Tamika Catchings wants one more run at a gold medal, but isn’t sure if she’ll take part in the FIBA World Cup, which begins later this month.
Catchings won a gold medal with Team USA in 2004, 2008, and 201
“I don’t know,” Catchings said Wednesday, about 15 minutes after being eliminated from the 2014 WNBA Playoffs by the Chicago Sky. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
The men’s FIBA World Cup is going on now in Spain but the women’s tournament, hosted by Turkey, runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 5.
Catchings intended for the 2012 London Olympics, where Team USA dominated en route to another gold medal, to be her last go with USA Basketball. She already has three gold medals (’04, ’08, ’12).
“And then after we won,” Catchings explained, “Diana [Taurasi] was like, ‘Yeah, we’re coming back for one more.’ I was like, ‘Ohhh. We are? Ok.”
Though she missed the first half of the regular season with a back injury, Catchings led the Indiana Fever to the Eastern Conference Finals. She averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, and posted her best shooting percentage (44.6) in four seasons.
Catchings, along with teammate Briann January, were among the 27 players invited to training camp Sept. 8-10 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
“I think if you want a point guard that can defend at a high level, then you have to look at January,” said Fever coach Lin Dunn.”
Last week, when discussing her plans, I asked Catchings if she planned to play in the World Cup, unlike what we’ve seen with the elite NBA players.
“Yup,” she replied.
The end of the WNBA season is still fresh in her mind, and she will have the weekend to decide whether she wants to — and feels good enough — to take part in World Cup action.
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