Cash Practices

Aaron Last/Storm Photos

Saturday was Swin Cash's first practice with the Seattle Storm since her back surgery, and it went well. Cash, who is still restricted from contact action, went through shooting drills before practice and joined her teammates when they dummied through the offense (going through the motions of plays without any defenders). She also rotated in and out on one defensive drill the Storm did before the training staff shut her down for the rest of the day.

"I felt good," said Cash after practice. "I was kind of getting annoyed with myself because I missed a couple shots and fumbled the ball a few times, but it's to be expected. All in all, I thought it was a good practice. I felt like I shot the ball well in our warmups, but it's just about the timing. That's going to come because I'm not all the way go just yet."

"She looks good," echoed Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "I was impressed by how live she was. She looked live and looked real active and quick. She was no contact today, but she got into a couple of live drills, looked good running up and down the floor. It's going to take her getting back into contact and getting the ball in her hands and in the flow of things."

Agler said Cash will visit a rehab specialist later in the day as the team continues to plot her course back to full action. That will depend on how Cash responds to this limited work, and what her doctor and the Storm's medical staff feel she is capable of doing.

- The Storm expects to get another player in town tonight when Tanisha Wright returns. The plan is for Wright to get her physical done before tomorrow's afternoon practice so Wright can be out on the floor. "We're anxious to get her in here," said Agler.

- During yesterday's day off, the Storm made its first two cuts of training camp, with Kimberly Beck and rookie Mara Freshour being waived. Agler called making cuts "the toughest thing about this position or any position."

He reiterated his position after the Storm's preseason opener on Thursday that the pace of training camp required the team to cut down its numbers, and the decisions had little to do with what Beck and Freshour had done or not done in camp.

"They'll do well," Agler said. "They'll have opportunities overseas to play and hopefully they'll get another opportunity here this year with another team or maybe something next year."

- Agler closed practice by having the players run the length of the court and back with a 10-second countdown. Guard Sue Bird was the apparent winner from this vantage point, using a veteran move. She ran through an open door off the practice gym to keep from having to slow down as quickly.

Notebook: Cash On Her Way

The Storm is anticipating the arrival of forward Swin Cash on Wednesday after Cash's 10-week checkup with her doctor went well on Monday. Cash will undergo her physical tomorrow and then could begin working her way back into practice.

"She had a good report from the doctor and I think we're going to move forward," said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. "There's no red flags. We anticipate her gradually getting back in the practice situation."

The Storm should also have Tanisha Wright back in camp by this weekend. Wright, whose final game in France was on Sunday, is traveling from Paris to her hometown of Pittsburgh and then to her offseason home in Charlotte. She's got some details to attend to there after purchasing a home. From there, Wright will make her way to Seattle. Because Wright is experienced in the Storm's system and coming off a long season in France, Agler doesn't mind her getting an extra couple of days off.

The players who are in camp focused on the defensive end during Tuesday's practice, the third of four the team will have before Thursday's preseason finale. They wrapped things up by going 5-on-5 against the male practice squad during the portion of practice open to the media, primarily working on offense but also testing their transition defense.

"By the end, when you guys get in," explained Agler, "that's trying to get some conditioning - get up and down the floor, incorporate the things that we've worked on."

Generally, Agler has split the team up into two squads - a black unit made up of veterans Sue Bird, Shannon Johnson, Katie Gearlds, Camille Little, Ashley Robinson and Janell Burse and a white team of rookies Mara Freshour, Aja Parham and Ashley Walker; newcomers La'Tangela Atkinson, A'Quonesia Franklin and Kasha Terry; and Kimberly Beck. Today, a variety of players from both teams worked together against the practice squad.

The format does make it a challenge to work everyone in.

"It's hard the way we like to run practice against the guys to keep everybody on the floor and those types of things," Agler said. "I like playing against the guys. As we move forward and our roster shrinks, we'll get a lot more reps for our key people and get more cardio."

- The starting lineup for the preseason opener figures to come from the group of veterans. Bird will not play in that game to rest and give other players Agler needs to evaluate more time on the court.

- Next week, the Storm will spend a day in Las Vegas scrimmaging behind closed doors with the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury. The Monarchs, whose owners (the Maloof family) own the Palms where the teams will stay, have organized the event. For Agler, it's a chance to work against an unfamiliar opponent in a controlled setting - more than a typical practice, but less formal than a preseason game.


A'Quonesia Franklin attacks from a pick-and-roll. Aaron Last/Storm Photos


Sonics legend and Storm fan Slick Watts stopped by practice, chatting with Coach Agler after its conclusion. Aaron Last/Storm Photos

Cash at the White House

During Tuesday's Twitterview, Storm forward Swin Cash described her experience at the White House for Monday's annual Easter Egg Roll. "I also had a wonderful time reading a story to the kids," Cash wrote. Now that video is online thanks to the WhiteHouse.gov YouTube channel:



(HT: WNBA Twitter feed)

Cash Talks Perfection on ESPN

As the Connecticut Huskies look to complete a perfect 39-0 season by beating Louisville in tonight's NCAA title game, few people have a better idea of what they are facing than Storm forward Swin Cash. In 2001-02, Cash and Storm point guard Sue Bird were two of the four amazing seniors on the UConn team that went 39-0 before producing four of the first six picks in that year's WNBA Draft, including No. 1 overall selection Bird.

Cash joined ESPN's First Take this morning to discuss this year's Connecticut squad and the question that, with a win tonight, we can begin debating - which undefeated UConn team is the best? The Huskies also went 35-0 in 1994-95, led by Rebecca Lobo. Naturally, Cash admitted she's biased in picking her 2001-02 team, which featured four eventual WNBA All-Stars. This year's group has made things interesting by winning all 38 games by double-digits. They'll go for No. 39 on ESPN tonight at 5:30 p.m.

You can watch the entire segment with Cash on ESPN.com.

Cash Discusses Back Surgery

Storm forward Swin Cash, who underwent back surgery on Monday, discussed the procedure and her rehabilitation schedule yesterday with WNBA.com's Brian Martin. Before you go read the whole thing, here's an excerpt:

WNBA.com: You mentioned on your site that this has “been a long time coming.” How much of a relief is it to finally have this done?

Cash: It’s the biggest relief. You can’t even really imagine it. I didn’t realize for how long and for how many years now that I’ve been trying to play through injuries and show that you’re tough enough and that you’re there for your team. Whenever you do that, a lot of times you basically lose yourself, and I think that’s what happened to me for so many years. I made excuses of why not to have it done and feeling like I had to be there for my team, or I couldn’t take off time, or I just needed to rehab and do it a different way instead of following my own heart.

It really just feels like a burden is lifted right now and it feels like I’ll be able to train as hard as I need to train to get back on top of my game. For the last few years it feels like I’ve been rehabbing more than I have been training. And as you know with basketball, the skill level is becoming so great in this league from all of the girls in college coming to the WNBA. It’s so competitive; you have to be able to train and work out in order to get better.

Spartak Takes Postseason Opener

The Euroleague playoffs kicked off today with all Storm eyes on the matchup between Spartak Moscow Region and ZVVZ USK Praha, featuring Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson squaring off with teammate Swin Cash.

Spartak, the two-time defending Euroleague champs, is heavily favored but USK Praha was able to keep things close on the road in Game 1. The margin was nine at halftime and eight late in the third quarter before Spartak pulled away to win 102-86.

Spartak got a combined 75 points from its three leading scorers - Sylvia Fowles (27 points, 11 rebounds), Jackson (25 points and 14 boards) and Diana Taurasi (23). Jackson had a tough time inside the arc, missing 13 of her 17 two-point attempts, but knocked down a trio of three-pointers and was 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Bird played her customary role leading the Spartak attack, finishing with 13 points, five assists and three three-pointers.

Cash had 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists for USK Praha, but the Spartak D pressured her into seven turnovers. Praha got big scoring efforts from Evanthia Maltsi (27 points) and Lindsay Whalen (20 points, eight boards, five assists). Despite the best efforts of Cash and Whalen from the perimeter, USK Praha was beaten badly on the defensive glass, surrendering 20 offensive boards - seven by Jackson and five from Fowles.

Spartak will try to close out the best-of-three series on Friday, when the action shifts to Prague for Game 2.

Cash Still Considering Her Options

As she enters her WNBA offseason, Seattle Storm forward Swin Cash has a decision to make with regards to her back, which has bothered her much of the last two seasons and became especially painful late in the 2008 regular season, forcing Cash to miss the Storm's last three games and limiting her in the playoffs.

"I have a herniated disc that has been pressing on the sciatic nerve," Cash explained to the media Wednesday. "For anyone who has that, it's very painful.

"I've been able to control it most of the season, but something just kind of happened in that Minnesota game (on Sept. 6) that irritated it."

Doctors advised Cash not to play in the Storm's series against the Los Angeles Sparks, but she soldiered through the pain and contributed in a reserve role. Now, Cash is scheduled to head overseas to begin playing overseas for USK Praha in Prague (the same team Storm center Janell Burse played for the last three seasons before moving to Russia for this winter) in mid-October, meaning she must make a decision on what is in store within the next couple of weeks.

"I think, obviously, surgery could be an option," said Cash. "Do you wait it out? Do rehab? Just a lot of different things. I've seen some of the best specialists in the country, got a lot of different opinions. I guess it's pretty much me praying on it and determining what's the best route to take right now. I've played and I feel like I've gotten a little bit better, so I don't know if you want to jump right into surgery, if that's the answer."

If Cash did undergo surgery, she indicated the recovery time would be around 8-12 weeks with the possibility of an aggressive rehab schedule getting her back on the court sooner rather than later.

"It wouldn't be something that would be drastic and keep me out for a long period of time," Cash said.

Aside from the situation with her back, Cash has been looking forward to playing overseas after spending recent offseasons working out in the U.S. and broadcasting for ESPN.

"I obviously wanted to spend a little more time playing at a higher level," she said. "I can train here and I can go play with the guys. In Miami, I played pickup, (partner) Chafie (Fields) and I and played with Ruth (Riley) sometimes when she was down there. But to get overseas and to get that high-level competition was what I really wanted to do to get me back to that level that I know I'm able to play at in this league consistently. That was the biggest reason why I wanted to go over there."

- We had a chance to speak to 10 of the Storm's 13 players today. Lauren Jackson will do her exit interview tomorrow, while Yolanda Griffith's has yet to be scheduled. Sheryl Swoopes wished to speak to the media tomorrow, when Head Coach Brian Agler and CEO Karen Bryant will also wrap up the season.

- OK, the Kelly Santos story mentioned in my main story on the Storm's disappointment and how much players enjoyed being teammates deserves more explanation. I'll attempt to do it justice. When the Storm went down to Los Angeles for Game 1 of the playoff series, the team stayed in a different hotel than in the previous two trips to L.A. This will prove critical.

When the team arrived at LAX, Santos left to spend the evening with friends watching Brazilian movies. They brought her back to the hotel the team had stayed at previously, and Santos spent the night there. On Thursday morning, Santos went to the room of Equipment Manager Danielle Yellam to get her gear for practice only to get no answer at Yellam's room number. After a phone call, Santos finally realized she was in the wrong place.

With little time to spare, Santos hightailed it over to the Storm's new hotel via taxi and was able to make the team bus to practice. It was only then, Sue Bird explained, that teammates got inquisitive as to how Santos' roommate (Kristen O'Neill) could allow such a mix-up. When O'Neill said Santos had never shown up, they got suspicious.

"After reviewing the whole story," said Bird, "we're like, 'So, where did you stay last night?'"

That's when Santos had to come clean about staying at the other hotel.

The great unresolved question of this whole story remains how Santos was able to check in to the other hotel and spend the night. Apparently she was told at the front desk that her team was staying there. What team? Impossible to say.

"Somebody there needs to be fired," Bird joked. "How crazy is that? By far highlight of the year."

Santos was a little less thrilled the story went public, saying with a grin that Bird was not her friend if she was telling everyone.

"I really work with nice people," Santos said, glad Agler wasn't upset. "Everything's OK for them, it's not a problem.

"So, that's my story. I have to write a book."

Cash Not Likely to Play Game 1

I just spoke to Storm Head Coach Brian Agler after the team practiced this afternoon at the STAPLES Center. While Sheryl Swoopes remains on track to play in tomorrow's Game 1 (7:30 p.m., NBA TV, FSN tape delay, 1150 AM KKNW), Agler is not necessarily expecting to have Swin Cash in the lineup.

"Swin is still day-to-day," he said. "If I was going to say anything on top of it, I would say doubtful.

"But I will say this. It's not because she doesn't want to. She wants to play, but we've got to put her health first."

The coaching staff is still considering who would step in if Cash is unable to go, with Swoopes one of the possibilities.

Thursday Links

- The WNBA is celebrating Breast Health Awareness Week right now, and WNBA.com has a touching story from Storm forward Swin Cash. In 2001, when Cash was a junior at UConn, her aunt lost her battle with breast cancer.

"For me when she died in 2001, that was a really tough year all together," Cash
explained. "I felt awful because the whole year I was just not normal because
there were so many emotions that I was going through and I was trying to be
strong for my mom."

Cash's charitable foundation, Cash for Kids, is planning an event in her aunt's honor to benefit the American Cancer Society.

- On Sunday, the Storm held its season ticket holder party at The Garage Billiards and Bowling in Capitol Hill. I was there helping out and it was really a lot of fun for the players as well as fans. Check out a photo gallery from the event.


Joshua Huston/Storm Photos

- Sorry for the late notice, but right now I'm listening to Sue Bird, Brian Agler and Anne Levinson on KUOW 94.9 FM. I'll edit in a link to the podcast when it's up on kuow.com. And here it is! It clocks in at a cool 54 minutes, so have some time cleared on your schedule before listening.

Cash, Gearlds Looking to Shoot Way Out of Slumps

The Storm's two primary small forwards, Swin Cash and Katie Gearlds, are both vital parts of the team's offense - Cash with her ability to score in a variety of fashions and Gearlds in large part because of her perimeter shooting. Both have endured shooting slumps in the month of June, but Storm Head Coach Brian Agler believes they're ready to turn things around.

After starting the season playing some of the best basketball of her career, Cash has seen her shooting drop off. She shot 52.3 percent from the field over the Storm's first six games, five of them wins. Since then, she has seen her shooting percentage slump to 26.8 percent over the last seven games, five of those losses. Cash has scored double-figures just twice in that span.

"I have to really focus back in and hit some easy shots," said Cash. "I'm a perfectionist, and when I miss easy shots, sometimes I carry that with me."

Cash has experienced some trouble with her back, getting treatment on it last week before the Storm played Phoenix (the win over the Mercury was Cash's best game in the month of June, as she scored 17 points). While Cash's movement hasn't appeared to be inhibited and she has been active on defense, blocking a career-high five shots last Saturday in Houston, Agler feels the injury has had an impact in combining with the Storm's busy schedule to limit Cash's practice time.

"This is the first time she's practiced - of course, we haven't had many practices - since we played Detroit here (on June 7)," Agler said. "After we played Detroit here, then she had some things done with her back and she sat out the practice we had going into Phoenix. Then, after Phoenix, we never practiced until today. think that has a lot to do with her shooting more so than anything else. Shooting is a skill - you have to practice skills."

Cash's play has been a key indicator for the Storm. While she's played an identical 32 minutes per game in wins and losses, her scoring average leaps from 8.3 points per game in losses to 15.3 in wins. Cash has shot 45.2 percent in wins as compared to 29.2 percent in losses, and her rebounding average (6.6 rpg in wins vs. 4.2 in losses) is also much better.

Gearlds started off the season well, coming off the bench to knock down three triples in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind win over Sacramento on May 20. She followed that with eight points at Phoenix in the Storm's next game, but since then her playing time and her shooting percentage have waned. Over the Storm's first five games in June, she totaled two points on 1-of-10 shooting. Gearlds has scored a field goal in the Storm's last three games, and hitting a crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter Monday against Connecticut seemed to energize her. Moments later, Gearlds used the threat of her shot to drive the lane and find Lauren Jackson for a layup.

"I think Katie's sort of on a little upswing now," Agler said. "I think you'll see her start playing well. I thought she did some good things the other night. She played well in Houston and even in San Antonio, even though they weren't huge minutes, they were good minutes. I just sort of see her confidence coming back. We're going to give her some opportunities to play."

Before Monday's game, Agler took Gearlds aside and chatted with her courtside, encouraging her to stay with it by using an example from the NBA Finals.

"I sort of referred to Ray Allen," Agler related. "You remember in the playoffs, Ray Allen didn't have it going. He struggled for a period of time, but now you watch him play, it's like he never went through that back against Detroit."

Indeed, the former Sonics guard scored 26 points and made seven three-pointers as the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship by beating the L.A. Lakers in yesterday's Game 6 of the Finals.

After Gearlds' early scoring spree, she found her name on opposing scouting reports, and that will force her and the Storm to adjust.

"Defenses understand what she can do, so they don't give her a lot of room," said Agler. "We have to work harder and she has to work harder to get her some looks."

- Storm center Yolanda Griffith remains day-to-day with a left knee sprain, but is making progress in her recovery.

"She did a little bit today," said Agler. "Tomorrow, she'll be very active in practice. As far as Friday? We'll see how we get through tomorrow."

Griffith participated as the Storm ran through its quarter-court offense early in practice, testing out a brace that she may use when she returns. Later, she rode an exercise bike to keep up her conditioning. The Storm hopes to have Griffith available Friday, when the Indiana Fever visits KeyArena (7:00 p.m., 1150 AM KKNW, TIX).

Happy Mother's Day

On behalf of the Storm organization, a Happy Mother's Day to all of our mothers out there. The Chicago Tribune did a feature today on motherhood in the WNBA, and the Storm now has two of the league's most prominent mothers in Yolanda Griffith and Sheryl Swoopes.

Naturally, mothers have played a key role in the lives of the Storm players, but maybe none more so than for Swin Cash and her mother Cynthia. Cynthia was just 17 when she gave birth to Swin, and raised her as a single mother (with help from her family) before later marrying.

Inspired by her mother, through her "Cash for Kids" foundation she partnered with the Shock to open a resource center at the Ferguson Academy for Young Women in Detroit. The Ferguson Academy is an alternative high school that caters to the unique needs of teenage mothers. This NBA TV video explains the complete story of Cash's involvement with the Ferguson Academy.

The other day, I asked Swin about what Mother's Day and her family mean to her.

"It's always a special time for me when Mother's Day rolls around," Cash said. "I celebrate my mom probably 365 days of the year, but I really try to make sure that the weekend of mother's day is special for her. I always send flowers, I always get her a nice gift, nice card, and let her know what she's meant to me. My mom has been my rock my whole life. I like to show her appreciation the whole weekend."

Is it hard to not be able to spend the weekend with her out on the West Coast?
I would spend as many as I could with my mom. It's going to be tough to be away because my family, they're all coming in from out of state to have a big cookout for my grandmother. My grandmother is 89. My family is really a close-knit family. It's going to be hard to be away from them this weekend, but at the same time they're very supportive of me being out here in Seattle and they're happy I'm happy. It will be OK - there will be lots of pictures.

How much influence have your family and your mother in particular had on your charitable work?
They've had a big influence. They're part of the reason why I started my charity. I always grew up from humble beginnings and my mom used to stress to me that you always have to give back. It doesn't matter what stage you get to in your life, it doesn't matter how much you have, you'll never feel fulfilled until you help another person. That's what I've always tried to do in every walk of my life, from high school to college to being a pro. Once I was able to start Cash for Kids and have the recognition and people to follow initiatives that I wanted to go after, it's been a blessing. It's one of the most fulfilling things in my life.

Cash in Spain with USA Basketball

Swin Cash and her teammates on the USA Basketball Senior Women's National Team are spending this week in Spain training and playing against two local squads as preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing continues.

Earlier today (and extremely early this morning Seattle time), the U.S. Women defeated Ros Casares Valencia 82-72. The home team led 20-5 early before the U.S., coached by Anne Donovan, rallied for the win.

On Thursday, the U.S. will take on Perfumerías Avenida in Salamanca, Spain.

Through USABasketball.com, you can also e-mail potential questions for the players.

Getting to Know Swin Cash

With the Storm dealing for All-Star forward Swin Cash from the Detroit Shock Tuesday, I asked storm.wnba.com intern Jonathan Tallariti to round up some links to features that give you a snapshot of Cash the player and the person. Here's what he came up with. - KP

Cash and Sue Bird were amongst four terrific seniors for UConn that won the 2002 NCAA title. This story focuses on Cash's contribution to that team.

Here's a story from the time of the 2004 Olympics that looks back on Cash's life. This one talks about the similar paths to the WNBA taken by Cash and former Storm forward Ashley Battle.

Cash's last appearance in a Detroit uniform came over the weekend, when she participated in the Haier Shooting Stars competition as part of All-Star Saturday Night. Cash, Pistons player Chauncey Billups and Shock Head Coach Bill Laimbeer, the defending champs, fell this time around. San Antonio ended up winning.

Here's a couple of good features that look at Cash's many skills, one from the UConn alumni magazine and one from Strut magazine. This story talks about her joining ESPN to analyze the NBA during the winter.

Cash has done a great deal of work in the community. Amongst her projects:
- "Rebounds for Research," which saw her donate $5 for each rebound in the 2005 season to the Children's Tumor Foundation
- Teaming up with former UConn stars, including Bird, to raise money build a playground in Bridgeport, Conn.
- Raising money for the McKeesport Youth Projects where she was raised
- Supporting the Catherine Ferguson Academy for teenage mothers in Detroit with her mother Cynthia, who gave birth to Swin at age 17 (this is a great NBA TV video)