Last Year Fuels Motivation
The Sparks’ lineup that confronts the Comets today in the WNBA season opener at Houston began to take shape as the final seconds ticked off in Houston’s Western Conference finals-clinching victory over the Sparks last Aug. 20 at the Forum.
Spark Coach Michael Cooper said as much about a week later, in an Inglewood restaurant.
Cooper looked at a menu, then tossed it aside with a shake of his head.
“I probably couldn’t keep anything down,” he said to the waitress.
The pain and disbelief were still with him as he pondered his team’s swift exit from the playoffs: An L.A. team that had gone 3-0 against Houston in the regular season had just been swept, 2-0.
He said that even though the Sparks went 28-4 in the regular season, there would be changes for 2001: “We cannot stand pat with this roster.
“There are too many good young players coming into the league next season. We need to get bigger inside, for one thing.”
And so it was that on Oct. 11, 2000, Cooper and General Manager Penny Toler sent veterans Clarisse Machanguana and Allison Feaster to Charlotte for 6-foot-3 Rhonda Mapp, a 30-game starter for the Sting, and guard E.C. Hill, who was recently cut.
That same day, La’Keshia Frett was dealt to Sacramento for 5-11 Latasha Byears. Off the bench at Sacramento, Byears averaged 16 minutes and almost four rebounds per game last season.
The Sparks may need some time to adjust. Both Mapp and Byears come from halfcourt-oriented offenses and must adjust quickly to Cooper’s running game. He was delighted, therefore, when both showed up at training camp in superb condition. The 205-pound Byears startled everyone by even winning some wind sprints.
A second major personnel change became clear in training camp. Ukari Figgs, the 5-9 guard from Purdue who started all 32 games last season, is believed to be out of the starting lineup, replaced at the point by 5-9 Tamecka Dixon, who moves over from starting shooting guard. That provides room to add Byears to the starting lineup, which includes 6-5 Lisa Leslie, 6-1 DeLisha Milton and 5-11 Mwadi Mabika.
For most of the off-season, Figgs has been offered in trade talks with Orlando and Phoenix. Stay tuned.
In the franchise’s fifth year, only three players remain from the 1997 inaugural team--Leslie, Mabika and Dixon. Leaguewide, only 30 of the WNBA’s 176 players remain from 1997.
Cooper reached the end of training camp without having to make that last cut from 12 players to the required 11. First-round draft pick Camille Cooper (6-4) of Purdue caught flu and will be put on injured reserve for three games.
So, for the time being, No. 2 pick Nicole Levandusky (5-9) of Xavier and free-agent surprise Wendi Willits (5-7) of Arkansas have made the roster.
The Sparks like where they are, seemingly significantly better armed than they were a year ago, when they fashioned two 12-game winning streaks and posted the most victories in the league’s first four years.
The Sparks’ schedule is a grind early. Five of the first six games and nine of the first 13 are on the road. Two of those first six are at Houston. The home opener at Staples Center is June 5.