What team do you play basketball for?
Rebecca: The Houston Comets in the WNBA.
How did you learn how to play basketball?
Rebecca: I started playing basketball when I was 5 years old.
I watched a lot of basketball on TV and I started going to camps when I was in the fourth grade.
How tall are you?
Rebecca: I'm 6'4".
Are you pro or college league?
Rebecca: I played in college but graduated in 1995 and I've been playing professionally since 1997.
Why did you turn pro for the New York Liberty?
Rebecca: I love playing basketball and I wanted to play professionally and the WNBA put me on the NY Liberty team. From the first year on there's been a draft and that's how the teams and players are decided.
New York misses you. How does living in Houston and playing for the Comets compare with New York and the Liberty? Do you come back to New York very often?
Rebecca: I'm actually doing this from New York right now.
I really enjoyed playing with Houston this past season. The people there are very friendly.
But I definitely like to visit New York a lot, especially since my fiancé lives there.
Is it hard being traded and having to leave your friends, or is it just part of being a professional athlete?
Rebecca: Sometimes it can be hard because you move to a brand-new city and you have to learn your way around and you have to get to know new people.
But I've traveled a lot, so I'm pretty used to it.
Do you like traveling?
Rebecca: I love traveling, especially when I'm with friends and family — although sometimes I get tired of spending lots of hours on airplanes.
What is it like to be a basketball player? Could you describe a typical day during the season?
Rebecca: A typical game day would mean I get up around 7 a.m. (I like to get up early). We have an hour practice, and then I go home, where I like to get some work done, answering e-mails and mail and maybe just relaxing or reading a book. But for a 7:30 game, we have to get to the arena at 6 o'clock to get ready.
Then after the game, we leave at around 10 and get a quick bite to eat and go home and go to bed.
Do you have time to hang with your friends?
Rebecca: Yes, when we're on the road, we have a decent amount of time to hang out with our teammates.
But when we're at home, you have some time to spend with friends and family if they're in your city.
What do you do in your off-season?
Rebecca: In the off-season, I continue to train to stay in shape; my mom and I also speak at different events, because she's a breast cancer survivor so we speak about that.
Mom's an eight-year breast cancer survivor, so this coming Wednesday we're going to speak at a hospital; we tell our stories about how my mom dealt with it, and how my playing basketball helped me to get through it.
We tell our story and try to give people hope who are going through a similar ordeal.
Do you have a big family?
Rebecca: I have one brother and one sister, but all of my aunts and uncles and cousins live nearby, and we all get together for the holidays. I have a very close extended family.
My dad wants me to play basketball because I am taller than the other kids. Did your family want you to play basketball?
Rebecca: My family always watched basketball and my older brother and sister played, so I naturally wanted to play too. They always encouraged me to play but never forced me to play.
You mentioned attending basketball camps when you were young. How many?
Rebecca: I went to a basketball camp every summer for about a week, and when I got into high school I also played in AAU tournaments.
(Amateur Athletic Unions)
Did you play any other sports growing up or was basketball your favorite?
Rebecca: When I was younger I played soccer and softball, and in junior high school we didn't have girls soccer, so I started playing field hockey. I always played three sports at a time.
Do you ever play b-ball with your brother and sister today? Who wins?
Rebecca: I played with my sister last week for the first time in ten years and I won.
But we used to play against my brother two on one, but he'd always win because he's 6'11".
Are you the only Hispanic in the WNBA?
Rebecca: As far as I know I am. I'm not 100 percent certain, but I think so.
What is your Hispanic background?
Rebecca: My great grandfather was Cuban, from Cuba. He was fluent in Spanish, and his wife was Polish, so my limited Spanish vocabulary is from high school classes I took.
How has your Hispanic background influenced you?
Rebecca: More indirectly than directly, I'm very family oriented. That comes from both my mom's and dad's sides. In recent years I've been invited to ceremonies for the Hispanic Heritage Awards and Hispanic Scholarship Fund and I hope to give back, but it's more like my family values and Catholic upbringing that have been an influence.
Why do you think there aren't many Hispanic American women playing basketball professionally?
Rebecca: I think one of the reasons is I am not the average height for a Hispanic woman and there aren't many Hispanic men playing basketball. Soccer and baseball are much more popular in the Hispanic community, those are the sports they watch at home.
Do you think more Hispanic women will start playing in the future?
Rebecca: I hope so, it would be nice to see more Hispanics represented in the WNBA; of course I think that basketball is the greatest game ever invented, so I would hope that Hispanic children would get the joy I get out of playing basketball.
What are your career goals?
Rebecca: I've experienced a few injuries in the past three years, and so my first career goal was to get healthy again. And while I obviously want to win a WNBA championship and I want to be a WNBA All-Star again, the most important thing for me is to be healthy and enjoy a lot of time back on the court.
Are your knees better?
Rebecca: My knees are 100 percent healthy again. It took me three years to get healthy from my two knee surgeries; it made me truly appreciate how much I love playing basketball.
Will you be in the Olympics again?
Rebecca: I really enjoyed playing in the Olympics in 1996, but I don't think I will participate again. There are many reasons, which include the fact that I think different people should get an opportunity to experience the incredible feeling you get representing your country.
If you weren't playing basketball, what profession do you think you'd be in today?
Rebecca: I'm not sure; I want to pursue sports broadcasting when I'm done playing. But I also really enjoy writing, so someday I might even write a book.
What college did you go to? What did you study?
Rebecca: I went to the University of Connecticut and I was a political science major, because I loved learning the history of the U.S. government.
How many points do you average per game?
Rebecca: I don't know; you could check out my pro points at wnba.com.
What was your all-time favorite basketball game?
Rebecca: In 1995, when my team won the NCAA Championship.
It was the first time I'd ever been on a team that won something as important as a national championship. We were undefeated, and the girls on my team were my best friends and we went to the top together and we had lots of fun on the way.
Do you always get along with other players?
Rebecca: You don't always get along with the other players on the other teams, although you want to get along with your teammates. While you might not get along all the time off the court, you want to try to mesh together on the court.
If you could play one on one with any other WNBA player, who would it be?
Rebecca: Jen Rizzotti, from the Cleveland Rockers, because she's one of my best friends and my old college teammate, and while I couldn't defend her because she's small and quick, we'd have a lot of fun laughing and telling stories.
How many hours do you practice a day? Is it hard to play and do moves that you haven't practiced?
Rebecca: During the season we practice about two to three hours a day, and it's much easier to do moves in games if you've spent a lot of time practicing them.
Can you slam-dunk?
Rebecca: No, not many women in the WNBA can slam-dunk and especially after two knee surgeries, whatever leaping abilities I had diminished quite a bit.
What did you think of Lisa Leslie's slam dunk? Is it good or bad for the WNBA, or doesn't it matter?
Rebecca: I thought it was great for the WNBA; it gave us a lot of attention, it was exciting. I look forward to the fans seeing Michelle Snow dunk because she can do it with two hands and with a lot of style.
Do you think that women's sports are becoming more popular? Will they rival men's sports?
Rebecca: Women's sports are definitely becoming more popular; it will take a long time to get as much attention as the men simply because they have been playing a lot longer than we have. However, it's a huge step forward just having a WNBA and a WUSA giving opportunities to young girls who want to play basketball and soccer professionally.
Do you like playing basketball video games?
Rebecca: I don't ever play video games anymore. I'm afraid that if I buy a PlayStation or an Xbox I'll spend too much time playing the games, so instead I spend my time reading and spending time with friends.
I'm 10 and want to play in the WNBA one day. What tips do you have for me?
Rebecca: Basketball, like everything in life, takes a lot of practice to get really skilled. I would suggest finding a good coach, practicing a lot, and going to basketball camps. However, the most important thing to remember is that schoolwork and academics always come first.
In order to play in college you need to have good grades, and in order to play in the WNBA you need to go to college. We don't take any early entries or kids from high school. When I sat out three years with knee injuries, I never worried about what I would do in the future, because if I never played basketball again I had my college degree and I knew I could get a job outside of sports.
Rebecca: Thank you to everyone who participated today. I really enjoyed the questions and I look forward to seeing the fans in person next WNBA season.
