http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14278847p-15087646c.html
Ailene Voisin: Buescher rides wave of success
By Ailene Voisin
Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, July 17, 2006
There was a time -- say, two years ago -- when Erin Buescher heavily contributed to California's enduring campaign as that large, quirky state on the West Coast. She was young and restless and bored. She was distracted and disillusioned.
So she quit her job. Then she cleaned out her cookie jar, updated her passport, replaced the basketball with the surfboard and went on to become one of the tallest, most athletic beach bums in the world.
Her version of a hard day's night became listening to the Beatles while lounging on a sandbar and gazing at the stars in Australia. Her ideal day job consisted of pouring coffee at a beachfront café while awaiting the next blue crush in Costa Rica.
"I played in New Zealand and Greece (during the 2004-05 offseason)," Buescher explained with a grin, "and if Greece had waves, I never would have left."
What happened next is part fluke, part good fortune.
First, the Aegean remained calm. Then Buescher missed the WNBA. Then Buescher came back, and in a sense, came back twice.
After her one-summer sabbatical in 2004 -- a season that otherwise would have been spent with the Charlotte Sting -- the former UC Santa Barbara standout joined the Monarchs as the less significant part of the swap for Nicole Powell. Initially, Monarchs coach John Whisenant was intrigued by two factors: At 6-foot-3 and 181 pounds, Buescher was tall and rangy, and she was athletic, coveted elements that can't be taught. Eventually, he envisioned the Sonoma native as a valuable member of the rotation, though only if she improved her post moves and underwent a serious physical makeover.
Not that she was a slug or anything. A three-time Player of the Year in the Big West, Buescher always has been mobile and well-conditioned, and not nearly as delicate as her long, blond hair and amiable demeanor suggest. But she was built more for the sprints than the shot put, more for the role of a finesse player than a power forward charged with exchanging elbows, scrapping for rebounds and scoring on half-hooks and short bank shots.
"Winning the championship last year was great, but I wanted to contribute more," Buescher said, "and I knew with all of our wing players, I wouldn't have much of an opportunity. So while I was in Greece (for the 2005-06 offseason), I spent a lot of time on my footwork and changing my body. I concentrated on strengthening my core so I couldn't get pushed around so much.
"When I came back, coach (Monique) Ambers really helped me with my step-throughs and all the other post moves. And then with DeMya's (Walker's) situation and Rebekkah (Brunson) struggling, I just tried to make the most of an opportunity."
One might say Buescher's inner voice was fortuitously convincing. One might also say that, were it not for her consistent, if surprising production, the defending champions would have been flattened by now, instead of surging with their first four-game winning streak. Indeed, theirs has been a season of injury and illness and distraction, of strange and almost bizarre occurrences.
Who could have foreseen Whisenant's candidacy for the Kings' head coaching job or the emotional effect of his mother's passing? Who expected Kara Lawson's mysterious, energy-sapping ailment to linger into midseason? Who figured Walker, on the cusp of WNBA superstardom, would become pregnant and forced to undergo a C-section? Who didn't anticipate a breakout season for Brunson? Who knew Powell would be so adversely affected by the lagging perimeter game? That Yolanda Griffith's knees would cripple her early-season performances?
Who projected Buescher, 27, as a potential season savior and leading candidate for the league's Most Improved Player Award? Yet this is who she is; this is who she has become. Having taken the pivotal plunge over at Arco Arena, she is diving all over the place, diving for loose balls, outhustling everyone for long rebounds, racing downcourt for breakaway layups, connecting with teammates on backdoor cuts and open jumpers. She is providing energy and enthusiasm and some much-needed frontcourt size.
Mostly, she is earning her minutes and deserving of the starting job.
"I call her 'Bushwhacker,' " said Lawson, laughing, "because she just goes after it. I don't know where we would be without her."
Preparing for an early vacation in Costa Rica. Or is that New Zealand?
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@ sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Buescher rides wave of success
By Ailene Voisin
Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, July 17, 2006
There was a time -- say, two years ago -- when Erin Buescher heavily contributed to California's enduring campaign as that large, quirky state on the West Coast. She was young and restless and bored. She was distracted and disillusioned.
So she quit her job. Then she cleaned out her cookie jar, updated her passport, replaced the basketball with the surfboard and went on to become one of the tallest, most athletic beach bums in the world.
Her version of a hard day's night became listening to the Beatles while lounging on a sandbar and gazing at the stars in Australia. Her ideal day job consisted of pouring coffee at a beachfront café while awaiting the next blue crush in Costa Rica.
"I played in New Zealand and Greece (during the 2004-05 offseason)," Buescher explained with a grin, "and if Greece had waves, I never would have left."
What happened next is part fluke, part good fortune.
First, the Aegean remained calm. Then Buescher missed the WNBA. Then Buescher came back, and in a sense, came back twice.
After her one-summer sabbatical in 2004 -- a season that otherwise would have been spent with the Charlotte Sting -- the former UC Santa Barbara standout joined the Monarchs as the less significant part of the swap for Nicole Powell. Initially, Monarchs coach John Whisenant was intrigued by two factors: At 6-foot-3 and 181 pounds, Buescher was tall and rangy, and she was athletic, coveted elements that can't be taught. Eventually, he envisioned the Sonoma native as a valuable member of the rotation, though only if she improved her post moves and underwent a serious physical makeover.
Not that she was a slug or anything. A three-time Player of the Year in the Big West, Buescher always has been mobile and well-conditioned, and not nearly as delicate as her long, blond hair and amiable demeanor suggest. But she was built more for the sprints than the shot put, more for the role of a finesse player than a power forward charged with exchanging elbows, scrapping for rebounds and scoring on half-hooks and short bank shots.
"Winning the championship last year was great, but I wanted to contribute more," Buescher said, "and I knew with all of our wing players, I wouldn't have much of an opportunity. So while I was in Greece (for the 2005-06 offseason), I spent a lot of time on my footwork and changing my body. I concentrated on strengthening my core so I couldn't get pushed around so much.
"When I came back, coach (Monique) Ambers really helped me with my step-throughs and all the other post moves. And then with DeMya's (Walker's) situation and Rebekkah (Brunson) struggling, I just tried to make the most of an opportunity."
One might say Buescher's inner voice was fortuitously convincing. One might also say that, were it not for her consistent, if surprising production, the defending champions would have been flattened by now, instead of surging with their first four-game winning streak. Indeed, theirs has been a season of injury and illness and distraction, of strange and almost bizarre occurrences.
Who could have foreseen Whisenant's candidacy for the Kings' head coaching job or the emotional effect of his mother's passing? Who expected Kara Lawson's mysterious, energy-sapping ailment to linger into midseason? Who figured Walker, on the cusp of WNBA superstardom, would become pregnant and forced to undergo a C-section? Who didn't anticipate a breakout season for Brunson? Who knew Powell would be so adversely affected by the lagging perimeter game? That Yolanda Griffith's knees would cripple her early-season performances?
Who projected Buescher, 27, as a potential season savior and leading candidate for the league's Most Improved Player Award? Yet this is who she is; this is who she has become. Having taken the pivotal plunge over at Arco Arena, she is diving all over the place, diving for loose balls, outhustling everyone for long rebounds, racing downcourt for breakaway layups, connecting with teammates on backdoor cuts and open jumpers. She is providing energy and enthusiasm and some much-needed frontcourt size.
Mostly, she is earning her minutes and deserving of the starting job.
"I call her 'Bushwhacker,' " said Lawson, laughing, "because she just goes after it. I don't know where we would be without her."
Preparing for an early vacation in Costa Rica. Or is that New Zealand?
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@ sacbee.com.
