COACH RICHARDSON: I guess curiosity of watching them play, watching the females play over the years when they were in the south when I was at Arkansas, watching Southeastern Conference basketball, noticing how athletic the women were. It was amazing. I guess from that point I started following women’s basketball quite a bit.

Q. Since you’ve been involved in [women’s basketball] on a more direct basis, what have you noticed about the WNBA? Have there been surprises, things maybe you thought would be better that weren’t? Now that you’re in it a little bit more, what are your feelings?

COACH RICHARDSON: The part that really is amazing to me is how hard they work, how the players pay close attention to details, what you’re trying to get to them, make them understand.

I find that it’s amazing how they go out and come back the next day and try to do those things that you’ve talked about and worked on, as compared to the male’s game, they go and they come back and you’ve got to work the same thing you talked to them the day before. That was an amazing part.

I think also they compete so hard against one another. That’s an amazing part also.

Q. Coach Richardson, how is Marion Jones faring in camp?

COACH RICHARDSON: Marion is doing very, very well. She’s working extremely hard. She’s a tremendous athlete. Tremendous upside. Even though she hasn’t been in the game for a long period, a long time, it reminds me of a knife that’s not sharp, but you got a chance to sharpen it up. That’s what she’s been doing since she’s been in camp.

Q. The work she did, the conditioning work, do you see results of all of that in camp?

COACH RICHARDSON: Absolutely. She must have really spent a lot of time during the off-season in pickup games. Her conditioning, training coach that she’s had has really got her prepared to come into camp. You can really see the difference of her conditioning.

It’s very important in my system that you come to camp with some conditioning.

Q. Coach Richardson, I cover University of Connecticut women’s team. We often ask Geno Auriemma how successful he thinks he would be coaching a men’s college basketball team. I’m wondering from your perspective if an enterprising athletic director decided to hire Geno, Van Chancellor, someone of that nature, how do you think they would be accepted into that world and how well do you think they would do?

COACH RICHARDSON: First of all, basketball is basketball. I think all the guys you just mentioned, they could coach anywhere as far as I’m concerned whether it be women, men, pro. Again, I have a tremendous respect for the coaches that you mentioned.

I think any coach on the men’s side would certainly be fighting to a point because those guys are such tremendous basketball coaches, and that’s how I see them.

Q. Do you think the athletes would embrace them or do you think they would be somewhat skeptical because of their backgrounds?

COACH RICHARDSON: Let me give you an example. I played for Coach Don Haskins. Coach Haskins was the women’s girls high school coach when he came to UTEP. He coached the boys and the girls. He came in and won a national championship in three years.

Again, I’m old school. So I believe that if a person understands the game and is willing to exercise the energy to coach that game, then the chances of being good at what you do, and that’s coach basketball, your chances are great.

Q. Coach Richardson, if you could address the status of Cheryl Ford?

COACH RICHARDSON: At this point Cheryl is completely out of the game. She was injured pretty much overseas or hurt during the year. It doesn’t look like she will be part of our basketball team at this point.

Q. Coach Richardson, can you talk about the role Alexis Hornbuckle will have this season?

COACH RICHARDSON: Well, she’s going to have to play a major role in our system. She’s been, of course, in the league a couple years. I’ve always had admiration for a young lady who came out of Pat Summitt’s basketball regime. Having the opportunity to already win two rings in the same year as a college player coming into the WNBA, then winning one ring with them. So she’s one of the people that we have to count on because of the experience that we have.

When you look at our basketball team, you’re looking at Detroit coming to Tulsa, most of the starters are no longer on that basketball team. I look at the team as a semi-expansion ballclub. When you have that kind of a program, you certainly better count on the ones that have been there and have answered the bell many time, and Hornbuckle is one of those young ladies.