French star Janelle Salaun prepares for WNBA debut with expansion Golden State Valkyries

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Janelle Salaun finished up her individual shooting drills after practice with the Golden State Valkyries on Monday and proclaimed herself more than ready to make her WNBA debut.

She hopes that will be Wednesday night against the Washington Mystics in front of the the boisterous Bay Area fans.

Even with a late start from playing overseas and learning curve moving from the EuroLeague and adjustments that come with moving across the world to play professionally, the 23-year-old forward realizes she has landed in the right spot with supportive international teammates on an expansion team in basketball-loving Northern California.

The transition has been a bit daunting since she arrived Thursday but each day Salaun makes strides in feeling more familiar with everything on and off the court — and she said there are no comforts she needs at her home because “I'm really 100% ... it's really basketball, basketball that helps me be more comfortable. I'm here for this.”

“I need to adjust quickly and that's the most challenging part for me but we are Day 2 and I feel much better,” she said. “People are great here and helped me a lot. Everybody is trying to give me the rhythm and and I'm really grateful for that. I appreciate everyone here — coaches, players, everyone is trying to help me.”

A silver medalist with France at the Paris Olympics last summer, Salaun is fresh off leading Beretta Famila Schio to the Italian League title and Finals MVP honors.

There are plenty of similarities in Golden State's style of play.

“Physically, we run a lot. I love that actually,” she said. “I think this is the part of my game that will translate the most, the physicality, and I feel it. ... Little things really, but it's still basketball. I'm still playing with great players, so not much differences but more like things that look alike.”

Valkyries teammate Carla Leite played alongside Salaun on the French national team and will do her best to assist getting Salaun acclimated in the coming weeks and months.

"She's a great shooter, she runs and she's very tall," Leite said. "I think it's difficult to arrive late so I need to help her, on defense and offense.

And Salaun is beginning to learn the plays and various sets ahead of the team's second game Wednesday at Chase Center, where the Valkyries sold out their long-anticipated opener on Friday.

The coaches arrived early at the Oakland training facility Monday to work with Salaun.

“She's picking things up really fast,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “But we were sending her stuff when she played overseas, we were sending her film, we were doing Zoom sessions. We're preparing her.”

Part of that also will be monitoring her court time early on to avoid overuse considering Salaun has been playing.

Each activity she does is carefully thought out to keep her fresh and healthy.

“I don't know if it's a curse that she just came from a championship series, so she's already in shape,” Nakase said. “We've talked about does she need a break? We're going to monitor that over the next month to make sure, which we are. Our medical team is doing a great job giving the amount of minutes that she can scrimmage and for every drill they tell me exactly how many minutes she needs to go.”

All of that care and attention to detail means so much to Salaun.

“Everyone is trying their best to get me comfortable,” she said. “It's actually great.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

FILE - Janelle Salaun (13), of France, celebrates a three-pointer against Belgium during a women's semifinal basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)