Chamique Holdsclaw knows she wasn't an average WNBA rookie this
season.
Touted as the "female Michael Jordan" after establishing herself at
Tennessee
among the greatest college basketball players ever, Holdsclaw said
she
felt constant pressure to perform. But she didn't wilt, averaging
16.9
points and 7.9 rebounds for the Washington Mystics, ranking sixth and
third,
respectively, in the league.
Those numbers, plus her role in lifting the Mystics from a 3-27
record
in 1998 to 12-20 this season, earned her the WNBA Rookie of the Year
award
Saturday. She finished with 48 of 51 votes, with one each going to
Detroit's
Dominique Canty, Orlando's Nykesha Sales and New York's Tamika
Whitmore.
The 6-foot-2 Holdsclaw, a two-time WNBA player of the week and East
team
starter in the all-star game in July, kept the pressure from
overwhelming
her.
"I'm a pretty level-minded person, and I knew what my focus was," she
said.
"I just knew I had to come out every night and perform because
everyone
was going to see what I was made of and test me on a daily basis. I
just
had to be tough mentally."
Holdsclaw, a native of New York, was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft
in
May after becoming Tennessee's career leader in points (3,025) and
rebounds
(1,295). She led the Lady Vols to national titles in 1996, 1997 and
1998.
Holdsclaw combined with second-year guard Nikki McCray to give
Washington
an effective inside-outside duo. McCray, who averaged a team-high
17.5
points, also started in the all-star game.
Washington won six consecutive games late in the season to inch
toward
the final Eastern Conference playoff spot but fell out of contention
with
a loss to Orlando Aug. 15. Holdsclaw, who will tour with the U.S.
Olympic
team for three weeks in September, is confident she and the Mystics
will
be better next year. "Next year will be the real time when I can
gauge
myself," she said. "I'll be in the league a year, and I'll know what
to
expect. I know what it's going to take for us to win. So you'll see
more
team and individual success next year."
Aug 29, 1999
~ photo by AP ~
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