O’Neill takes her shot at the WNBA

SEATTLE

Kristen O’Neill is soaking it all up.

One week into her first training camp with the Seattle Storm, the 2001 Meadowdale graduate is having the time of her life.

“It’s been a great learning experience for me,” O’Neill said after an April 26 practice at the Furtado Center. “The coaches are knowledgeable and I’m getting to be able to play against the best of the best … More than anything I’m loving this opportunity to play and get better as a player and really learn the game from some of the best.”

O’Neill received word of the opportunity to try out for the WNBA’s Seattle franchise via a telephone call from her agent last month. The 6-foot-1 guard was in Ireland where she was playing basketball.

“I screamed on the telephone,” O’Neill said of hearing the news that the Storm wanted to sign her to a training camp contract. “I was so excited.”

O’Neill, who played for the University of Washington and then professionally in Spain for two years, was one of three free agents signed by Seattle on April 2. Training camp started on April 20 with much of the first week spent on individual skill sets. On Saturday, the team had their first extended scrimmage against a group of male players.

“It was great to get up and down and try to work on the things that we’ve been drilling on during the week,” O’Neill said. “This is the most we’ve gotten as far as game-type situations.”

O’Neill spent much of the scrimmage playing the point guard, though she’ll likely also see action at the off-guard and small forward positions.

The veterans in camp have been especially welcoming to O’Neill and the other newcomers to the team.

“Sheryl (Swoopes) and Yolanda (Griffith) both have been really wonderful,” O’Neill said. “Ashley (Robinson) and Shyra (Ely) they were here before and they are, of course, really helpful and encouraging.”

O’Neill is learning a lot playing with and against individuals, such as Swoopes, a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner and three-time league MVP.

The same could be said of the coaching staff led by first-year head coach and director of player personnel Brian Agler. The coaches have emphasized positive encouragement at practice, O’Neill said. The staff also has been challenging the players to see how they can run different sets and putting them in different game-type situations.

“This is an evaluation period, but I really like the way coach is setting a strong foundation,” O’Neill said. “I can see the way we’re going to build on that.”

What’s also clear to O’Neill is the enthusiasm the coaches have for the game.

“There’s an incredible staff here,” she said. “It’s obvious that they care about their players. I’m thrilled to be able to learn the game from them. They’ve got a lot of passion for it. They teach the game very well.”

O’Neill went to Europe with some very specific goals in mind and she feels she achieved them. O’Neill has been known as a tenacious defender and a player who had a pass-first mentality. O’Neill was voted the top defensive player her freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Washington. As a senior, she led the Huskies in steals and was second in blocked shots.

“The best thing for me going overseas was to really step up offensively,” O’Neill said. “Overseas they really expect the Americans to really produce in all categories, but especially points. For me, knowing that I’m the first option on offense and really looking to pull the trigger for me, it helped me expand my game offensively … I love playing defense, but I really needed to step it up on offense.”

O’Neill describes herself as now being more aggressive on offense with an eye toward attacking the basket and taking advantage of her scoring opportunities.

When O’Neill, who helped lead Meadowdale to a state championship in 2000, made the jump from high school ball to college ball the biggest difference she noticed was that the game was so much quicker and the players were so much stronger. That trend continues to increase as O’Neill moves into the professional ranks.

“I’m here and I’m going to give it my all,” O’Neill said. “Of course, my goal is to make the team. I can only control so much, so I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and if it’s meant to be, I believe it will happen.”