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Ron Hoskins/NBAE/Getty Images |
But Catchings, entering her sixth year with the Fever after an impressive collegiate career at Tennessee, is still chasing her first WNBA title, a situation she hopes to remedy in 2007. After spending much of the offseason playing in Korea and in Italy with the U.S. national team, she is back Stateside to lead her squad into the new season. WNBA.com spoke with her recently from Italy.
Q. The Indiana Fever win more games each year, but have been unable to get
past the Shock and Sun in the playoffs. How does this team make the jump?
A. "That's a hard question. I think for us we have always had great
competition with the Shock and Sun. (It's) competitive (on the) East Coast.
We always gone back and forth. It's now a matter of the size we have coming
in. Tammy Sutton-Brown and Alison Bales come in and it will be a matter of fitting
the pieces together and figuring out how to win. Detroit and Connecticut are
two veteran teams. They are used to playing with each other and that is the
one thing we lack. This nucleus has a year under its belt, and players have
been away doing things to get better individually."
Q. How do you accomplish that?
A. "Now it's a matter of us coming back together and figuring out how
to do this together. It doesn't matter if I score 40 points and we lose. I'd
rather that I score 10, Tamika scores 10, Tammy scores 10, Ebony scores 10 and
so on, but we win. If that's what it'll take, that's how we have to do it. We
have to figure out a way to put all of our pieces together."
Q. As one of the premiere players in basketball, how do you get respected
in this game and who do you respect?
A. "You get respect by working hard. I know there are a lot of players
in the league who are good and have the God-given talent that has allowed them
to get to where they are. Then there are other players who have worked so hard
for everything they have gotten. They worked hard to get into the college of
their choice, they worked hard to make it to the WNBA and they work still to
keep their jobs every season and every day at practice. Those are the players
that I respect. The players that come out and give 100% no matter what. Now
it might not be my 100%, but it's their 100%. I know everyone's max levels of
intensity are different."
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Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty Images |
Q. When did you realize that you first loved the game?
A. "I was born around the game, so I cannot say that I first learned
to play at a certain age. I played organized basketball for the first time when
I was in third grade. But before that, my father played in the NBA and then
over in Italy. I was always around the game, I was always outside and with my
brother and sister or even their friends. It was natural for me to be around
it."
Q. Did you ever think you'd be at the level you are at now?
A. "I don't think I ever pictured being at the level I'm at right now.
But I can honestly say that when I was younger, it was something I loved to
do. I played soccer, volleyball, softball and ran track. We did any sport, any
activity from dance classes to gymnastics. My mom and dad put us in everything,
but basketball was what I grasped onto like survival."
Q. You've talked about your difficult childhood before, but how did basketball
help you through that?
A. "I was different growing up for a number of reasons… from my
hearing impediment to having to wear glasses, but basketball was one sport where
I could say 'You may make fun of me now, but let's go on the basketball court.
I guarantee that by the time we get done, you won't be making fun of me anymore.'
That's where my love for the game developed. As I got older, I knew I wanted
to play professionally. I worked my hardest and did whatever I could until my
goal was reached."