Tigers also reach the NCAA quarterfinals.

The 5-7 guard will complete her eligibility as a graduate student this coming season at Texas Christian University.

Van Lith is the only active Division I player with at least 1,900 points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists.

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