Henry Bibby
Los Angeles Sparks

Opening Statement: I am happy to be a part of the WNBA. I have not followed the WNBA closely but being a part of this I’m really surprised about the talent level of play in the WNBA. There are some very, very good women basketball players. The world has been missing out on seeing all the action that the girls bring to the table. I’m pleased to be able to coach in the WNBA and the players that I have on my team, whom I think could be and hopefully will be better than what everybody thinks. Everybody thinks we’re going to be pretty good but that’s the way the coaches put it off on other coaches -- when they try to divert the action from themselves they say that we have a great chance to take this thing. But it’s a toss-up. We’re like everybody else. We had a lot of injuries, had some ladies come late to practice, so we’re still in our infant stage of putting this team together to be able to make a run for the WNBA Championship. We are ready to go for our first game on Saturday against Seattle and we look forward to a pretty good game.

Q: You have two superstars in your lineup and it’s like the female equivalent to Shaq and Kobe. How do make sure that Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw get along and how do you divide up your offense?
Bibby: I hope they are Shaq and Kobe. If they are that good then the WNBA is really in trouble. But I don’t know if we are that caliber yet. I think both of the ladies have been hurt in the preseason and I haven’t seen them at their full potential. They are two very good players and I equate Holdsclaw to, when I played for the New York Knicks years and years ago, when Earl Monroe came to the Knicks. He was the type of player who was really good and blended in. What Chamique has done now is that she has just blended into the basketball team. She’s a low-key person. She’s a quiet leader on this team and excellent to coach. It’s unbelievable that a player of that magnitude is so receptive to being coached. I don’t think she’ll have any problems and I don’t think that Lisa will have any problems. Lisa is a winner and she wants to win and she’s somewhat embraced me, being the new coach to come in, and trying to make this thing happen. We have other people on our basketball team that are really going to make the difference. Those two players are basically the people that carry us, but the people that are going to make a difference are the people like (Temecka) Dixon and (Nikki) Teasley and (Christi) Thomas and (Tamika) Whitmore and Mwadi (Mabika) when she gets back. Those are the people who are really going to make the difference on this basketball team.

Q: You’ve had a lot of experience coaching men, but what is like coaching women?
Bibby: It’s the same thing I’ve told my ladies, is that I feel that they execute better than the men. They definitely pay more attention than men. They analyze what I do. Us guys don’t remember too much but women don’t forget anything so all the plays I put in, they remember. So I’m just enjoying coaching. This has really been a fun three weeks of coaching where I can really put in a lot of plays and all the things I want to put in and they pick them up and I’m really impressed with that. Lisa Leslie told me, “You know coach, men only use one side of their brain; women use two.” Now I understand what she is telling me.

Q: You mentioned that you can put in a number of plays. Does it translate as far as what plays you are used to running with the difference of not playing above the rim. Does that change anything as far as the different type of plays that you gave?
Bibby: You know we don’t use any lob plays that I used when I coached the men. And that’s the only difference. There’s no other difference other than the jumping ability of the women and men that I see. Women really shoot the basketball well and they really drive. They really drive the basketball better than I anticipated. And they box out, they run the court, they get in a defensive stance, they talk, they do everything. The only difference is that men just jump and the women don’t. They’re not as athletic.

Q: Can you talk about Nikki Teasley and the momentum she brings and is Tamecka Dixon completely healthy now?
Bibby: The problem I have right now is that we’re kind of banged up. The ladies come from playing overseas and they’re just coming off their third tournament season. Teasley has tendonitis in both knees and she’s struggling a little bit and Dixon has had a hip [injury] when she came back from overseas but we’re just not full strength. But hopefully we’re going to get there. Teasley brings a lot to the game. When she’s focused and ready to play and she wants to play defense they’re probably not too many better guards in the WNBA than Nikki Teasley.

Q: You said you weren’t too familiar with the NBA, but were you familiar with Lisa Leslie and her history of success?
Bibby: Absolutely. I watched the Olympics and she was playing in that. And I watched because of Lisa Leslie. I was at USC and she was at SC and she would come over and play noon-time basketball with us. We had a group of men who played noon-time basketball. I played against her and Tina Thompson who is with the Houston Comets. So, I know of Lisa Leslie and she is the Michael Jordan, the Shaquille O’Neal of the WNBA and that’s, before getting involved, the way I looked upon her as being. She was that standout player in the WNBA.

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John Whisenant
Sacramento Monarchs

Opening Statement: We are starting off a fresh year, like everyone is. We’ve tried to get a younger squad. We were one of, if not the oldest team in the WNBA last year. We have a number of new faces in our camp and we’ve made a couple of trades and have a few of the elder statesman who are not with us any longer. I like our energy and enthusiasm of our team. We have veterans like Yolanda Griffith, DeMya Walker, Kara Lawson along with players like Rebekkah Brunson who are back in camp. Ticha Penicheiro just arrived this morning. Whether she’ll be ready for our season opener or not, we’re still not sure. Some of the other veterans have been in camp for just a few days. I think we’ll get better as we go along and we’re anxious to get started

Q: With Kara Lawson starting this year, do you think this is going to be her breakout season?
Whisenant: Kara really wasn’t a started the last few years, but really she was. She actually played more minutes than any other guard, but Ticha (Penicheiro) and was our go to perimeter shooter, but we didn’t start her. The reason was because she was our backup point guard and we felt like any time we used her at point guard it restricted her ability to score and we need scoring these past years. Unfortunately, in this preseason camp, we’ve had to use Kara Lawson the same way because Ticha’s been in Europe and our number one draft pick, Kristin Haynie, has had an ankle sprain. Haynie missed most of our preseason with a reoccurring bone bruise in her ankle, but I wouldn’t be surprised with anything Kara did. She great young lady, she’s smart and understands the game. She gives it her max effort. Works out, lifts and runs, so she gets the maximum out of her ability.

Q: With your two Chinese players, Sui Fei Fei and Miao Li jie, how do you thing they’re going to match up against the WNBA?
Whisenant: They’re both skilled offensively, Miao has done better in our preseason then Fei Fei, partly because Fei Fei injured a knee and has missed practice time. Both have difficulty defending. It will take some time to get to the defensive side right. We’ve got to use Miao early, she’s a potential scorer. I expect to see her get some minutes Saturday night in Phoenix.

Q: Did you feel like a change of scenery for Nicole Powell would do good for her and how do you feel she’s done so far?
Whisenant: I think as a basketball coach and general manager you have to make judgments how certain players fit into your system and your needs. I honestly believe in most leagues and certainly in the WNBA there are a few stars who are difference makers no matter where they go, but for the most part the majority of the players need to get into the right system at the right time and gain the confidence and security to deliver their talents. That’s what we felt about Nicole (Powell) and we watched her play at Stanford near here in Sacramento and she went down in Charlotte were there were veteran players at her position. She had difficulty with their defensive system and she never got into a rhythm and never got comfortable. We felt like Nicole will be an outstanding player in the WNBA. We had to give up an outstanding proven WNBA player to get Nicole. Trudi Lacey down there (Charlotte) felt similar things about Nicole, but we gave up Tangela Smith who has proved she’s a double-figure scorer over a number of years in the WNBA and we had to take a gamble. Last year we did not score a single three-pointer from our three position and we averaged almost six turnovers a game from our three position. It was not the player’s faults, it was the coach and general managers fault for playing them out of position. Since I’m the coach and GM, the fault was mine. If I allowed it to continue to remain that way, than I certainly deserve criticism. I had to make moves and I felt like anyone with logic could see that we were playing non-wing players and we had to find somebody to improve that position and that’s what we’ve tried to do. Only time will tell if it works out for the better because we’ve made it to the finals of the Western championship three times and we’ve done it the last two years. We took a certain gamble to do that.

Q: Can you talk about how Yolanda Griffith has maintained her ability and actually improved as she’s gotten older?
Whisenant: Yolanda is a pro. She’s a professional player. You can’t tell it sometimes through her expressions, but she is always in the game and very competitive. She wants to win and she wants to do well. And she takes great care of herself. She doesn’t do bad things. She doesn’t eat bad, she doesn’t drink, she doesn’t stay up late at night. She takes care of herself like all of us should. She may go on for ever, I don’t know. We gave her a two-year guaranteed contract and she’s 35 and she came back here last week and I can’t see one bit of difference. In fact, she might be better than when she left here. She amazes me and I’m impressed. I’m certainly on board that she’s an all-star and an Olympian.

Anne Donovan
Seattle Storm

Opening Statement: We are working hard here in Seattle to get back on the path we were on last October when we captured the championship. As everyone is aware, through free agency we lost three of our top six players, but we’re working hard to try to replace those players with some young kids that we feel we can develop. We understand that our core players – Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Betty Lennox – are back and will lead us back on the championship path again.

Q: How will you maintain the drive to repeat, and what is the mood of the team?
Donovan: It’s interesting, because immediately after the season, the staff and I tried to draw from Detroit, and the fact that they did stumble. I think it was a great learning lesson for us that you don’t just repeat. It takes even more work to win a second championship, so watching what Detroit did, it is clear what we have to do to repeat.

We’ve lost so much experience through free agency, so we’ve had some adjustments in camp, but I’m totally confident we have the personnel that can live up to that.

Q: How does L.A. look?
Donovan: I think everyone says L.A. is the team to beat, and after watching them on tape I don’t know that I disagree anymore. The lethal 1-2 punch they have there, and the depth they have, they look pretty good, and we’re gonna get an early test of how we match against them.

Q: Can you handicap the small forward slot on the team?
Donovan: Alicia Thompson does a nice job for us, particularly off the bench, a great three point shooter and a high energy player. But I think we’re still trying to figure out who will be that consistent starter will be at that spot. A lot of coaches change their lineups. I’m not one that historically has done that, I like to go with a set five and maintain that, but I don’t know that this year won’t be different for me at that spot. We still have a lot of adjusting to do to see who will emerge.

Q: How important are rivalries in the league like you and L.A.?
Donovan: I think it’s huge, when you can get that. It happens in all professional sports leagues, and I think L.A. and Seattle have grown into a tremendous rivalry, which was established before I got here. In the last two years we’ve been competitive and we’ve beaten them a fair number of times. It’s promoted a team rivalry, and of course the well documented rivalry between Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson in the post, two of the best post players in the game. It is important, and I think you’re going to see Houston and San Antonio develop that same thing down in Texas.

Q: Chicago comes in next year, and beyond that, do you think the talent base is there?
Donovan: I’m not so sure – there is so much about the league that is growing. I think hopefully the college talent can keep up with it. We have thirteen good teams that are vying for a championship, and you can’t count any of them out. And that’s what this league should be about, more so than getting a lot of teams. As long as we can get competitive teams, we can continue to grow.

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Van Chancellor
Houston Comets

Opening Statement: I feel good about our basketball team; I think we have a long ways to go. We have so many new players. In this Western Conference we’re probably going to be in a mad scramble with a lot of teams, with probably L.A. at the head of the class and then Seattle and Sacramento. Questions?

Q: How different is it to come into the year after not making the postseason?
Chancellor: It’s motivated me; I’ve probably worked harder in this offseason than I’ve worked in any, trying to right our ship. And right now I feel really good about where we are. We probably need seven or eight games to play together and we’ll be fine. I just hope we’re not too far down by the time that happens.

Q: After L.A. and Seattle and Sacramento, how do you see the rest of the West shaping up?
Chancellor: I think Minnesota has all of their players returning, I think the rest of us – Phoenix, San Antonio, you name it – we’re all kind of in a dogfight. I think the four of us are fighting for the last spot in my mind.

Q: How do you replace Tina Thompson?
Chancellor: You don’t replace one of the three or four best players in the league. We’re going to try to use our bench. We think we have a strong bench, and that would really help us and be a change from last year.

Q: When is Tina due and do you expect her back at the end of the season?
Chancellor: Well, she just had the baby about a week ago, a boy named Dillon. Everything is going good. As for when she comes back, I don’t know. My expertise is in coaching, I’m not too strong on when women have babies when they come back to play ball. When she shows up, I’m gonna coach her!

Q: Has she been around the team at all?
Chancellor: She’s been out here, been to practice. But since she’s had the baby, we want her to rest until she’s feeling better.

Carrie Graf
Phoenix Mercury

Opening Statement: We’re looking forward to the 2005 season. Last year we were disappointed we didn’t make the playoffs. We thought we had a shot at it and didn’t quite make it down the stretch. But as a young team and my first year as the head coach, we learned a lot about ourselves and our team and about were we think we can go this season.

Q: Can you tell us what you’ve done with your inside game and how you’ve helped your team in that area?
Graf: One of our off season tasks was to get more from our inside game, either through free agency, trades or the draft. We were fortunate that we didn’t have to give up a good pick to get that done. The addition of Kamila Vodichkova is going to be huge for us. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been in training camp and will miss the first four games, but I’d rather have her around for 30 of the 34 games than zero of the 34. She’s a veteran who’s just come off a championship season. I had a year with her as an assistant in Seattle in 2002. She’s a savvy veteran, big and strong. She can hit a perimeter shot and she can operate one on one down low and I think she’ll be a great compliment to our team and put her into some two-man games with Taurasi and Taylor and that’s pretty exciting for us. She’s a great addition to our group. Sandora Irvin has a huge upside. I think she’s going to help our team. She’s an amazing raw athlete. Her head is spinning around at the moment. It’s a big step up obviously and the systems we have are different than the ones she had in college. Rookie post play, the adjustment is much bigger than the perimeter play. There will be games where she’ll be able to give us some exciting minutes. I think as far as Sandora impacting our team in a massive way this year, I think that will come down the track. I still think she has a lot to learn about the game and a lot to learn about the league.

Q: What are somethings that Diana Taurasi can improve on in her second year in the WNBA?
Graf: I think in any players second year, you get a better idea how to play. She needs to be much more active with her hands and uses her strength well and finds ways not to get in foul trouble. A few teams last year figured if you can’t beat her at the other end by stuffing her shoot, let’s get her in foul trouble. I think her ability to defend will be first I think we’ll see her really step up as the leader of the team. As a rookie last year, she was good at that, but this year I think she really understands the league. She knows how special she is to our team. Making adjustments to the new rules will be big. Her adjusting to the hand checking and how she can maximize that to get herself open shots.

Suzie McConnell Serio
Minnesota Lynx

Opening Statement: First I have to say what a difference a week makes. After having three weeks of preseason without key players for us and than having them back the day before our third exhibition game. There was huge difference this week in practice having Kristi Harrower as our veteran point guard along with a healthy Svetlana Abrosimova and Stacey Lovelace is also back in camp. It has been a great week. We had a good training camp and it’s been a different week for us. Teaching them everything and getting them acclimated and really preparing ourselves for the season. We are very excited about the week we had and the opportunity to start the season with everyone healthy right now, along with a healthy Katie Smith.

Q: As one of the veteran teams in the WNBA, is there a comfort level knowing what your personnel was going to be?
McConnell Serio: There was more of a comfortable level this week. We were with a lot of young players for the first couple of weeks of training camp, until we got a couple of our veterans back. At the beginning of training camp, Katie Smith was limited and has been brought along and is now at one hundred percent. We are very confident going into the season, considering everyone is healthy with all the veterans. It’s been a great a training camp for the nucleus for the starting players who are back from last year along with someone like Vanessa Hayden, who did not have training camp last year, coming in with a broken foot. She’s been a difference maker in our training camp being healthy and having a great off season and being in great shape. We have a great mix. The two rookies we have on our roster right now have come in and really made great contributions in our exhibition games and in our training camp and really got opportunities because players weren’t here. We are very pleased with what they bring to this team.

Q: Can you expand on how Kristi Harrower is going to be pivotal for you and your team this year? Can you also explain about having Svetlana healthy and how much more of an offensive threat your whole team will now be?
McConnell Serio: With Kristi, her leadership ability and the way she controls the game, the way she understands the game. She’s a smart player. She’s an offensive threat. She did not have to make an adjustment from the bigger ball to the smaller ball coming from overseas. That has always been something to have to get her use to, she’s not had to make any type of adjustments. She’s shooting the ball well. She can penetrate, she can create for her teammates. She gets by defenders and she’s very smart defensively as well, where she keeps people in front of her. When people try and post her up, she’s very smart at getting around. She’s great at avoiding players who are trying to exploit mismatches and try and create with size advantages. I see a difference of when she was her two years ago as a back up point guard until now. She feels very comfortable in that leadership role and taking charge of this team. As for Svetlana, what a difference a healthy Svet makes. Coming in here last year, she was brought along, but she was minimized because of the back injury and ended up starting after Katie (Smith) went down, after the Olympic break. Her coming into camp, she brings a different level and different element than we had from anyone else in our camp. She’s just a penetrater, a rebounder, a shooter, she’s just exciting on the floor and makes things happen, while she’s out there. We’re very excited about what she brings because the best teams have three scorers. We’re looking for Svet to be that third scorer. With Katie and Ohlde, along with contributions from our post rotation with Tamika (Williams) and Vanessa Hayden. We’re really looking for great things from Svet this year.

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Dan Hughes
San Antonio Silver Stars

Opening Statement: With the season starting on Saturday, we’ve gone through a period most teams have gone through of trying to get our players here. We don’t have everybody here, but the last four days we’ve had the majority of our players here. We’ve added Shannon Johnson, Edna Campbell and Marie Ferdinand in the last week to our practice, which has helped our guard play immensely. We’re still in a situation with our roster and our team are getting developed. I’ve been pleased with the teams work ethic and pleased with the fact that we’ve gotten better from week to week. I still think we have along way to go to have the consistency that you need in the West and in this league. But, I do feel better than I did on April 24. I think each week we’ve made some improvement.

Q: Is this a kind of season where you have to take little battles as they come. Every team has to focus on each game, but you guys especially because you’re almost recreating this franchise?
Hughes: I think the messaging from me and my coaching staff to our team is about how we do things day to day. I think an approach that allows us to understand that what we do on a day to day basis is really pivotal. Not only from a stand point of learning how we’re going to play and how we’re going to play with each other, but just putting people together. This team is coming together from different parts. The foundation that remains in Shannon Johnson, Marie Ferdinand and LaToya Thomas and then three is a combination of three rookies and some people that have come through free agency and other ways. We’re a young basketball team and we have to take care of business on a daily basis. It’s not like we have a chemistry established or an understanding established. We message that a lot and I think the terminology of small victories or small steps is important. I tell them time and time again, to win games, we have to win those games on what we do on a daily basis. Not have a mentality where we think, “OK, on Saturday we’re going to go play this game.” We have to do some things on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that message to ourselves that we’re going to play well on Saturday.

Q: Did you feel that a new environment for Chantelle Anderson would help Chantelle be the type of player that she really hasn’t had a chance to be in this league?
Hughes: She’s played behind one of our best in our league in Yolanda Griffith. We looked around and I liked Katie Feenstra a lot, but I thought in her development, I didn’t want to overuse her early. I wanted to use her in a role that I thought she could grow from. Having a different kind of inside presence in Chantelle, I thought was a nice compliment.

Q: Since you’ve been around the league a long time. How different is the league now. How has it grown?
Hughes: I see more competitiveness than I saw when I first went to Cleveland, in 2000. The teams, the difference between team A, team B, team C and team D, it’s way more comparative. When I look at the depth on the team, I see more veteran players in that depth position, in those rotation positions. I see a mixture of youth and veteran play and the middle minutes of a WNBA game are far more substantial to maybe five years ago. The quality of play, the quality of productivity can be expected. You have better players and in some cases veteran player in those rotation positions that are helping it. As you build a team knowing that it’s a matter of having more of your players playing well. I think you have to have more of your rotation impacting your game and more consistent from that stand point.