Junior Micaela Cocks has quite a few frequent-flier miles. Since the beginning of last spring term, she has more or less traveled nonstop around the globe playing basketball.
She started in New Zealand, practicing and playing with the women’s national team in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. Then she actually made the trip to Beijing with the team, where she competed against the best basketball teams on the planet. She traveled back to New Zealand to say goodbye to her family and re-pack her suitcase for a trip to America, where she met up with the Ducks for their flight to Italy.
“I definitely didn’t know what time zone I was in,” she said. “It was intense.”
The once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in the Olympics has Cocks and her coach looking forward to the upcoming season.
“She is coming off a tremendous experience with the national team,” coach Bev Smith said. “Her confidence, strength and ability have all improved vastly. Micaela is ready for a tremendous season with the Ducks.”
Talking about those two weeks in August that she spent in the Olympic Village gives her a chance to recount some amazing stories.
One day for lunch she sat a couple seats away from Michael Phelps. Another day she was front row to see Usain Bolt from Jamaica win the 100-meter dash in world-record time.
“The games were so great,” she says. “At the village everything was in arms’ reach, so if you wanted to go tour anywhere, you could hop on a bus or you could go watch any event you wanted.”
She did take in the sights around China, including the Forbidden City and the silk markets, but her main focus was basketball. Although her team, nicknamed the “Tall Ferns,” lost to the Czech Republic 90-59 and failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, she did get to play against the United States.
“It was really exciting playing against them,” Cocks said. “We had nothing to lose, and we wanted to get out there and give them all that we could. We actually started off well and up to that point in the tournament we played them the closest, and we still lost by over 30.”
But she said the best part of the game was gaining experience from playing against the best team in the world. Cocks played against Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie, and now she gets to apply the knowledge she learned back in Eugene.
“The confidence I have after the Olympics is great,” she said. “Knowing that those players went through the same experience at college that I did helps, and now I can bring that back to the college level after seeing what they do.”
Cocks said she was sad when the torch went out at the Closing Ceremonies, but that just signaled the second part of her trip: Italy.
After meeting up with the team and making it to Europe, they played four games, going a perfect 4-0. In the finale, against Palestrino, she had 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“It was one of my favorite tours. We got to do a lot of sight seeing and play a lot as well,” she said. “On other tours I’ve done with the New Zealand team, it was strictly basketball. It was nice in Italy because it was really balanced and we got to wander around a lot.”
The companionship the team built while there is one factor Smith is saying will help with this year’s team. Cocks agrees, saying that being with the team for so long has created a good environment for the start of fall practice.
“I feel really positive about this season,” she said. ” I think we can go out and play a game tomorrow. Everyone has put in the time, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Cocks’ eagerness has been seconded by a lot of the players, as they are all ready for the season to start. A young squad with only one senior means the Ducks will have to rely on Cocks and fellow junior Taylor Lilley’s experience to lead the way.
“We want to make it to the NCAA Tournament,” Cocks said. “That’s our goal. I’m really excited, we gotta get out there and play hard.”
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The season never ends for Micaela Cocks, who has the Olympics – and the flier miles – to prove it
Daily Emerald
October 23, 2008
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