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Reed gets a second chance
Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 08:25 AM
Brandy Reed is smart enough to know that when she gets a second chance, she'd better jump for it. Reed is fast putting her disappointing season in Minnesota last year behind her, and is making herself into an All-Star, if not MVP candidate, for the Phoenix Mercury. Reed is third in the league averaging 22.3 points and is eighth in field goal percentage shooting 58.3 percent. The 23-year-old forward was lost to Minnesota last year in the expansion draft after averaging five points and three rebounds her first year with Phoenix. A promising player, Reed averaged 16 points and six rebounds for the Lynx. However, her on-court feats were overshadowed by her off-court ones, as Reed clashed with the Lynx coaches and showed up late for some games. She was finally benched for the last six games. She landed back in Phoenix via an off-season trade with the Lynx, and couldn't be happier with the Mercury, or with another chance. Reed's off-court behavior probably cost her in salary as she was offered only $35,000 this season, but so far she has shown the troubles won't carry over to the 2000 season. "I'm a lot more mature," she said. "I know I've made some mistakes in the past, but I'm more mature now. It's a new year and I'm on a great team. I want to use the ability I have." Always the standout player in high school and at Southern Mississippi, Reed said she is eager to take her game higher, with the hopes of being an All-Star selection. The All-Star game will be held in Phoenix on July 17. "I really thought I was going to make the team last year," she said. "I know I can be one of the top players in the league. I want to achieve the goals I have set for myself. I can't take it easy and relax. I want to step it up another notch, and play every game like it's my last. That's what I've done so far, and it has worked for me." At the same time, Reed said she is eager to show she can be a team player too, especially as teams try to adjust to her game and put more than one defender on her. "I want to be a team player and a weapon on this team, and I go out with the mentality that I can score 20 or 30 points each night," she said. "But we have a lot of weapons on this team."
Could Brown return?Cindy Brown , who was acquired by the Utah Starzz last year from Detroit, failed to re-sign with the WNBA this year because of the league's refusal to include certain guarantees in her contract, and not because of a salary dispute, her agent said. Anthony Rahsaan said his client wouldn't re-sign without a guarantee against injury, which would have ensured Brown was paid her full salary even if she was injured. The clause is commonly included for marquee players, according to Rahsaan.Brown, who defected from the ABL before the league folded in 1998 and was assigned to Detroit, was willing to play for the same salary she earned last year, approximately $68,000. Brown, currently living in Orange County, will play in Europe this winter, and hasn't ruled out returning to the WNBA, although Rahsaan said the league told him she wouldn't be allowed to play again if she didn't re-sign this year. "The union doesn't think a player can be blacklisted like that, although there is no way of finding out until next year," he said. "She has become very disenchanted with the WNBA, but on the other hand she recognizes it as the only game in town." The 35-year-old Brown missed the last two games of the 1999 season because of an anterior cruciate ligament strain. She averaged six points a game last year, but was a big defensive lift. The Starzz still hold the rights to Brown, a 1988 Olympian.
Chancellor's findHouston coach Van Chancellor is a great story teller, but even he couldn't have made up the story surrounding Houston's free agent Tiffani Johnson . Johnson, a 6-foot-4 former Tennessee player, spent two years in the WNBA bouncing from Sacramento, to Phoenix to Los Angeles before she was waived last season. Houston was light in the post area so Chancellor put out some calls. He found Johnson playing pick up ball in Houston's gyms and invited her to training camp. She impressed Chancellor enough to earn a final roster spot, and is averaging close to 20 minutes a game while Monica Lamb has been slowed by injuries.
Making buddies in DetroitDetroit coach Nancy Lieberman-Cline expects Dominque Canty to play a bigger role for the Shock this season after a little off-season bonding between the two. Lieberman-Cline said Canty was the only player she couldn't connect with last year, so she called Canty's mother to find out how to get in Dominque's head."Dominque and I sat down not coach to player but just woman to woman," Lieberman-Cline said. "We talked about who we are, what we are, where we came from, what we have in common, and found that there was a bond there that we really didn't get to see during the basketball season because it is so hurried." Canty lived with Lieberman-Cline for six weeks during the offseason while she worked out in Detroit. She is ranked sixth in assists (5) and 13th in steals (2.0).
Around the leagueFormer Orlando player Andrea Congreaves , who declined to play in the WNBA because of a disagreement over salary, watched several of the Miracles' games from the stands while on vacation. She hasn't ruled out returning to the league next season...One of the reasons Debbie Black was unprotected in the expansion draft was the point guard's inability to shoot. She didn't show that weakness for Miami in the Sol's opener, scoring a WNBA career high 13 points in a losing effort to Miami...Sacramento's Ruthie Bolton-Holifield , slowed last year while recuperating from an injury to her left knee, has been hampered by soreness to her right knee this season... Dan Hughes , who coached the Charlotte Sting after Marynell Meadors was fired midway through the 1999 season, returned to Charlotte on Monday to guide Cleveland past his old team 69-53. He described coaching against his old team as "hard." The Rockers led 40-17 at halftime...Houston may want to keep star Sheryl Swoopes hurt with the way she has played in the early going. Swoopes, who is "slowed," by an injured left hand, is averaging 26.8 points...The brashest comment of the season thus far goes to Los Angeles Coach Michael Cooper , who said after Los Angeles' season opening win over Utah "If this team plays up to its full capabilities, you're looking at the next WNBA Champions." ...Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw said she bought a Lexus LX 470 with her first WNBA paycheck. Holdsclaw, the first pick of the 1999 draft, had a TV and DVD player installed in the truck. "I looked at it as a gift to myself for all the hard work I had done."
Lya Wodraska is a sports writer for the Salt Lake Tribune.
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