A Chat With Lindsey Harding

Next up on this “Get To Know Your Lynx” is one that you’ve been waiting for. The number one pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft, Lindsey Harding immediately steps into the role of running mate to last year’s number one pick, Seimone Augustus. A true point guard, who can control a game by setting up teammates or scoring the ball herself, Harding is a welcome addition to the Minnesota landscape, as we have not seen above average point guard play since Sam Cassell was wearing a Timberwolves jersey.

After their scrimmage on Wednesday night, I sat down with this future and current franchise player to discuss the upcoming season and her thoughts so far into training camp.

SL: How excited are you to play the up-tempo style of play that Coach Zierden is implementing?

LH: I’m pretty used to it. I’m coming from a program at Duke that loved to run and run and run, so that’s strength of my game. I think that this has been a perfect fit for me, being drafted and then traded here, being able to come in and contribute right away and then run the court to my strength. It’s been an adjustment as far as coaching styles, playing with players and knowing what they like to do, but as far as pushing the ball and running, I love it.

SL: What has been the hardest part of camp so far for you?

LH: I think the hardest part is learning your teammates. Learning who to get the ball to, how to get them the ball, whether they can handle bounce passes, high passes, low passes, crazy passes because players like Seimone you can pretty much pass her anything and she can get it. It’s just learning situations and who you want to get the ball and, as a point guard, I’ve got to know that. I’ve got to know my player personnel extremely well, so that’s always been a challenge.

SL: Coach Zierden is also new to the Lynx this season. What are your thoughts of him as a coach so far?

LH: Well, he brings a lot of experience to us from the NBA. His knowledge of the game is without question and I’m excited to kind of get in his brain and pick at it. It’s fun to listen to everything he has to say. I was lucky that I came from a college that taught fundamental basketball and that’s what he’s big on, fundamentals. You can do whatever you want to do. If you can score, score, but he’s really big on fundamentals as well and that’s strength of mine. We get along great.

SL: Are you concerned at all about the lack of post players on this team?

LH: Winning a championship, you need five good starters and people off the bench, but you do need a strong post. Nicole Ohlde, I feel, can be that. She has moments where she is outstanding and amazing. Her name just isn’t out there as much as other players, so we’re pushing her and giving it to her. The main thing, though, is playing to our strengths and making the opponents play to their weaknesses. So, we’re probably going to do a lot of player-personnel, guards helping inside--we have a lot of bigger guards who can play inside as well--so we’ll see when we start playing how that works out.

SL: Noelle Quinn compared this Lynx team to the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, who are giving the #1 seed Dallas Mavericks all they can handle in the first round of the playoffs. What do you think of that comparison?

LH: They’re surprising people and that’s something that we want to do this year. We’ll kind of follow that and be Golden State, you know? Nobody thinks we’re supposed to do anything this year, just like the past couple years, and that’s fine. We don’t have a problem with that. We don’t have a target on our backs. We’re probably going to have teams not even pulling out there best games against us because they’re thinking ‘Oh, it’s Minnesota. What are they going to do?’ We have a lot of room to grow and we can only go up. We’re young and we want to play together for years and years…and that could make a great team.

SL: What’s the best advice you’ve received since draft day?

LH: I have a quote that’s one of my favorite quotes. It says ‘Good things come to those who wait,’ and everyone knows that’s been huge for me. Whether it’s been in school or in basketball because in college it wasn’t my time to shine just yet. Then I hit my senior year, that was my time and I was picked number one. I think coming to the Lynx, if we’re down, you can’t force it. You’ve got to just let it come and let it come and, I think, with hard work our time will come and we’ll shine.

SL: This team is coming off a ten-win season, the off-season acquisitions are Katryna Gaither and rookies. You’re all talented rookies, but rookies nonetheless. What do you think is a realistic expectation of this team this season?

LH: I don’t know. I mean, I’ve watched some of the other teams play on TV, but I don’t know. When we went and had our scrimmages, we would play well, but they didn’t have all their people and we were missing Svetlana. Honestly, I don’t know, but my freshman year at Duke, I was a point guard at the Final Four. I have high expectations. Rookie? So? I can play with them, I play with USA basketball. As far as being experienced, yeah, I’m not as experienced as any of these players are, but honestly, I don’t know. We’ll win more then ten. Like, way more then ten, in my opinion, because there are a lot of little things that they did last year that we’re kind of correcting now. Attention to detail is a big thing and that’s what we’re doing. I can say more then ten…definitely way over ten.