Former Ohio State women’s basketball star Katie Smith will represent the United States in Berlin next summer. Smith has been chosen to be on the USA Basketball women’s team that will compete in the International Basketball Federation’s World Championship in Berlin next summer.USA Basketball is the governing body that chooses the players to represent the United States in all international basketball competition for men and women, Smith said.The last major international competition for USA Basketball was the 1996 Summer Olympics, where both the men’s and women’s teams won gold medals.She was a member of the 1997 USA World Champion qualifying team that won a silver medal. She was also a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 USA R. William Cup team.The international competition will have to wait for the end of the regular basketball season for the American Basketball League, where the 23-year-old Smith leads the Columbus Quest in scoring with 17-points per game 10 games into the season.The 1997-98 season brings new challenges for Smith and the defending champion Quest, she said.”Last year was the first year for the ABL and my first season as a pro, so I did not know what to expect,” Smith said.In her rookie season, she was named an ABL All-Star and led the league with 91 three-pointers.”The difference that I see at this level is that everyone I play with is a former All-American or MVP of their respective teams,” Smith said. “In college there was only one or two outstanding players on each team.”In October, Quest fans breathed a sigh of relief when the team announced that it resigned Smith to a two-year contract.The terms of the contract were not released, but Smith said she is very happy with the contract and the commitment of the team.Brian Agler, coach and general manager of the Quest, said signing Smith was not only important for his team, but also to the ABL and Columbus. “Katie is great in the Columbus area, and she brings a lot to our teams in terms of her all-around play and positive attitude,” Agler said.Signing Smith was made even more significant when last year’s league MVP Nikki McCray left the Quest to join the rival Women’s National Basketball Association, Agler said.Smith was impressed by the size of the crowds at the WNBA games this summer, but feels that the ABL is a better league in terms of skills and quality, Smith said.”The WNBA has some of the big-name players, and the league markets the game well, but the teams don’t have the amount of depth that we have in the ABL,” Smith said.Smith had to choose between the two leagues this past summer, and the quality of teams in the ABL is the reason that she decided to stay in Columbus, she said.