With all Storm players done competing overseas, the coaching staff is starting to get a better sense of when players will arrive in camp. While this is still approximate and subject to change, here are tentative dates:

Sue Bird – Sunday, May 6
Silvia Dominguez – Tuesday, May 8
Ewelina Kobryn – Wednesday, May 9
Tanisha Wright – Thursday, May 10 in Tulsa, where the Storm plays its exhibition opener Friday
Ann Wauters – SundaySaturday, May 12

Neil Enns/Storm Photos

On Tuesday afternoon, guard Jacqua Williams was one of three players waived by the Seattle Storm. Just reaching training camp was an accomplishment for Williams, however. In the current 12-team WNBA, with just 132 roster spots available around the league, such invitations are a precious commodity.

“It used to be it was a great scenario for someone to make a team,” explained Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. “Now it’s to the point where it’s a special situation for somebody to even be in a training camp. There’s less teams than there were at one time, there are less roster spots. People are really focusing and staying conscious of their budget. When you bring people in, it’s an expense. For the people that get an opportunity in a training camp, that’s quite an honor.”

That general reality doesn’t speak to the unique nature of Williams’ path to Storm training camp. She had been away from basketball for an extended period, pursuing her other sport – track and field – before realizing how much she missed basketball and how much she would not regret pursuing professional opportunities.

“I would say it’s always been in my heart to do,” Williams sad Tuesday afternoon, after her last practice with the team. “I never wanted to leave this Earth not giving myself an opportunity to fulfill my dream. Regardless if I went overseas … this was my dream, to play on a WNBA team, since I was a kid. Why not put yourself in the best situation to create an opportunity for yourself?”

With only a few months to prepare, Williams threw herself into conditioning work with a trainer and honing her skills by playing in tournament and pickup games, as well as working on her shot. That effort paid off when Williams made a positive impression on Agler, President & CEO Karen Bryant and Ginny Gilder of Force 10 Hoops at a tryout camp for free agents held in Denver in conjunction with the Final Four. Two weeks later, the Storm invited Williams to attend training camp in her hometown.

“There’s nothing better,” she said, “than to be in a situation like this and be at home.”

Few players have had that experience with the Storm. While two players from the Seattle area (Edmonds native Kristen O’Neill and Kate Starbird of Tacoma) have played for the team, Roosevelt’s Lindsey Wilson was the only player from the city itself to attend training camp with the Storm before Williams, who was the Seattle Times‘ Athlete of the Year at Rainier Beach High School.

When the Times featured Williams’ story on the front page of Monday’s sports section, it rekindled the popularity she enjoyed as a prep star.

“After yesterday’s paper, my phone blew up like crazy because a lot of people didn’t know I was still in basketball, didn’t know I was still fighting for it,” Williams said. “It’s always exciting when you have your whole town supporting you. It’s always exciting when you’re from here and you have the opportunity to play here.”

Joining the Storm for training camp also meant playing with heroes.

“I went home and told my mom the other day, it’s funny watching Tina Thompson as a kid growing up and watching her play and admiring her and possibly being able to be her teammate,” said Williams. “It’s a transition. We were just talking about how the Houston Comets, they were my favorite team of all time – her, Cynthia Cooper, they were a dynasty. To be able to see her every day as a normal person, you’re trying to transition from a fan to a teammate, but at the same time you admire them and look up to them. It’s a great experience.”

Williams’ goal was always to make the Storm’s final roster, but before getting the news Tuesday, she expressed gratitude simply for the chance to attend training camp.

“I couldn’t ask for a better situation or opportunity,” she said. “I feel like, regardless of what happens, I’m blessed to be where I am. Not that many people can say I sat out for this amount of years and I have an opportunity to play for one of the best basketball programs in the nation. It’s great.”

Just two days into training camp, the Seattle Storm is moving toward possible decisions on the first roster moves of the season. After Monday’s practice, Storm Head Coach Brian Agler said cuts were possible as soon as after Tuesday’s session.

“We’ve got to move forward,” said Agler. “We’re getting to the point where it’s hard to get everybody into practice.”

The Storm has 13 players in camp. 12 of them were on the floor Monday, when Katie Smith sat out after what Agler described as a “little medical procedure.” She’s expected back as a “full go” on Tuesday. Right now, the Storm appears to have a glut at the guard positions. Including Shekinna Stricklen, who can play either wing spot, six of the team’s 13 players are guards.

• Agler said that day two was marked by, “More emphasis on the defensive end. We spent time on it. We were fatigued, but we worked through it and we got a lot of reps for our veteran people and some of the people we’re looking at. We’ll just be ready for tomorrow.”

Ten games separate the Seattle Storm from the end of the 2011 regular season, but much of the Storm’s story is yet to be written. Most likely, the Storm won’t catch the Minnesota Lynx for first place in the Western Conference, which the Lynx now lead by five games. And the Storm is already assured of a better record than the 1-22 Tulsa Shock. Everything else is up for grabs over the next 10 games.

The Storm still has a shot to claim home-court advantage in the West, since just a half a game separates Seattle from the Phoenix Mercury and San Antonio Silver Stars, who are tied for second place. However, the Storm is not assured a playoff spot. The fifth-place Los Angeles Sparks, three games back overall and just two behind in the loss column, expect to get superstar Candace Parker back in the lineup Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.

With that in mind, each of the Storm’s last 10 games is crucial, especially after a disappointing blowout loss to the Dream at KeyArena on Saturday night. That starts with Tuesday’s visit to Phoenix to face the rival Mercury (7:00 p.m., 1090 AM, Live Access).

“Every game definitely has importance – especially a game like tomorrow, when we’re competing against a team that’s right there with us trying to make the Western Conference Playoffs,” said Sue Bird. “I think it’s something we don’t even talk about because we all know it. It’s unspoken.”

The situation led Storm Head Coach Brian Agler to divert slightly from his usual laser focus on the Storm’s upcoming matchup and point out to the team where things stand going into the final 10 games.

“I don’t think you can help from doing that because it’s about being in the playoffs, putting ourselves in the best position possible,” he explained. “Obviously, other teams can affect that. You do at times have to look at the big picture, but our direct focus is just day to day and trying to get better, taking each game at a time.”

For the Storm, this week represents a rare opportunity to get better on the practice floor. Saturday’s game concluded a nine-day stretch where the Storm played every other day – traveling on three of the four “off” days. Agler was able to give the team a true day off on Sunday and go through an intense practice on Monday before flying to Phoenix in the afternoon. Following Tuesday’s game, the Storm will have three days off before hosting the New York Liberty on Saturday ().

“It gives us a chance to practice,” Agler said. “We need a lot of practice right now.  I think we’ve just got to start paying attention to detail better.”

There’s also a physical benefit as the Storm heads into a stretch of seven games in 15 days.

“Any time you can steal some rest in this league, it’s a positive thing,” said Bird. “It gets people off their feet. It gets people rested and ready to go for whenever that next game may be, so of course that’s a good thing.”

As the Storm heads into the closing stretch of the regular season, the team can draw on recent experience to see the value of finishing strong. Two years ago, the Storm brought an identical 13-11 record into the last 10 games. By going 7-3 over that span, the Storm reached 20 wins and secured home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. This year’s team would love to do the same.

Sue Bird wanted to play again as soon as the Storm had finished losing to the Minnesota Lynx last week. Teammate Lauren Jackson felt having the chance to practice after a disappointing result was beneficial. And Head Coach Brian Agler is hoping the Storm got better over the last seven days.

Clearly, reactions ran the gamut to the Storm’s schedule, which saw the team get a week-long break between last Thursday’s loss and Friday’s game against the Indiana Fever (7:00 p.m., 1090 AM, TIX).

“Personally, I think all of us would prefer to play a game immediately because we’ve had to sit with that Minnesota loss now for the last week,” said Bird. “It would have been nice to take out our frustrations on another team instead of ourselves and the practice guys.”

“I think it’s good from the standpoint of being able to really work in practice and focus on the things we need to do better,” countered Jackson. “If we had played three games in the last week, I don’t know how much getting better we would have done.”

The consensus is this: the Storm worked hard in practice over the last week, getting back to the basics to address the issues that cropped in the game against the Lynx. Practices went long on Monday and Tuesday, one of the luxuries of the extended break. Wednesday and Thursday were lighter sessions, allowing players to rebuild their strength in time for a return to game action.

Perhaps the worst aspect of practices was watching tape of the loss to Minnesota, which started with a 22-0 Lynx run.

“It was painful,” said Jackson. “I know I’ve watched it about five times.”

“It’s really not about winning or losing,” added Bird. “It’s about how it happened.”

The game was an experience the Storm doesn’t want to repeat. This week’s practices should help avoid that.

“I would look at it as hopefully productive,” said Agler. “We’ll find out tomorrow.”

- Agler expects to use reserve wing Belinda Snell against the Fever after she missed the Storm’s first two games with a sprained left ankle.

“I’d like to see her get some time,” he said. “She’s practiced all week and done well.”

The Storm will make its last cut and get down to a final 11-player roster for the start of the 2011 season before Thursday’s practice. Because the league’s cutdown deadline is 2 p.m. Eastern, some teams will get a chance to practice tomorrow before making a decision. The Storm, which doesn’t begin practicing until that time, won’t have that luxury. That means making a cut either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Speaking after Wednesday’s practice session, Storm Head Coach Brian Agler told reporters the coaching staff is close to a decision between guard Sharnee Zoll and center Krystal Thomas.

“Part of it has to do with the immediate health of our team, what our depth is,” explained Agler. “Then I think both of them bring special things to the table. One’s a true point guard and the other one’s a true five. We sort of need depth in both areas. I think this week, and if we get healthy, will determine who ends up on the roster.”

Because of the timing of the roster deadline, the 48-hour waiver period and the Storm’s opener on Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury at 12 noon (TIX), it would be impossible to add an outside player to the roster this weekend. However, Agler cautioned that the Storm’s roster on Saturday should be considered a starting point and not a final destination.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t change a week from now or a month now – and it may be somebody different,” he said. “We can’t add a vet minimum [player with more than three years of experience] right now, but there will be a point in the season where we could.”