Notebook: Bishop Hoping to Prove Herself
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Gallery: Storm Media DayKevin Pelton, stormbasketball.com | May 3, 2010
The Seattle Storm added another Aussie to its ranks on Monday, when
Abby Bishop first joined the team after flying from Australia to Seattle on Sunday night. Bishop, who teamed with 
Lauren Jackson to help the Canberra Capitals win the WNBL championship this spring and spent the last week at Australian Opals training camp with Jackson, is bidding to make the Storm as a backup post.
"I think everybody in Australia would love to play WNBA," said Bishop. "There's only a few Aussies playing in the league, so for me to come here and get a chance to prove myself is huge - especially because I'm 21. I would have one more year of college left. I think I'm up for the challenge. I've been working hard in the gym and getting prepared."
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First, Bishop wants to see how her game measures up. She's never played for a team outside of Australia, and her experience against elite competition has been limited to representing her country in junior competitions.
"I've got no gauge on how I'm going to go," Bishop said. "I've just had a week of Australian camp in preparation for the World Championship, so I think that was good preparation for me coming into this camp, but I've just got to get out there and do my thing, I guess, and see where I'm at. It might take me a few days to get into it - learn the plays."
The biggest difference Bishop anticipates will be in the size of opponents. At 6-3, she's primarily an interior player in Australia, but she expects to make more use of her face-up game against WNBA competition.
"I'm a rebounding forward," she said. "I can play outside. I don't know how I'm going to go against these girls. I don't know what to expect. Ask me that in a few days and I can give you an answer."
Jackson was more effusive in praising her teammate.
"She's just got a lot of attitude," said the Storm veteran. "She's tough. She manages to get things done. One thing I didn't know about her before playing with her is she's strong. For a 21 year old, her body is ridiculously strong. She's one of those Australians where you look at her and say, 'She can't be that athletic,' but she's deceptively athletic. She can shoot. It will be interesting to see how she goes with these guys. She's definitely going to compete for a spot."
In addition to Jackson, Bishop also played against rookie 
Alison Lacey when both players were teenagers.
"Any Australian people that have played against each other kind of have a connection," said Lacey. "We played against each other when we were 16, so a few years ago, but someone that you'll always remember. It's good to have another Australian here just to chat and catch up. She said, 'I saw your brother play last week.' [Lacey's twin brother, Mark, plays for a second-division team in Canberra.] So I have some connection from back home. It's nice to have her here."
As she prepares to begin practicing tomorrow, Bishop isn't placing any expectations on herself. She's simply going to enjoy the opportunity.
"I guess it's a win-win situation for me," she said. "If I come here and I don't make it, I know I've got many years ahead of me. If I make it, it's great."
THE ASHLEYS
The stars of Media Day interviews on Monday were Storm forward 
Ashley Walker and center 
Ashley Robinson - or, as they will henceforth collectively be known, "The Ashleys." Robinson and Walker teamed up to chat with the media, and an innocent question about whether having the same name is ever confusing set off a two-woman comedy routine.
"Everybody but (Head Coach) 
Brian (Agler) calls me A-Rob and Ashley A-Walk or Dub," explained Robinson. "Brian's the only person who refuses to call us by our nicknames, so that's the only time it gets a little confusing.
"We like it. We like being the Ashleys."
"We don't mind, chipped in Walker.
Eventually, the two players were asked whether they would do a reality show.
"I bet people would watch," said Robinson.
"We have a lot to say, added Walker.
They even have an opening for the show: "Hi, I'm Ashley. I'm Ashley. We're the Ashleys. (We practiced.)
Besides just a name, Robinson and Walker found they had much in common when Walker joined the Storm as the team's first-round pick last season.
"We clicked right away," noted Robinson. "It's weird, because we're 'The Ashleys' and we act like 'The Ashleys.' I can't explain it."
For complete audio from the exchange, check out SwishAppeal.com's Media Day recap.
NOTES
The unseasonably cool, wet spring in the Pacific Northwest was a popular topic among the players. Bishop said she'd been warned by Jackson and former Storm center Suzy Batkovic-Brown.
"They both said it was cold and rainy here and they were right about that," said Bishop.
Loree Moore had also been told to expect precipitation by her brother, Brian Hunter, who played for the Mariners in 1996."He hasn't given me any details as far as what to do and where to go and that sort of thing," noted Moore. "He just told me it rains and there are four months where it's really beautiful."
"I wasn't expecting that," added wing Aja Parham about the rain. "It wasn't like that last season."
One source of debate so far: Exactly what is Lacey's accent? She arrived in Ames, Iowa with a thick Australian accent, but an element of Midwestern twang has found its way into Lacey's speech.
"I've picked up something along the way, but I've definitely lost my Australian accent," she said. "Hearing Lauren and Abby talk, I'm so embarrassed - it's gone."
Gonzaga product
Heather Bowman had a special guest in the KeyArena crowd when she played her first pro game yesterday - Zags Head Coach Kelly Graves, who sat just behind the media along with Assistant Coach Jodie Kaczor Berry."I think he tried to keep the coaching to a minimum," said Bowman of meeting with her former coach after the game. "He wanted to say a few things, but mainly he just told me he was proud of me and it was fun to watch me play. It was good seeing him."
In addition, Bowman said five family members made the trip from Spokane to watch her play.
