Catchings happy to be playing again

[May 12, 2012]  SEATTLE (AP) -- Tamika Catchings was thrilled to be back on the court.

While most of her teammates on the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team spent the winter playing overseas, she was rehabbing an injury to her right foot. Now that's she healthy, Catchings is raring to go.

She has been playing pickup basketball as much as she could, but there's nothing like playing with her Olympic teammates.

"It's great to be playing again," she said after the two-hour practice Friday at Seattle University. "It really feels good to be out here."

Catchings, who will be playing in her third Olympics this summer in London, suffered a torn plantar fascia in the second game of the WNBA Eastern Conference finals.

Catchings and her Olympic teammates will have a whirlwind weekend in Seattle. They practiced Friday and play an exhibition game against China on Saturday. The U.S. will then scrimmage Japan on Sunday before breaking camp.

"It was a good first day," U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. "What I really hope we get out of this weekend is a chance for our players to get used to being with each other and playing with each other. That's the biggest thing we can get out of these few days."

The U.S. team has been forced to go with piecemeal training over the last few years because of the difficulty of getting everyone together. Between the WNBA season, players playing overseas in the winter and Auriemma's college schedule, it's been virtually impossible to get everyone in the same place at the same time.

While Catchings is fresh, most of the other players are tired from their long seasons overseas. The WNBA is in the middle of training camp and their season starts next Friday.

"It's good that we only went for a few hours today and then have a game tomorrow," said Candace Parker, who spent her winter playing in Russia. "It takes a toll on your body playing all those games. This is the perfect amount of time to get used to each other and coach's system."

Auriemma's system is familiar to half the team as six of the players are UConn graduates. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Maya Moore and Tina Charles all played for Auriemma. Charles didn't really participate much in practice Friday as she was rehabbing a groin injury.

Bird was sporting a face mask to protect her nose that was broken while playing this winter.

"It's not my favorite thing to wear, but it allows me to play," Bird said. "I've broken it before so it's not really an adjustment, it's more of a nuisance."

This will be the only time the Americans are together before the WNBA takes a monthlong break from its season for the Olympics. The team will get together again on July 14. They will spend three days in Washington D.C. before heading to Manchester, England. The U.S. will then play in a tournament in Istanbul before returning to London at the start of the Olympics, which begin on July 27.

"It's not ideal since other teams have been practicing for a lot longer, but it's what we have," said Bird, who will also be playing in her third Olympics. "Every time you put the USA jersey on it's an honor. I'm lucky I have had the opportunity to represent my country. Growing up there was no WNBA to look forward to, for me my dream was always playing in the Olympics."

[Associated Press; By DOUG FEINBERG]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.