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Life with the Sparks
Lior Klinger
,05/22/2005 |
Israeli National Team & Anda Ramat Hasharon point guard, Laine Selwyn, chatted with ‘Safsal’ about her recent stint in the LA Sparks’ training camp.
Lisa Leslie - 3 times Olympic champion, twice WNBA champion, 5 time AllStar, twice WNBA MVP. Chamique Holdsclaw - Thrre times NCAA champion, #1 draft pick and Rookie of the Year in 1999, 3 time AllStar, twice All-WNBA 1st team member. Mwadi Mabika - Twice WNBA champion, 2-time AllStar, once All-WNBA 1st team member. Nikki Teasley - WNBA champion, AllStar game MVP. Laine Selwyn defintely had some good company in her 3-week stay at Los Angeles.
Selwyn’s invitation to the Sparks’ camp came in early March, and it looked like a good fit since LA had no back up point guard. Today, two days into the regular season LA still has no back up point guard, as Selwyn and the rest of the camp’s potential back up PGs were waived just before the season started. The Sparks’ tight salary cap situation doesn’t even allow them to carry 11 players. They only carry one back up guard.
“Well I must admit the 2 1/2 weeks on the Sparks was quite the experience. There were both good and bad things that I’d encountered but overall I would say it was pretty good”, said Selwyn. “The practices were all very long and a combination of either mentally or physically tough. Some days we would go through all 70 plays we had for hours, which wasn’t so much physically straining but definitely mentally. The other days would be tough conditioning wise, a lot more running and playing full court. Almost everyday I was there we had 2 a days each lasting about 3 hours, not including if we had to lift before the morning practice. So let’s just say a lot of time was spent in the gym not much time to travel and enjoy LA”, she continued.
After a disappointing season last year, the Sparks hired a new coach – Henry Bibby – who has never coached women before. He spent the last nine years coaching USC’s men’s basketball and was fired after 4 games in the 04/05 season after two weak seasons. “The coach is a very stern man who never coached women before but was very sure in what he wanted and how he wanted things done. He didn't give me much of a chance which might leave a little bitter taste in my mouth but I had no control over it so I just did what I could do”, she said.
The Sparks have two of the league’s biggest stars in Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw, which make LA the #1 challenger this year. “The girls on the team were great. Lisa Leslie is an amazing person with one of the best work ethics I have seen, a great leader. Chamique, as we call Mique or as coach calls her Unique, is also a great girl with a quiet personality. Her and Lisa have such a will to win that I envy. Overall all the girls were really nice and hard workers on the court”.
So how about any near future plans? “I don't know exactly what’s going to happen now, the two options are either try to get picked up by another team or relax and try to go to Israel early for the National team. Things are still up in the air and I think a little time off would be great too!!”
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