USA Basketball Women's National Team Continues Olympic Preparations

Istanbul, Turkey • July 23, 2012

After compiling a 5-0 exhibition slate over the past three months, including four wins in the past week, the 2012 USA Basketball Women's National Team was back on the practice floor today in Istanbul, Turkey.

After today's session, the U.S. women have just three more training opportunities before they open play in the London Olympics against Croatia, which the team beat 109-55 on July 21.

Hear from USA head coach Geno Auriemma, as well as seven players on their Olympic preparations and what kind of advice the Olympic veterans have given to the rookies.

Geno Auriemma (head coach, USA and University of Connecticut)
What kinds of things are you still trying to work on before you play on Saturday?
Everyday you realize how much more you have to do. How many things you’re still worried about. But these next couple of days, I think we can tighten up some things defensively. That’s probably the No. 1 area that we’re going to concentrate on in the next couple of days.

Are you worried at all about the team’s timing?
Yeah, but I think the lack of time together certainly hurts the fluidity of the offense. So, we can’t really do a lot. We have to rely on our defense to create our offense. That’ll take some of the pressure off of what we don’t have in the continuity part of it. If we can use our defense to get us out in transition and do some other stuff, I think we’ll be fine.

How important were the last two games and the overall camp in Istanbul, Turkey?
We needed the time together. We needed to be on the floor. We needed to practice and to be into game situations. All those things are important to us. We were able to accomplish all of that. It’s not ideal. It’s not like you have two hours of practice and can work on things. At the same time, there’s no substitute for being in game situations. It’s about finding out who can compete and who can execute in game situations. I’ve been happy. I’m surprised at how well we’ve picked things up and how quickly we’ve learned to work together.

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)
How is the team looking right now?
I thin it’s coming along well. With each game we’ve been able to learn some things and improve on some things. Playing a team like Turkey the other day, it was a good test for us. It showed us where we need to improve. That’s always a good thing.

How’s the team chemistry?
Team chemistry has never been an issue. It’s just a matter of getting reps together as a team. You can see from one day to the next day that it’s getting better. We’re trying right now to prepare for the Olympics but I feel that even as the Olympics go on, we’re going to continue to get better. I don’t know many teams that can say that’ll happen.

Even though this is far from England, is being here in Turkey for four days good for the team?
To be honest, we knew that the game against Turkey was going to be a great environment. We could’ve guessed that maybe the referees weren’t going to call everything our way, but we needed that. We needed that test. We needed to experience that. We didn’t get off to a great start, so we had to grind it out and dig our way back into the game. That sometimes happens in basketball. You know you’re on a championship team when you can win those kinds of games. It was good for us to experience that. Then we had today and another practice tomorrow to work on stuff. So, I think this trip’s been great.

As a two-time Olympic gold medalist, what kind of Olympic advice to you have for some of the rookies?

Sometimes I wish I had gone out a little more to see other events. I was so focused on basketball, which is a good thing, and you need to get your rest. But sometimes I wish I had gone to more events and things like that. But, I think regardless of what you do, my only advice is to enjoy the entire experience. Soak it all in and have a good time with it.

Swin Cash (Chicago Sky)
On the team:
It's really not so much about cramming before the Olympics, it's just really making sure that we are familiar with each other, playing with one another, and coach is figuring out what combinations go well with each other. I think if we are able to do those things, then we can just kind of work with and tweak the other stuff as we get to London.

Was it nice to get back to practice today after playing four games in the past week?
These next three days are going to be very crucial for us just from a standpoint of everyone getting familiar with our offense and revisiting a lot of the schemes that we need to do defensively moving forward in the tournament. So, I'm happy that we have everyone back together; Sue is back, and now we can really get after it in our last few practices.

Has the excitement to get to the Olympics been building for you?
It really has. It just keeps getting closer and closer. I was actually talking to one of the people that works with me yesterday, and she was like, 'Wow, four more days,' and it just really got me excited because you never know what to expect in the Olympics. You never know what to expect on the court, so you always have to be ready. I think this team is really locked into what the goal is and working towards it.

Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever)
What are you working on as a team over the next few days?
Having a more consistent attack from the defensive end. Pick and roll is a big part of the game for overseas teams. For us, trying to put together our defensive scheme, our pick and roll. We’ve been doing a better job of that. Offensively, that’ll come. We’re becoming more comfortable playing with one another. I feel ike we’ve been making huge strides with getting better and better every day. We need to continue to work on that, too.

How’s the team chemistry?
The team chemistry is great. Everybody is really supportive of one another When one person’s down, everybody else is picking them up. I think that’s great. We play really well together. Probably the biggest thing right now is everybody getting comfortable in the offense. For the most part, on the court offensively and defensively, we have each other’s backs and we’re able to build off of that.

As a two-time Olympic gold medalist, what kind of Olympic advice to you have for some of the rookies?
The first few days are a little hectic with Opening Ceremonies, processing, families coming in, everybody getting adjusted to being in a new country. There are a lot of different things happening, a lot of different people around. So, the first couple of days it is really about taking time for yourself. You kind of have to step outside of everything and let everything settle in.

But after that, you really need to stay focused on why we’re there. We’re not there to hang out. We’re not there to have a good time. We’re on a mission. Operation Gold is our mission. We need to stay focused when we’re on the court practicing or even off the court – making sure we’re not walking around a lot. Staying off your feet is important. But of course still being able to enjoy the moment.

Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun)
On the team:
I think we are doing good. We are off to a great start. We are picking up on things and correcting mistakes from past games, like minimizing turnovers and executing our plays, what we want in transition. I think we are really improving on a lot of stuff.

Was it nice to get back to practice today after playing four games in the past week?
We definitely got a lot accomplished. We learned a few new plays and we went through it a lot so it sticks in everybody's brain. We are getting what we want, especially when we scrimmaged each other a little bit.

Has the excitement to get to the Olympics been building for you?
I'm excited, and I'm looking forward to it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you got take hold of it.

Have you been hearing advice from the veterans?
I'm just playing my role, getting on the boards and playing my game and staying focused at the task at hand. I'm playing hard and competing. Like coach said in the huddle, he doesn't have a problem with us competing and playing hard. I know my role. I'm going to stay in my lane and learn as I go. Every single time I link up with Coach Auriemma, I always learn something new. I'm just soaking everything up.

Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun)
How is the team’s preparation coming along?
We’re really working on our defense and continuity. I think the point of the game is not to outscore people, but to try to get stops. In practice, that’s the only time we get to work on our defense, so that’s what we’re doing a lot of now.

How’s the team chemistry?
It’s good. Everybody’s willing to learn and willing to give up a little of themselves for the team. People aren’t really trying to score, they’re trying to make plays for everybody else – that’s kind of what our theme is right now.

What kind of advice have you gotten from some of the Olympic veterans?
To not take anything for granted. Enjoy every moment of it, no matter what. Opening Ceremonies is going to be awesome. They can’t put it into words. They just let us know that it’s going to be awesome and to be ready for it.

How important are these four days in Turkey?
We’re getting a chance to hang out together. In the past I haven’t hung out with a lot of these guys or spent much time with them. On this trip we’re actually having the chance to spend more time together. We’re getting to know each other off the court. I think that ties into playing well together on the court. So, we’ve actually been able to spend time and bond.

Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream)
On the team:
Like coach said, some of us are tired in our minds, but things like that and injuries don't exist when you are going to play in the Olympics. I feel like we are a much better team, definitely, after our exhibition games. I know I feel more comfortable. Of course, the more practice the better, but I feel good about where this team is. The thing about it is we have a bulls eye on our backs, and it's one of those things where every team is going to play you extra hard. Everything is going to fall for the other team, it just happens that way. It happened last night for Turkey. They came out on a 6-0 run. When everybody wants to beat you as bad as teams want to beat us, that's the type of stuff that happens, so we have to try and eliminate that with our focus.

Was it nice to get back to practice today after playing four games in the past week?
Yes. I can kind of relax, stretch and rest my body a little bit. When we come in we go hard, to it's nice to focus on practice and then have some time.

Has the excitement to get to the Olympics been building for you?
Of course. I'm ready to see the Opening Ceremonies. I know the girls who are first-time Olympians are ready to experience this Olympics, and there is a lot of anticipation. We can't get the gold fast enough, and we want it. We just have to take it one step at a time and be patient.

Have you been hearing advice from the veterans?
Always. They are preparing us young ones for what is going to happen because we have no idea what is about to hit us. So, they have been trying to prepare us but I think once we see for ourselves, we will get what they have been saying.

Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx)
On the team:
It's mostly about refining. We all know how to play basketball. We've been playing so long and some of the basic things of defense and offense we know, it's just a matter of making sure we are all on the same page.

Was it nice to get back to practice today after playing four games in the past week?
I thought we got a good amount done. It's just always good to get out on the court together and run through some things, just get a feel for each other and get our timing down. We made a step forward today.

Has the excitement to get to the Olympics been building for you?
I feel like it's never going to get here. We've just been in our WNBA seasons and training together, and now that it's so close, it feels like we want to get in and get started. I'm sure that when the Opening Ceremonies happen or the first tip off of the game, we are going to be really excited.

Have you been hearing advice from the veterans?
Mainly kind of just how you manage yourself physically while you are with USA Basketball, when you are on the road and you have to be proactive about your rehab, your ice, your recovery and your nutrition and things like that. And just watching Tamika especially, how she takes care of her body. So, I've just been trying to do what she has been doing.