By Paul Nilsen

To say the past few days have been bitter-sweet for Crystal Langhorne would be one of the understatements of the year.

Having been omitted from the USA squad for the pending 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women, the in-form forward has not had too much time to dwell on her disappointment after being handed a deal with EuroLeague Women giants UMMC Ekaterinburg for the forthcoming campaign.

Not surprisingly, Langhorne doesn't quite know whether to laugh or cry right now but one thing is for sure - she can't wait to step out onto the floor in EuroLeague Women with a genuine shot of winning the competition.

"I am extremely excited to be joining Ekat next year." claimed the forward.

"They have a great organisation and I could not be more happy that they wanted me to be apart of their team."

"I love the fact that our goals are championships and nothing less."

It's been something of a meteoric rise for Langhorne who is already a EuroLeague Women All Star and has posted near double-double seasons of over 17 points and 9 rebounds during her first two years in the competition with TEO Vilnius and Rivas Ecopolis.

Combined with her terrific WNBA performances, it's not difficult to appreciate why a perennial title challenger like Ekat have taken Langhorne - although the player has admitted leaving Madrid after just one season will be quite a wrench after such an exciting year during 2009-10.

"I loved Madrid on and off the court. I loved my team there, we had so much fun." explained Langhorne.

"We had a great season for Rivas and the fans there also supported us."

"Off the court, I don't think anyplace can even come close and I really enjoyed my time there and will miss it tremendously."

Of course one other thing she will now miss in the coming weeks is the experience of the FIBA World Championship for Women in Czech Republic. The decision not to hand Langhorne a spot has been described as inexplicable in some quarters and has caused quite a stir in her homeland amongst the fans and the media.

Head Coach Geno Auriemma has explained publically that Langhorne's lack of size is a big factor in not handing her a spot, but this explanation hasn't really cut it among the general populous and has also left the player having to diplomatically express her crushing sense of disappointment and surprise.

"I was disappointed to not be named to the roster since USA Basketball is a great organisation and I would have been honoured to possibly represent my country."

"USA Basketball chooses who they believe will be the best pieces to win and unfortunately I did not fit what they thought the team needed."

With the team already lacking inside presence due to the absence of injured players like Candace Parker, not including someone who is at the peak of her game and in the top ten categories in the WNBA for scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and efficiency does seem baffling.

With the regular WNBA season coming to an end, at least Langhorne can focus on continuing to extend another sublime season and look to successfully spearhead Washington Mystics in the play-offs - having mirrored her production in Europe with a near season double-double,

"The regular WNBA season has been great for me."

"I've really enjoyed myself but it's not just because I've been having a good season, but because we have a great record and right now, we are number one in the East."

She added "Now that its play-off time it means its do or die. There is no more taking any games lightly, we are trying to win a championship and nothing less."

Having been on the wrong end of a controversial decision which means she won't be playing in a major championship for her country, the big positive is that she is still only 23 years old.

That surely means she has plenty of time to prove to those within USA Basketball that they can't continue to ignore her impressive production on both sides of the Atlantic in the next couple of years.

Perhaps London 2012 would be a nice time to make a real splash at National Team level but for now, the player clearly has more pressing matters.

"Making the 2012 Olympics would be a great accomplishment."

"However right now, I'm just focusing on my teams in D.C. and in Russia and continuing to get better as a player."