Storm Exit Interviews: The Word from Alysha Clark

posted by Jayda Evans: Womens Hoops Blog
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 6:09pm EDT

Jayda Evans covers college and pro women's basketball. While its her first year on the Washington beat, she has covered the Storm since its inception. She'll offer observations, critiques, occasional off-beat tales and answers to select e-mail inquires. Evans also has written a book on the Storm and women's hoops, called "Game On!"

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Series note: The Storm conducted exit interviews on Oct. 4, giving me the opportunity to ask players everything from views on their season to fashion and hair tips. I'll post conversations from each in the upcoming days. Centers Ewelina Kobryn (Poland) and Ann Wauters (Belgium) won't be featured due to their quick return home. Here's a conversation with wing Alysha Clark. A go-to player at Middle Tennessee State University, Clark has fought for three seasons to make a WNBA roster. She was expected to be a deep reserve with the Storm, and didn't play a minute during the postseason series against Minnesota. But she was a key piece for Seattle during the regular-season due to injuries to teammates. Clark averaged 10.3 minutes in 23 games.

Q: You're going back to Israel, what will you work on this offseason?
Clark: Definitely my shot. Tina (Thompson) helped me a lot as far as (shooting in) one motion. Not being herky-jerky, like she calls it. So, just being fluid in my shot. Also ball-handling, being comfortable with the ball in my hands whether it's coming off a screen or for a pull-up jumper. Those are the main things I'm going to really focus on.

Q: You've been working on that since leaving college in 2010, is it still a difficult transition going from a post player at MTSU to a wing in the WNBA?
Clark: Yeah. It's more of a confidence thing because I've been working on ball-handling and shooting, but actually putting it in game situations is completely different. I'm a perfectionist, so I don't want to mess up or make mistakes. I avoid doing it until I'm comfortable enough with it. I'm going to kinda have to force myself to get past that because that's going to be the deal-breaker for me whether I can stay in this league or not. Obviously I want to. With the shot thing, I shot when I was a post but it wasn't the first thought. When I caught it up top, I was like, 'OK, let me find somebody to pass it to.' Now, it's having that mentality of shoot-first from out here. It's just a mental thing and that's going to be the hardest part.

Q: Did you see progress over the course of the season?
Clark: I did. In the beginning, I was a little shaky at first. As the season went on and talking to Katie (Smith) and Birdy (Sue Bird) and Tina and Milli (Camille Little), just on different aspects of stuff, they helped plant those seeds in my head to be able to be comfortable with it. (They) gave me that little confidence boost that I needed.

Storm Exit Interviews: The Word from Alysha Clark

2012 WNBA Season

Alysha Clark

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