Dreaming of this day since she was a little girl, Cappie Pondexter put in countless hours traveling the world with USA Basketball and is now heading to China as a member of the Olympic team.

May 31, 2008 • Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cappie Pondexter has been dreaming about this day since she was a little girl and her dream finally came true. It didn't happen without a lot of hard work, determination and pride in her game. The 5-9 guard has fought for everything she's achieved and has won over fans along the way.

She was first noticed by USA Basketball in 2000 as a member of the U18 National Team and continued to compete year after year, giving up summer vacations, time with friends and family, summer school, you name it.

Not to say the sacrifices weren't worth it. While friends were goofing off during the summer breaks Pondexter was mining for medals and she mostly struck gold wherever she went.

In her first stint with USA Basketball, spent in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Pondexter and the 2000 USA U18 National Team earned a gold medal and a berth to the 2001 FIBA U19 World Championship. The feeling of standing on the top of the podium, gold medal hanging around her neck while the National Anthem played was something Pondexter decided she could really get use to. Not to mention the extra added bonus of seeing the world and experiencing other cultures while playing a game she loved.

So she traveled the next summer to Brno, Czech Republic, where the USA U19 squad finished with a disappointing bronze (her only medal of that color); rebounded the next year to win gold with the 2002 USA U20 National Team in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil; and struck gold the following summer at the 2003 FIBA U21 World Championship in Sibenik, Croatia.

Forced to take a summer off as there were no competitions for her age group in 2004, Cappie returned the following year to aid the 2005 USA World University Games Team to gold in Izmir, Turkey; and in 2006 she was finally elevated to the USA National Team. Playing in the Australia-hosted Opals World Challenge in Cairns and Canberra, she returned to the U.S. with yet another gold medal and another stamp in her passport.

That fall she was one of the finalists for the 2006 USA World Championship Team and even traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the team prior to the Worlds, knowing full well it would likely be a short trip. But that's exactly the kind of dedication she's shown through the years to USA Basketball and her country.

Pondexter in 2007 helped the USA qualify for the Olympics at the FIBA Americas Championship in Valdivia, Chile, then returned to the court a few weeks later as the USA Select Team took home silver (her only medal of that color) from the FIBA World League Tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Her most recent stint in a USA uniform was in March when the USA National Team earned a pair of victories against two Spanish pro squads.

During her time with USA Basketball Pondexter blossomed as a collegiate star at Rutgers where she helped the Scarlet Knights post a 97-22 (.815) record, win the 2005 and 2006 Big East Conference championships, and compete in four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2005 Elite Eight, while collecting a slew of national accolades along the way.

The No. 2 pick in 2006 by the Phoenix Mercury has played in two WNBA All-Star Games, was the 2007 EuroLeague All-Star Game MVP, and for helping the Mercury capture the 2007 WNBA title, was named MVP of the Finals. In addition to her two years in the WNBA, Pondexter has traveled extensively throughout Europe the past two years as a member of Turkey's Fenerbache SK club, based in Istanbul.

With a trophy case filled with honors, awards, medals, championship paraphernalia, what more could a 25-year-old girl ask for? A trip to the Olympics. And that's exactly what she earned. After countless miles traveled playing hoops for her country Pondexter gets to show off her skills on the biggest stage in the world this summer in Beijing.

USA Basketball.com caught up with Pondexter shortly before the official announcement was made to get her reaction and find out much more about this budding star.

What were your initial thoughts when you got the call from Renee Brown and found out you were going to be on the Olympic team?
I totally didn't expect it. I was totally surprised. I think my first question was ‘am I going to Beijing? Is that what you're telling me?' And she was like ‘yeah.' And I thought ‘oh my gosh!' I was so happy. I was thankful at the same time because I know this is a great opportunity for myself as well as the Mercury organization to have two players represent the United States.

Did it feel like all the hard work you put in over the last couple of years with the USA National Team was worth it?
All the training segments were really competitive from start to finish, playing against the other teams, all the traveling. Even way back in Brazil two years ago, so there's been a lot of hard work and dedication put into this. Finally seeing it coming to this is exciting for me. I'm ready to get started and represent the USA.

I know you're supposed to keep this a secret until the official announcement, but have you been able to tell anyone that you made the team yet?
Coach Stringer said that she found out, but didn't want to tell me in case I didn't know yet. She's excited for me. I told my mom because I want to bring her down there and she has to figure out if it will work with her job and all. We're trying to get that figured out. I want her to get that experience.

You and Diana Taurasi played together on your first USA Basketball team in 2000, are you excited to still have her as a teammate on the U.S. squad?
Yeah, I'm excited especially since she's been around awhile. This is her second Olympics, this is my first and just being around her is awesome. She's not only my teammate, she's one of my closest friends as are Sue, Tina, I'm very close to those guys so it should be a lot of fun. I'm very excited.

Is there any team you're looking forward to playing?
I'm really looking forward to playing Russia. Those guys have had our number for the last couple of years and I'm looking forward showing them what USA Basketball is about. I know it's going to be a lot of hard work. It's going to take a lot of commitment from us. We just have to come together in the small amount of time that we have. But the good thing is that we've been doing these training camps which has allowed us to get a feel for each other so I think we'll be fine.

Aside from Russia, what other teams will be tough competition?
Right now I think China's on a high after beating the USA team that was out in Beijing last month. Also being the home team will help them. Of course any team in Europe will be competitive, especially the way basketball is growing over there. Russia really stands out for me though.

What are you looking forward to doing off the court in Beijing?
Definitely watching other sports. I have a friend (Kim Glass) who plays volleyball for the women's team, she plays in Turkey for the same club as me and I told her I'd go down and check her team out. I actually have two friends (Tayyiba Haneef-Park) on the volleyball team so I'm hoping to see them play. I'm also supposed to hook up with this guy who is in the 50 meter freestyle. Hopefully I'll be able to see some other events and spend some time learning about China's culture in general. I've never been there so it should be fun for me.

Aside from seeing other events, is there anything else high on your list?
I want to do everything! I saw the (online) photos from the USA's trip (in April) and that was cool. I want to see the Great Wall, do some shopping, I want to check everything out as much as possible. I don't know what kind of time we'll have, we're going to play basketball first, but hopefully we'll have time to do some other things.

What would it mean for you to add another gold medal to your collection of USA Basketball medals?
Honestly, I think I might cry. This has been a dream of mine since I was a young kid. Winning a WNBA championship and being an Olympian, to see that my dreams have almost all come true ... I'm almost there. Standing up on that platform, I would be honored, I would be excited for USA Basketball as well as for myself.

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