Following the Opals recent world championship victory much of the attention has been on superstar Lauren Jackson and tournament MVP Penny Taylor, but it is the young guns who are providing depth for the 2008 Olympic campaign.

One such star is Erin Phillips. For the 21-year-old from South Australia, 2006 has been a remarkable year. She played her first season in the WNBA, collected a Commonwealth gold medal and is now a World Champion.

“This year has been pretty cool” she said “I have been challenging myself, living overseas and playing against some of the best in the world.”

In 2005 Phillips was drafted for the WNBA but decided to remain in Australia and focus on making the Opals squad. “I felt I was a little immature for the WNBA and wanted to give the Opals a real crack. I wanted to give the team a go and obtain international experience and exposure along the way.”

Phillips realised that she made the right decision when she was selected to represent Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in March and was part of the gold medal-winning Opals line-up.

Phillips was again drafted for the 2006 WNBA season and played with the Connecticut Sun as guard. The team advanced through to the finals, beating Washington in the first round but bowing out to Detroit in the second.

There was no rest and Phillips immediately travelled to Brazil to play for the Opals in the World Championships.

“It was a tough transition” she said. “Having bombed out early in the WNBA finals, I had to pick myself up, play with a new team and face a new challenge.

“But it was great meeting up with Aussies after five and half months overseas, sort of like being at home.” It was the injection of a bout of Aussie spirit and the encouragement of her family that gave Phillips the support she needed.

The Opals advanced through the tournament undefeated and claimed the title of world champion after crushing Russia in the final 91-74. This is the first time any senior Australian side has laid its hands on a gold medal at the highest level.

A person with strong family values, Phillips immediately sent her father Greg Phillips a text message after the win. It read ``We are the world champions!''.

Greg, a former Port Adelaide and Collingwood defender, was overcome with emotion, recalling his daughter's whirlwind rise to the upper echelons of women's basketball.

"She is so far away but it was still very emotional seeing her get up there and get another medal,'' he said.

Phillips now has her sights firmly set on the 2008 Olympic Games. “It is my number one goal” she said. “It is a two year campaign and there will be training camps and tours to attend. I just hope they will be scheduled when I am back in Australia.

“The Olympics are still a long way off and it is a long process to selection. My main objectives will be to keep fit, work on areas that need improvement and enjoy my basketball. You have to do that.”

Phillips strongly believes that you need outside stimulation to maintain interest and enthusiasm for the sport.

When she’s not playing basketball, Phillips “is an unpaid, full-time aunty.” Her older sister has just had twin girls and her younger sister a boy. Between helping out her sisters with the new babies and hanging out with her boyfriend, she is able to relax and take her mind off basketball … for a while.

She is young, she is well grounded and she is another reason why Opals coach Jan Stirling is all smiles.

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