WNBA - Katie Smith Made Debut with Defending Champion Seattle Storm!!

(Image - Seattle Storm - three future Hall of Famers - Sue Bird, Katie Smith, Lauren Jackson)

6.4.2011 - Seattle Storm 78 vs Phoenix Mercury 71 (WNBA Regular Season Gm 1) - Katie Smith: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

tOSU legend joins the Champs! - The Washington Mystics announced the retaining of WNBA veteran Katie Smith's free agent rights in late January. The D.C based club stated that keeping Smith as one of their core players was a top priority for the 2011 season, however, that announcement came at a time when there were already strong rumors about Smith possibly joining the defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm of the Western Conference.

Well the rumors about Smith to the Storm ultimately came into fruition when a three team sign & trade featuring Seattle, Washington, and Indiana was announced in April.

Trade Specifics:

• Seattle gets: Washington guard Katie Smith, Washington center Jacinta Monroe, Indiana's second-round pick in 2012 draft.
• Washington gets: Storm guard Jasmine Thomas, Storm's first-round pick in 2012 draft, Indiana's third-round pick in 2012 draft.
• Indiana gets: Storm guard Erin Phillips, Storm's third-round pick in 2012 draft.

Familiar faces: The Seattle Storm presented many enticing incentives for Smith, one of which was meeting up with some familiar coaches & players from the past.

As a member of the Storm, Katie is now reunited with two of her former coaches..head coach Brian Agler (pictured left: 2011 Pre-season photo with Katie) who coached Smith in the ABL & in Minnesota, and former Ohio State Head Coach, and now Assistant coach for the Storm Nancy Darsch! Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch wrote a nice article in May that detailed the Seattle/Columbus connection (with a review of Smith's overall career as well).

- Dispatch - WNBA trade reunited Katie Smith with two former coaches

In addition to the coaches, Katie Smith is also reunited with her former Detroit Shock teammate Swin Cash, and former Olympic teammate Sue Bird. Bird, who is one of, if not the best point guard in all of women's basketball was a big proponent of adding Smith.

"I was very excited," Bird said. "Adding her to this team, coming off a championship year, you're getting an experienced, veteran, smart player. And she's tough as hell. Everything the Storm has stood for, Katie stands for the same things."

ESPN - Katie Smith should make defending WNBA Champs even better

Season Opener: As noted earlier, the Seattle Storm are the defending WNBA Champions. They feature the dynamic duo of point guard Sue Bird & and league MVP Lauren Jackson at forward. Add in smooth forwards Swin Cash & Camille Little and you have one strong starting core. This squad is so deep that they can afford to use Katie Smith in a support role off the bench.

Katie made her official debut with the Seattle Storm in the season opener vs Diana Taurasi (image left: Smith & Taurasi share a laugh) & the Phoenix Mercury on June 6, 2011 (her 37th birthday!). Katie entered the game at the 5:09 in the 1st quarter to a thundering applause by the home Seattle crowd. She immediately fired up a missed three, but came back and nailed another three point attempt on the very next possession. Smith finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in her debut with the Champs. It is definitely going to be fun to follow Katie & Seattle this season!

Video- Katie Smith Debut with the Seattle Storm!