Solid foundation
Orlando WNBA franchise will build around Nykesha Sales
Posted: Tuesday September 15, 1998 08:48 PM
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Sales averaged 20.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.9 assists as UConn senior Jonathan Daniels/Allsport |
ORLANDO (AP) -- The question follows Nykesha Sales wherever she goes, so she
wasn't caught off guard.
The former Connecticut star would just as soon people stop
talking about how she became the Huskies' all-time leading scorer
last winter, especially now that she's preparing to start her pro
career in the WNBA.
"I was a little surprised by all the controversy," she said
Tuesday during a conference call to announce that she and former
Stanford standout Kristin Folkl had been assigned as inaugural
players for expansion franchises in Orlando and Minnesota.
Both teams will begin play in 1999 with Orlando building around
Sales, who broke UConn's scoring record when she was allowed to
score an uncontested layup despite being sidelined with a
season-ending Achilles' tendon injury.
The basket sparked a debate over whether Sales, who clearly
would have broken the record had she not been injured, should have
been given an opportunity to break the mark.
"It's old now," the 6-foot guard/forward said of the subject.
"It's died down, and I want to keep it that way."
Sales, who says her ankle is healthy again, would prefer to
focus on what's ahead. First, there's training camp for a WNBA tour
of Brazil and then her career in Orlando.
"I think I'm just about 100 percent ... I feel good out
there," she said. "There's no pain, no soreness."
Sales, who helped UConn win a national championship in 1995 and
make the Final Four appearance the following year, averaged 20.9
points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.9 assists as a senior.
In addition to being an All-American, she was voted Big East
player of the year and Big East defensive player of the year.
Sales, 22, committed to the WNBA following the season. But the
ruptured Achilles' tendon that sidelined her for the last month of
her college career also wiped out what would have been her rookie
professional season this summer.
"Nykesha is a phenomenal player and fabulous person," said
Carolyn Peck, Orlando's coach and general manager. "She knows how
to win and is very versatile. Our fans will really enjoy watching
her play."
Like Sales, Folkl will be starting her pro career after sitting
out this summer because of an injury. A two-sport star who led
Stanford to two national volleyball championships, she is
recovering from a torn ligament in her left knee.
Folkl said the knee is about 80 percent healthy and that her
regular workout routine includes running, weightlifting, riding a
bicycle and shooting jump shots.
"Everything is going well," she said. "I'm excited and ready
for it all to begin."
While she hasn't ruled out the possibility of playing volleyball
in the next Olympics, she said she is totally committed now to
making a successful transition to the WNBA with Minnesota.
"It's hard to speculate on," Folkl said, adding of her future
in volleyball that nothing was "etched in stone."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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