Storm's Katie Gearlds enters second year with something to prove

Katie Gearlds sounded uncertain.

And who could blame her, after the odd rookie season she had for the Storm?

The heralded shooter from Purdue was spotted red-faced on the bench after being scolded by former coach Anne Donovan during a game in New York. Ecstatic after making a career-high four three-pointers to help the Storm win in Chicago. Drained after a season where she went from averaging 15.7 minutes in June to sporadic play at the end the season.

Gearlds doesn't know what to expect entering her second training camp under a completely new regime. "Hopefully I have a job," she says in her standard quiet voice.

"Last year was a roller-coaster for me and the team as well," said Gearlds of the Storm's 17-17 campaign, after which Seattle was ousted in the opening round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season. "There were some good moments, but a lot of bad moments, too. You've got to take those and learn from them. I got that year of experience and hopefully I build on that, have a decent camp and try to make the roster."

Try to make the roster? Not words you'd expect from a 2007 first-round draft pick.

Gearlds, a versatile 6-foot-1 wing who went through a shooting slump her senior season in college, is probably being more than modest. Yet she averaged just 4.0 points and 1.6 rebounds last season, heading overseas to regain her confidence and touch.

She arrived in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon after playing in Athens and didn't show any signs of jet-lag during Wednesday's first practice against male players. But Gearlds was behind, missing the sessions where the other 12 players learned the offensive/defensive sets of new coach Brian Agler.

"She's a very smart player," Agler said. "If you watched [Wednesday], it looked like she's sort of been here the past couple of days, which is good. We didn't get a chance to work with her defensively, and I think that's going to be a focus for us — to try to get her effective at the defensive end."

Agler is looking at Gearlds primarily at small forward, but said she could work her way into the power-forward position to stretch defenses. Regardless, Gearlds could be like a former player of Agler's while he was an assistant coach at San Antonio — Shanna Crossley.

Crossley was a Storm killer in 2007. She averaged 11.8 points against Seattle, helping the Silver Stars sweep the Storm in four regular-season games.

"If you can bring people off the bench that can score for you, keep pressure on the defense, that's extremely valuable," Agler said. "I'm hoping we can develop that this year. Who those people are now, I don't know. But I just think it's huge. You've got to have depth that can score."

Gearlds said she regained her shooting confidence in Athens, playing with Phoenix post Barbara Farris. Storm rookie Brandie Hoskins also played there, rehabilitating an Achilles injury that prevented her from playing last season. She was drafted in the third round in 2007.

"I just got my rhythm back," Gearlds said. "I worked a lot on shooting off of moves and trying to attack the basket a little bit more. Then I worked on staying in shape, getting stronger and getting quicker."

Back in Seattle, Gearlds looks forward to the opportunity to play with legend Sheryl Swoopes, of whom Gearlds made a pillowcase cover as a grade-schooler as the person she wanted to be when she grew up. "[This roster] is pretty unreal," Gearlds said. "We've got a lot of perennial All-Stars on our team, some of the best players to ever play our game. With the right amount of team chemistry, it can take us a long way."