The opening workout focused primarily on running the floor with various three-man passing drills and then shooting and finishing with good technique at speed. As is expected with the cast from Skills Academies past, Nike has brought together a great cast from Nancy Lieberman to Charde Houston. Perhaps the most entertaining part of tonight's workout occured on a break when the groups transitioned from attacking the basket from the top of key. Tennessee commit Alicia Manning, the No. 10 player in the 2008 class according to HoopGurlz.com, had taken to Houston and the two would joke and mess with the each other whenever possible. What ensued on the break was a pseudo game of one-on-one with neither player really putting too much energy into defending the other. Since Houston will have graduated from UConn by the time Manning hits the court in Knoxville it seems the two wanted to size each other up while they could.

The three-ball tranistion shooting drills were the biggest challenge of the day for the players. They had a goal of scoring 120 points during a three-minute drill in which two jumpers and one layup are taken each trip up and down the floor; twos are worth two and three-point shots are worth three. They could therefore score anywhere from six to eight points each possession. They were at full speed both because that's the way the game is played and also to maximize the number of shots. It was interesting to see the player balance in their minds when to shoot a three and when to take a higher percentage shot.

They also broke into teams of six or seven players and played 10 minute mini-games for the final 30 minutes of the day. The first game Kelsey Bone was fed early and often and dominated inside. The game would go to sudden death overtime and Ashley Corral, the No. 17 ranked player in the 2008 class according to HoopGurlz.com, hit the game-winning, 22-foot, fadeaway banker as the defense sagged off the high screen set by Bone. In the second game, the top performers were Chay Shegog and Corral, who kicked it into another gear.

Notes: April Sykes, Destini Hughes and Glory Johnson had delayed flights and were not able to participate in the first workout. They are expected to join the group tomorrow. ... The entire group bus up to Seattle on Sunday afternoon for the Storm vs. New York Liberty WNBA game, then resume twice-daily sessions on Monday.