For the second summer in a row, ISU women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly will be wearing red, white and blue.

Fennelly has once again been chosen to coach for the USA Basketball program.

“Every place you go, you’ve got USA on your back, and to do it as the Iowa State coach makes it even more beneficial,” Fennelly said.

Fennelly will be working alongside Amanda Butler from the University of Florida and Northern Illinois’ Carol Owens, who will serve as head coach of the squad. The three coaches will attempt to lead the USA National Team to its third consecutive gold medal in the World Championship July 23 to Aug. 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

“It’s a great honor and it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Fennelly said. “Being able to coach is always a great thing and being able to do it in a professional manner is great too.”

Owens, a Huskie graduate of 1990, finished her fourth season at Northern Illinois with a 10-6 record in Mid-American Conference play this season — the team’s best conference record since 2001-2002. Also under her reign, the Huskies posted their best season in five years, with 18 wins in 2006-07.

“Carol is a very easy person to work with and very good with the kids,” Fennelly said. “She does a really good job of making them feel comfortable and articulating what it means to play for your country.”

Last year, Fennelly worked with Owens and led the FIBA Americas U-18 team to gold in the championships.

“She really listens and appreciates the input from the coaches that she works with,” Fennelly said. “I had a great time with her personally and professionally. I think it will be a little easier for me this year to work with her again because I know how she does things.”

Tryouts for the finalists of the 2009 U19 team will be held May 14-17 in Colorado Spring, Colo. at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Camp will start on June 8 and the 12 players will be announced before July 23. The 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships will include 16 national teams of players ages 19 and younger.

The challenge for Fennelly and the rest of the coaching staff is to put together a team in less than a month. Most college coaches have months, sometimes years, to put together a team and recruit players.

“The challenge is doing this all in three weeks,” Fennelly said. “You have to adjust, but Carol is very good at that.”

The level of competition is going to be even greater for Fennelly and his crew, as they will be competing for the World Championship this summer.

This season, Fennelly led Iowa State to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history. The Cyclones tied a school record most wins in a season at 27 victories. Fennelly has put ISU women’s basketball on the map in his 14 years with the program that include two NCAA Elite Eight berths, two Big 12 Championships and nine 20-win seasons.

“You’re always trying to improve yourself and your own team and this is a great chance, because it’s all basketball for a straight month,” Fennelly said.