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Bird: It's not similar, but it is like going into college. You're leaving a place you're so comfortable with; you have to pack all your stuff; you've got to say good-bye to your friends; and you're moving to a whole new place by yourself. So it's more of an anxious feeling and an excited feeling than a nervous feeling. Like I'm really excited to get out there, to move into my new apartment and things like that, meet everybody and then play basketball.
Q: What does it mean to you to be the No. 1 pick?
Bird: It's pretty special. You can't take that away from it. Being picked No. 1 is something I'll be able to tell my kids, something people will probably remember. It feels pretty good.
Q: What do you think awaits you in the WNBA?
Bird: Probably a lot of expectations. It's a completely different game, it's the highest level to be playing at right now, I know it's going to be a challenge, it's going to be difficult to adjust to, but I hope to go out there and do whatever my team needs for me to do.
Q: What will be the biggest differences between the college game and the WNBA?
Bird: I think it's a lot of games in a little period of time. It's probably the same amount of games I played in college all smushed into a three- or four-month period.
Q: What does it say that four of you from UConn were taken in the first six picks of the draft?
Bird: That's probably why we went undefeated and won a national championship this year. I think if anything can show you, it's that. I'm so happy for the other girls, I think they're going to great places, Tamika [Williams] will get to play with Svet [Svetlana Abrosimova], that'll be exciting. That just shows you why we were such a good team this year.
