McConnell Serio
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We found out about Ukari (Figgs) right before the dispersal draft, that she was not available. That's when we took the direction of taking the best available player, and that was Sheri Sam. That's what we were looking for in the dispersal draft, a true veteran who could come in and give us that experience.
In looking at the college point guards, there was no one at 14 — they weren't going to have the experience either to come in and provide that leadership and take charge of a team. I truly was looking for a veteran point guard to do that — and we found her.
Teresa Edwards' name has been thrown out there every year as potentially being a player in this league. I had seen her at the Final Four and just asked her what she had been doing. She talked about maybe wanting to play in this league. I think she's a player that was worth taking a risk on, whether or not she shows up here for training camp on Thursday.
I think there's a good chance (Edwards will be in camp). I think she's at a point in her life where she still wants to play, she still wants to compete, and this is her best option. For me, I'm excited because I played with her on two Olympic teams, and think I think she's been the best guard to play the game. I think it will great for the world to see what she's capable of doing. I think the WNBA will be good for her, in that respect.
I think, first and foremost, she will bring a great deal of leadership — something I feel this team needs — from the point guard spot. Skill-wise, I think she is tremendous: the way she sees the floor, the way she sees the game, her knowledge of the game. She knows how to win. She makes players around her better. She brings out the best in the players she's playing with. She'll let them know what she expects of them. I think she'll be great for chemistry because she's do competitive and wants to win. Every team she's played on has been a winner.
Before the draft, she told me she was with me on this and to go ahead and select her. We had talked about the possibility of allowing her to go through the draft undrafted and bringing her in as a free agent. Wanting her to be here as much as I do, I think that was a risk. Somebody else may have taken a chance on her and we wouldn't have the opportunity to have her here at all. She seems very excited to be playing again and knowing where she's going to play and looking forward to coming here.
I was very nervous through the first 13 picks. My stomach was in knots in not knowing. I knew in my mind that's who I wanted and knew that there was a possibility that someone could take her. We had 14 and 18, and I thought at 14 we could definitely take the chance of taking her. I wasn't going to let me go to 18 and try to get maybe someone at the post at 14. But I'm very happy with the post players that we got. Those were two players we were considering at 14 and 18, and we got them at 18 and 29. So we're very happy with the draft picks we have.
Q: Were you concerned that another team was thinking about selecting here?
Yes, very concerned. I think that's why I didn't want her to go through the draft past 14th. I know other teams had talked to her at the Final Four as well.
Q: With no predraft combine, did that make it harder?
It made us work a lot more in finding out about players. We had to watch a lot more film than we normally would have. There were players that we had never heard of and we were calling schools and getting tapes on players. That's where Nancy (Darsch) was really valuable having been at this level. She's the one who did a lot of homework on calling coaches about players that we thought could be there in the 14-18 range — getting background information, what type of player they are.
Q: Do you see Teresa's minutes being a little bit limited because she hasn't played in a while?
I've talked to her a number of times, and everytime I talk to her, she's in the gym or going to the gym. She lives in the gym. She's playing with the guys five times a week and staying in shape. I think this is something that she has thought about and has prepared for.
Q: Describe what it's like to go from coaching teenagers to now coaching a player (Edwards) who's actually older than you.
This will be a first. It actually was going to be a first coaching at the professional level, and now I will be coaching someone that is older. That is one of the first questions that I asked Teresa: 'Can you play for me?' knowing that we had played together, and she said 'Yes, I can play for you.' She just has a love for the game and a passion about it. She was always very coachable. Coaches loved having her on the team because she would go out and give everything she had and do whatever it took to win.
Q: Given the talent on this team now, is this a legitimate playoff contender?
I believed that we were a playoff contender prior to the dispersal draft and the college draft, but I think this definitely makes us a playoff contender. As a coach I always go into a season having high expectations. Being in the postseason, that's what your goals are.
Q: What are your expectations for this team now?
I think we will be a high-scoring team. I think we'll be a team that is very exciting to watch. Having a lot of weapons now will make us tougher to defend. We have more depth now. I just think that now we have more experienced players and the players that were coming off the bench last year are a year older — they are more experienced and give us better depth.
I think I have players now who know how to win. Having the ball in the hands of Teresa Edwards at the end of a game... I'm very confident that if we have the ball in her hands that she will find Katie Smith or Shari Sam or Svetlana or Tamika, whoever's on the floor. She knows how to win. I think the experience of having played at so many levels is very valuable to this team.
