Angel Reese steps into USA Basketball spotlight as ‘Young and Turnt Crew’ takes shape in Miami
angel reese is now in Miami for USA Women’s National Team training camp, stepping into a new era that is moving beyond long-time mainstays who have retired. The camp is the immediate runway to the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, with competition beginning Wednesday and running through March 17. The moment matters because the program is introducing an emerging core in senior-team debuts, and the group has almost no time to ramp up before games start.
Miami camp opens fast, with a short runway to Puerto Rico
USA Basketball’s women opened camp in Miami under a tight timeline, with the team preparing to head directly to Puerto Rico for the qualifying tournament. Assistant coaches Nate Tibbetts (Mercury), Natalie Nakase (Valkyries), and Jose Fernandez (Wings) are running the Miami camp before travel.
At the center of the transition is a younger group making its first senior national team appearance in this setting, including Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, and angel reese. The tournament begins with a game against Senegal, and it stretches through March 17.
Team USA already has qualified for the World Cup, but the games still carry edge and urgency with other teams fighting for their positions. The team’s internal challenge is simpler and sharper: get up to speed quickly, establish on-court chemistry, and execute under pressure with limited lead time.
Angel Reese and the ‘Young and Turnt Crew’ identity comes into focus
The nickname that’s now following the group—“Young and Turnt Crew”—came from Paige Bueckers at a previous training camp at Duke, and it has stuck as a shorthand for how this emerging core plays and talks. Bueckers described the group’s energy in direct terms: “Every time we step on the court, you see passion, you see fire, you see a competitive spirit about us, whether it be in the way that we show our emotions, the way we show our passion, the way we talk our stuff, ” she said. “We don’t shy away from that; we embrace that. ”
Sue Bird, now the managing director of USA women’s basketball, leaned into that tone as a positive rather than a problem. “That’s the type of vocal I like, ” Bird said, referencing Bueckers’ trash talk.
Bird’s role is not symbolic. USA Basketball has her in charge of assembling the roster, and she selected the Young and Turnt Crew as part of a 12-player team that will compete in the qualifying tournament. After seeing the first day of camp in Miami, Bird pointed to the balance she believes the group has. “I think there’s enough veteran leadership here that can allow [the young core] to be themselves but also guide them along the way, ” Bird said. “And that’s exactly what it was for me when I was first coming through USA Basketball. ”
Veterans set the tone, as five-on-five returns for the offseason
Veteran leadership is not being framed as a brake on the young group’s confidence, but as a support system. Breanna Stewart, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, is among the veterans identified as a sounding board for the younger players—offering guidance on the “ins and outs” of USA Basketball while also acknowledging the younger players have already faced high-stakes moments.
For the younger core, this camp also marks a shift back into full competitive rhythm. Reese captured that timing plainly as the team regrouped for five-on-five work. “A lot of the girls we’re talking about are like, ‘We haven’t seen five-on-five in months, ’” Reese said. “It’s just good to be here. I’m really happy to be a part of it. ”
Quick context
Reese has described watching FIBA World Cup games as a kid with her grandmother as an early doorway into USA Basketball. Now, the program is moving into a new phase after the retirements of Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, with new faces stepping into senior-team roles.
What’s next
From Miami, the team’s schedule accelerates straight into the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, beginning Wednesday and continuing through March 17. With little time for extended camp adjustments, the immediate test is how quickly the roster turns practice intensity into game execution—and how the Young and Turnt Crew, including angel reese, carries its energy into senior-team competition when the games start counting.
