Friday, July 15, 2005
Updated: July 18, 1:44 PM ET
Perseverance pays off for Walker
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
Sacramento forward DeMya Walker looked around in the West locker room at the recent WNBA All-Star Game. She felt amazed -- but it wasn't because she's a wide-eyed kid. Rather, it was because she's not.
"This kind of tells you that hard work pays off if you just stick with it" Walker said. "I've been in the league six years. To make it [to the All-Star Game] for the first time in your sixth year might be more overwhelming than in your second or third year. Because every season, you say, 'Dang, it's not this year.' "
But now in 2005, Walker got her chance to play with the game's best. That's because she's one of them -- she's having the top season statistically of her pro career. She's a big part of why the Nicole Powell trade with Charlotte has looked so good for the Monarchs, who lead the Western Conference.
Sacramento coach John Whisenant knew that last year; the Monarchs didn't get 3-point shooting at all from their three spot. That's because the 6-foot-4 Walker was really playing out of position there. Tangela Smith played inside with Yolanda Griffith. The Monarchs were still a playoff team, but Whisenant thought changes had to be made if Sacramento wanted a chance to win the league title.
So Smith and a 2006 second-round draft pick were sent to Charlotte for Powell, Erin Buescher and Olympia Scott-Richardson. Powell, the Sting's top draft pick last year, had a very disappointing rookie season, averaging 4.3 points per game. She has found new life in Sacramento, starting every game so far and averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Smith is doing for Charlotte what she did like clockwork in her seven seasons at Sacramento, the last five of which she started. Smith will give her team 11 to 14 points and around five rebounds every game. Her consistency, defensive ability and the fact that she worked so well with Griffith were things that made her hard for Sacramento to give up.
"I didn't know Tangela's trade was going to take place," Griffith said. "It was a shock; she'd been with me for six seasons, and we always had that chemistry with each other. But they made some changes, and it benefited us."
For all that to work for the Monarchs, Walker had to step into Smith's former spot and produce as well as Smith did. And that's what Walker has done. She's averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.28 steals -- numbers that are even slightly better than Smith's last year.
"And with the players we have on the outside being able to open the lanes, it has benefited DeMya and myself," Griffith said. "Teams are going to make adjustments. But we have to keep taking care of business, because the inside is the strength of our team."
Walker is happy to be back at the four spot. But she said playing small forward at Sacramento and previously at now-defunct Portland had important benefits for her.
"It gave me more confidence dribbling the ball, it forced me to learn how to shoot and extend my game," she said. "Now that I'm back in the post, I'm so comfortable with the ball in my hands. And back to the basket or facing the basket, it makes me harder to defend.
"I'm still working on those other skills. I still have to extend my range. I want to be the kind of player where if you stop one thing, you can't stop the other."
It has been an interesting journey for Walker, one of those players who didn't get All-America honors in college but who, as a pro, has eclipsed others who did. Unless you were an Atlantic Coast Conference fan, you might not have known much about Walker's days at Virginia.
She was tall and lanky, leading the league in blocked shots each of her four seasons during 1995-99. Her freshman year was Virginia's last "great" chance at a Final Four. The Cavs were hosts for the East Regional in Charlottesville, but lost in the regional final to a Tennessee team led by freshman Chamique Holdsclaw.
In Walker's three years after that, Virginia took one step backward at each NCAA Tournament: losing in the regional semifinals in 1997, the second round in 1998 and the first round in 1999. It was a time when Duke was taking over as the league's powerhouse.
Walker was a first-team all-conference selection her junior and senior seasons, but 1999 was a tough year for college seniors -- other than No. 1 Holdsclaw -- in the WNBA draft. That was after the ABL folded, so the majority of picks were players from that league. Walker, like fellow 2005 All-Star Becky Hammon of New York, wasn't drafted.
By 2000, though, Walker caught on with Portland.
"She's got a strong belief in herself," said Seattle assistant coach Jenny Boucek, who was a senior at Virginia when Walker was a freshman. "Competition and challenge are really what makes her rise. If you tell her she can't do something -- or if she actually can't do something and has to learn how -- that doesn't defeat her. That makes her energized to be able to do it."
Boucek, in describing what makes Walker a tough player to stop, calls her "slippery." Walker has great athleticism and body control, so she can find a way to either square up or simply make awkward-looking shots go in. Walker can improvise in the lane.
"Somebody might ask me to do some move again, and I'm like, 'Well, what did I do?' " she said. "Some of it is scripted, because you learn over the years which defenders are going to go for ball fakes and which aren't. But some of it is, 'Oh, I thought you were going to do that, but you didn't ... so now I've got to come up with something new.' "
Walker looks back on her days at Virginia under coach Debbie Ryan -- "She took me as far as I was going to go at that point" -- and knows it was a good foundation. But Walker said she probably held herself back a bit as a player.
Walker grew up in a single-parent household and adores her mother, Charisse Sheppard. From the time she was a freshman, Walker talked all the time about her mother's influence. A decade later, Walker still says the same thing.
"Everything I am, I owe to her," Walker said. "She's worked three jobs at a time, finds a way to get things done. For me, things seem kind of easy. All I've got to do is work hard and keep my faith."
Walker typically puts forth a very "goofy" and lighthearted persona that doesn't at all tell you the depth of what's inside her. That includes a vigorous drive. But there is also the struggle she has waged to believe in other authority figures in her life. She has had to learn how to let her guard down enough to allow helpful advice in.
"I'm a lot more patient now than when I was younger," she said. "And I listen better. I think I've always been coachable, but there's been something in me that said, 'Do you really want me to succeed? Are you really in my corner?'
"I trust people more in what they tell me to help me be better."
The rest of July is very big for Sacramento, which plays six of its last seven games this month at home. The Monarchs have a chance to really cement their status in the Western Conference before the stretch run of August.
And Walker has been exactly what the Monarchs have needed. She sprained her MCL a few weeks ago and is playing with a knee brace. However, that has been only a small obstacle.
"The brace keeps me feeling more secure," she said. "But I don't let it hold me back."
It doesn't seem as if anything will.
Mechelle Voepel of The Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.
Updated: July 18, 1:44 PM ET
Perseverance pays off for Walker
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
Sacramento forward DeMya Walker looked around in the West locker room at the recent WNBA All-Star Game. She felt amazed -- but it wasn't because she's a wide-eyed kid. Rather, it was because she's not.
"This kind of tells you that hard work pays off if you just stick with it" Walker said. "I've been in the league six years. To make it [to the All-Star Game] for the first time in your sixth year might be more overwhelming than in your second or third year. Because every season, you say, 'Dang, it's not this year.' "
But now in 2005, Walker got her chance to play with the game's best. That's because she's one of them -- she's having the top season statistically of her pro career. She's a big part of why the Nicole Powell trade with Charlotte has looked so good for the Monarchs, who lead the Western Conference.
Sacramento coach John Whisenant knew that last year; the Monarchs didn't get 3-point shooting at all from their three spot. That's because the 6-foot-4 Walker was really playing out of position there. Tangela Smith played inside with Yolanda Griffith. The Monarchs were still a playoff team, but Whisenant thought changes had to be made if Sacramento wanted a chance to win the league title.
So Smith and a 2006 second-round draft pick were sent to Charlotte for Powell, Erin Buescher and Olympia Scott-Richardson. Powell, the Sting's top draft pick last year, had a very disappointing rookie season, averaging 4.3 points per game. She has found new life in Sacramento, starting every game so far and averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Smith is doing for Charlotte what she did like clockwork in her seven seasons at Sacramento, the last five of which she started. Smith will give her team 11 to 14 points and around five rebounds every game. Her consistency, defensive ability and the fact that she worked so well with Griffith were things that made her hard for Sacramento to give up.
"I didn't know Tangela's trade was going to take place," Griffith said. "It was a shock; she'd been with me for six seasons, and we always had that chemistry with each other. But they made some changes, and it benefited us."
For all that to work for the Monarchs, Walker had to step into Smith's former spot and produce as well as Smith did. And that's what Walker has done. She's averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.28 steals -- numbers that are even slightly better than Smith's last year.
"And with the players we have on the outside being able to open the lanes, it has benefited DeMya and myself," Griffith said. "Teams are going to make adjustments. But we have to keep taking care of business, because the inside is the strength of our team."
Walker is happy to be back at the four spot. But she said playing small forward at Sacramento and previously at now-defunct Portland had important benefits for her.
"It gave me more confidence dribbling the ball, it forced me to learn how to shoot and extend my game," she said. "Now that I'm back in the post, I'm so comfortable with the ball in my hands. And back to the basket or facing the basket, it makes me harder to defend.
"I'm still working on those other skills. I still have to extend my range. I want to be the kind of player where if you stop one thing, you can't stop the other."
It has been an interesting journey for Walker, one of those players who didn't get All-America honors in college but who, as a pro, has eclipsed others who did. Unless you were an Atlantic Coast Conference fan, you might not have known much about Walker's days at Virginia.
She was tall and lanky, leading the league in blocked shots each of her four seasons during 1995-99. Her freshman year was Virginia's last "great" chance at a Final Four. The Cavs were hosts for the East Regional in Charlottesville, but lost in the regional final to a Tennessee team led by freshman Chamique Holdsclaw.
In Walker's three years after that, Virginia took one step backward at each NCAA Tournament: losing in the regional semifinals in 1997, the second round in 1998 and the first round in 1999. It was a time when Duke was taking over as the league's powerhouse.
Walker was a first-team all-conference selection her junior and senior seasons, but 1999 was a tough year for college seniors -- other than No. 1 Holdsclaw -- in the WNBA draft. That was after the ABL folded, so the majority of picks were players from that league. Walker, like fellow 2005 All-Star Becky Hammon of New York, wasn't drafted.
By 2000, though, Walker caught on with Portland.
"She's got a strong belief in herself," said Seattle assistant coach Jenny Boucek, who was a senior at Virginia when Walker was a freshman. "Competition and challenge are really what makes her rise. If you tell her she can't do something -- or if she actually can't do something and has to learn how -- that doesn't defeat her. That makes her energized to be able to do it."
Boucek, in describing what makes Walker a tough player to stop, calls her "slippery." Walker has great athleticism and body control, so she can find a way to either square up or simply make awkward-looking shots go in. Walker can improvise in the lane.
"Somebody might ask me to do some move again, and I'm like, 'Well, what did I do?' " she said. "Some of it is scripted, because you learn over the years which defenders are going to go for ball fakes and which aren't. But some of it is, 'Oh, I thought you were going to do that, but you didn't ... so now I've got to come up with something new.' "
Walker looks back on her days at Virginia under coach Debbie Ryan -- "She took me as far as I was going to go at that point" -- and knows it was a good foundation. But Walker said she probably held herself back a bit as a player.
Walker grew up in a single-parent household and adores her mother, Charisse Sheppard. From the time she was a freshman, Walker talked all the time about her mother's influence. A decade later, Walker still says the same thing.
"Everything I am, I owe to her," Walker said. "She's worked three jobs at a time, finds a way to get things done. For me, things seem kind of easy. All I've got to do is work hard and keep my faith."
Walker typically puts forth a very "goofy" and lighthearted persona that doesn't at all tell you the depth of what's inside her. That includes a vigorous drive. But there is also the struggle she has waged to believe in other authority figures in her life. She has had to learn how to let her guard down enough to allow helpful advice in.
"I'm a lot more patient now than when I was younger," she said. "And I listen better. I think I've always been coachable, but there's been something in me that said, 'Do you really want me to succeed? Are you really in my corner?'
"I trust people more in what they tell me to help me be better."
The rest of July is very big for Sacramento, which plays six of its last seven games this month at home. The Monarchs have a chance to really cement their status in the Western Conference before the stretch run of August.
And Walker has been exactly what the Monarchs have needed. She sprained her MCL a few weeks ago and is playing with a knee brace. However, that has been only a small obstacle.
"The brace keeps me feeling more secure," she said. "But I don't let it hold me back."
It doesn't seem as if anything will.
Mechelle Voepel of The Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.