Bria Hartley was planning for a big summer.
Not only was the 5-foot-8 guard to debut with the Phoenix Mercury, the 27-year-old was set to appear in her first Olympics, playing for the French national team.
“Now it is an opportunity for some much needed rest,” Hartley told High Post Hoops. “I’ve been going three years back-to-back now, playing overseas and in the WNBA. It’s a good time to get more practice time and to get my skills back with the best of them.”
Hartley was named to the All-Star team of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February, as France ran the table at home in Bourges over Australia, Puerto Rico and Brazil. One month later came the news that the Tokyo Games would be postponed one year until July 2021, due to the coronavirus.
The former UConn star is now spending her quarantine period with her boyfriend in Minneapolis. Her three-year-old son is staying with her parents in New York, because she doesn’t want him to travel. In the past, she had brought him to Istanbul, where she plays professionally during the winters for Galatasaray, with family members taking turns as babysitters. This year he stayed with his grandparents the entire season.
“Phoenix has been a great organization, sending work out programs that we follow,” said Hartley, who scored about 10 points per game for the New York Liberty in 2019. “I’ve been doing yoga and running outside every day, although there is no gym access.”
Hartley grew up on Long Island in North Babylon, N.Y., which is an ocean away from Strasbourg, France, near the German border. It was during World War II when Hartley’s grandfather, who was a U.S. soldier, met Hartley’s grandmother, who was from Strasbourg and currently lives in New Jersey. The bloodline allows Hartley to play for the French team, which was something her agent encouraged her to pursue a few years ago.
“I had to go to the French embassies, in New York, Washington D.C, even in Istanbul, with my family birth certificates,” she said.
Although she admitted it was quite easy for her to receive French passport, which she did in February 2016, the most daunting task was USA Basketball granting her release. Hartley had represented the U.S. at both the 2011 Under-19 World Cup in Chile and the 2013 World University Games in Russia, winning gold medals in both.
“They were all good experiences in international competition,” Hartley said. “If I were just playing in the States, I would have never had those experiences against those players and teams.”
She was finally able to join the French team in late 2018, just after their quarterfinal appearance in the World Cup, and the team went on to win silver at the 2019 EuroBasket. This was to be France’s third consecutive Olympics, claiming silver in 2012 and fourth in 2016.
“Most people know about Marine Johannes,” Hartley said of France’s 5-foot-10 guard, who also plays for the Liberty. “She’s 25, a fun player to watch, always with a highlight. Sandrine Gruda was the MVP of our Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and she’s a very hard-nosed player. Olivia Epoupa plays her role really well, rebounds at the point guard position. She gets her hands on anything. I was not used to playing with them at first, but in February, we had a really good flow.”
Hartley said she understands basketball drills and terms in French, but when it comes to off-court conversations, she is lost.
“My teammates speak English, so if I need help, they tell me,” Hartley said. “My Turkish might be better than my French. I can order food and a taxi, but I don’t know basketball terms. When I first arrived there (in Turkey), I played in a small town where few people spoke English.”
Hartley will reconnect with her French teammates this fall, once the WNBA season is concluded. For now, she joins the rest of us in waiting for it to begin.
“You realize how much you love basketball when you can’t play,” she concluded. “It’s nice to have rest, but now, I’m kind of over it.”
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