Scholanda Robinson is getting used to deep postseason runs, having made three straight trips to the Final Four with LSU before reaching the WNBA Finals with the Monarchs during her rookie season last year. The Monarchs return a formidable group of core players and will likely have another great season, thanks in large part to the up-and-coming Robinson. WNBA.com's Mark Bodenrader caught up with Robinson to talk about how she fits in to Sacramento's quest for the crown in '07.

Monarchs guard Scholanda Robinson Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

Q: You've been through a few name changes in the last few years (Scholanda Dorrell, Scholanda Hoston, Scholanda Robinson). To help clarify things for our readers, can you just go over the progression of those and how you came to be Scholanda Robinson?
ROBINSON: "Well, my husband’s last name was originally Hoston and it was his mother’s last name. For a long time he had wanted to take his father’s last name, but wasn’t quite sure what the circumstance was of why he had his mother’s last name. And he didn’t know if it was a situation where she really wanted him to have it so he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

"He finally got around to asking her about it and it was just because his parents weren’t married at the time he was born, and where he was born they didn’t allow the child to take the father’s last name if the parents weren’t married. So once he found that out he decided to go ahead with the name change and he went ahead and took his dad’s last name, which is Robinson."

Q: What was your off-season like? I believe you played overseas in Luxembourg, correct?
ROBINSON: "I went overseas for just a short while just to kind of get the experience. It was a nice experience. But most of the off-season – especially the first part – I spent just resting my body. I felt really worn out and beat up after the season, after coming off of three long college seasons going to three straight Final Fours. Going as far as you can go in your season in college and coming straight here and going through training camp and everything, I was just worn out and beat up and I really just needed to take a break mentally and physically.

"So I left here and visited with my best friend and just hung out with her and just was a bum for a couple weeks (laughs). I worked out a little bit but nothing too strenuous, just because I get antsy (laughs). I’m real jittery; I have to be doing something all the time. But for the most part I tried to just relax and rest my body. Then I went home to Miami and visited with my mom and my family there. And then I went back to Atlanta -- where my husband is -- and started working out, and it was really beneficial because I was able to really hit it hard."

Q: What parts of your game did you work on in preparation for this season?
ROBINSON: "I worked on my ball-handling. That was something I really wanted to improve on from last year. Just being stronger with the ball and making better decisions. So I worked a lot on that. And a lot of what I did was a lot of strength training too. I got into the weight room and really worked on that."

Q: 2006 was your first year in the league and the Monarchs made it all the way to the finals, where you guys lost to Detroit. Were you disappointed to get so far and not win, or were you just happy to experience such a run in your first year in the league?
ROBINSON: "I can’t say that I was just happy to be there. I think it had a lot to do with those three straight Final Fours I had been to and experiencing the high of getting right there where you can win that title, and not getting it. I knew early on that this team had what it took, so I wasn’t surprised or shocked that we were there. I really wanted to come out with that championship. It was tough. It was tough. I’m a competitor and when you’re a competitor you hate to lose. I definitely was disappointed, but also encouraged because I knew we could go do it again. We have a lot of the same players back and everybody’s ready to work hard to get back there."

Q: What has been the mood in training camp and preseason this year? Is there a sense of unfinished business?
ROBINSON: "A little bit, but more of us just establishing an identity and going out every night and focusing on playing Monarchs basketball. We feel like it we go out and do that every night, we’re going to get good results."

Q: What are you initial impressions of new coach Jenny Boucek?
ROBINSON: "Oh I love her. She’s a very inspirational coach. She doesn’t just feed us stuff about basketball, making it about ‘basketball is 100 percent your life and that’s all I want you to worry about.’ She does a really good job of breaking things down into life situations too and applying everything we do to not just basketball but life. That’s something I really admire and appreciate.

"We have so many great weapons to pull from. Coach could probably just close her eyes and point to somebody and feel confident enough that they’re going to get out there and get it done."

We come in here and definitely work hard and it’s about basketball when we’re here, but she also wants us to be well-rounded people, and not losing sight of us also being women outside of basketball."

Q: The Monarchs' roster is loaded with talent. How do you plan to make your mark this year and get more minutes?
ROBINSON: "I’m just gonna go out and work hard everyday. That’s all you can do. Everybody on this team is talented and capable of going out there and playing minutes. So it’s just a matter of what we need at the time and who’s playing at the top of their game when we need it. I think that’s what great about our team, that we have so many great weapons to pull from. I think Coach could probably just close her eyes and point to somebody and feel confident enough that they’re going to get out there and get it done. So my mentality has been to just come in and work hard. I don’t know any other way to go than to give 100 percent and work hard, and just be ready when my number’s called."

Q: Is there new player you see making a big difference in 2007?
ROBINSON: "I think everybody is going to make a big difference because this team isn’t about individuals. We’re all about team. We’re all about making each other better. So I don’t think there’s one specific person that’s going to make a huge difference. I think it’s all of us working together that will make the big difference."

Q: Who do you see as your main competitors out West?
ROBINSON: "I don’t want to sound vain and say ourselves (laughs), but I think that is a real big part of it. Us going out and worrying about us and not worrying about another team and what they’re doing is going to be the key to our success. If we go out there and we apply the things that we’ve been doing all through training camp, things that Coach has been preaching to us and teaching every day, we’re not going to have to worry about who our opponent is if we go out there and we do what we know we can do."

Q: How realistic is a second championship in three seasons for Sacramento?
ROBINSON: "I think it’s very realistic. I think we have all the tools. We have the personnel. We have the talent. Like I said, it’s a matter of us going out there and working collectively and just applying all the things we’ve been working so hard on through training camp. I can definitely see it unfolding. We’re not where we need to be quite yet, but we’re definitely working hard to get there."

Robinson will be sharing her experiences throughout her sophomore campaign as part of the Sacramento Monarchs Blog Squad.

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