Dallas Wings all-star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith spoke to the media day today in the final day of USA Basketball’s training camp. Diggins-Smith was one of 17 players attending the camp, which included other WNBA stars like Seattle’s Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, as well as Atlanta’s Layshia Clarendon. See what Diggins-Smith has to say after a successful three days.
Can you wrap up this weekend for me?
“It’s been an amazing experience. Every time you get the call to come out to USA Basketball, you come. It was very competitive. We had some young, fresh talent in here and it was obviously led by Sue (Bird), who is the veteran. It’s great to learn from these coaches. Obviously, we have a new set of coaches and getting to pick their brains apart was great. It’s a great group of girls, I thought everyone was real cool. It’s fun when you get to talk and play with players that you normally don’t get the chance to play with. Any time you get to compete with some of the best in the country, you come and do it. I thought it was a competitive camp. We got a lot done. I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to what the next steps are.”
Did you approach this camp differently than you have in the past or change any aspect of your game?
“When I tore my ACL, it was 2015 and it was right after the (USA National Team) camp. It’s just an anomaly. It is what it is. So, I don’t know if I changed my approach with how I came in here, but just how I approached the game of basketball in taking care of my body, just being older and wiser and having more years under my belt. I have more years in the league, more experience playing the game. I think that’s what helped me out – this is not my first camp. I’ve been to USA National Team camps before and got to compete, so it’s really a sense of knowing what to expect. I kind of understand what’s going on.”
“I’m just trying to be a leader now. Even though I haven’t made an Olympic team yet, just being with the program for so many years. I’m just trying to make sure I’m a leader, I compete and have fun. I think a lot of times we put pressure on ourselves that like, ‘I’ve got to be perfect!’ I learned just coming to this, just playing your game and contributing to the team is not about what you might normally do for your other teams. It’s about sacrificing for the greater good. I learned a lot, had fun and definitely got better.”