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To dunk or not to dunk?
Posted: Thursday July 06, 2000 05:09 PM
The WNBA season is 3 years old, but one play still hasn't been completed. That annoying dunk. Los Angeles' Lisa Leslie attempted one in the first WNBA game but missed. No one else has been brazen enough to try. It isn't for a lack of athletes. Leslie, Portland's Sylvia Crawley and Michele VanGorp, Utah's Margo Dydek, Phoenix's Maria Stepanova and Adrian Williams are just a few of the athletes who have dunked before in practice or warm-ups. But why not in a game? And is it even that important? Coaches downplay the dunk's significance, always pointing out it's worth the same as a layup, but they won't deny the American public holds a certain fascination for the move. Remember Cleveland's Andre Miller, getting booed at the NBA All-Star game because he made a layup rather than a dunk? "There were teams in the NBA over the years that fueled their energy and their spirit off dunks," Miami coach Ron Rothstein said. "Going into a game, you would say to your team, 'We can't let them dunk the ball because that gets them going. It gets them jacked and they get fired up and all of a sudden they are running all over the place getting steals and blocks.' There is a certain energy associated with the dunk." Crawley won the ABL Slam Dunk contest against five other contestants. She took off from the free throw line with a blindfold on and slammed it down. Kara Wolters, now of the Indiana Fever, was the runner-up. Crawley would love to be the first to dunk in a game, but she is waiting for the right moment. "It's going to take a fast break for me to dunk in a game because people know I can dunk, so they chase me down and hang on me," she said. "No one wants to be the first person to be dunked on. It's going to make national headlines." Crawley also said she wants the opportunity early in a game, when her legs are still fresh. "Later in the game my hands get sweaty and its hard to palm the ball," she said. "I just have to get my confidence up. When Shaq goes up, everyone clears out. I just need to jump up and go." Crawley's feelings -- she wants to be the first, but would hate to miss -- reflect a common sentiment in the league. After all, it has been three years and we still remember Leslie's miss. "The women are afraid to do it because they are afraid they won't get the proper leap because it has to be a perfect one for them, so a lot of times they will just lay it up instead of gambling on the opportunity of dunking," New York coach Richie Adubato said. "We will get more and more opportunities to see it as we get more athletes in the league and they get a little more confident in being able to do it under the pressures of the game." At 7-foot-2, Dydek would seem to be the ideal candidate to throw down the first jam. She hesitates because she doesn't want to get hurt -- she is afraid someone will undercut her. Yet her layups are so close, many times it seems all she'd have to do is turn her hands over the rim. Still, she occasionally obliges fans with a dunk in pregame warm-ups. But don't hold your breath, waiting for one in a game. "Dunking isn't important to me," she said. "Winning games is."
One of the Miracle's miraclesA lot of factors have led to Orlando's impressive season, but one that stands out is the play of guard Adrienne Johnson. Johnson, has earned a starting role with the Miracle after putting in some extra hours in the offseason. She was a little-used backup last year, averaging seven minutes and two points a game after the Miracle acquired her from Cleveland in the expansion draft. She averaged two points her first year with the Rockers and 4.6 in 1998. She is now averaging 11 points and 31 minutes for the Miracle.
Phoenix family affairTamika Catchings, the national college player of the year from Tennessee, snagged a summer job as an intern for Phoenix after the Mercury drafted her older sister, Tauja, in the third round of the WNBA draft. Of course, their summer plans of hanging out together were dashed when Phoenix cut Tauja two weeks into training camp. Tauja left and tried to get on with Miami, but was cut by the Sol and has since rejoined her sister in Phoenix, although she isn't in a Mercury uniform. Tamika is studying sports management, so the job will look good on her resume, but it's doubtful she'll have to worry about a job since she is expected to be one of the top picks in the star-packed 2001 draft.
Around the leagueAccording to WNBA President Val Ackerman, six NBA teams have expressed serious interest in running a WNBA team, although she has said there will be no expansion next year...Phoenix's Michele Timms' disappointing season came to an end on Wednesday when the Phoenix point guard underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in Australia and will be on crutches for the next four weeks. Timms has been limited by the knee injury all year, playing in only eight games, and now must hope to rehabilitate in time for the 2000 Olympics, scheduled for September...Two other players whose seasons were cut short by anterior cruciate ligament injuries are Cleveland's Eva Nemcova and Minnesota's Andrea Lloyd-Curry ...Charlotte's Rhonda Mapp reached a milestone, scoring 20 points in the Sting's win over Miami to give her more than 1000 career points...Seattle's Robin Threatt has played well in the absence of injured guard Edna Campbell, scoring 24 points in the Storm's upset of Minnesota on Wednesday...Los Angeles currently is in the midst of the league's second-longest winning streak, winning 10 straight through Wednesday. Houston has the longest, winning 15 in a row in the 1998 season.
Lya Wodraska is a sports writer for the Salt Lake Tribune.
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