BOULDER — University of Colorado sophomore forward Julie Seabrook will be playing for the Canada National Junior Team at the the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, to be contested July 23-August 2 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Team Canada will begin pool play against Russia on Thursday, July 23, at 2:15 p.m. local time, 1:15 a.m. in Boulder. Canada will play Tunisia on Friday, July 24, at 12 a.m. MDT and Japan on Saturday, July 25, at 2:15 a.m. MDT to wrap up pool play. The championship consists of 16 countries, four in each pool. The top three countries in each pool advance to a second round robin and the top eight teams after the second round advance to quarterfinals.
Seabrook, a native of North Vancouver, B.C., participated in a three-day tryout in Hamilton, Ont., June 6-8, and from there was invited back to the Team Canada training camp where she officially made the 12-player roster that left for Thailand over the weekend.
“I am so happy, and so proud to represent Canada again at the World Championships,” Seabrook said. "Tryouts and training camp was extremely competitive. We were with a bunch of girls that could have all made the team. A lot of them were NEDA (National Elite Development Academy, where Seabrook spent her senior year in high school) girls and some were coming back from colleges, both Canadian and American. Everyone had improved and the competition level was intense.”
Seabrook is a veteran of several Canada Junior National teams including the 2007 U19 World Championship squad that placed ninth in Slovakia. She feels more of a connection this time around with the Canadian National Team. In 2007 she was selected to the team as opposed to going through qualifiers and open tryouts. Seabrook helped Canada gain entry into the World Championships as her team placed second at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, last summer, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“All of these girls are my best friends that I have played with for a while, and the coach (Rich Chambers), I’ve known since I was little,” Seabrook said. “I just feel very connected to this team and it will be a very good experience.”
Seabrook played in 24 games as a first-year Buffalo in 2008-09, averaging just under two points per game while grabbing 2.6 rebounds per contest. She hit 48.3 percent from the field (14-of-29) and her rebounding total ranked 10th among all freshmen in the Big 12 this last season.
“Julie’s experience at CU and playing in the Big 12 Conference has prepared her mentally and physically to take her game to another level,” CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “She’s been exposed to some of the most talented, physical and athletic post players in the country. She’s been able to take the time between our season and the Team Canada tryouts to develop into an even better low post player.”
Seabrook joins a recent wave of Colorado players who have spanned the globe with various national teams. Current teammate Bianca Smith played for USA Athletes International on a European tour earlier this summer. Former All-Big 12 forward Jackie McFarland (2004-08) played for Athletes in Action on the 2007 U.S. Jones Cup Team in Taiwan. Former Buffalo Aija Putnina (2006-08) played for Latvia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing while Dina Piterniece (2007-09, Latvia) and Yari Escalera (2004-06, Puerto Rico) also saw time on their respective junior national teams.
