Rose Anderson has been guaranteed a spot in Great Britain’s squad for this summer’s Eurobasket finals, even though the Scot has been forced to take a year out of the sport.
NCAA rules have seen the Edinburgh-born guard barred from continuing to play at university in Oklahoma after her eligibility ended when she failed to finish up her degree inside four years.
The hiatus threatens to leave the 22-year-old hugely short of practice before June’s showpiece in Poland.
However GB coach Tom Maher insists Anderson – who has been rowing competitively at Central Oklahoma while securing the remaining credits she needs to graduate – will not be dropped.
“She’s done enough to get selected in the team,†the Australian said. “Rose is one of those diamonds in the rough. She just hasn’t played in finals.
“She’s got a lot of talent but she’s typical of British players going to the USA: they play in fairly low quality programmes because those are the scholarships they get. They don’t learn much. But I love what she brings to our team.â€
Anderson was the regular sixth man as Britain qualified for their first-ever major finals last summer.
Maher, though, believes she must enhance her skills during the build-up to he Eurobasket to showcase herself for a move into the professional ranks.
“She’s an intelligent girl,†he said. “She’d have learnt more if she’d been in a better (college) system.
“That’s why she’s a diamond in the rough. She’s entices you because she’s got special qualities. She loves to represent her nation and she puts her heart out there. But she has to learn at a new level.
“You have to love her. I see a lot of her in me when I was younger. I like her team spirit but she has to get her methods up to scratch.â€
Maher, who is currently focusing on the WNBL play-offs Down Under, will fly to the UK in May to open training camp.
GB are slated to feature in a four-nation event on home soil from May 18-22 before further warm-up tournaments in Antalya, Turkey (May 25-27) and in Riga, Latvia (June 9-11).
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