A Deal for Williams? It’s Talk of the ABL

What would it be like if the two best rebounders in the women’s game were on the same team?

Reports of a possible off-season deal that would bring the Portland Power’s Natalie Williams to Long Beach to join Yolanda Griffith have stoked such speculation around the American Basketball League.

A sellout crowd at the Pyramid on Sunday got a preview, when the Reign and StingRays squared off in the final regular-season meeting of the two Western Conference leaders.

In an 88-82 Portland overtime victory, Williams had 25 points, Griffith 26. Each had 14 rebounds.

It has been that way all season, with the 6-foot-4 Griffith and the 6-1 Williams each leading the league in rebounds and scoring at different times. Williams is the ABL scoring leader at 21.8 points a game, narrowly ahead of New England’s Carolyn Jones, at 21.6. Griffith is fourth, at 19.2.

Griffith is first in rebounding at 11.6, Williams second at 11.4.

A year ago, Williams led the league in rebounding by a margin of 60 rebounds, despite sitting out eight games because of a knee injury.

It has been that way for Williams in nearly every sport since her high school days at Taylorsville, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

She was a basketball/volleyball recruit at UCLA and remains the last female athlete to be NCAA first team All-American in both sports. She rarely plays golf but shoots in the 80s when she does, was the Utah state prep long jump champion and repeatedly turned down pleas from UCLA softball coaches to try that sport.

In 1996, Williams was named the Pacific 10 Conference female athlete of the decade.

Her father is Nate Williams, who played nine NBA seasons. Her mother, Robyn Barker, began dating him while both were students at Utah State.

Williams and Barker split up after she became pregnant with Natalie, who was born Nov. 30, 1970 and didn’t meet her father until she was 16.

She remains close to her mother and has grown somewhat closer to her father in recent years.

Also in recent years, she has become driven to be the best.

That’s what Williams’ UCLA coach, Kathy Olivier, says.

“She worked out a lot at UCLA last off-season, playing pick-up games with guys,” she said.

“She told me one day she wants to show everyone [in the women’s game] that she’s the best. She worked very hard after last season. She’s a natural athlete and is working very hard to be as good as she can.

“She’s driven to be the best. She’s scary.”

In her college career, she was the best rebounder. And still is.

Her rebounding average of 12.8 from 1991 to ’94 at UCLA is the Pac-10 career record, as is her 13.8 one-season average, in 1992.

And Karen Deden, a New England Blizzard forward, said Williams has added range to her game.

“Last year her offense was the five- to 10-foot jump shot, now it’s out to 15 feet,” she said.

“She was always an incredible rebounder, and I think volleyball has a lot to do with that. She has great natural jumping ability, and volleyball taught her how to time her jump.

“She’s a good example of what can happen when a great, two-sport athlete concentrates on one sport. Kristin Folkl [Stanford’s volleyball/basketball standout] will do the same thing next year.”

New England Coach K.C. Jones winces at the idea of Williams teaming with Griffith.

“If you want to know what that would be like, just look at a video of the All-Star game,” he said.

They teamed up as West starters in the Jan. 18 game at Orlando, Fla., leading their team to a 102-73 victory.

In 24 minutes, Williams had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Griffith had 13 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes.

“To me, Natalie is the Charles Barkley of the women’s game, with her jumping ability and her fantastic shot moves around the basket,” Jones said.

“She’s got great quickness for her size too. And she has a tremendous ‘read’ for the ball, like she knows exactly how it’s coming off the rim.”

She has a 31-inch vertical leap.

If she joins Griffith on the StingRays, there won’t be many loose balls in the low post. They both have fast hands and a nose for the ball.

In the game Sunday, Williams showed an uncanny knack for being the first to pounce on loose balls. Griffith is more of a pickpocket. She had six steals Sunday and leads the ABL with 3.2 per game.

Regarding a possible trade to Long Beach, she has said: “No decisions will be made until after the season.”

And it won’t happen if Portland demands Griffith in return.

Long Beach General Manager Bill McGillis won’t comment on such a deal, but did say this: “We wouldn’t trade Yolanda for anyone.”

Said Portland Coach Lin Dunn: “Sure, we’d send Natalie to Long Beach . . . for Yolanda and [Beverly] Williams.”