Kara Lawson Speaks About USA Basketball

How is the team chemistry right now?
“I think it's coming along real well. When you've been playing this long you have connections with almost everybody. We have players who have played college together like Seimone and Sylvia; Catch and I played in college together; Sue, Swin and Asjha; so you have groups of people who know each other from college. Then you have teammates, so like Seimone plays with Lindsay, I play with Tina and Asjha, there are pockets of us who know each other from other teams. You're already kind of familiar with them, then a bunch of us have USA Basketball experience together. I think it's really good. It's a good blend. We have some young players where it's their first time. We have some who are really experienced, too. So, I think we're all anxious for the other three players to join us, then we'll be complete.”

You've played with a lot of great teammates in your career in college, professionally and with USA Basketball. Are you still learning things, and improving upon your game?
“The one thing that playing with all these guys does is really, really expose your weaknesses. I remember the first time I played with the USA National Team. I was like 'Okay, I've got to work on this and this and this when I get back.' Because you realize that at this level, there's a smaller margin for error and players will expose you on either end. Every time I come here, one part of my game, or more, will get exposed. So, you try to work on that and get better. You also want to use the strengths of your teammates to kind of help you out. That's the beauty of our team. We have so many good people. Coach says this all the time, if someone's better at something that you're about to do, give the ball to them to do it, right? Because they're better than you at it. If we all have that type of attitude, we have a chance to fulfill our goal, which is to win this tournament.”

What will the key to this team's success be?
“I think the key is always on the defensive end. Do you have the ability to get stops? Do you have the ability to rebound the basketball and not let the other team get second chance opportunities? Do you play soundly on the defensive end, where you don't foul them? If we can keep a team from getting to the free throw line, if we can keep a team from getting extra rebounds, we feel like we have a chance to get out and run and win. That's our strength, getting out in transition, running, playing, having fun on the offensive end. Our depth is always the key and the only way you can use your depth to your advantage is if you play at that high tempo and that's what we want to do.”