Like most competitions at this level -- and this distance from home -- getting here was probably the toughest part of all. But I'm thankful that part is out of the way, and now that the team has come together in China we can just focus on playing games and keeping our attention on the task at hand.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean three times, Staley is glad to be back on the hardwood. USA Basketball photo

I've been to China before, so there's nothing here that surprises me. The Chinese are really interested in our team. We've had some time to go shopping at some of the local shops and to walk around town a little bit, and it's pretty funny to see everyone's reaction to us. They practically fall off their bikes staring at us. My teammates laugh that they pay me the least attention, though, since I'm so short compared to the rest of the team.

Overall, this is a great opportunity to see another culture and to see other people's lifestyles. I think it helps you keep an open mind about things, and you learn not to judge people based on what they have or where they come from. The bottom line is that we're all just people.

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I originally started out on the trip with everyone else, and we traveled as a team from Los Angeles to Australia for the Opals World Challenge, a warm-up tournament to get a few games under our belt. When the team moved from Newcastle to Sydney for the final two games of the tournament, I had to make a pre-planned trip back to the U.S. for some recruiting visits with high school players in the Midwest and West Coast I'm hoping will play at Temple.

This is my third season at Temple, so I've got a good system in place and great assistant coaches who make it possible for me to make a trip like this. But I keep in constant contact with my assistants, checking in every day. We can't start practicing until October based on NCAA rules, so right now my players are busy with preseason workouts, classes and study hall, focusing on strength training and conditioning. So it's not a problem for me to be away for this couple of weeks.

Lisa Leslie also had to make a trip back to the U.S. from Australia, so we traveled to China together, and what a trip that was! The town we're staying in for the first round of the World Championship, Jhiangjiagang, is about a three-hour ride from the airport. They picked us up in what is considered a "large" car in China, but there were six of us stuffed into a pretty small vehicle. At one point Lisa and I had to make a pit-stop to stretch our legs, but eventually we made it safely to the team hotel, thankfully!

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It's hard to believe I've been a member of USA Basketball teams for 13 years now, but I get just as excited now to wear the USA on my jersey as the first time I put it on. I think the executive committee did a tremendous job picking the team to compete here in China.

We're a dangerous team -- a very difficult team to scout -- and we haven't even begun to reach our potential yet. We may never reach our full potential because we haven't had a whole lot of time to train together, but it's a great mix of players. There are veterans who have been around the international game for a lot of years now, and some younger players who provide a lot of energy and enthusiasm every time out. I'm having a great time with everyone, and Van Chancellor is always a lot of fun to play for.

Thanks for following our progress here in China, and I'll continue to check in from the road. Go USA!