Team USA on defensive in China

She wants to see the Great Wall and other Olympics events such as track and field, swimming and gymnastics. "But tickets are tight, so I don't know," Augustus said. "Definitely I'll see the [U.S.] men's basketball team, the Redeem Team."

For Augustus, 24, putting on a U.S. team jersey fulfills a dream she has had since age 12. Her basketball idols in the 1996 Olympics were players such as Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley, the whole U.S. team, really.

Augustus tried out for her first national team while still in high school in Baton Rouge, La., but didn't make it. "Then you're young, you don't understand," Augustus said. "Now it means a lot. You've done all this hard work to get here. You cherish putting on your uniform. You don't even want to wrinkle it or get it dirty."

And, if her role is different on the U.S. team than on the Lynx, so be it. Augustus expects to back up Diana Taurasi of Phoenix at shooting guard.

"Just to come out, give energy and play defense," Augustus said when asked how she expects to contribute. "Make sure you have a positive impact on the game, doing the little things. I might not be looked at to score like I am [with the Lynx]."

Since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2006 draft, Augustus has started 93 Lynx games and has scored in double figures in the past 83 -- one game shy of the second-longest such streak in WNBA history.

She reached the 2,000-point milestone in her most recent game and her 19.9 scoring average this season is the fourth highest in the league.

"Basically, everyone knows what I can do on offense," Augustus said. "But when you play the international game, everybody -- guards, posts -- can score and you cannot take a break on defense."

Obviously, U.S. coach Anne Donovan's message has gotten through to Augustus. "[Seimone] was with us for the world championships two years ago," Donovan said. "She was really very much a role player for us. We asked her to improve on the defensive end."

Shaky defense, Donovan is convinced, cost the U.S. team the gold in the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Americans took third while Australia beat Russia in the title game.

"Seimone is a scorer; she was a scorer her whole career," Donovan said. "She has never had to produce at the other end of the court. [But] several conversations later, Seimone is not only a great scorer, but she has become a mainstay for us defensively. I can't say enough about her progress in terms of what we need."

The U.S. team will open pool play at 7 a.m. Saturday against the Czech Republic. In the opposite pool are the other favorites, Australia with Lauren Jackson of Seattle and Penny Taylor of Phoenix, and Russia with Becky Hammon of San Antonio. Those teams have WNBA stars, too.

The U.S. team has won three gold medals in a row with Leslie, a 6-5 center for the Los Angeles Sparks, on its roster. She is a co-captain on this team, too, seeking a fourth gold.

Lynx officials, fans, even teammates, have told Augustus they expect nothing less. "That's the high expectations that Lisa and the players before have set," Augustus said. "They won three straight gold medals, so that is expected. That is going to keep us focused. We can't be lackadaisical."

One of Donovan's biggest concerns is the short time her team has to practice together whereas many teams representing other countries have been together for months.

"Most of the people [on the U.S. team] I have played with at some point in time," Augustus said last week after practice. "Everything is coming along good. ... The veterans are very helpful."

Also special are the friendships being renewed and formed, said Augustus, who has been reunited with 6-6 rookie center Sylvia Fowles of Chicago. They played together at Louisiana State on two Final Four teams. "I have not been able to lob a pass up to the rim and see somebody go get it," Augustus said, "but big Syl can."

Augustus, who was battling a cold last week, said she was taking vitamins, staying hydrated and resting as much as possible in preparation for the trip.

She has played in eight international tournaments for U.S. teams, most recently in mid-March in Spain. She has overcome assorted obstacles before, Augustus said, as has each of her teammates.

"We'll be ready," Augustus said.