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Sue Bird, the college tour was the culmination of a busy fall that also saw her play for the U.S. and Storm Head Coach 
Anne Donovan in the FIBA Americas Championships in Chile and the FIBA World League Tournament in Russia. While at home for a brief stopover before going overseas to play in Russia, Bird shared with storm.wnba.com highlights from the college tour and more.
storm.wnba.com: How helpful has all the preparation the U.S. has done this fall been heading into the Olympics?
Bird: It's been very helpful. As we get closer and closer to the Olympics, any chance to train with one another is going to be a big help. It gave us good experience both on and off the court.
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As a point guard, how useful is it to get more experience with National Team teammates?
I love being able to get to know my teammates both on and off the court. For me, it's really valuable because then I can be a better leader. Knowing your teammates in and out is half the battle.
Was there anything you focused on playing for the National Team this fall?
Besides getting to know my teammates and getting that on court experience, I really wanted to start establishing myself as one of the leaders of the team. That's important both by the nature of my position and also because I'm getting old and need to start coming to play every day the way a veteran should.
Was it weird returning to UConn to play against your former coach, Geno Auriemma, and the Huskies?
It was a little weird sitting on the visitors' bench, but that was superceded by all the fun I had. It was great going back to a place that holds such a special place in my heart. Seeing the team, the coaches, the fans, and having some of my family and friends come ... it was just like old times. I had a blast!
How about going back to Tennessee for the first time since your college career? Is it different playing in these gyms as a WNBA veteran and member of the National Team as opposed to as a college player?
It wasn't really that much different. It is the greatest rivalry in women's college basketball and for four years I was programmed to hate the color orange (I'm only half kidding here) so when I stepped into Thompson-Bowling Arena all those same feelings resurfaced. But, to be honest, I have a lot of respect for the Tennessee program and Coach (Pat) Summitt and it was a lot of fun to be back in that atmosphere once again.
You got a chance to play against some of the best young talent in the NCAA. Is it scary to think about some of these players coming into the WNBA?
It's very scary. There is some serious talent out there and I hope a few of them land in Seattle :)
Any good stories about Coach Donovan from the trip you can share?
Well, there is one segment of our shootaround where we just get warmed up by dribbling around and shooting freely. Coach (Mike) Thibault is at one end trying to strip the ball out of your hands (aka foul the heck out of you) and Coach Donovan is at the other trying to block shots. I was actually surprised to see this because she used to do it in Seattle all the time, but not in recent years. Anyway, long story short I think Seimone Augustus would be a better person to ask this question to because I think Anne got her a few times. You underestimate what 6-8 really means. Even Lisa Leslie was shooting floaters from the free-throw line :)
How much contact have you had with your Storm teammates this fall?
I try to stay in touch as much as possible and it's mostly through IM and e-mail. Thank god for the Internet!
Are you looking forward to heading back over to Russia?
Yes, believe it or not I am. We have a great time and Moscow is slowly becoming my third home. Maybe I'll have to get to blogging again this year to let everyone know how it's going.
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