In his first season as head coach, Adams has 11 seasons of NBA experience to draw on. Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images

Adams was named Head Coach of the Mystics on February 17, 2004 and joins the Mystics organization following a career in basketball that spanned over 20 years. He spent 11 seasons in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, Washington Bullets, and the Denver Nuggets before finishing his career with the Charlotte Hornets following the 1995-96 season. During his playing days, Adams averaged 14.7 points, 6.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.

What has coaching the Mystics been like? Do you feel that coaching women is significantly different from coaching men? John - Annandale, VA

Michael Adams: Overall it’s been great. It’s a lot of teaching and ensuring that the players understand our philosophies. Everybody has been taught different things by different people. There are some differences from the men’s game, but the game is still played the same way. You teach your style, teach the x’s and o’s, and hope that the players respond to it and run it correctly.

What has been the key to your success on the road? Anthony - Arlington, VA

Michael Adams: On the road, it’s us against the world. We know coming in that it’s only the players, the coaches and the trainers against the other team and all of their fans. We were ready for that and we got a couple of wins out there. Hopefully we can carry that home. So far we haven’t had that killer instinct in our gym.

Is there a rivalry between WNBA coaches that are former NBA players? Denise - Fairfax, VA

Michael Adams: I’ve had plenty of matches against Michael Cooper when we played against each other and we had a rivalry then. I never had to guard Bill Laimbeer so I didn’t get to know him as well. But when you are a professional athlete and then you become a coach, you still want to win. It matter doesn’t who you are playing against or coaching against. You want to win. Laimbeer’s team happens to be in the East and we’re in the East, so of course we want to beat them, but we want to beat all of the other teams as well.

How many games do you think it will take for you and your staff members to fully evaluate the players on the team? Vaughn - Forestville, MD

Michael Adams: I’ve been saying that after ten games we better know what we are doing and what we want to do to be successful. Right now we are still trying to find our way at home. I think that ten games is a number where you can really gauge where your team is going to be. I think by then we’ll know what our players are capable of doing and what they are not capable of doing and what type of adjustments we’ll have to make down the stretch.

What do you think of Alana Beard as a player, a rookie and a person? What do you think her future holds as a WNBA player? Carmel - Chicago, IL

Michael Adams: Overall Alana Beard is one of the smartest players I’ve been around. She is very eager to learn, very coachable, and just a pleasure to be around on and off the floor. When we travel she’s upbeat. When we’re playing she’s upbeat. She wants to do well not just for herself, but for her teammates. That shows you how unselfish she is. She wants to win first and foremost.

How far do you believe the Mystics could go this year? Vonne - Fort Washington, MD

Michael Adams: I think that the number one goal right now is to compete and show that we can play with all of the teams in the East. We want to be in the Playoffs. Who doesn’t want to be in the Playoffs? That’s our goal. But we are going to have to step it up at home to get back into the hunt. We want to show improvement, and the goal is to get to Playoffs.

Has Aiysha Smith exceeded your expectations thus far this season? Ken - Manassas, VA

Michael Adams: Everybody came in with a clean slate. I didn’t have expectations. I watched a lot of film but I didn’t know what anybody was about personally. So I didn’t have expectations. Aiysha has played well in practice; she has played well in games. She is one of those players that does everything that you tell her to do. On both ends of the floor she has done well for us and I’m happy to have her.

How is Kaayla Chones coming along? Diana - Silver Spring, MD

Michael Adams: It’s unfair to her, and it’s my job to find her some minutes eventually, but a lot of rookies don’t play much in this league. We just have so many big people that the minutes aren’t there in the games. But in practice, Kaayla Chones is one of our best low post scorers. I hope to find some minutes for her because I think she is capable of giving us some scoring help down low.

Do you think that the August break will be beneficial? Carol - Washington, DC

Michael Adams: Everybody has the same issue so it’s either beneficial or detrimental for everyone. If one team had a long break and nobody else did then there would be an issue. The break is there and we can’t do anything about it, but we’ll come back and have a mini-training camp all over again. The hard thing will be if your team is on a winning streak, you won’t want to see the break come. If your team is not playing well, the break may be a welcomed thing. We’ll approach coming back the same way regardless and be ready to roll, and hopefully gain momentum towards the Playoffs.