And the Beat Goes On

April 16, 2010 - Hartford, Conn. - Photo Gallery

Geno Auriemma, head coach (University of Connecticut)
On the scrimmage:
I thought it went kind of predictable. The national team players, with their experience, their savvy, being there before, were able to take advantage of the younger guys to a certain extent. They looked like they'd been playing together for a long time. It was great to see how unselfish they were and how they meshed really well together. It was really good for the younger players to be competing against players that are way better than what they're used to playing against, and then having some success against them too, in the second part of the scrimmage.I think it benefitted everybody and tomorrow it'll be even more beneficial than tonight.

On the USA Select Team going up against USA National Team players:
The big kids struggled the most because of the physicalness of it. It was harder on them. I thought Jasmine Thomas looked really, really good. It's a little bit easier for the guards to look good, but I thought Jasmine Thomas got the most done for that team. They've only been here for a couple of days. Tomorrow and Sunday it'll be a little bit more familiar to them. I thought Allison Hightower had a good evening as well. They're still a little bit nervous. They're still a little bit antsy, but they're going to be okay. I was impressed by how hard they work.

Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx)
On the USA Select Team:
They fought tonight. It was good to see them playing. It took them awhile to get into their groove, but once they did, some girls impressed me. I got caught up with Jantel (Lavender) and it was torture down there banging with her. I'm impressed with the way they're playing.

On any surprises in camp:
I wouldn't say seeing Maya Moore is a surprise. Everybody knows what she can do. But to see it in person is like, ‘wow.' She reminds me a lot like Tamika Catchings. She's a hard worker. She plays on both ends of the court. She's a great rebounder for a guard. Tina (Charles) as well, seeing her play and how hard she goes every possession is a plus. As far as the college girls, I've only (practiced) with Dee (Danielle Robinson), Kalana (Greene) and Kelsey (Griffin). They've all impressed me because they are so poised. They never seem to get rattled. They're coachable. They're willing to listen to criticism and go out there and better themselves.

On being back on the court after missing last fall and winter while rehabbing from her ACL:
I'm happy to be back out on the court. It's been tough for me. It's been brutal. Sunday was the worst day for me because it was actually my first time playing against top-notch competition. I just started playing a few weeks ago and it was at the YWCA. That wasn't really a lot of good competition. But everyday here I've seen a lot of good progression. I haven't had any pain in my knee and I'm looking for better days to come.

You watched on the sideline last fall during training camp, did that help you to know what coach Auriemma wanted?
It was good because I actually got a chance to talk to coach. You read things in the media, you see things on TV about him, but he's actually a great person. He's very straightforward, which is what I like. He tells you what he wants done and if you do it, you shouldn't have any problems. As far as the offense and things, it's seamless to what we ran at LSU, a motion offense, so it's kind of easy to get into the groove with that. Defensively, that never has been my strong point (laughs), but I'm going to do what I can to make sure I'm helping out the team.

Monica Wright, who was drafted by the Lynx is out here. Will that help your team heading into training camp?
As far as chemistry, off-court, personality-wise we mesh well together. That's where it starts, to know that we can get along off the court. On the court it'll be a breeze once we get out there. Of course she's a typical rookie. She's kind of star struck. She's seeing Candice Dupree. She's seeing me. She's seeing Angel and she's like ‘oh, I'm playing with you guys.' I'm like ‘look, you're not a freshman anymore. We expect you to come out and play like a vet today.' I think she kept her composure throughout that session as she trained with us (the national team). She did a great job playing tough.

Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream)
How has training camp been?
It's been very good. I've been learning a lot from different girls and from the best coaches in the nation, so it's been a lot of fun.

Are you excited to have coach Meadors as one of the assistant coaches?
Of course! I'm very excited to have her here. She's somebody that I'm familiar with, someone I can get a little advice from on the side. It's good to have her here within the circle.

Is this going to make it a little easier to head into training camp in a week?
Yeah, because she's going to take it easy on me. She's seeing how hard I'm working here, so she should take it easy on me in training camp (laughs).

On her overall impressions of training camp:
Everybody's been playing well. Everybody's so talented. Everybody's been playing so well. I'm just glad that I'm able to play with everybody. I'm just glad to be able to learn from each and every player.

Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun)
On being back on the court with the USA National Team:
Training camp has been going well. It's a learning experience because a lot of the offense that we run, you need to know your personnel really well. You need to know where they're going to be cutting, where they like to shoot it, so it was a learning process in the beginning. I'm not blaming it on the ball, a lot of our shots weren't falling. Now I think we're starting to get into a better groove.

On the USA National Team
They're all pretty much all-star material. It's easy playing with people who can score at any time when they touch the ball. It also sometimes hurts us because we rush too much because we know the things we can do and we all try to do it at once. It's great playing with an all-star cast.

On being back with coach Geno Auriemma and some of her college teammates:
It's really good because when you get out here. It's like ‘man, I enjoyed my experience, but it's really over.' But now it's a blessing that I have the opportunity to have him coach me again. And also my teammates, I'm going to be playing with Tina Charles on the Sun, she's going to be there. It's just nice to be able to be coached by coach again.

You have several Connecticut Sun players out here, how much will that help you heading into training camp in a week?
We actually aren't really all practicing or playing together. We're on different sides, but I think it's going to be good for all of us just to be out here. This is like a pre-pre-training camp. We have training camp in a week and a half or so, so this is like a nice way to make sure you're in basketball mode, ready and in shape.

Maya Moore (University of Connecticut)
On the USA's training camp:
It's been good. All of the little things that coach tries to emphasize to us year after year are paying off right now. That's what kind of separates you when everybody's good at this level. I think the main thing is trying to get everybody used to the offense that we run. It's not too complicated, it's just getting everybody to play with each other, get a feel for each other and making sure that when game-time comes, we're comfortable with each other.

How is this training camp different from last fall?
It's different not having as many people. It's nice for me to have more familiar faces on my end, players I've played with and against in college. It's kind of a younger vibe this time around. It's been fun. It's all good competition.

Seimone Augustus was injured last fall and unable to participate. How has she been this week?
She's getting back. She's been solid as far as knocking in shots, creating shots. She's worked hard for that side of her game. She came up huge for us today, she hit about three buzzer-beaters for us today in our half-court offense. It's nice having her out here. We know she's a scoring threat, she's just that smooth, cool Seimone.

Kayla Pedersen (Stanford University)
On scrimmaging against USA Women's National Team players:
I thought it was a lot of fun. It was great to get on the floor with those people that I have watched not my entire life, but throughout college, and run up and down a little bit and get some shots up; it was a lot of fun.

How do you feel you played?
Not too well. I would have liked to have done a little more. I'm just bummed that I missed that game-winning shot I had at the end of the scrimmage.

Was scrimmaging against national team players what you expected?
Yeah, I mean they are all incredible talented players, and you have to play all of them. You have to guard all of them at this level. I don't think it was too much for us rookies to handle, so I'm really looking forward to playing against them again tomorrow.

Jasmine Thomas (Duke University)
On scrimmaging against USA Women's National Team players:
They are at the level that you want to be at, so just seeing how you measure up against them, what you are able to do and what you need to work on, and seeing what other players do that you don't and how to make your game better, it's just an amazing experience.

Was scrimmaging against national team players what you expected?
Definitely, very competitive, very fast-paced and physical. It was definitely what I expected. It was cool to be out there with them at the same time.

How do you think the Select Team did?
We haven't been doing it for too long, and I think with that being said, we did a good job of trying to execute. At the same time, we got a little too fast and because we haven't been playing together, it was little too individual. But we got better at it as time went on.

How do you feel you played?
I had a lot of fun. I think I played a little too fast, a little too anxious. But I think that's all part of it, it's just finding where you fit in.