I wanted to write in with a quick note. See, I gotta give some love to my Rutgers girls. Yeah, they came up a little short against UConn on Tuesday, but they did well. I know it’s frustrating for them now and I feel bad for them, but losses like this happen.

And I’m more than confident that this year’s seniors — Matee and Essence — will be great at the next level. You saw the game, right? What do you think of ‘em? They’ll both be HUGE steals in the draft next week, because they both know the game really well.

A lot of that can be attributed to Coach Stringer. Whereas most coaches teach their specific systems, Coach Stringer teaches BASKETBALL. It helped me so much when I joined the WNBA… I honestly felt like I was way ahead and more advanced in my understanding of the game than most all of the other rookies.

Essence will probably be a 2 or 3 in the WNBA, while Matee will probably be a 1 or 2, but man… I would love it if either of them… or BOTH! … came to the Mercury. Essence’s size would probably be more helpful, but I’d happily take either.

So in summation, I just want to say to all of the Rutgers coaches and players out there… I’m proud of everything you accomplished this year. It’s obviously a letdown not to come home with an NCAA title, but you’re building toward next year and another great group of players coming in.

And for Matee and Essence? I know you’ll both be great pros and I can’t wait to see you on the floor. You’ll understand soon why I say you’re prepared for this level. Now go out there and take no prisoners!

Oh, if you’re interested, I’m still in Turkey and the Turkish Cup tips off today and will hopefully last through Sunday… well, if we win today. I have faith! Wish us luck and I’ll check back soon!

Valencia, Spain • March 18, 2008

The site was the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The year was 2000. In walks a slew of young girls, wide-eyed and eager to impress USA Basketball with what they all thought were mad skills. At this point most of them knew they were the best out there. Untouchable. Best of the best. However, being the best in your city can’t show you how good or bad you really are. To do that you need to go up against the best in the nation. And there they were. The next crop of college stars. Look at that girl over there. That one. The one from Chicago with a WNBA tattoo on her arm. Yeah. That one. It says “The Future.” Ha! We’ll see about that.

So many young stars have gone through the same drills, two-a-day tryouts at 6,200′ of elevation. And so many have quickly come to realize that, while they’re very good, there’s still a long way to go to be great.

Over the course of the weekend that young 5-7, 143-pounder from Chicago stood out. As did many others, including the 5-11 guard from Shreveport, La., who was on her way to Duke in the fall. And still numerous others. There was even the one who wasn’t there but brought a lot of talk to the sessions by being absent. She was a 6-0 forward from Chino, Calif., who was headed to Connecticut, but couldn’t make the trials. Apparently she was good enough for the committee to grant her waiver request and she eventually made the team. With all the All-Americans and all-staters on the court, people joked with that young Chi-town product about her tattoo most of the weekend. We all wanted proof that she indeed belonged to the future of women’s hoops. But she took it all in stride, quietly smiled and continued to hustle.

Flash forward eight years later. She still has that tattoo. Only now nobody is laughing at her for being so bold about getting the ink as a young teenager. The level-headed guard has proven that she is here to stay.

Cappie Pondexter made that 2000 U18 squad as a 17-year-old with still a year of high school in front of her. Coached that summer and the year after by UConn’s Geno Auriemma, the budding star learned a lot about what she could expect once reaching the college ranks.

Not only has she been an integral part of numerous USA squads, Pondexter helped Rutgers post a 97-22 mark during her four years on the New Jersey campus and earned a pair of Big East titles during that time. Entering the pro ranks in 2006 Pondexter was the No. 2 pick by the Phoenix Mercury and in her second season was named the WNBA Finals MVP after helping lead the Mercury, along with that cocky and self-confident product of Southern Cali from the summer of 2000, to the ‘07 WNBA crown.

She’s also made her mark in the European pro ranks. Pondexter is in her second season with Turkey’s Fenerbache SK and has played in a pair of EuroLeague All-Star Games, winning the MVP trophy in 2007.

A member of eight different USA Basketball squads since 2000, winning five golds, one silver and one bronze medal during that time, Pondexter is on the cusp of realizing her ultimate goal: becoming an Olympian. Part of that journey brought Pondexter to Valencia, Spain, for USA National Team training and a couple of games. She is still working as hard as ever to try and impress USA Basketball – she wants one of those 12 spots and will scrap for every loose ball and take on every opponent to prove it.

We sat down with “The Future” before the USA’s first game (today, 3:30 p.m. EDT) against Ros Casares to see what’s going on in Spain these days.

How has the trip been so far?
I think Valencia was a good place for us to have a training camp. Aside from the basketball, it’s a great place, great weather, great culture. We came at the fire bombing time (Fallas Festival), but besides that it’s been good overall. This is a good group of women training together. Everybody has great attitudes. Nobody really has a guarantee on the team so it’s like we’re still fighting, which is good. Everybody’s working together and it’s been great so far.

What have you gotten out of this trip to this point?
First of all, camaraderie. Just to be back together and playing on the same team and not against each other. Knowing that we’re representing the USA. Secondly, I think our defensive intensity has gotten a lot better overall. Individually, too. Everybody’s positive, which is always good.

You mentioned the fires, can you explain about the Fallas Festival and have you ever been somewhere where firecrackers are going off 24/7?
Not for five days straight, no. It’s a little annoying, but I don’t want to knock their culture. It’s a huge festival for them, I just wasn’t ready for it. I wouldn’t like to come again during this time. You can’t sleep. You wake up in the middle of the night and hear ‘Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!’

You’ve been living in Turkey for the last few years. How do you like living overseas?
I think it’s wonderful. The clubs treat us with so much respect, they treat us like how we should be treated. It’s a different way of living, it’s not the same as home. But sometimes the basketball makes up for it. There’s great food and it’s a good chance to learn about different cultures.

What have you learned during your travels?
You know what? In Turkey they pray like five times a day. You can hear it. At five in the morning it begins. That’s one difference. They have this dessert called baklava. It’s really good, my favorite. But it’s really sweet so you can’t have too much of it. Their food is similar to Greek. They have the onion salad with tomatoes and vinegar dressing. The rice, the lamb. It’s kind of like Greek food and it’s pretty good.

All the summers playing around the world with USA Basketball, did that help you with your adjustment to playing overseas?
Definitely. I was just telling this reporter a couple of months ago that my first time in Turkey was in Izmir with the USA World University Games Team. So I had a chance to get to learn about their culture and it was one of the reasons I wanted to go back to Istanbul. It kind of helped me in my decision the first time I came. Definitely, it gave me a heads-up on what to expect, the way of living, knowing not to complain about anything. They don’t really like us Americans so we have to blend in, be nice and not too greedy. You know we can sometimes because we’re use to so much more.

Your first USA Basketball experience was with an 18-and-under team. FIBA is now going to have U17 World Championships so the first international experiences for USA players will be on a 16-and-under (FIBA Americas U16 Championship) team. Looking back on your first international experience, how eye-opening was that and do you think that’s going to help these young kids heading overseas to play in a tournament with their games and maturity levels?
Definitely with the development of basketball, going to 15 and 16 is going to help us in the future. It’ll give them a chance to get use to international play. A lot of these players in Europe have been playing professionally a long time. They’re use to the physicality, the not getting the calls, the banging. For our players, it’s not really our style of basketball. But for us to get use to that at an early age will help the development as far as USA Basketball.

When you were in high school on the 2000 USA U18 National Team you played for a college coach, Geno Auriemma. What kind of experience is that for a high schooler to go through college-like practices?
It’s an eye-opener because they really teach you that you’re not playing hard when you think you are. In high school you’re use to everybody feeding you and telling you how great you are. But he was just like … he broke everybody down and told us that we’re not great. It was good though. Some people took it the right way, some people took it the wrong way. If you take it the right way you’ll end up in a position like some of us are in right now with the national team.

What kind of advice would you give to a 15- or 16-year-old who wants to play for USA Basketball and might be traveling overseas for the first time in her life?
Be willing to do anything. There’s so much that you can experience off the court, learning different cultures. But you have to be willing to do it. If you’re willing to do it, it can take you so much further in life.

Thanks Cappie and good luck tonight!
No problem and thanks!

Article exerted from the USA Basketball’s Website. Check the site out!

http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_wnt_q_a_pondexter_01

Baller!

Courtesy of USA Basketball

What’s up, everyone? Sorry, I meant to write from the EuroLeague All-Star Game in Moscow, but it’s been a crazy 2 days for me. But I’m finally relaxing for a few minutes.

Yeah, I’m just doing some treatment with the trainer after another day of practice here with USA Basketball in Valencia, Spain. And we’re doing good. No complaints.

Coach Donovan just wants us to get better defensively and not take for granted the opportunity we have here. And we’re not doing anything special… just the normal things we’ve been doing since the world championships.

One of the cool things about training with the national team is meeting new people and playing with players I’ve played against. For example, I’ve never played with Sidney Spencer before… and not only am I playing with her, but she’s my roommate as well. So that’s cool. Katie Douglas is another one. She’s fun to play with. Oh, and Lindsey Harding, too. Everyone is wondering how Lindsey is doing after tearing her ACL last year. And honestly, she looks great. She really does. I think she’s back and looking solid. Everyone else looks pretty normal… haha. Well, DeLisha bulked up and looks stronger than ever, which is great, and she had a good All-Star Game on Thursday.

Oh, and check me out with Dee, DeLisha and Sue in the video at the bottom. Pretty funny stuff.

Speaking of good games, I feel like someone else did OK in Moscow on Thursday. Hmmm, I don’t remember who… OK, well, some people have told me I had a good game. Haha. (Cappie had 24 points, though the Rest of the World team lost to Europe 111-86.) And I was ok. Honestly, I hate losing, but it was fun event.

Kelis performed for us and chilled at the house party afterwards at Dee’s, Sue’s and LJ’s. So that was nice… it was good event. And I was happy to chill out and see everyone, u know? And there were a lot of people there, though we were prolly the second most famous after her. Haha.

So for J-Mac and me, after the Moscow party, it was straight from Dee’s to Spain. We had a 7:20 a.m. flight, so we got no sleep. DeLisha and her husband Roland were with us, too. Oh, and some of her teammates from Ros Casares, too.

And now we’re here in lovely Valencia, Spain for two games and a bunch of training and practicing. We actually play Ros Casares on Tuesday and we’re playing Perfumerías Avenida in Salamanca on Thursday, so those should be two pretty solid, competitive games. It’s always good to play games after a couple days of hard, intense training.

So despite the lack of sleep, I’m feeling fine… no complaints, no worries. Just enjoying the moments. And Spain is cool. I’ve been here a lot. Especially last year when Ros Casares was in our EuroLeague playoff group with us and we had the All-Star Game here. The weather is beautiful, the food is great, the club scene is nice (so I hear… ) and it’s a great city.

I just want to make the Olympic team really badly, but it’s not something you’re supposed to discuss with the coaching staff or anyone else. The only “discussion” is through your actions on the court. And then the committee makes the decisions. And you know about Coach Donovan, she gives her positive comments and she gives her criticisms. But it’s like that for everyone. So it’s all good.

I’ll touch base again later this week, but until then wish us luck and keep on rooting for the good ole U.S. of A!

Trio features Suns’ All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, WNBA Champion Mercury’s Cappie Pondexter and Suns’ legend Eddie Johnson Team Detroit will defend its Haier Shooting Stars title against Team Chicago, Team Phoenix and Team San Antonio in this year’s competition, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena.

The Detroit team, which captured the title last year in Las Vegas with a time of 50.5 seconds, consists of All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer. Cash and Laimbeer were key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.

Team Chicago, last year’s runner-up, is comprised of Bulls guard and Slidell, La. native Chris Duhon, two-time WNBA All-Star and Sky forward Candice Dupree and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong. Representing

Phoenix, the 2005 winner, are All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, two-time WNBA All-Star and 2007 WNBA Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Suns great Eddie Johnson. Team San Antonio, which dominated the competition in the 2006 Shooting Stars challenge with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds, consists of 10-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan,

four-time WNBA All-Star and Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and David Robinson, a two-time NBA champion and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Team Los Angeles won the inaugural competition in 2004.

As with all of this year’s All-Star participants, members of the Haier Shooting Stars teams will join over 2,500 members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday, Feb. 15. The volunteers will participate in a variety of service projects at 10 different sites throughout New Orleans.

The Haier Shooting Stars will be televised live nationally as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night which will also feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, Sprite Slam Dunk and PlayStation® Skills Challenge. TNT and ESPN Radio’s national coverage will begin at 8 p.m.

EST from the New Orleans Arena. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Wheaties issued a special-edition commemorative package honoring the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury following their victory over the Detroit Shock in the WNBA Finals. Did you get your box?? www.wnba.com/mercury/news/wheaties_071010.html

On October 07, 2007, Cappie Pondexter was honored at John Marshall High School in Chicago, IL yesterday for her many achievements this year. Pondexter attended John Marshall High School in Chicago and was a starter during all four years. She was selected as the 2001 Illinois Player of the Year by Gatorade and USA Today. Pondexter also became the first player in her state to be twice named Illinois’ Miss Basketball. (2000/2001)

Click here for more information

Cappie’s Personalized Nike Shox with her official logo on the back.
http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/2007/09/18/collection-extras-cappie-pondexter-shox-elite

Phoenix 108, Detroit 92

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 17 (AP)– Phoenix’s fast start made the Mercury the WNBA’s first road champion.

Penny Taylor scored 30 points and the Mercury cruised to a 108-92 victory Sunday over the defending champion Detroit Shock in the fifth and deciding game of the WNBA finals. Cappie Pondexter added 26 and

Diana Taurasi had 17 for Phoenix, the first road team to win the title away from home.

The Shock lost the last two games of the series, foiling their bid to become the third WNBA team to win back-to-back championships.

Phoenix, taking some steam out of the fired-up home crowd, raced to a 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter. Taurasi had eight points, including 2 3-pointers, in that stretch as Phoenix came out firing against the frazzled Detroit defense.

The Mercury led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and led 55-43 at halftime en route to their first championship. Phoenix shot 54 percent from the floor and committed only four turnovers in the first half. The teams set a finals record for combined points in a half.

Nike launched its multi-platform campaign, “ATHLETE,” featuring world-class athletes Mia Hamm, Serena Williams, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings and Cappie Pondexter, among others, demanding that female athletes everywhere be respected and judged on their athletic abilities. _After speaking with young female athletes across the United States, Nike found they still feel “unequal” when it comes to being respected in sports.

Check out her video clip.

More. http://www.nikebiz.com/media/pr/2007/08/24_womensSports.html

The Phoenix Mercury (and Fenerbahce) guard made five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points and Most Valuable Players honors as the “Rest of the World” team topped Europe 93-80 in the EuroLeague All-Star Game Thursday in Valencia, Spain.  For her excellent performance, Pondexter was voted as the game’s most valuable player and she was elated.”It’s a great experience to be among the best players in the world,” she told FIBA Europe.com after the victory.  ”This All Star Game is a good stepping stone for the Year of Women’s Basketball.”