Gamecocks’ Imovbioh invited to Olympic qualifying

Dawn Staley may have company in the Olympics – on the other sideline.

South Carolina senior Sarah Imovbioh has been invited to try out for the Nigerian national team that will try to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro games, USC announced on Wednesday. Imovbioh, a Nigerian native who graduated from Virginia before using her final year of eligibility with the Gamecocks, is part of a 25-woman pool.

“The training camp is (May 9),” Imovbioh said last week. “It will be taking place in Abuja, which is the capital. They’re inviting other Nigerian players who have played college basketball. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Abuja is also Imovbioh’s hometown. The team will gather there and whittle the roster to 12 players, and then travel to Nantes, France, on June 13-19 for the qualifying tournament.

Staley is assisting Team USA and hoping she’ll reunite with Imovbioh in France. The forward has her work cut out for her trying to make the team – like in most countries, professional players are the most likely to survive the roster trimming.

“I think I’m probably going to be the youngest,” Imovbioh said. “The competition is really high, knowing that you have other people who are playing in the pros coming back. I’m looking forward to playing some of the best players.”

Imovbioh averaged six rebounds per game during USC’s three-game stay in the NCAA tournament, the third-best average on the team. She averaged 4.3 points and five rebounds per game for the season, playing just over 14 minutes per game.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Gamecocks’ Imovbioh invited to Olympic qualifying."