Stalev predicts WNBA title I
m/ X
Charlotte Sting guard Dawn
Staley is as good as any guard in
the WNBA. She ranks among
WNBA leaders in assists, free
throw percentage, minutes per
game, minutes, assists and assists
per turnover in her WNBA career
She also became the first profes
sional basketball player to record
1,000 assists back in 2001.
She was a three-time Kodak
Ail-American while starring at
the University of Virginia (1989
1992). where she helped the team
to a 110-21 record and four
; appearances in the NCAA Tour
nament - three of w hich led to the
Final Four. She still holds the
NCAA record for steals (454)
and. amonp the
numerous hon
ors she garnered,
was named (he
National Player
of the Year in
1991 and 1992.
Dawn was
the only Sting to
make the All
Star team, and
she finished the
game with a game-high seven
assists and scored five points as
her East squad fell to the West 84
75 Saturday. I hooked up with
Dawn for this interview on Tues
day to see how she thinks the
team will do after the All-Star
break and how far she envisions
the team going this season.
Anthony: How are you.
Dawn?
Dawn: Fine.
Anthony: Is everything going
OK in your life?
Dawn: Everything is going
great.
Anthony: You played well in
the All-Star game last weekend.
You didn't have many points, but
you led the team in assists. How
do you feel about your perform
ance?
Dawn: Um. I feel good. I
think any time you bring so much
talent together it creates a lot of
opportunity, especially for me. It
helps me do the things that I love
to do, and that's pass the basket
ball. I had a lot of options out
there, and they were able to deliv
er.
Anthony: OK. How do you
feel like the season is going thus
far for the Sting?
Dawn: The season is going
great, but the season is only
halfway done. We have to take
care of the second half of the sea
son. That's when we'll prove to
be the better experienced team.
Anthony: Now. Dawn, you
all were picked sixth in the pre
season conference standings, and
you're first right now. Did you all
feel like the team had something
to prove when the season started?
Did you want to show everyone
that we are the team?
Dawn: Um. (Pause.) Yeah.
Well, yes and no. I think being
picked sixth in the Eastern Con
ference, with what we've done in
the past is utterly ridiculous. And
1 just thought that whoever decid
ed to put us in that position didn't
really know basketball. I really
took offense to it.
Anthony: Really?
Dawn: Yeah. But I know that
we don't get any credit, playing
basketball in Charlotte. We've
always had to prove ourselves.
It's not really a position that we
haven't been in, but I really
thought that was a slap in the face.
Anthony: Can this team
maintain the top spot and make a
ran after this All-Star break?
Dawn: We're focused, we're
ready, we're intense, and we
know that the people in our
organization know what type of
team we're capable of being. We
just have to put it out there on the
floor. 1 think we've moved
toward winning a WNBA title.
We have the fire power and the
coaching staff to win it.
Anthony: Well, how great is
it for you and the team to have a
coach like Trudi Lacey?
Dawn: Oh. we're very excit
ed to have Trudi as our coach.
The organization did a good job
in keeping Trudi here. It would've
taken a lot of time for us to get
used to a new coach.
Anthony: Well, let's talk
about your other job for a
moment. You were recently given
a five-year contract extension as
the head coach of the Temple
Owls women's hoop team. How
good does that
make you feel
for the institution'
to have that
much confidence
in you?
Dawn: It's
always a confi
dence booster
when you know
that you're want
eu. bui i Know
that 1 have to keep it in perspec
tive. It could all be gone tomor
row. I coach because I truly get
fulfillment from working with our
youth. This is what I see myself
doing for the rest of my life.
Anthony: How difficult is it
to be a professional athlete and
the head coach of a major college
team?
Dawn: It's as difficult as you
want it to be. I can easily say that
it's tiring or exhausting, and I
don't want to deal with my team
at times. But I have to be realistic
about it. I took the job, knowing
that I was still going to play. I
knew that I was gonna try to be
the best I could in both areas. I've
surrounded myself with people
that I trust. We're in constant con
tact with each other, we commu
nicate. and when you do that,
things can run a lot smoother.
Anthony: You're right. OK.
Now you were a great player at
Virginia. Has anything changed
with your game since your days
as a Cavalier?
Dawn: (Laughs.) Yeah, I
think it's changed. I'm not as fast
or quick as I used to be.
Anthony: Ah, come on now.
Dawn: (Smiles.) But I'm also
not as dumb as I used to be. (Both
laugh.) There (is) some balance in
See One-on-One on B8
Staley
A 'Hollywood'kind of day
Tory Woodbury has
birthday to remember
BY ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE
What a weekend it was for
Tory "Hollywood" Woodbury
and the kids of the Happy Hills
community. Woodbury helped
make Happy Hill Gardens look a
lot like Hollywood with his spe
cial guests on hand and vehicles
that many of the kids have only
seen on television.
"I had fun seeing the kids'
reactions," Woodbury said. "I
know they had fun at least one
day out of their lives. And I know
that I was a part of that. 1 can say
that July 11th, Tory Woodbury
Dav. I
made an
i mpact
on some
one. I see
a whole
lot of
myself in
these
kids. I'm
a profes
s i o n a I
athlete,
but at the same time, I'm a regu
lar person."
Woodbury began the festivi
ties with a celebrity basketball
game, which his team won 83-80
last Friday. Some of the players
on hand for the game were N.C.
A&T:s Shaun Jones; former
WSSU players Deron Alexander
and Willie Crite; and a few other
notable players. Woodbury's
team came away with the three
point lead after Aaron Bailey.
Carl Russell director and former
St. Paul bailer, connected with
two-straight 3-pointers to give
the Green team the lead for good.
"Man, I'm on Tory Wood
bury's team." Bailey said as he
gasped for air after the game.
"I'm trying to do anything I can
to get him back to New York
with a win. This was real fun to
see some of the celebrities come
out and show support. All the
kids are excited too. Look at me.
I'm drenched. These football
players are athletes. Athletes can
play anything."
The game took place in the
^iame^^ieighborhoo^
Woodbury grew up. He said that
he wanted to celebrate his birth
day with the kids of his commu
nity more than anything.
"This is real life, here in the
projects," Woodbury said.
"That's why 1 wanted to have
this event here. I grew up right
here, in Happy Hill Gardens.
There were a lot of hard times
while I was coming up. My
grandmother (Doretha Wood
bury) is my Earth angel from
God. She's the reason why I'm
the man that I am now.
"I'm proud to be from Happy
Hill. 1 wouldn't change nothin'
about my upbringing. Times
were hard, but I'm blessed. I'm
very blessed. Look at how good
it looks around here today."
Woodbury ate birthday cake
after he paid a visit to Ray
Agnew Field to talk with the
players of his former Pop Warn
er team, the Tiny Indians, on Sat
urday. He talked to them about
the importance of staying in
school and how to avoid being
sucked into doing bad things due
to peer pressure.
"I remember how it was to be
their age," Woodbury said. "1 go
up to them now and tell them to
pull their pants up and stuff. I
used to be the same way. They'll
eventually grow out of it, just
like I did. I also want to make
sure that they don't give up, no
matter what."
Woodbury even joked with
them about playing a position
that he wasn't exactly happy to
play, but he made the most out of
the opportunity.
I used to play center and
guard," Woodbury said while
smiling. "I never thought of
myself as a lineman, but it was
just as fun back when 1 first start
ed playing."
Woodbury is getting ready to
make another position transition.
He will be moved to wide receiv
er this season. He also will
change his number to fit the posi
tion requirements.
"I'll be telling people to look
out for No. 89 at wide receiver
this season," Woodbury said.
"I'm still at quarterback right
now, but the Jets think I can
make an impact at wide receiver.
So that's what I'm gonna do.
Hopefully I'll be back at quarter
back at some point in my career.
I've been playing wide receiver
for two years now. Even when 1
was at quarteiback I played a lit
tle wide-out.
"I go with the quarterbacks
during drills. I would go to the
scout team when we were short
on receivers. I was usually the
No. I guy. When we played the
Raiders, I was Jerry Rice. When
we played the Dolphins, I was
Oronde (Gadsden), and so on. I
used to kill the squad every day.
I've been blessed to play many
positions."
Today, Woodbury is in camp,
trying to move up on the Jets'
depth charts. No matter how far
he makes it up that list he'll be
tops in most of people's minds in
Winston-Salem and number one
in the hearts of many others.
Dorotha Woodbury
Photo By Anthony Hill
Tory Woodbury receives cake from Tiny Indians on Satur
day during Pop Warner football sign-ups.
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