Storm
Seattle guard Bird added to U.S. national team

By Jayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Rehabilitating her left knee in California, Storm guard Sue Bird figured she'd have to go through the rigors of training camp in order to make the U.S. national team, which will represent the country at the Athens Olympic Games in August.

Then her phone rang.

"I was so excited," said Bird, thrilled at being named to the national team yesterday. She was the ninth player selected to the 12-member squad; the final three players will be named later.

"It was not expected," she said. "With my knee, I thought I'd have to go through a couple of training camps. But it is a huge honor to be selected."

Bird, 23, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during her freshman season at Connecticut. Last summer, her left knee began flaring up as a direct result of the earlier procedure, according to her doctor. She had that knee scoped in September and has been rehabilitating since.

"I'm not 100 percent, yet," she said. "Rehab has been long and slow, but that's good. I want to take my time."

Perhaps an earlier tale made a wounded Bird exempt from any injury concerns.

After whisking Connecticut through an undefeated season capped by an NCAA championship, Bird stepped off a plane at the Colorado Olympic training facility and played well enough to make the 2002 national team. That group won the 2002 FIBA World Championship with an undefeated record.

During the ensuing WNBA season, Bird disregarded her pain and teamed with forward Lauren Jackson to lead the Storm through an 18-16 summer. Bird, a 5-foot-9 point guard, was named to her second consecutive All-Star team, was a first team all-WNBA selection and assisted Jackson, who was named the league's MVP.
Bird joins Storm coach Anne Donovan (assistant coach) as members of the U.S. national team. The Storm also expects to have Olympic representatives in Jackson (Australia), center Kamila Vodichkova (Czech Republic) and forward Jung Sun-Min (South Korea).

"Even though I'm young, I've played in a lot of big games, both in college and with Seattle," Bird said. "Being a point guard, the things I do might not show up in the box score per se, but I'm in a spot where I'm going to do whatever it takes to win. I'll do whatever the team needs me to do, whatever the coaches ask of me. That's the type of person and player I am."

Bird has been busy looking for a condominium in Seattle, filming Nike and ESPN commercials, coaching an eighth-grade intramural team in California and playing pickup games against men. The national team's first training camp, opening Feb. 19 in Jacksonville, Fla., will be her first return to organized basketball since surgery.

"This takes the cake of all the things that have happened to me this offseason," she said of being on a team with players such as Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. "Things are going to get busier. I think I'll only have 10 days total of nothing (from now until the conclusion of the Storm season)."

Bird is also negotiating the final details of her contract, which should be a long-term deal worth the league maximum. Her agent said an announcement could be made in the upcoming two weeks.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com

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