http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11792616p-12677277c.html
Youth movement looms for Monarchs
By Debbie Arrington -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, December 17, 2004
With his players spread across the globe for winter basketball, Monarchs general manager and coach John Whisenant wrestles with the hardest decisions in his almost two years with Sacramento's WNBA franchise.He has decided to keep coaching, at least for now. But his dilemma: whether to trade star post players Yolanda Griffith or Tangela Smith.
"We have to make some changes; we have to get younger," Whisenant said Thursday. "And those are the two players people want. As coach, the thought of giving up Yo scares the hell out of me. But as general manager, I've got to do what's best for the franchise."
After a major scare, Whisenant says he feels healthy enough to continue as coach and GM. The bleeding lesion in his left lung - discovered during the Monarchs' Western Conference finals against eventual champion Seattle - turned out to be noncancerous.Extensive tests later revealed Whisenant had histoplasmosis, a rare condition caused by a fungus found in his native eastern Oklahoma.
"I probably had been carrying this around most of my life," he said. "It can cause bleeding during times of stress, and that's apparently what happened.
"I'll never know how much it distracted me during the playoffs," he added. "But it's hard to focus on basketball when you're worried about dying."
As GM, Whisenant said he reserves the right to hire another coach if he finds "the next (Seattle coach) Anne Donovan," considered by many the WNBA's best.
"I don't look on myself as coach for the next three to five years," Whisenant said. "But I haven't found the right person to replace me."
In the meantime, he wants to rejuvenate his team with younger players. The veteran Monarchs' 2004 roster (average age, 28.6 years) is the oldest in the WNBA.
More importantly, seven of the core 11 players are free agents, six unrestricted. With a hard salary cap of $673,000, Whisenant has little room to maneuver without major remodeling.
Besides Griffith and Smith, the Monarchs' free agents include Ruthie Bolton, Lady Grooms, Edna Campbell and Ticha Penicheiro. Forward DeMya Walker is a restricted free agent, and the Monarchs can match any offer she may receive from another club.
Grooms, 34 and a Monarch for seven seasons, is pregnant with her first child.
"Lady and her husband, Dell, are expecting a baby girl in April, so I think she'll be pretty busy," Whisenant said of the unlikelihood of Grooms' return. WNBA training camps open May 1.
Whisenant plans to protect the Monarchs' rights to Griffith and Smith by designating them core players, then take his chances on the others.
"No teams will talk to me now, because they're not signed and they could get them as free agents," Whisenant said of potential trades.
Under league rules, players can be offered contracts between Jan. 15 and 31, with Feb. 1 the first day of signing.
Griffith was the Monarchs' leading scorer (14.5 points per game) and rebounder (7.2) last season, and ranks No. 2 in the league in overall efficiency (combining 10 statistical categories), behind only league MVP Lisa Leslie. But Griffith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, will turn 35 on March 1.
Smith, who turns 28 on April 1, was behind Griffith with averages of 11.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.
"Yo is a foundation player, but she's not getting any younger," Whisenant said. "If we're going to get any value for her, now is the time. But I've got be to very careful in this attempt to get younger. It's a puzzle that will take a whole lot more work."
Youth movement looms for Monarchs
By Debbie Arrington -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, December 17, 2004
With his players spread across the globe for winter basketball, Monarchs general manager and coach John Whisenant wrestles with the hardest decisions in his almost two years with Sacramento's WNBA franchise.He has decided to keep coaching, at least for now. But his dilemma: whether to trade star post players Yolanda Griffith or Tangela Smith.
"We have to make some changes; we have to get younger," Whisenant said Thursday. "And those are the two players people want. As coach, the thought of giving up Yo scares the hell out of me. But as general manager, I've got to do what's best for the franchise."
After a major scare, Whisenant says he feels healthy enough to continue as coach and GM. The bleeding lesion in his left lung - discovered during the Monarchs' Western Conference finals against eventual champion Seattle - turned out to be noncancerous.Extensive tests later revealed Whisenant had histoplasmosis, a rare condition caused by a fungus found in his native eastern Oklahoma.
"I probably had been carrying this around most of my life," he said. "It can cause bleeding during times of stress, and that's apparently what happened.
"I'll never know how much it distracted me during the playoffs," he added. "But it's hard to focus on basketball when you're worried about dying."
As GM, Whisenant said he reserves the right to hire another coach if he finds "the next (Seattle coach) Anne Donovan," considered by many the WNBA's best.
"I don't look on myself as coach for the next three to five years," Whisenant said. "But I haven't found the right person to replace me."
In the meantime, he wants to rejuvenate his team with younger players. The veteran Monarchs' 2004 roster (average age, 28.6 years) is the oldest in the WNBA.
More importantly, seven of the core 11 players are free agents, six unrestricted. With a hard salary cap of $673,000, Whisenant has little room to maneuver without major remodeling.
Besides Griffith and Smith, the Monarchs' free agents include Ruthie Bolton, Lady Grooms, Edna Campbell and Ticha Penicheiro. Forward DeMya Walker is a restricted free agent, and the Monarchs can match any offer she may receive from another club.
Grooms, 34 and a Monarch for seven seasons, is pregnant with her first child.
"Lady and her husband, Dell, are expecting a baby girl in April, so I think she'll be pretty busy," Whisenant said of the unlikelihood of Grooms' return. WNBA training camps open May 1.
Whisenant plans to protect the Monarchs' rights to Griffith and Smith by designating them core players, then take his chances on the others.
"No teams will talk to me now, because they're not signed and they could get them as free agents," Whisenant said of potential trades.
Under league rules, players can be offered contracts between Jan. 15 and 31, with Feb. 1 the first day of signing.
Griffith was the Monarchs' leading scorer (14.5 points per game) and rebounder (7.2) last season, and ranks No. 2 in the league in overall efficiency (combining 10 statistical categories), behind only league MVP Lisa Leslie. But Griffith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, will turn 35 on March 1.
Smith, who turns 28 on April 1, was behind Griffith with averages of 11.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.
"Yo is a foundation player, but she's not getting any younger," Whisenant said. "If we're going to get any value for her, now is the time. But I've got be to very careful in this attempt to get younger. It's a puzzle that will take a whole lot more work."
