Playing Catch-Up With Shameka Christon

Today, we landed in Arkansas to check in on forward Shameka Christon who spent the off-season competing in Russia. Check out how the returning tri-captain is looking forward to getting back to the Big Apple to pick up where the team left off in 2008.

What was the most beneficial thing you got from playing overseas this season?
A lot of scoring and a lot of shooting. I really had to step up my role this season. I played with Betty Lennox, so we had a good balance going with a decent team, but then she left and I had to step up. So I was shooting more, which was beneficial for me.

Was there anything beneficial being off the court by being in and exploring a new city?
Oh my gosh [laughs], I can’t say. I thought about this while I was there. When I first got drafted, everyone was saying to me, “Here comes Shameka, a small-town, country girl going to New York City,” thinking I wouldn’t be able to adjust. But I adjusted really well to New York. I don’t know how I could adjust to where I was [in the off-season]. I loved Moscow, but it wasn’t that close. When we did travel, it would take a day and half to get where we needed to be. We’d stop and stay in hotel and then wake up and take a train for a day. We’d be on a train for 24 hours, it was very difficult. I just had culture shock being where I was. The competition was good, I would definitely go back because I enjoyed it, but someone has to go back with me!

Was Betty the only other American team-mate of yours?
Yes. There were two other players that spoke English, and I had played on a team with them last year in Spain. So that made it easier. One of my team-mates was Latvian and spoke Russian and English, because she went to college in the U.S. Definitely helped having that around.

It’s kind of a crazy lifestyle jumping back and forth in cultures like that, don’t know how you girls do it.
It’s crazy. This experience was by far the hardest. Israel wasn’t bad, I loved it there. I loved Spain. I loved Moscow and St. Petersberg, but once I was away from there it’s like, oh boy, how am I going to do this?

What was the first thing you did when you got home?
Sleep. I slept, because traveling to get back to Arkansas was just in and out of the airports. It took a whole day to get back here. If I had gone straight to New York it wouldn’t have been as bad, but because it’s not an international airport here, getting home was connecting and waiting the whole time.

What are you looking forward to most this summer?
Being with my team-mates. I kept in touch with a lot of them and it seemed like we were all saying that we couldn’t wait to get back to New York. We’ve played together now for a couple of years, so that’s our family, outside of our real families. I’m just really looking forward to playing with them and seeing them. I also just can’t wait to get back to The Garden and play in front of our fans. Fans send me messages on MySpace and Facebook, so I know they’re excited as well. I just want to get back and compete.

Has it ever been so exciting to come back here? Especially given how the past two seasons have ended with this, “We’ve got some unfinished business to attend to,” attitude?
Yeah, definitely. The past two season endings were frustrating, but last season was by far the most frustrating. It was that same scenario, where we played well in the first game. In the second game, we lost it in that fourth quarter – I still remember it like it was just yesterday I remember that feeling. And in the third game, we got down by 17. It’s exciting and rewarding just knowing how we came back, fought back – we were almost there. I’m just not going to make any excuses; almost doesn’t count. But now it’s like, let’s go for it again. You’ve got to pick yourself up and dust yourself off, get in there.

Outside of basketball, in terms of New York, is there anything you’re looking forward to getting back to here in the city? Restaurants? Shopping?
I think it’s really just seeing my friends, my team-mates. I cut out the shopping when I realized how much stuff I had. I have stuff in New York, in New Jersey and Arkansas. I have to stop shopping. I just have too much stuff. My team-mates, that’s just what I am looking forward to in New York [laughs].

So you had yourself a little personal intervention on the shopping?
Yes. I just have too many shoes, I love shoes.

Join Shameka and the Liberty at The Garden to tip-off the summer on Sunday, June 7 at Madison Square Garden. Click here to purchase, visit The Garden Box Office or call 877-WNBA-TIX.