“More than anything, [we have to] get our defensive chemistry solid and strong, because we’re going to have to rely on that to come away with gold,” says Anne Donovan, head coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team.1 And who better to turn to than two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Tamika Catchings (2005 and 2006), a starter during the USA’s gold medal effort at the 2004 Olympics?2
Unfortunately there was a serious hitch: the Indiana Fever forward tore her right Achilles tendon on Sept. 3, 2007, and as of May 31, when the first nine members of the Olympics squad were named, Catchings had not yet returned to action.
She made her WNBA season debut on June 15—less than a month before the final three members of the team were named. Having sufficiently proved her readiness, on July 10, Catchings, 29, was named to the roster.3 “USA Basketball is unique and special to my career because it is the top of the top for women’s basketball,” says Catchings. “You’re on a platform where the whole world is watching and you have an opportunity to show where women’s basketball is in the USA.”
Catchings credits her faith (she brings her Bible wherever she travels) and her support system for helping her return to form. Her sister, her nephew and her mother will travel to Beijing to be with her over the course of the Games. “This time around is just as special because it is after 10 months of hardcore rehab coming back from my Achilles injury,” she says. “I know there was a lot of doubt from others and even at times from myself as to whether I would be ready or not, but here I am, and I am ready and willing to give whatever I have to win another gold medal.”
She senses this is a time of change on the senior national team, with three-time Olympian Dawn Staley now part of the coaching staff and Lisa Leslie playing in her fourth and probably final Olympics.4 “It is a new phase for USA Basketball,” says Catchings. “These will be the upcoming players that will play 2008, 2012 and 2016.”—Lois Elfman #40
Bonus Points
1. Donovan was an assistant coach with the 2004 Olympic team and also won gold medals as a player in 1984 and 1988. She is the only female to coach a WNBA team to a championship, which she accomplished in 2004 with the Seattle Storm.
2. Although Catchings finished second to Lauren Jackson in the 2007 voting, she was the leading vote-getter for the 2007 WNBA All-Defensive First Team.
3. Other accolades on Catchings’ resume include WNBA All-Decade Team, five All-Star selections and the 2002 Rookie of the Year Award.
4. The newbies on the team are Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Kara Lawson, Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter.
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