Year three for the NWBL pro league

Women's Basketball, May/Jun 2003 by Wheelock, Helen

We are the other professional league in this country," says Patrick Alexander, president of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). "We offer the players the opportunity to play in the United States competitively."

While that has always been its intent, the initial vision of the NWBL has evolved.

"Conceptually we were trying to form a league that could help develop players to play at the next level," explains Mike Walker, vice president of player personnel." Because of the world situation and the willingness of top players in the United States to play, we've now turned into another professional league.

After a sophomore season full of painful and joyful growing pains, the NWBL has made significant strides on both a talent and organizational level. "I hate to speak too soon," says Walker, "but we feel we're really stable as far as the financial picture and the franchise picture. There's still a learning curve, but we're past that point where we're worrying about what we're going to do day by day."

The pro league fields six teams: four holdovers from last year - the Birmingham Power, Houston Stealth, Chicago Blaze and Springfield (Mass.) Spirit - and two new franchises - the Blizzard in Grand Rapids (Mich.) and the Tennessee Fury in Knoxville. A perusal of the league's vastly improved Website (www.NWBL.com) reveals that almost a third of this season's payers also play in the WNBA. This, says Chicago owner and general manager Robert Graham, gives a "tremendous amount of credibility to the league."

It's pretty much agreed that no one is playing in the NWBL for the money. Twenty-two thousand dollars is divided among each team's top eight draft slots (averaging out to approximately $125 a game for a 22-game season) and lower picks aren't paid.

Then why play?

Four-year WNBA veteran Beck Hammon just completed her first season in the NWBL. She's enjoyed the high level of competition, and the chance to both improve her skills and get in game shape. "You get to go out and play 40 minutes and have a lot of fun," says the New York Liberty guard. "That's part of being intense - you find intensity in playing hard and having fun."

Of course, the folding of two WNBA teams means fewer roster spots this season, something LaTonya Johnson of the WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars is will aware of. "I know my (WNBA) coach is watching," says Johnson, who plays for the Blaze. "She put me in this league for a purpose: to make some progress."

Players without a WNBA contract bring a different intensity to the games. "Some of us are playing for survival," explains Kelly Komara of the Grand Rapids team. A third-round '02 WNBA draft pick out of Purdue, Komara was knocked out of the Indiana Fever's training camp by an injury and welcomed the opportunity to play in the NWBL.

"It's a starting point - a springboard into something else - whether it be overseas or the WNBA," she explains.

This season, the NWBL can point to three strong franchises. The Springfield Spirit continues to be its flagship franchise, averaging a little over 2,000 a game. The Spirit's close proximity to Connecticut, combined with the presence of University of Connecticut alumnae Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Rebecca Lobo and Kara Wolters, allows it to draw on the legendary Huskies fan base.

Similarly, the new Knoxville franchise has reaped the benefits of nearby University of Tennessee and fields former Lady Vols Semeka Randall and Shalon Pillow. "Everyone in Tennessee has welcomed the Fury with open arms," says general manager Ryan McCallum.

Managing a staff replete with local graduate student interns, McCallum has lined up sponsors ranging from the Tennessee First National Bank to Krispy Kreme. In keeping with the league's tight bottom line, every promotional item - be it player posters, travel tags or T-shirts - has been a trade. McCallum has also seen a steady increase in attendance: The final game between the Fury and the Houston Stealth (with UT alumna Michelle Snow) filled the 1,800-seat Maryville High School arena.

In Houston, the purchase of the team by local businessman Roy Marsh helped persuade a reluctant Sheryl Swoopes to return for a second season. "There were a lot of situations and issues that they weren't prepared for or didn't know how to handle," says Swoopes, reflecting on last year.

"I laid everything on the table," explains Swoopes, "This is what I expect of you as an owner, and this is what I'm going to give you in return as a player."

Stealth head coach John Chancellor is the son of WNBA Comets coach Van Chancellor. In addition to Swoopes, Kelly Gibson, Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow are on the roster. As a consequence, the team has tapped into the WNBA fan base, boosting the Stealth attendance to an average of 800.

Walker acknowledges finding a balance between building the league and building the individual franchises is challenging. In an effort to attract fans, the distribution of WNBA players to NWBL teams is often dictated by the locale of a team and the regionality of the players. That, in turn, can create an imbalance of talent. The Spirit, Fury and Stealth, for instance, boast four to five top WNBA players, while Grand Rapids, Birmingham and Chicago have two and three.