Guard Monica Wright, the Lynx rookie who recently signed, will arrive in the Twin Cities on Thursday of next week. Training camp starts three days later.

This week, Wright, the No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 8, is in the midst of a 10-day training camp in Hartford and Storrs, Conn. She is playing for a college all-star team against the U.S. national team, which includes Lynx teammate Seimone Augustus. The camp began April 11 and runs until Sunday.

"I'm just learning as I'm going, so it's a great experience for me," Wright said.

She is playing for a team coached by Debbie Ryan, her college coach at Virginia.

When Ryan called Wright about the camp she told her, "You can't get rid of me."

"It's good to have [Ryan] for a couple more days," Wright said, "playing under her, having her in the same gym as me is good because I am going to miss her."

Ryan will miss Wright, too.

Wright, a 5-11 shooting guard, was the first Virginia player ever named to the Associated Press first All-America team.

Wright averaged 23.7 points as a senior -- she was seventh nationally in scoring -- 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 2.4 assists. She was the ACC Player of the Year.

She scored 30 points or more eight times, 20 points or more 22 times.

Wright said she wanted to spend this week with Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, the coach of the U.S. team, "learning the most that I can from him."

Also exciting for her, Wright said, was playing against Augustus. The two have talked on rides to practices.

"[Seimone] is awesome so far from what I can tell," Wright said, "someone I will probably latch on to once I get up there."

Wright said that from her high school days on, she has watched Augustus play.

This camp, which includes scrimmages on Friday and Saturday, is the start of the USA women's national team's preparations for the 2010 FIBA World Championships Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 in four cities in the Czech Republic.

The national team also includes two other Lynx, guards Lindsay Whalen and Candice Wiggins, but they were unable to attend because they are playing professional basketball in Europe.

First Minnesota visit Wright has never been to Minnesota.

"All I know is there is a Mall of America there," Wright said the day the Lynx drafted her. "As far as I know the shopping is phenomenal."

As for the basketball, she is not certain what her role on the Lynx will be.

"I am sure once training camp starts, I will be able to figure out where I can produce," Wright said.

First-year coach Cheryl Reeve said the Lynx are thrilled to have Wright on the roster.

"Monica was a player all season long we targeted that would be a great fit for the Minnesota Lynx on both sides of the ball," Reeve said.

"When she comes in, she is a player who is going to be instantly involved offensively and certainly impact plays defensively. She will need very little warm-up time to get the feel of the game and not many players can do that."