SacramentoMonarchs.com recently had a chance to catch up with Tangela Smith who is currently in Taranto, Italy playing basketball with Levoni Cras Basket.

Q: What is it like being in Italy; you've been/played there before, right?
A: Playing in Italy is fun right now. I'm just getting adjusted to playing with new teammates and learning how to survive in the Italian League. I did play here five years ago in Sicily, Italy for a team called Priolo. Now I am playing for Levoni Cras Basket in a city called Taranto, Italy.

Q: Is the Italian language an issue for you?
A: I actually remember some of the language from when I was here five years ago. That’s hard to believe, but I do. I also have an Italian tutor who gives me lessons once or maybe twice a week. Having a tutor is really helping me to learn the language faster. I can understand better than I can speak. But that’s only because I'm shy and I think I sound funny when I speak Italian.

Q: How is your team, Levoni Cras Basket, compared to the others you play against?
A: My team won the championship last year and is expected to do really well this year also. All the rest of the teams have added WNBA players and other players from other countries that are making the teams more competitive. We are currently 3-2. I don't know what place that puts us in, but I hope its good. :)

Q: How often do you practice with the team and for how long?
A: Ok, here is my weekly schedule. We play every Sunday (one game a week). We are free the day after the game, which is Monday. On Tuesday mornings we lift weights and in the evenings we have a two-hour practice. On Wednesdays we only have the evening practice for two hours. Thursday mornings we lift weights and then we have a shooting practice. That evening we have our two-hour practice. Fridays we only have the evening practice and Saturdays we only have a shooting practice in the morning. We don't have a shootaround the day of the game, but we can shoot on our own if we want. Then it’s game time on Sunday and then we repeat the same thing for the next week and so on and so on.

Q: What is your role with the team?
A: My role on the team is to do whatever I have to do to help my team win. The team expects me to score, rebound, defend, and whatever else I can do to contribute. I usually play the entire game, which is 40 minutes, so I just want to be able to fit in with the team and just have good chemistry with everyone. I am fortunate to play with two other Americans who have really helped me to feel comfortable on the team, and also the Italian girls have really helped me too. The Americans are Vicky Bullet who used to play in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics and Melissa Fazio who played in college for St. Bonaventure. Vicky speaks Italian fluently so she has been a huge help because the coach only speaks Italian and not all of the girls can speak English.

Q: How does the game of basketball in Italy differ from the play in the WNBA?
A: This may sound weird, but it’s different for the foreign players. Everyone thinks that since we are Americans or foreigners we are stronger and better than the players over here so we don't get as many calls as we get in the States. So I don't know whether to say its more physical in that sense because we get beat up good and we just have to keep on pushing hard and playing harder. Also they only have a 24-second shot clock over here, which is different from in the States. So that means you have to get the ball down the court quicker. One more thing is that I am playing with the majority of my team being Italian and they are always speaking in Italian so the communication can be hard sometimes. But basketball is universal and basketball terms are all similar so you quickly adjust to things like that. Other than that I just play and work hare and try to get better.

Q: What is a typical day for you while you are in Italy?
A: A typical day for me would be just to go to practice, eat, get on the computer (I have a DSL connection so I'm always online), watch TV and movies with the other American on the team and our friends that we met over here. We met an American football coach over here who coaches American football and some Italian friends who speak English. We go out to eat, watch movies and sometimes hang out in the center of town and every once in a while we go bowling.

Q: Do you have any funny stories or things that have happened to you since you've arrived?
A: I don't know if this is hilariously funny, but my first game here was very important. It was called the Italian Super Cup and very important for my team to win because no other team had won three cups in a season. My team had already won the Championship, The Italian Cup, and now they wanted to win the Super Cup. So before the game Melissa (one of the other American players on the team) and I saw a huge cup (Trophy) and a very smaller cup on a table in the gym. We figured that those were the first and second place trophies. So I was like, "Hey, Melissa look at those cups." The smaller cup looked so small compared to the big one so of course I was like, "No way do I want that one." Well we won the game and got the Big Cup, but come to find out the smaller cup was for the MVP of the game and I ended up getting it. Melissa and I laughed about that for a long time. She asked me did I still not want the cup and I smiled and said, “Hell Yeah.” I thought that was very funny.

That’s one incidence and the fact that I don't have a sense of direction and got lost going to practice when I first got my car. It’s funny because the gym is like right down the street from my apartment and I mean right down the street.

Q: What do you do when you are not playing basketball?
A: Oh sorry, I answered this in the other question. I hang out with Melissa Fazio because Vicky has a fiancée so we don't bother her (but she is still really, really cool), and we watch movies, hang out in the center of town or hang out with other friends that we met over here.

Q: Do you have anything you especially like in Italy (food, music, etc.)?
A: I love the food. I am always eating some kind of pasta, good pizza, and great seafood. I love seafood so I'm in heaven over here. I'm going to be fat when I get back :) I also love the architecture of some of the buildings over here; how they are so old looking, but still very beautiful. And there is a castle here in the city that I am in that is very beautiful.

Q: Do you miss the United States?
A: I miss home so much, my family and friends. I can't wait to go home for Christmas. I'm going to be crying on Thanksgiving :( But this is my job and I love playing basketball for a living. I can't play forever so I will just enjoy it while I can. I am enjoying all the different cultures I have experienced in all the different countries I have played in.

Q: Will you get to come home for the holidays?
A: Yes, Christmas and New Years and I am so happy. I think I will be home for 10-12 days. Hoooooorrrrraaaayyyyyyyy :)