U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team Practice Quotes

London, England • July 29, 2012

Geno Auriemma (head coach, USA and University of Connecticut)
How’s training going?
So far, so good. I think that with every game we play we’re finding out a little more about ourselves. Yesterday’s game showed us what we have to do a little better on the defensive end and how we can clean up some things on the offensive end. We didn’t have much time before the games were here. Now that the games are here, we’re using them to tell us how to prepare.

What are your expectations as a coach and for your players?
I know that from the players’ standpoint there’s only one expectation they have and that’s to win a gold medal. But the gold medal game is not until 12 days or so away from now. So, right now the expectation is to try to get better every single day. I know the players are working really hard to do that and so is the coaching staff.

(Question unintelligible)
I think the culture that we have, the history that we have of basketball in our country, there’s a feeling that we have a tremendous depth and group to choose from that’s maybe greater than other countries. And the expectation of winning, because we’ve won so much, the expectation is we’re always going to win. That’s bad, but it’s also really good.

What do you think of the practice facilities at University of East London?
When you go to other countries, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get, facility-wise. We were in one country where we showed up for practice and there was only basket because the other one wasn’t ready. It’s always a crapshoot. So, coming here and to find this place, to have it readily accessible to us, to see the professionals who work here and how accommodating they’ve been to us, it’s like being back home. That’s the best compliment I can give to anybody here at University of East London is that this is like being home. It’s a great comfort level for our coaches and our team.

Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun)
Practice looked intense today, did you feel it was a good one?
Yeah, practice went really well. I think coach definitely wanted to focus on the defensive end and how we were going to guard screens and rotations after that, so that everybody knows what we’re doing specifically on a pick and roll and on a screen. I think that definitely is going to help us in the next game.

Was it a little bit of a matter of pride in terms of wanting to have a good practice after yesterday’s game?
Oh yeah, for sure. You definitely want to clean things up, especially after you watch film. You just want to clarify things and get after it so we limit turnovers, which we want to make sure we control the ball and everything.

Off the court, what are you doing in London?
I have a lot of family here who lives in London. I’m just hanging out with my family most of the time.  On my mother’s side, my grandmother’s brothers and sisters live here, so then they had kids and they had kids, so I have a lot of family here.

Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream)
How was practice today?
It was a rough start yesterday. We were a little rusty. I don’t know if you would call it jitters; I don’t know what to call it. Today we came in and we adjusted things we need to work on. Those things are things we can easily fix. We will be better in the next game.

I imagine that this team still feels confident and is ready to move onto the next game?
You got to move on. The more games that we play, it’s only going to get hard. Right now, we just need to do what we need to do, adjust and move on to the next and get better with each game and each practice.

Each practice, each game, we get into more of a rhythm. We know we don’t have much time together. Everybody is gelling know, and the chemistry is getting there. It’s a lot better than where we started.

Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx)
Practice looked intense today, did you feel it was a good one?
It was a great practice. We came in. We worked hard. We practiced as if we didn’t play yesterday and don’t play tomorrow. I think it’s why we’re going to be able to play the way we want to tomorrow. We just came in, worked on some things offensively, added a few things and tightened up a few things on defense.

Have you been able to get out and see any other events yet or is there something you want to do?
I haven’t gone out to see any other events yet. At Opening Ceremonies I was able to meet some athletes and I enjoyed that time together with them as we were heading toward the stadium. If it’s possible to see some other sports, I’d love to. I just have to figure out the logistics and hopefully get it done.

Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
Practice looked intense today, did you feel it was a good one?
You know, we’re kind of trying to find our stride as a group. When we work hard like that and get things done, you feel better about yourself and what we’re trying to accomplish as a team. So, I think today was a really good day.

Off the court, is there anything you want to see or do?
I already put in for tickets for tennis. I’m trying to see Roger Federer before I die. He’s on my bucket list.

This is your third Olympics, is it getting to be the same?
Not really. It’s different, different city, different coach, a different group of players. Each one has its own flavor and so far this has been a really cool experience. We’ve only played one game, but things are good.

How do you compensate for lack of training time?
You know, our biggest strength has always been our team chemistry. We don’t have much time to play together. So, the fact that I’ve played with Sue (Bird) for so many years and we’ve played with Swin (Cash), we’ve played with Asjha (Jones), Sylvia (Fowles), Tina (Charles) and Angel (McCoughtry); we’ve played against each other. We’ve played with each other. That’ll help us with the team chemistry.

What does being an Olympian mean to you?
It means a lot. It means you’re representing your country. Going further, you’re representing everyone who loves basketball in America, who coaches it, who plays it professionally, recreationally. We take a lot of pride in coming here and showing the world how hard we worked and try to do really well in this tournament.