Return to Court a Foreign Concept Right Now for Stanford's Jayne Appel

The ice bag on Jayne Appel's left knee is pretty big, as in a pretty big sign that her trip to Italy with the Stanford women's basketball team is going to be a vacation, not a warm-up.

"I'm not ready yet," Appel said Wednesday, as the Cardinal prepared for another practice session leading into Friday's departure to Italy. Stanford is set for an 11-day trip that includes four basketball games, a lot of sightseeing and, in the hopes of coach Tara VanDerveer, the kind of bonding experience that could last her team until next April in San Antonio.

Appel, Stanford's star center, was trying out for USA Basketball's World University team earlier this summer when her left knee began to swell. Appel, who had surgery on that knee a summer ago to repair a torn meniscus, took no chances.

She went home to the Bay Area, had it examined and got the diagnosis she didn't want. The meniscus was torn again and she would need more surgery.

She said was very disappointed to leave the U.S. team, but knew she could jeopardize her final college season if she delayed her decision.

"It was a great group of girls and we were having a lot of fun," Appel said. "I really wanted to play with them."

That team, which included her Cardinal teammates Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen, went to Serbia and won the gold medal. She stayed behind and rehabbed with teammate JJ Hones, coming off a second ACL injury. And she got a pretty good tan.

If you can manage to see around Connecticut star Maya Moore, Appel is as a legitimate national Player of the Year candidate after leading Stanford to its second straight Final Four.

She and UConn center Tina Charles will run neck-and-neck as the most dominant post player in the country, and not coincidentally, their teams should be No. 1 and No. 2 when the season opens, the Huskies the consensus preseason favorite.

Appel, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, will stick out in a crowded post game for the Cardinal, which already included junior Kayla Pedersen and sophomore Nneka Ogwumike and added 6-3 Joslyn Tinkle and Mikaela Ruef. Also 6-3.

Tinkle and Ruef are not allowed to make the trip to Italy. And Appel isn't the only regular who won't play. Hones, who has been cleared medically to practice, will sit out. Pedersen and Pohlen will likely see limited minutes, a chance to rest after a summer full of basketball.

Appel acknowledged her healing process is behind where she was last year.

"It's the second time for this and it just takes longer," Appel said.

She might not be 100 percent when Stanford begins practice in mid-October.

VanDerveer said she's OK with that.

"You can't rush something like that," VanDerveer said. "I think Jayne maybe tried to do too much, too soon. She's extremely motivated, she's working hard. I'm not worried.

"I want her to be healthy. It's a knee, and if she doesn't practice the first day we practice, that's OK. My message to Jayne is to think long-term. She wants to play in the NCAA Tournament, the WNBA, maybe get a look for the national team. What is a week here or even a month there? We're not going to rush her at all."

So for now, it's all gelato and sightseeing for Appel.

"I've never been there and I can't wait," Appel said. "I really want to see the Vatican. It's going to be amazing."