http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14302815p-15175096c.html
Ailene Voisin: Perfectly played, perfectly decisive
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, August 20, 2006
So this is how it looks, how it feels, how it happens.
The perfect pass, the perfect play, the perfect ending.
The perfect game.
On an altogether perfect afternoon at Arco Arena, there was no chance for the Houston Comets, no stopping the Monarchs. There was nothing to do but applaud the performers and acknowledge the obvious. In what is evolving into a remarkable, improbable postseason run, the defending WNBA champions returned home and handed the visitors a message in a bottle -- a 12-step solution that should be available at every sporting goods store in America.
Individual star power apparently has its limits. John Whisenant's band of collective soulmates -- the team that clasps his defensive philosophy to heart in a smothering, smoldering embrace -- blitzed Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson into the offseason, sent the legendary Dawn Staley into retirement, and left longtime WNBA observers shaking their heads in awe and admiration, and yes, in envy.
"Let's get serious," Comets coach Van Chancellor said after his club had been eliminated Saturday. "I hear the Maloof boys got John Whisenant a nice car (for the 2005 title). If they keep playing like this, they might as well go find a second one for his wife. I don't mean to put the pressure on, but if they play the way they did against us, they're pretty good. They beat us bad, twice."
Once, and you think, "aberration."
Twice, and you remember, "champions."
Three times, and, no, you won't get fooled again.
"This is the most fun I've ever had playing sports," said Kara Lawson, a product of Pat Summitt's storied Tennessee program, "because everyone talks about playing on a team that is really unselfish, that truly cares about being successful and doesn't care about individual things. And you can't fake that. You can tell by the way we play. We don't panic. We move the ball. We help each other out."
Or as Chancellor said, let's get serious here. Let's recall the Monarchs' stealthy 2005 championship run. Who ever would have depicted them as flashy or flamboyant? As high-profile? They never fuss because no one on the roster ranks among the league-leaders in scoring and rebounding. They could care less about the lack of Letterman appearances. They never gripe about about their bite-size salaries or the need to work overseas to pay the rent. Heck, they never even complained when former Kings coach Rick Adelman routinely conspired to keep them out of his precious practice facility. (Something about scheduling the Kings for six hours of warmups, shooting instruction, showers, foot massages, or any number of other excuses that were used to justify barring the doors to the women).
They just play. They just play the game.
They play perfectly, at least Saturday.
"I have never seen anything like this," admired former Monarch Ruthie Bolton. "I am standing here, and I still can't believe what we just saw."
Precise passes on backdoor cuts. Rebounds that resulted in layups. Loose balls that afforded second shots. Offensive execution that led to open jumpers. Defensive pressure that induced turnovers. Defensive cohesiveness that enabled one player to cover for another, almost never presented Swoopes, Thompson or Staley with uncontested opportunities. And, of course, characteristic of a Monarchs team that is arguably the deepest in the league, there were individual standouts during certain sequences, but it was the full body of work that was most impressive.
From one to 12 -- and we'll give rookie Kim Smith a pass here because while she failed to score, she didn't commit any turnovers either -- all of the Monarchs offered something. You want the blindsided steal? That would be Ticha Penicheiro, who once again pushed the pace and kept the pressure on the Comets. Timely jumpers? Lawson and Nicole Powell. Snake-like moves and rebounds? Yolanda Griffith. Surprising, opportunistic scoring? Rebekkah Brunson, Hamchétou Maïga-Ba, Kristin Haynie, Erin Buescher. You want more? You want leadership?
There was Whisenant, stalking the sideline, demanding a response, mostly demanding that his players make the simple plays, that they perform with a sense of collective purpose.
"We were good," he allowed afterward, with a slight smile. "We have to continue playing like that because it won't get any easier."
The great expectations have returned.
Now try improving on perfection.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Perfectly played, perfectly decisive
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, August 20, 2006
So this is how it looks, how it feels, how it happens.
The perfect pass, the perfect play, the perfect ending.
The perfect game.
On an altogether perfect afternoon at Arco Arena, there was no chance for the Houston Comets, no stopping the Monarchs. There was nothing to do but applaud the performers and acknowledge the obvious. In what is evolving into a remarkable, improbable postseason run, the defending WNBA champions returned home and handed the visitors a message in a bottle -- a 12-step solution that should be available at every sporting goods store in America.
Individual star power apparently has its limits. John Whisenant's band of collective soulmates -- the team that clasps his defensive philosophy to heart in a smothering, smoldering embrace -- blitzed Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson into the offseason, sent the legendary Dawn Staley into retirement, and left longtime WNBA observers shaking their heads in awe and admiration, and yes, in envy.
"Let's get serious," Comets coach Van Chancellor said after his club had been eliminated Saturday. "I hear the Maloof boys got John Whisenant a nice car (for the 2005 title). If they keep playing like this, they might as well go find a second one for his wife. I don't mean to put the pressure on, but if they play the way they did against us, they're pretty good. They beat us bad, twice."
Once, and you think, "aberration."
Twice, and you remember, "champions."
Three times, and, no, you won't get fooled again.
"This is the most fun I've ever had playing sports," said Kara Lawson, a product of Pat Summitt's storied Tennessee program, "because everyone talks about playing on a team that is really unselfish, that truly cares about being successful and doesn't care about individual things. And you can't fake that. You can tell by the way we play. We don't panic. We move the ball. We help each other out."
Or as Chancellor said, let's get serious here. Let's recall the Monarchs' stealthy 2005 championship run. Who ever would have depicted them as flashy or flamboyant? As high-profile? They never fuss because no one on the roster ranks among the league-leaders in scoring and rebounding. They could care less about the lack of Letterman appearances. They never gripe about about their bite-size salaries or the need to work overseas to pay the rent. Heck, they never even complained when former Kings coach Rick Adelman routinely conspired to keep them out of his precious practice facility. (Something about scheduling the Kings for six hours of warmups, shooting instruction, showers, foot massages, or any number of other excuses that were used to justify barring the doors to the women).
They just play. They just play the game.
They play perfectly, at least Saturday.
"I have never seen anything like this," admired former Monarch Ruthie Bolton. "I am standing here, and I still can't believe what we just saw."
Precise passes on backdoor cuts. Rebounds that resulted in layups. Loose balls that afforded second shots. Offensive execution that led to open jumpers. Defensive pressure that induced turnovers. Defensive cohesiveness that enabled one player to cover for another, almost never presented Swoopes, Thompson or Staley with uncontested opportunities. And, of course, characteristic of a Monarchs team that is arguably the deepest in the league, there were individual standouts during certain sequences, but it was the full body of work that was most impressive.
From one to 12 -- and we'll give rookie Kim Smith a pass here because while she failed to score, she didn't commit any turnovers either -- all of the Monarchs offered something. You want the blindsided steal? That would be Ticha Penicheiro, who once again pushed the pace and kept the pressure on the Comets. Timely jumpers? Lawson and Nicole Powell. Snake-like moves and rebounds? Yolanda Griffith. Surprising, opportunistic scoring? Rebekkah Brunson, Hamchétou Maïga-Ba, Kristin Haynie, Erin Buescher. You want more? You want leadership?
There was Whisenant, stalking the sideline, demanding a response, mostly demanding that his players make the simple plays, that they perform with a sense of collective purpose.
"We were good," he allowed afterward, with a slight smile. "We have to continue playing like that because it won't get any easier."
The great expectations have returned.
Now try improving on perfection.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
