HELPING HANDS
Remember the old Sparks, stuck in the mediocrity of two seasons without a winning record, often overmatched against the WNBA’s best teams?
Those were the old Sparks.
In Sparkland today, there is optimism and a growing confidence, the mean old times pushed further back into everyone’s memory.
After their blockbuster draft day May 4, the Sparks now are bent on happier times.
With a solid core of returning veterans--Lisa Leslie, Tamecka Dixon, Allison Feaster and a newly energized Mwadi Mabika--the Sparks have added three ABL inside forces in DeLisha Milton, Clarisse Machanguana and La’Keshia Frett.
Add to that a steal in the draft’s third round, Purdue rookie guard Ukari Figgs, who beat out veteran point guard Penny Toler early in preseason camp.
There’s more. Expected to report today from the European Championships are two Yugoslavs, point guard Gordana Grubin and center Nina Bjedov.
Certainly the coach, Orlando Woolridge, is talking a big game. The newcomers, he said, have blended quickly with his holdover players.
“Halfway through training camp, I could already see a certain chemistry with this group,” he said.
“They’ve come together much faster than I thought. They’re making that extra pass on offense and covering for each other defensively. And the big players are really going to make Lisa more effective--they’ll allow us to use her in a lot of ways.”
And so the basketball team seems committed to a breakthrough season.
But what about Jerry Buss?
How solid is his WNBA commitment?
He’s not talking for now, but in a May interview with Sports Business Journal, Buss’ son, Spark President Johnny Buss, seemed to suggest he and his father have at least talked about a way to walk away from their WNBA commitment.
Johnny Buss said in the interview he was “a little nervous” about a league mandate that teams averaging fewer than 6,000 per game risked being voted out of the league by the NBA Board of Governors.
“If we fall below 6,000, we wouldn’t want the team anyway,” Johnny Buss said.
He also said in the interview that his father will “rethink” his WNBA investment after this season and may give the team back to the league--unless the Sparks increase average attendance to 10,000 per game.
“We’ve lost money for two years,” Johnny Buss told The Times.
“If we continue to lose money year after year, what other option is there? We’re not stupid. This is not a toy, it’s a business. But as far as ‘rethinking’ everything, we reevaluate everything around here, all the time.”
Jerry Buss rejected an interview request.
“Jerry only wants to say he’s looking forward to an outstanding season and then there will be a reevaluation afterward,” a spokesman said.
Last summer, the Sparks and Sacramento were the only two WNBA teams to post lower attendance numbers than in 1997. The Sparks dropped 1,278 to 7,653, Sacramento 1,280 to 6,578.
WNBA President Val Ackerman wouldn’t comment on Buss’ commitment to the WNBA enterprise, but a league spokesman said: “Every franchise coming into the WNBA understands it’s a long-term commitment and investment, including Los Angeles.”
Meanwhile, both teams--who meet tonight at the Great Western Forum in the season opener--seem vastly improved over last year, when Los Angeles finished 12-18 and Sacramento 8-22.
The Sparks may have had a good draft, but they’ll need it to handle their difficult schedule.
After tonight’s home opener, the club draws its longest-ever trip. They visit Cleveland, Orlando, New York, Charlotte and Houston--five games in 10 days before returning home for a June 24 game against the expansion Minnesota Lynx.
There’s a six-game homestand in late July.
Chamique Holdsclaw makes her first Southland appearance when the Washington Mystics play July 31 at the Forum.
The WNBA champion Houston Comets play at the Forum July 18.
Spark Notes
Spark cutdown day came Thursday morning at the Forum. Katrina Colleton, a onetime starter who played the first two seasons for the Sparks, was trimmed. So were ex-Tennessee center Tiffani Johnson and Eugenia Rycraw, a Cal State Fullerton product who played in 20 games as a reserve in 1998. That brought the roster down to 11, required by opening day. Guard Jamila Wideman and forward Sandra VanEmbriqs are on the injured list, enabling Gordana Grubin and Nina Bjedov to join the roster.
WNBA Attendance
Average attendance for each team in 1998:
Washington: 16,266
New York: 14,935
Phoenix: 13,666
Houston: 13,461
Detroit: 10,229
Cleveland: 10,153
Charlotte: 8,409
Utah: 8,104
Sparks: 7,647
Sacramento: 6,803
WNBA avg.: 10,967