POSTED: Monday December 29th 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Smith Honored As 2008 USA Basketball Female Athlete Of The Year

-- Smith Eligible For 2008 U.S. Olympic Committee SportsWoman Of The Year Award --

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 29, 2008)  —  Katie Smith, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the USA\‘s fourth consecutive gold medal, has been selected the 2008 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, USA Basketball today announced. As such, Smith will be nominated by USA Basketball for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year. The selection was made by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

\“This is a huge honor, it\‘s a surprise to me, but it\‘s very much appreciated,\” said Smith. \“There are so many bigger names, like Diana (Taurasi), Lisa (Leslie) winning her fourth gold, Tina (Thompson) putting up big numbers, it\‘s not that we\‘re not equal as players on the team, but in my career this kind of thing hasn\‘t happened a whole lot. I got what I wanted in a sense of being a part of those teams, winning gold medals and enjoying the overall experience. I love what I do and have enjoyed all my opportunities to represent USA Basketball.  Obviously people saw that I cared, that I worked hard, and I appreciate that.

\“What we always preach with USA Basketball is that it\‘s one team, one goal. It\‘s all about winning and doing whatever is needed, whether you play or don\‘t play, score or play defense. That\‘s what I tried to do throughout my USA Basketball days.

\“This is a bonus and definitely a surprise, but very much appreciated. It\‘s neat to know that people do see what you do, the time you spend and the things you put into it. It\‘s not always about the flashy highlights, it\‘s the grunt work and a lot of us do that, from the players to the coaches and the staff. A lot of grunt work goes into what we do to be successful and it makes you feel good that people notice.\”

\“Katie is such a good person to win this award because her commitment to the USA Basketball Women\‘s National Team Program has been superior,\” said U.S. Olympic Team head coach Anne Donovan . \“Nobody matched her level of commitment to our training throughout the three years since Athens. Her leadership, experience and what she did for us as a starter in Beijing speaks volumes for Katie\‘s abilities. But more than anything, it\‘s important that we recognize her commitment to us, and I\‘m proud of her for that. She\‘s had a tremendous year, she was the MVP of the Detroit Shock\‘s championship and now to be our Player of the Year really reflects Katie\‘s greatness, which has often gone unnoticed.\”

\“Katie\‘s time and commitment to USA Basketball has been extraordinary throughout the years,\” said USA Basketball Executive Director Jim Tooley. \“She leads by example, putting in a lot of time and energy on the practice court and does whatever is asked of her by coaches and teammates.  Katie is very deserving of this award as her leadership and will to win played a key role in USA Basketball bringing home the gold from Beijing.\”

\“I\‘m excited for Katie,\” said two-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings . \“She put so much time and effort into USA Basketball and this team. I think she was there for every single session that we had and never once complained about anything that was asked of her. A lot of times people who work so hard don\‘t always get the credit that\‘s deserved. But for me, Katie evolved into a leader on this team. People really respected her. She\‘s always been respected as a player, the experience that she has, the talent that she has and the way she plays on the court definitely signifies a USA Basketball player. But she brings so much more to the table. Even at times when she was struggling on the court she always remained strong, always remained as a great captain and a great leader.\”

The 5-11 guard was the only member of the 2008 team to participate in all of the 2008 USA Women\‘s National Team\‘s training camps. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Smith, who averaged 4.9 points and 1.9 assists per game during the 2008 Olympics, brought much more to the team than just statistics. She\‘s shown an unrivaled commitment to the USA Basketball Women\‘s National Team Program, missing just one of the USA\‘s training camps over the past three years.

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Keywords · Basketball · Katie Smith · USOC

Name: Craig Miller
Organization: USA Basketball
Email:
Phone: +1.(719) 590-4800
URL: http://www.usabasketball.com/

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