In the sports world as much as anywhere, actions speak louder than words. And no player embodies that age-old ideal better than Tamika Catchings, who is letting her on-court performance do plenty of talking in China as a member of the USA Basketball Women's World Championship Team.

Catchings averaged 10.7 points on 57-percent shooting in the preliminary round of the World Basketball Championship. USA Basketball photo

"You would never know that she's a rookie," said U.S. and Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor. "She's a hard-nosed, gritty player that goes to the offensive boards amazingly for a young player. She plays every play. I've never seen anybody play any harder than she does, or any better. As a 'four' player, she has really, really helped us. I couldn't be more excited than I am with her play."

The 23-year-old Catchings, the second-youngest player on the U.S. roster (Sue Bird is 21), is the starting forward alongside USA Basketball veterans Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley, Katie Smith and Lisa Leslie. A quiet student of the game, Catchings has quickly earned the respect of her veteran teammates.

"She's relentless, in every sense of the word," said Staley. "She never rests, she's always moving and it's hard for anybody to catch up to her. I just wish I had more of an opportunity to play with her and help her grow. Hopefully there will be more chances for us to play together in the future."

Catchings, who earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors last season, joined the U.S. squad after leading the Indiana Fever to the first playoff appearance in team history. But her fate with the World Championship Team was sealed before she ever stepped foot on a WNBA court last summer.

The 6-0 forward, who was officially named to the squad on June 27, made an immediate impression on Chancellor back in March when she was among the group of hopefuls invited to train with the core members of the national team.

"The first practice we had at Westside Tennis Club in Houston," said Chancellor, "when she dove on the floor after a ball and saved it, I said right then and there, 'Catchings is going to make this team because she's a special player.'"

During the Opals World Challenge in Australia, the USA's first chance to play together as a unit, Catchings finished as USA's third-leading scorer (10.5 ppg) behind Leslie (15.5 ppg) and Swoopes (14.5 ppg) during the four-game tournament. Continuing the momentum in China, Catchings is enjoying every moment of the experience while helping the U.S. on its quest to bring home the gold.

"It's been fun," said Catchings. "At the beginning of the Fever season, I just talked about wanting to play with this group of players, and wanting to learn from them. So far it's been great. The knowledge that they have is incredible. Hopefully one day I can get to that point in my career."

With such an auspicious beginning, it's a sure bet that Catchings' career will reach some lofty peaks.