Harding Extras

In addition to today's story about Mystics point guard Lindsey Harding, here are a few leftovers from the conversations I had with and about the third-year pro.

Harding on her reaction to being traded to Washington, and getting to play for Coach Julie Plank:

"I was definitely really excited because I knew Julie, knew her style and knew that I'd have a little more freedom to play my game. She was a guards coach in Minnesota, so I spent a lot of time after practice shooting with her, working with her and I had a good relationship with her. She loved my style of play. We just understood the game the same way. I understood the game the way she did."

If she was surprised at Minnesota's decision to move her after last year's 16-18 season:

"Yes and no. If you think about it you knew that they needed to make some changes. We started off really well and then we went downhill. It wasn't any shock that they were going to make some changes we just didn't know who."

On how tearing her ACL and going through that extended rehab period so early in her professional career has effected her:

"It's part of our job. A lot of people look it as an 'Aw she got hurt' moment, but it's part of your job. It's the chance you take when you play, the risk you take. I pray that lightning doesn't strike twice. I wasn't too happy, but it put things in perspective. I learned how to take care of myself, how to be stronger in the weight room and to give my body rest. I'm also trying to pay more attention to what I eat. I've always been a good eater but you need even more attention on it as professional."

On if she fit in Minnesota:

"I think it was a mix between fitting and it being my first two years in the league. It's tough for any point guard to come into the league, have to run a team, learn a system, learn personnel and just run a team. I knew that I questioned a lot of stuff there. I wasn't as confident as I wanted to be, as I needed to be, as a point guard."

"My second year when I came back from the injury, I felt like I started playing more like I knew how to play and that's rolled over to now. Just understanding that I wasn't playing to not make a mistake, but playing through the mistakes."

On what the transition has been like in Washington:

"When you first come into the league you want people to have respect for you. You're the No. 1 pick but that doesn't mean anything. You have to have people that respect you as the point guard because you've got to tell them what to do. The moment I stepped in here -- because I know Alana, because I know Mo, because I've been the league a couple years -- they had that respect and the transition has been very smooth."

Alana Beard on her reaction to Washington acquiring Harding:

"I was very excited when I heard [Harding] was coming here," Beard said. "When we had Nikki Teasley, even though she wasn't full go, the fact that she understood the game, knew how to pass the ball and how to get players the ball made the game a lot easier."

Beard on how Harding's arrival has changed her role:

"I don't have to worry about calling plays, that's big," Beard said. "I didn't have to worry about having to set the tempo every game....I don't feel that pressure, that load on my shoulders every game that I have to come in and set the tone. I know I'm going to try to do that, but I don't feel the pressure because I have Lindsey and other players that are going to come in and do the same thing."

Coach Julie Plank on how Harding handled her first major injury:

"I always had a lot of confidence in her and knew she worked extremely hard to get back [from the knee injury]. It was hard for her in the middle of the season, to try to get healthy and I thought she stayed positive she did whatever she could to get back on the floor. It was fun to see her just get better and better last season. I don't really feel like she was near 100 percent until after the Olympic break, but when she came back it really helped our Minnesota team a lot."

Plank on Harding's league-high 35.4 minutes per game average:

"I know she likes to play a lot of minutes. I'd like to take her out more. I need to do that more, but we'd have more confidence if we had our full group of perimeter players. With Marissa [Coleman] out and Kristen [Mann] being [out sick] we had five perimeter players. I'd like to try to have Alana play more defense sometimes and have Alana run more point guard sometimes to give Lindsey a break, but she tells me she never gets tired. And well, I just like seeing her out there."

By Katie Carrera  |  June 30, 2009; 11:02 AM ET
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