Sam’s Versatility a Plus for Storm

The enduring image of forward Sheri Sam on offense from her first two games with the Seattle Storm is of Sam getting the ball in transition and charging full-speed towards the Storm's basket, leading the fast break.

Scoring in the post is one of the many things the Storm acquired Sam to do. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

It's a sight Storm fans ought to get used to.

"If I'm one-on-one on a fast break, I know I'm either going to get the basket or foul or, if the refs are calling it right, I'll get both," Sam said after a Storm practice earlier this week.

"That's something that (Coach) Anne (Donovan) has a lot of confidence in us, the transition game, and something that this team is looking forward to doing more. When we get the steals, we're going."

Donovan wouldn't have it any other way.

"She's somebody who likes to make things happen, either for herself - shot, going to the foul line - or setting somebody else up," said Donovan. "That's the name of the game in transition. You want to be aggressive and how you attack it and yet under control if you don't have numbers and the advantage, to bring it back and set. She's got the ability to do both."

The enduring image of Sam on defense from her first two games with the Storm is of her battling with former teammate Katie Smith on every possession the two were in the game, the two of them jawing every step of the way.

Smith got a couple of open jumpers while working against Smith, but for the most part was muzzled, finishing with 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting - 4.5 less points than she averaged against the Storm last season. On Saturday, as the Storm blew out the Los Angeles Sparks, forward Mwadi Mabika scored 11 points in the first half against Sam, but managed just four in the second half and ended up shooting 38.4% from the field (5-for-13).

"I think she did a great job," commented Donovan. "People have talked about that, Mabika going off in the first half, but if you look at that game, Sheri was right in her face. Mabika just hit some incredible shots. I love having Sheri here to defend the bigger threes, like a Katie Smith, like a Mwadi Mabika, like a Sheryl Swoopes. And Sheri takes pride in that. It means a lot to our defensive confidence, I think, to have her to be able to match up out there."

Sam may not like matching up with the relentlessly physical Smith, preferring to avoid the bruises she finds the day after those games, but she certainly does take pride in shutting down Smith and the rest of the league's high scorers.

"Any time I'm facing a challenge, I like to step up and take it," Sam said.

"I'm going to have to do that all year. It's something I've always done, because most wing players in my position, the three, are the best scorers on most teams. I've done that my whole career."

Sam's is just one of the many new Storm wallpapers available.

Sam the scorer in transition and Sam the stopper are just two of the roles Donovan envisioned her playing when she was acquired from the Minnesota Lynx in a three-player trade before last month's draft. While the Storm had gotten quality defensive efforts out of Adia Barnes and Amanda Lassiter at small forward the last two years, Donovan wanted a player who would be a major contributor at both ends of the court.

Sam, who has averaged double-figures during all five of her WNBA seasons, fit the bill. With 23 points in her first two games on 15 shots, Sam has quickly found and understood her niche in the Storm offense.

"Some games I'm going to score a lot of points, some games I'm not," she said. "It's just the other little things that I have to do consistently, like rebound, get some steals and assist other players making baskets. Scoring is going to be there, but it's not something that this team needs me to do night in and night out."

In addition to her high scoring - she entered the season the fifth-leading scorer in the history of major women's professional basketball, combining ABL and WNBA statistics - Sam also ranked in th WNBA's top five with better than two steals per game in 2002 and has averaged at least four rebounds per game from the perimeter every year of her career.

With five years of WNBA experience and two-plus seasons in the ABL, Sam has also taken on something of a leadership role in a Storm starting lineup where she is the only player with more than four years of American experience.

"Coach wants me to share some of my experience with Sue (Bird) and some of the younger players," said Sam. "I just bring my energy and my experience. If a situation arises and I see that a player is struggling, I just share things I've learned from being there in the past."

In most cases, to find scoring, ballhandling, defense, rebounding and leadership, you'd have to have three or four players. In Sam, the Storm has managed to find it in one.