|
Chat Reel: Michelle Timms
Phoenix guard talks WNBA, Olympics
Posted: Friday May 26, 2000 04:17 PM
| |
Michelle Timms thinks Jennifer Gillom (above) will be a key player for Phoenix this season. Todd Warshaw/Allsport |
CNNSI Host: Thanks for joining our WNBA chat with Michelle Timms of the Phoenx Mercury. Welcome, Michelle. Glad to have you with us.
Michelle Timms: Sure, thanks.
From Marilyn in Phoenix, Ariz.: Do you think the Mercury can win the championship this year? I think every team stepping on the floor has the belief they can get the job done, especially this season.
Michelle Timms: We've got the best team to give it the best shake, I think.
From PhoenixMillerFan: How do you like playing for Cheryl Miller? Does her intensity rub off on the players? Does Reggie ever come by and scrimmage with the team?
Michelle Timms: Playing under her is quite an experience emotionally and physically. She has an ability to get blood from a rock, that extra 10 percent when you have nothing left to give. It's a special quality that makes a good coach. She's very intense. What you see is what you get. That intensity can be really draining, but it works for a team. Reggie Miller, we see him a couple times a year when there's a TV game; he'll pop in and say hello to the girls. He doesn't scrimmage with us. He's given up a couple of motivational speeches, though, when we made the finals against Houston. He flew over for our third grand final game in Houston. It's always a buzz to have him around.
From Angie in Scottsdale: Are you excited to have the Olympics in your home country? Have you been able to participate in a lot of Olympic activities?
Michelle Timms: Excited would be an understatement. I can't wait for them to roll around; I'm excited about the WNBA season, but more about the Olympics. The Olympics are what my career in basketball is all about at the moment. This will be my last Olympics, and I'm captain of the national team. We're all so excited; it's been 48 years since they were in Australia last, so it's a really exciting time for myself, and I can't wait for the Olympics to roll around.
From Guest: Which WNBA rookie do you think will become a force in the years to come?
Michelle Timms: I tell you who will be a surprise packet to most teams... Jessica Beeby from New York. At the moment, she's on the bench, but I could see her winning Rookie of the Year. She's playing like a first round draft pick already. Definitely Cynthia Cooper.
From Guest: Timmsy! What player would you least like to see join Team USA for the 2000 Olympics?
Michelle Timms: Definitely Cynthia Cooper. I think it's a blessing that not anyone in the Houston Comets is in the national team. It seems like an oversight that the best team in the world doesn't have a player in the national team. I like it that way, because I think her or Swoopes would sway the national team. I don't know why, but thank goodness for politics.
From Guest: Good luck this year. Why do you think the Merc matches up so well against the Comets?
Michelle Timms: The Comets always seem to bring the best out of everyone. They're the yardstick, the barometer, of how your team is doing. I have my best games against Houston. Every time I step out on the floor against them, I have a good game. I wish I could get that consistent. I can't speak highly enough of Tonya Edwards. I don't know what Minnesota was thinking, but thanks to them. I think that LA and Sacramento, we'll match up better against them to than we have in the past.
From Jason in Staten Island, N.Y.: What kind of role will Tonya Edwards and and Brandy Reed play?
Michelle Timms: Edwards, I've been trying to find the right words, because we've been trying to find a smart, consistency player to play along side of who can take the shot in the clutch. I think Bridget Pettis has been that for us, but now she can come off the bench and in comes Tonya Edwards. She's smart, poised, she can nail the shot in the clutch like Brandy Reed and Jennifer Gillom. She's a real go-to player for us. She's also as solid defensive player. The coaching staff doesn't care if you get 20 or 30 points; you sure as hell better play good defense. You bring Brandy Reed into our equation. She's a flat-out scorer, a showtime, and I think she appreciates being back in Phoenix. At the start of a season, you don't always have your offenses down. They just get the ball and go to work. I'll be looking to Brandy to turn it up a notch defensively. We want to become one of the best defensive teams in the league. I also have to mention the rock of the team, Jennifer Gillom. She's still, in my eyes, the one out of the three who I would want taking the last shot. She's hit too many buzzer-beaters. I think we can expect big things from Gillom this year, her overall game.
From Guest: Which do you enjoy more, national team games or the WNBA?
Michelle Timms: That's a tough question. Honestly, I love playing with the Australian national team. Since I've been on that team for 14 years, I just really enjoy it. We've had the same coach since '93, we have our game down pat. Being captain as well makes it special, because I see it as my ballclub.
CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have with Michelle. Thanks for joining us.
Michelle Timms: Thanks a lot.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
| 
