After having such a good time at the first open practice, we decide to come to this one too. The action is much the same as the first practice, so we don’t need to go into those specifics. What is noticeably different is that the players are even more comfortable with each other and are playing more fluidly. This would seem to be a natural effect of playing together, after all what is the training camp for anyway. There is a feeling, however, that is more than just familiarity due to playing time. This team is more confident than last year. They are relaxed and having fun. We didn’t attend an open practice last year until the end of the season, but even then the feeling was different. Is this a good sign?

Some things of note:

Juana Brown is not here. She is attending her graduation at UNC.

Kamila Vodickova shows up at the end of the practice in street clothes. She has apparently just gotten to Seattle from the reaction of the other players. Angie tells her that we followed her progress through the Euroleague finals via the web. She seems surprised that anyone was following FIBA. Angie tells her that she was keeping track because of Kamila and Edna. They played each other during the Euroleague playoffs. Kamila asks who Angie was rooting for, her or Edna. Angie says, “You, of course.”

We talk to Semeka about playing at KeyArena. She says that it was noticeably different from playing at Hec Ed. It was real. We tell her that it is great to see someone play with so much passion.

Before we leave, we tell Katrina, Lauren and Simone to look for us in Portland. They promise to keep an eye open for us.