‘So many legends.’ Kentucky’s newest star chasing Olympic dream with home country.

Months before she became a Kentucky Wildcat, Georgia Amoore said in February that it would be a dream to represent her home country of Australia on the basketball floor this summer.

This week, the recent UK transfer from Virginia Tech will have the opportunity for the first time to compete for an Olympic roster spot on her national team.

In March, Amoore received an email prior to her second round NCAA Tournament game against Baylor inviting her to compete with 25 other players for 12 Australian roster spots for the Summer Olympics from July 26-Aug. 11 in Paris.

The Opals, as the national team is known, will play three tune-up games in China this week — Wednesday, Friday and Sunday — along with a series of training camps and exhibitions in preparation for the Summer Games. This is Amoore’s time to shine, as several of Australia’s veteran stars won’t be in China this week because their WNBA season is ongoing.

Amoore, 23, is among numerous women’s basketball greats on Australia’s tryout roster, including her idol, Lauren Jackson, Rebecca Allen and Alanna Smith.

Amoore, an All-America point guard at Virginia Tech who transferred to Kentucky in April to anchor former Hokies coach Kenny Brooks’ first UK team, is honored to be a part of such a talented and deep Australia program but hasn’t had a lot of time to process it.

When she received the email, her focus was leading the Hokies in the 2023-24 postseason without injured star Elizabeth Kitley.

“It was pretty cool. I mean it was a quick process. They emailed me the same day that we played in the NCAA Tournament,” Amoore said. “I didn’t even really have time to digest it. I literally checked the email and then we walked over to Cassell (Coliseum), then we had warm-ups and then we lost.”

Once Amoore dealt with the abrupt end to her college career at Virginia Tech she was able to think about the invitation.

“It was exciting, but then pretty quickly it was like, ‘All right, I gotta get ready. I gotta prep.’ So after that, all I have been doing is just prepping,” Amoore said.

“It’s been a little stressful just to put pressure on yourself to try and be the best. At the same time, that team is so talented and that roster runs deep.”

New friends

Kentucky’s future point guard also was recently invited to attend the Dawg Class, a camp run by two-time Las Vegas Aces champion Kelsey Plum that helps college athletes bridge the gap to the pros.

Amoore has always admired Plum, on the court and off.

She loves that Plum is undersized (5-foot-8) and feisty and aspires to those qualities herself at 5-foot-6.

The experience was impactful and unforgettable, Amoore said.

“It was so fun. The girls were so fun. I knew of a lot of them, but I never had really connected with them on a personal level. But it was so good to get a bunch of girls that were so driven together, and we had great balance and had a little fun at the same time as we worked hard.”

While at the three-day Dawg Class, Amoore also built a friendship with UConn sophomore-to-be KK Arnold.

“KK just is so fun to be around, she’s a great energy, a great spirit. She matches my energy, I match her energy. We had a great time together and you know that at the end of the day I had to remind myself that she was literally just a freshman this past season and she did so many great things and I value her. She’s a great person,” Amoore said.

The camp also included former Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and Raven Johnson, North Carolina State’s Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson, former Iowa star Kate Martin of the Las Vegas Aces, former UConn standout Nika Muhl of the Seattle Storm, and Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers.

After completing her fifth year of college eligibility under Brooks at Kentucky, Amoore is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 WNBA draft.

The challenges ahead

Before working on turning around Kentucky or moving on to the pros, Amoore’s focus this summer is on making the Opals squad and competing for her home country in Paris.

“I’ve been really focused on trying to perform as well as I can but still learn so much from them because I am young,” she said. “I’ve never been on that squad before and there’s so many legends and so many veterans. So, all I can really do is just learn.”

Australia coach Sandy Brondello said this week’s trip will be critical for the 12-player contingent in China attempting to earn final Olympic roster spots. All of Amoore’s teammates this week are professional players in Australian leagues.

“Games such as these where we test players in real conditions with travel, accommodation and multiple games is where we can make some key assessments,” Brondello told the Townsville Bulletin in Australia. “There will be another tour announced soon that will give other members of the squad an opportunity, then we will cut the list down.”

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