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Tanisha Wright might have looked around the court and seen a number of unfamiliar faces. Along with 
Betty Lennox, Wright was one of only two returning Storm players to participate in that practice and several others last week, with several incumbents overseas, 
Janell Burse sidelined and 
Lauren Jackson in and out of the lineup. So Wright, who a year ago was learning the ropes as a rookie and the Storm's first-round draft pick, was thrust into the unfamiliar role of veteran.
"It's a little bit weird, but I'm still learning," she says. "I'm still picking up the little things. 
Wendy (Palmer), who's been here for 10 years, I pick up things from her and constantly with Betty. I think it's more because I know all the plays and what Coach D (
Anne Donovan) wants and things like that. That's the only way that I'm a veteran."
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"It's been different," Wright says. "It's a different comfort level now that you've been through it for a year already."
Wright has also come to camp sporting a slightly different look, and it's not just her new hairstyle. While spending the off-season completing her degree at Penn State and student-teaching, Wright also got serious about her conditioning.
"The most visible thing is she's changed her body," says Donovan. "Her body fat has gone from - I'm not going to tell you what it was - down to 12%, which is phenomenal. She has taken in the professional mindset of taking care of her automobile."
There was also time for Wright to get into the gym and work on her shot. While Wright emerged as a reliable mid-range shooter as a rookie, she attempted only one 3-pointer all season, a number which should increase this season.
"I feel a lot more comfortable shooting the ball wherever I touch it, not necessarily just inside the 3-point line," says Wright. "Now I'm able to step out and shoot the 3 as well, come off screens and shoot it."
"Her shtick, her reputation coming into the league is she's going to drive to the rim and get fouled," explains Donovan. (Wright attempted about a free throw for every three field-goal attempts to rank third amongst Storm regulars.) "She has to be able to keep her defender on her. She really took that to heart and worked on her outside game. I think she's been a little frustrated because she hasn't shot the ball that well in training camp until today."
Wright could be thrown off early in camp by the amount of point guard she has had to play in 
Sue Bird's absence. Wright had her first early WNBA success last year at the point when Bird was sidelined after breaking her nose, and has worked on improving her ballhandling, but the position remains unfamiliar to her after growing up playing shooting guard.
"The things that they know and come easy to them, it's a little bit harder to me because I have to think about it," says Wright. "While you're thinking about it, your movement, your flow isn't as natural as you'd like it to be. But when you see a Sue Bird out there, her movement, everything she does is just natural. It comes from playing that position and being that great point guard for years."
Because Wright is more effective playing shooting guard, Donovan has been hesitant to use her too much at the point even with an opening at the position behind Bird.
"She will play point guard in camp, but that's not her best spot," Donovan said at Media Day.
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Shaunzinski Gortman during camp, a lineup where either player can initiate the offense to give the other player a quick break or beat pressure on the ball.
"Every now and again, she'll say to me, 'T, you got it, you can bring it down,' or something like that, so I think it's a good combination," says Wright.
"I feel good with Shaun. She brings a lot of energy. She doesn't talk much and you don't hear her much, but when she's out there, you notice she's out there. She's watching your back and playing hard. Whenver she's on the ball, she's on it, she's after it."
With the backup to Bird yet to be established, the Gortman-Wright backcourt could fill the Storm's needs.
"That may be our answer," says Donovan. "We may end up with both of them filling the backup point guard role as well as other positions. I would be very uncomfortable if it was just T, just as I would just Shaun. That combination really does work well."
The backcourt is particularly potent defensively, with Gortman providing size and Wright one of the league's better young one-on-one defenders on the perimeter. Wright struggled early in her rookie season with fouls, in part a victim of the league reinterpreting the rules to prohibit hand-checking, but settled in later in the season. After averaging 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes through the first 24 games of the season, Wright cut that rate to 3.6 per 40 over the final 10.
"I think that's just with the refs," she jokes. "It's learning the speed of the game and what you can do and what you can't do. It's a give and take situation. I think in college they let you be a lot more physical, so coming here, it was an adjustment. But now that I've been through it, I know it. You just have to get used to it and do as they're going to call."
That's part of experience, and it's why Wright can look forward to an improved second season.
