"I was shocked," she said.

Elena Delle Donne and her trainer, John
Noonan

Not that she made the USA U19 Finalists, but that she was invited to the trials in the first place. Liles, see, was the only invitee who is attending a community college. She signed a 2006 National Letter of Intent to attend Maryland, but failed to qualify and the Terps recommended she attend Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla. Liles, a 6-foot-1 forward out of Riverdale Baptist High School in Upper Marborough, Md., says she is on track to graduate from Gulf Coast C.C. in 2008.

Liles was not the only surprise among the 16 finalists announced on Sunday. Those 16 will attend a training camp in Washington, D.C., starting on July 12. The roster will be pared to 12 before the team departs for Europe on July 17. The team will compete in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, July 26 to Aug. 5.

Several players off the U18 team that qualified the U.S. for the World Championships were not asked back. Primary among them was Kelley Cain of Atlanta and a Tennessee signee, who was plagued by an ankle sprain but seemingly showed defensive presence, rebounding and an improving low-post offensive game. Her absence made way for the second surprise among the finalists - Allyssa DeHaan, a 6-9 freshman at Michigan State. A third surprise, though only mildly, was Notre Dame freshman Melissa Lechlitner, who performed well but was taken over the likes of Jeanette Pohlen of Brea, Calif., and Marah Strickland of Mt. Airy, Md., both of whom shot and handled the ball well and were among the most positive on-court presences in the trials.

Maya Moore

Among those returning from last year's team are Jayne Appel of Pleasant Hill, Calif.; Vicki Baugh of Sacramento, Calif.; Jantel Lavender of Cleveland, Ohio; Italee Lucas of Las Vegas, Nev.; Maya Moore of Lawrenceville, Ga.; Kayla Pedersen of Fountain Hills, Ariz.; Khadijah Rushdan of Wilmington, Del.; Krystal Thomas of Orlando, Fla., and Monica Wright of Woodbridge, Va. The four other newcomers all are of note. Elena Delle Donne of Wilmington, Del., and Angie Bjorklund of Spokane, Wash., were injured and missed last year's tryouts and will add needed perimeter punch to the team. Jasmine Thomas of Fairfax, Va., was a controversial ommission last year, but rallied to become the McDonald's All-American Game MVP and arguably the top point guard during the trials. Amy Jaeschke of Wilmette, Ill., also is a finalist for the U21 World Championships Team. <

Appel, who could not participate in the trials because of an ankle sprain, was granted a waiver as well as posted as a finalist for the Pan American Games Team.

The U.S. will compete in Group B with China, Ivory Coast and Lithuania, July 26-28. The second round will be July 30 to Aug. 1, with the medal rounds Aug. 3-5. The Americans are the defending U19 gold medalists.

Obviously, Liles will have to dramatically alter her summer plans. Though she says she isn't yet in top shape, she busted out of the pack with impressive performances on Saturday. With many sore, fatigued and succumbing to the altitude, Liles ran the floor well and made difficult finishes at the rim.

If just being invited was a "shock," Liles said making the finalists was "overwhelming."

"I can't wait to tell my mom," she said. "She'll be proud."

Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. Glenn previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here [0]. He can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com [1].

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