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Sue Bird

eight players named to the U.S. roster

Bird helped the U.S. win gold in both the last World Championship in 2002 in China and the Athens Olympics two years ago, but both times she played sparingly as a backup to veteran guards Dawn Staley and Shannon Johnson. Bird averaged 4.3 points per game in China before averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 assists per game in the Olympics.

"Sue has paid her dues, studied the greatest point guards in the game and now is really ready to help us with more minutes." Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

With Staley retiring from international play after the Olympics, Bird was the only point guard in the group of eight players announced Tuesday. Afterwards, she and Storm Coach Anne Donovan, who was named in January as thehead coach of the U.S. women through 2008, joined Houston Comets forwards and World Championship team members Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson (in town to play the Storm later that night) for a press conference with the local media.

"Sue has really emerged in the National Team program, has paid her dues, studied the greatest point guards in the game and now is really ready to help us with more minutes," said Donovan. "No pressure there, Sue."

Fittingly, as the press conference took place, Staley watched from a seat in the second row, humbled by what Bird and Donovan had to say about her role in Bird's development.

"I think they've said some pretty nice things about me," Staley said after the press conference. "What I've done for USA Basketball is just try to pass along what USA Basketball meant to me. It's an experience where basketball is played at its purest sense."

During her two major international competitions with the U.S. team, Bird has had the opportunity to watch and learn from Staley, passing on the torch that was passed to Staley by long-time U.S. guard Teresa Edwards.

"Teresa Edwards was huge," recalled Staley. "I watched, I looked and, when she was there, I had the opportunity to work the second group. She had the starters, I had the white team, and I had the opportunity to get that group going. That second group included Sheryl and Lisa (Leslie), so we've been up through the ranks. There will probably be a transition for everybody, but when it boils down to it, they're not going to want to lose a gold medal, so they're going to listen to Sue. I'm going to help with that, to give her the respect, because she deserves it. She put in her dues, and now it's time for her to step up and perform.

"It's my time to go. I think Sue's ready. She's got more talent than I do. She just needs a little experience at that level."

"To learn from her and play with her ... I'm definitely going to pick her brain now as a coach," said Bird. "She's somebody who I can really give a lot of credit to when it comes to my career, both in the WNBA and internationally."

That drew a response from Staley's Houston teammate, Swoopes. "Sue, you can't pick Dawn's brain too much just yet," she said. "We've got a big game to play tonight."

Bird's selection to the roster was anticipated, as it was for Swoopes, Thompson and the other five players who will form the core of the U.S. entry in the World Championship - guards Katie Smith and Diana Taurasi, forwards Tamika Catchings and DeLisha Milton-Jones, and center Leslie. Still, it gives an opportunity for Bird's and Donovan's player-coach relationship, built over three-plus seasons with the Storm and on the National Team as Donovan served as an assistant to Head Coach Van Chancellor in 2002 and 2004, to grow and develop even further.

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"It's just great to be able to work with Sue year-round," Donovan said. "Year-round we're working on her position for USA Basketball but then continuing to strive for championships here in Seattle. Sue is one of the most easy-going people I've ever been around. Hungry to learn, very competitive and eager to step up into the absence we have at the point that Dawn left and help us at that level. It's great for me to be part of that evolution for her."

In the last two major international competitions, Bird was helped by Swoopes' and Thompson's experience with Chancellor ("She needed us to translate for her," joked Swoopes, a nod to Chancellor's thick Southern accent). Now, Bird is in a similar position.

"She's someone I'm very comfortable with now," said Bird. "I understand her system. When these guys were on the Olympic team, they could help with Van's system, they could point out the little things. Hopefully, I can kind of bridge that gap. I'm going to be very familiar with what she wants, whether it's a little drill or a last-second play."

Donovan has some input on the U.S. roster but not ultimate say, which is made by the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee (chaired by WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations Renee' Brown) and approved by the USA Basketball Executive Committee. She was excited about the initial group of eight players she was given to coach, all of whom have won a gold medal in at least one Olympics. Donovan plans for the same result in Brazil, though she knows it will not be easy.

"We're not just going to pick up a medal," Donovan said. "We're going to fight tooth and nail for that medal. And we're coming home with the gold, but it's not going to be easy. The commitment of these eight players that have been named as our core players? They understand it. Nobody has to explain it to them."

Four more players will be selected to round out the roster. Brown indicated that a group of about 10-15 players is in the running for the final spots, with USA Basketball watching how they perform during this WNBA season. More players will be added throughout the summer.