MINNEAPOLIS — No longer riding in the passenger seat, Cheryl Reeve has the keys to the car.
She's leading Team USA Women’s basketball this summer at the Olympics in Paris.
“I feel really excited," Reeve said. "It's still kind of surreal — stuff still going to be kind of pinching myself. Is this really happening? We understand that there's a past — a storied past, a dynasty past — to USA Basketball. But we weren't all on those journeys together. This is our journey.”
Reeve is a 6-time WNBA champion, so the pedigree is there.
Reggie: “Any pressure at all? I mean, you've had great success in this game.”
Cheryl: “Yeah, I think if anyone knows me, there's no inherent pressure, of course. But if you know me, the pressure that I put on myself is something that has been a part of my life — good, bad or otherwise — you know that I that I have high expectations, and I'm going to work my tail off to make sure that I'm in the best position to serve the team as best I can.”
Her journey at the helm comes at a time where the popularity of the sport is at an all-time high. April’s NCAA women's national championship was the most watched women’s basketball game ever, with 24 million viewers tuned in. That's 285 percent increase from 2022.
“We’ve seen these personalities, these players that are great players, but then also are finding ways to connect it and become household names, has just taken that momentum and accelerated it,” Reeve said.
The roster is not yet set, but Reeve may be joined by Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier.
Reggie: “What are your expectations, should Phee be a part of this team?”
Cheryl: “Well, the thing about Phee is we saw in the Olympic qualifying tournament in February, she can go in and be that dependable player to do whatever you need. She's that good. Whatever skill set it is. And then for to have, you know, Phee have been a part — we've been a part of journeys, we've been in the trenches together. We've been experiencing growth together. You know, to have a chance to do it on the national team, and sort of lean on each other in ways that we can, you know, try to reach a gold medal. I know she’s ready for the moment for sure.”
Reeve served as an assistant for the last two Olympic gold-medal teams, and helped lead the women to gold as head coach of the FIBA World Championship team in 2022.
However, this ride is just different.
“When I think about as an assistant, I had those moments where I'm like, 'I wonder what Dawn (Staley) is feeling right now,'" Reeve said. "I wonder what Geno, what does it feel like?' You pour so much into something, it becomes not about that moment. I think everything will come sort of rushing, you know, like, from being a seventh grader. You know, to just journey of basketball that you reached the very, very top and that’s what it’ll be. That’s gonna be pretty, pretty exciting.”
Watch more coverage of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.