• Print

Storm 2009-10 Offseason Plans

RELATED CONTENT
For 2010, Storm Hopes to Build Around Core
StormTracker: Cash Joins USA Basketball Training
Get Storm Headlines!
Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com | September 22, 2009
With the conclusion of the Seattle Storm's season, players will once again disperse to all corners of the globe for offseasons in name only. Here's a complete list of what the Storm players have planned - though this year several players are still finalizing their plans.

CENTER SUZY BATKOVIC-BROWN


Team: Sydney Uni Acuvue Flames
Batkovic-Brown is headed home, returning to the Australian WNBL and taking the year off from play in Europe. "Obviously, getting married and leaving six days later to come here – I’ve only seen my husband two weeks since we’ve been married," said Batkovic-Brown. "I think now is the right time to go home and have a break."

GUARD SUE BIRD


Team: Spartak Moscow Region
This will be Bird's fourth season playing for Spartak, but she'll arrive in Russia later than last year - Dec. 1. That means that after participating in training with USA National Team and playing for the U.S. in the UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Bird will have a month and a half off. "I'm actually going to get some rest this year," she said.

CENTER JANELL BURSE


Team: Wisla Can-Pack
Having previously played in the Czech Republic and Russia, Burse will spend this offseason in Krakow, Poland. "I've heard Krakow is awesome - 'the Paris of Poland' is what I've been hearing," she said. "The coach really wanted me there; a Spanish coach (Jose Ignacio Hernandez, who coached Halcon Avenida to the Euroleague Final Four in 2008-09) got the job. He knows my game and he knows what I can do. He's excited about me getting there and I'm excited to play for him." Burse will be reunited with former Storm forward Iziane Castro Marques, who has also signed with Wisla.

FORWARD SWIN CASH


Plans: USA Basketball, then undecided
Cash will join Bird to train with the National Team next week. She's yet to sign with a team, but would like to return to Europe after her season in the Czech Republic last winter was cut short by back surgery. Between now and when that happens, Cash will surely keep busy. "I'll be in New York and also in L.A. taking meetings in regards to broadcasting and also my book," she said. "I'm also excited about that. My basketball agent, Mike (Cound), he's like, 'You know something's going to be coming up, so don't make too many plans.'"

FORWARD KATIE GEARLDS


Plans: Not finalized
The first order of business for Gearlds is getting healthy. She was unable to return from a torn PCL for the postseason. "I would say, I don't know, a week or two weeks before I really feel like it's 100 percent," Gearlds said. She plans to play overseas, but is still finalizing where.

FORWARD LAUREN JACKSON


Team: Spartak Moscow Region
Bird and Jackson will be going for their fourth consecutive Euroleague championship as part of the star-studded Spartak roster. What remains uncertain is how quickly Jackson will be able to return from the stress fracture in her back that sidelined her for the conclusion of the Storm season.

GUARD SHANNON JOHNSON


Team: EBE Ibiza-PDV
While Johnson is retiring from the WNBA, she will continue to play overseas. She returns to EBE Ibiza, which will play in the EuroCup for the second straight season.

FORWARD CAMILLE LITTLE


Plans: Looking for a team overseas
Little still is looking for a team, but hopes to play overseas - after getting a break at home. "I want to take a couple of weeks to just rest my body," she said. "Playing 35-plus (minutes), you need a break. Hopefully the next week or two I can get some rest and the stars will align perfectly and I can get a call and I'll head out."

CENTER ASHLEY ROBINSON


Plans: Phoenix, home to Dallas, then likely overseas
After leaving Seattle, Robinson plans to visit Phoenix to watch the Mercury's playoff run. She started her WNBA career in Phoenix and still has friends there, both on the Mercury and elsewhere. She'll also discuss European offers with her agent before deciding whether it is worth it to go over and play. "If I get a job overseas, that's great," Robinson said. "Who knows what doors can open up in the next month? If I'm Phoenix and there's nothing there, I'll go home and start running camps and doing my own camp. I just don't want to commit to that and then get a job overseas"

FORWARD ASHLEY WALKER


Team: Ashdod
Walker, who is going overseas for the first time after her rookie season, will play in Israel and is looking forward to the experience - in part because of the advice of teammate Tanisha Wright, who enjoyed her two seasons in Israel. "A lot of the girls said your first time overseas, you want to have fun," said Walker. "You want to enjoy it. You don't want to go someplace where it's going to be cold and dark and you're going to be miserable. You don't want to have that experience because you're never going to want to go back. T was a really big person that was saying, 'I love Israel. Go. I wish I could go back.'"

GUARD TANISHA WRIGHT


Team: KV Imperial AEL
Wright will be playing in Cyprus this year for Imperial, home to former Storm forward Shyra Ely a season ago. Imperial will be playing in the EuroCup, but Wright will be with the team only through December, preferring to come back and take a break after the turn of the calendar. "Everybody's different," she said, "but I think it will be better for me if I come to training camp fresh. I want to come in completely fresh." She'll get a chance to rest a sore Achilles that bothered her late in the season.