The Final Analysis - By Rob Peterson, WNBA.com

NEW YORK, March 18 -- Stacey-Dales Schuman is ready for her close up.
A communications major at the University of Oklahoma, the Mystics'
second-year guard has been putting that degree to work this offseason
as a studio analyst for ESPN. Dales-Schuman, who led Oklahoma to the
NCAA championship game in 2002, will be on hand in the studio for all
63 games of the NCAA Tournament.

So, what's the biggest difference between playing in the tournament
and anchoring the tournament? Not much, according to Dales-Schuman.

"It's thorough preparation, absolute preparation in every dimension,"
Dales-Schuman said. "Preparation is essential to what you give to
people and the product that you put out there. So that's very
similar.

"It's different in terms of a game. I think I can be nervous for an
entire game. And while I'm nervous with the TV work, I'm just sitting
there in front of a camera with my partner, with my host and you
can't see anybody out there."

And while millions of people may be watching her on the set of ESPN,
Dales-Schuman noted that the proximity of those people in the stands
is a little more daunting.

"You know people are watching [on TV], but it's just you and that
person in the studio with the few people that are in there with you
and it's a very intimate atmosphere and so you get to talk back
stories," Dales-Schuman said. "When you're in the basketball world,
you jump on the court and there's lots of people watching you live
and I think it's different in that regard."

Dales-Schuman has her feet under her on and off the court. For the
Mystics last season, Dales-Schuman ranked second in scoring with 9.8
points per game and second in assists with 2.7 per game. At ESPN,
Dales-Schuman has been letting the adrenaline that fuels her on the
court drive her performance in the studio.

"I actually don't even think about the audience," Dales-Schuman
said. "But it's just a different atmosphere really. Adrenaline is
typically carried through everything in my life."

Dales-Schuman doesn't foresee a time when her new career talking
about basketball would become old hat.

"I have the opportunity to talk about great teams," Dales-Schuman
said, "like cover the Duke-UConn game. Big games like that are
exciting.

"You know that people are watching and you know that they're hearing
what you're saying. And again, to get to share my information with
these people is a lot of fun."

And as far as a catch phrase, Dales-Schuman is just getting
comfortable.

"No catch phrase yet," Dales-Schuman said. "Not yet."