Q and A: Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings was a selection panelist for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team, which includes Purdue’s Drey Mingo. Catchings recently spoke with Indy Sports Legends editor Cliff Brunt about the awards. She then talked about re-signing with the Fever, gave an update on Katie Douglas’ health, talked about the importance of the Fever re-signing point guard Briann January and shared her thoughts about Brittney Griner’s upcoming entry into the WNBA.
Q: Tell me about the Good Works team.
A:-You know how committed I am, not only on the court, but off the court. This team is really a way to recognize those young ladies who are in college who are giving back to their communities. Just being a part of this team, I’m just trying to be an ambassador for getting out in the community and doing all the great things out there.”
Q: Your appointment to the selection panel comes from your long history of giving back to others, much of it through your Catch the Stars Foundation. What does it mean to you to honor these young women who are following in your footsteps?
A: “Now, you have 10 young ladies, and even more. These are just the top 10 that we had to select, but there’s a lot more that have great stories that are doing a lot of great things as well, not only in the communities where they are going to school, but even where they are from. It’s really cool to see what these women have already been able to accomplish, and that they really get it, that giving back is a really important part of our future.”
Q: Now, some WNBA questions. You won an Olympic gold medal. You won a WNBA title. You were third in the MVP balloting and was the Finals MVP. Now, you re-signed with the Fever. How long do you see yourself playing?
A: “I hope to be playing for a while. It’s one of those things that, year by year, I’ll just have to be able to make a decision on how my body’s feeling. I thought it was really important just to come back and, I know Kelly (GM Kelly Krauskopf) talked about how important it is to be here. Even for me, I think it would be cool to be one of the very few players that has ever, men or women, has ever played at one team their whole career. It’s a huge honor that they even want me back. Of course, I was excited about coming back. After winning a championship, the next thing you guys are going to be asking when I come into Media Day is, ‘So what’s now? A repeat?’ I’m excited about being back.”
Q: You guys won that WNBA title while Katie Douglas was out. She injured her ankle in the playoffs, had a bone chip removed and a tendon repaired. How is she doing?
A: “She’s doing well. She’s doing much better. Every day is a day that she’s got to continue to build and strengthen her ankle. She did have surgery right around Christmas on her ankle. It’s a little bit worse than they thought it was. But she’s already back on the court. She’s working out. She looks good, she feels good. Definitely, we’ll look for her to do some really big things this summer. And the shot is still there. Don’t worry, she can still shoot the lights out, y’all.”
Q: Briann January also re-signed. How important is that to the Fever?
A: Really important. How many point guards that can lead their team are out there? Obviously, she’s one of the names that comes to mind, so I know that after the year that she had last year, a lot of teams were probably out there trying to get her. But once you get comfortable in an organization — people underestimate the comfort you have in an organization and in your teammates — being able to have a group of ladies that you can work with and that you actually care about and get along with. It’s something that, you never know what’s going to happen when you go to a different team. I’m excited that she’s back. I think this will be a great year for her, and she’ll be able to move right along from last year.”
Q: You talked about seeking a repeat earlier. Whoever gets Griner figures to be a roadblock to that. What do you think of her as a player?
A: “I’m excited for her to get to the W. She brings another dimension. Just the fact of how dominant she’s been in the college game — I’m looking forward to her coming in. I think that she’ll be really good for the league.”
