Wright a Champion in Poland
RELATED CONTENT | |
|
Willingham's Change of PaceKevin Pelton, stormbasketball.com | May 13, 2010
Seattle Storm guard
Tanisha Wright ended her offseason as a champion. Wright's Lotos Gdynia team defeated AZS Gorzow 3-1 in the Polish PLKK Finals to claim the title. For Wright, it was her first professional championship after a couple of close calls the last two years in Israel and France.
"Being able to finish that off was nice," said Wright after rejoining the Storm for training camp. "That was my third finals, so to be able to finally win one was nice."
Even in Poland, the celebration was traditional.
 | |
|
"It's the same," Wright said. "The whole champagne, confetti falling from the sky, 'We are the Champions,' it's all the same."
With one exception, that is.
"Instead of letting everybody cut down the net, one person cut down the net and took it," Wright related. "She was young, so I don't know if she knew the whole thing of cutting down the net. She enjoyed it."
Wright's European campaign actually began in Cyprus, where she teamed with Storm forward 
Camille Little prior to the holiday break.
"We just hung out all the time," said Little.
"It was a fun time, being there with Camille and knowing somebody and having a good time, that aspect," added Wright. "You've got the sun and the beach right there. You're there for a few months? It worked out perfect.
The business side did not go as well, however, and both players made the decision to head elsewhere for the conclusion of the European season. Little landed in Israel, while Wright joined Gdynia, a traditional power in Poland.
"We had a good team," she said. "They were a good team even before I got there."
Teammates in Gdynia included former Sun guard Erin Phillips, voted MVP of the Finals, and one-time Storm training camper Roneeka Hodges, now playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars. Hodges became a workout partner for Wright as they worked on their skills between games. The team's Polish players were also strong, helping Gdynia reach the finals and pull the upset without the benefit of home-court advantage.
"I didn't know what to expect at first, because I went there halfway," explained Wright. "I was cool with all the girls, but I went there halfway through the season, so it's not your own to me. It was really neat. The girls were awesome there, the whole organization was cool, and it was really neat to be able to win. They were really excited. It was cool to win something like that for the first time."
Wright was the last Storm player left in action overseas, and she joined the team the day of last weekend's second and final preseason game in Tulsa. Without the benefit of a practice to get on the same page with her new teammates, Wright played 24 minutes. Given that, it's more surprising that Wright scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and handed out four assists than that she committed six turnovers.
"You don't know what to expect," she said. "You don't know how your legs are going to feel or how you're going to adjust and adapt to being back. You know the system and that stuff, but still there's a period of adjustment."
