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Anne Donovan is keeping busy this fall in her other role as head coach of the U.S. Women's Senior National Team. After the U.S. won the FIBA Americas Championship and the WNBA's league meetings in New York, Donovan got the chance to spend some time in Seattle last week, watching Sonics practice and chatting with new Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo and Assistant Coach Paul Westhead, whose Phoenix Mercury bested the Storm in the 2007 Playoffs. Donovan talked with storm.wnba.com about the anniversary of the Storm's WNBA championship, her relationship with Carlesimo and more.
storm.wnba.com: How often do you think back to the championship and how much does it serve as a motivating factor?
Donovan: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it, I'll be honest. But I'm very proud of that. Few people have been able to win a championship. I look at Jason Kidd now with the National Team. I was just talking about this with somebody - what a fantastic player he is and what a difference he is on the USA team, but hasn't won a championship. It is such a unique thing to do, so when I do think about it I really hold it dear.
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How long have you known P.J.?
P.J. and I go back to when he was in Seton Hall, just crossing paths at award dinners and all that because I grew up in New Jersey. I've been very aware of who he is and have followed his career for a long time, as I think he did mine, and have crossed paths through USA Basketball. I haven't spent a ton of time with P.J. other than just keeping up with each other and, long ago, admiring him and the work he did at Seton Hall and how respected he was in New Jersey.
How much does it help to have a good relationship with the coach of the Sonics?
It's just so awesome that he's upbeat. He walks through here when he's around; he sees my light on, he comes in or he knocks on the window. Stops out of his busy schedule the other day just to chat and check up on how the National Team did and actually knew how the team did. We were in a restaurant in New York, Il Vagabondo, one of P.J.'s favorite places. I took a photo of him on the wall with his parents and e-mailed it to him. He got right back to me. He's just a good guy that means a lot to the game - and that means the game of basketball, not just men's basketball.
What did you take away from attending the WNBA league meetings?
Every year we go to the league meetings and you come away with a renewed sense of the value of the WNBA and how many passionate people there are. When you gather some of those people in the same meeting place, it becomes very powerful. I think it rejuvenates us in our mission. That sometimes gets lost in the course of the long season or a challenging season or in the offseason, so it's always nice to go there and get kind of recharged.
Is it nice to have the official announcement that the Storm will play 2008 at KeyArena?
Karen (Bryant) and I had been talking quite a bit about how both of us felt good about our conversations with Clay (Bennett) and that that was going to happen, but until it's actually announced, you know your fans - fans and players - aren't settled until it becomes official. It was great to have that announcement. It was actually the day we were leaving for Chile, I think, that we got that in the airport. It was good to have that be official.
What is the latest you've heard from 
Lauren Jackson about 2008?
That's not the kind of relationship I have with Lauren, to ask her questions like that, because we work with the expectation that she's coming back. I've never had any doubt of Lauren's intention to come back and play as long as the team was in Seattle. The only question in my mind, and it was very legitimate, was if the team were not in Seattle, what would she do. Once that announcement came, Lauren and I have communicated since then and Lauren's going to be a part of this team. She wants another championship badly. As long as we're in Seattle, Lauren Jackson wants to be here.
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