One of the last remaining original WNBA players, Comets guard Janeth Arcain
is one of the most decorated international players in basketball history. A four-time
WNBA champion as well as a four-time Olympian representing her native Brazil,
she was named the WNBA Most Improved Player and an All-WNBA first team selection
in 2001. She took the year off from the WNBA in 2004 to train for the Olympics,
but is back with Houston this season helping to lead them back to the playoffs.
Q. Between Brazil and U.S., do you consider yourself one of the lucky ones
who gets to experience summer all-year long.
J.A.: "In
Brazil, the weather is obviously tropical and we don't normally have very cold
weather. It can get chilly and you have to wear long sleeves sometimes, but yes,
it's nice to be in a warm climate all year long. I think it's definitely better
because I don't like cold weather. I like not having to wear so many clothes or
layers and I like the beach. I don't live near the beach, though. I live in Sao
Paolo, like 30 minutes from downtown Sao Paolo."
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| Four-time
Olympian Janeth Arcain has a silver and a bronze medal playing for Brazil. Michael Steere/NBAE/Getty Images |
Q. How would you describe the country
and the people for Americans who have never been to Brazil?
"For
people who want to come to Brazil, Rio di Janeiro is really the great city. We
have great beaches and a great party there every year called Carneval in February.
It is a week-long party and lots of tourists come. There is a lot to see there.
Though when I go there, I feel like a tourist, too, sometimes. And Sao Paolo is
like New York Everyone is busy and working."
Q. How much fun
is it teaching the game at your camp back home? Do you see coaching in your future?
"Well,
I would say it is more than a camp. I have a foundation where the kids practice
and learn all year round. As for coaching, it could be something I might try in
the future. I'm not sure I have so patience for that. But right now, it is fun
teaching and learning from the kids. They look at you like some big star and they
will do anything you tell them to do on the court. We teach kids between ages
7 and 14 years old and they don't have to pay anything to be there. I feel like
I have a lot to give and I want to give back to the game of basketball because
it gave me so much - my friends, my experiences and my life. So I like giving
back."
Q. So when you were younger and first starting out with
the Comets, what was the toughest adjustment living in a new place?
"The
language. Definitely learning English. No classes or tapes or anything. I would
just pick up little things here and there that my teammates would say, what the
coaches say, or by watching television and trying to figure out what they are
saying. You ask people to talk slowly or repeat things a lot in the beginning.
My vocabulary is still not so good, but I'm learning words a little bit at a time."
Q.
Well we are having a nice conversation, right?
"(Laughs) Yes,
right.
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| Arcain is one of three original Comets left with the team. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images |
Q. I'm not
speaking too fast, right?
"No, not at all. Right now, I don't
really have too much trouble, but that first year was difficult. I had no problem
with the food or anything. I will eat everything you put in front of me."
Q.
So along with Sheryl (Swoopes) and Tina (Thompson), you are one of the more experienced
players on the team and in the league, but what is it like playing with 22-year
old kids? Do you feel responsible for them?
"I don't feel very
responsible for them like they are kids, but they are going to grow up and learn
a lot from the experienced players by just being around them. When you have a
team with a good mix of experienced players and young players, it works for everyone.
They give us a lot of energy and we have a lot to show the show them and teach
them. Like right now, for example, we have a good team of veterans and young players
who are looking to be their own stars. That mix is helping the team.
Q.
What was it like playing them in the Olympics last year? Do you think the rest
of the world closing the gap and catching up to the U.S.?
"I think
so. The big difference is that the WNBA is in the United States and draws the
best players in the world to come here. Many overseas leagues don't have the same
draw because there isn't a lot of money or sponsors there. But in the United States,
so many kids are growing up playing in high school and at the universities, so
that makes a big difference as well. But I really like playing in the Olympics
and World Championships and getting to play against my friends and teammates from
the WNBA. Everyone has different colors and uniforms on, but afterwards, we are
all still good friends.
Q. Of all the places you've gotten to see
and visit thanks to basketball, what has been your favorite?
"Wow,
there are so many. A lot of places stand out between Europe, the United States
and Asia. I don't have a special favorite place, but the United States is one
place I'd like to get to know a little bit better. I really want to visit San
Francisco sometime. Once I finish playing, I will have so much time to do the
things I have wanted to do and see the places I have wanted to see."
Q.
It seems like you have very little time to rest. How hard is that? Don't you get
tired?
"I don't get a lot of time to rest because I also play
back in Brazil during the WNBA offseason. I still think I have a few more years,
maybe three or so, to go, and I really enjoy playing. Whether it is five years,
two years or what, I have to leave it all out there on the court. After I play
for a few more years, I will know when I've had enough. I don't want to stop and
try and come back. I want to make sure I leave everything on the court before
I go."