Aliene Voisin: Monarchs belong to Boucek now

Yolanda Griffith is in Seattle. DeMya Walker is in the stands. A year removed from the head-coaching job, John Whisenant is offering his folksy asides from the general manager's office and the media room but no longer from the floor.

Change is definitely in the (stiflingly hot) air.

This is her team, finally.

This is her preferred pace – fast, relentless, exhausting.

As the Monarchs demonstrated in Saturday's 73-64 victory over the visiting San Antonio Silver Stars, Jenny Boucek is serious about this up-tempo business. The Monarchs' second-year head coach clearly prefers a sprint to a marathon, those 40-minute events that feature excessive play-calling and over-dribbling, and take forever to determine a winner.

Not the Monarchs, not this year. Boucek, who last season clashed with the aging Griffith, who never shook loose from Whisenant's dynamic presence, came back with her own ideas. She was intent on borrowing from the common sense book of coaching that reads: The most successful of her peers adapt to their personnel, coach to their personality, and almost as important, don't overcoach.

"I have a lot better comfort level in everything that I'm doing," Boucek acknowledged. "Night and day difference. We were planning on playing faster anyway, but I felt after studying the tapes, looking at our team objectively like an advance scout, we were at our best when we were playing faster. We still didn't play fast enough tonight, and we were tentative making decisions. We were too willing to set it up. But we'll get better."

Against a Silver Stars squad that, similar to Boucek's own club, continues to welcome players back from offseason jobs overseas, the Monarchs offered a variety of looks and lineups.

Given the inadequate length of training camps that hamper the WNBA virtually every season, the game had the usual opening night "getting-to-know-you" jitters, except when it came to effort. The effort was exceptional for both teams, jet lag notwithstanding.

There was Nicole Powell playing power forward, Kim Smith receiving extended minutes, La'Tangela Atkinson and Adrian Williams-Strong on the court for much of the fourth quarter. There was rookie "Aqua" Franklin – gotta love that nickname – bouncing entry passes to first-round draft choice Laura Harper, who was surprisingly poised and effective in her pro debut. There was Kara Lawson sneaking underneath for reverse layups, Rebekkah Brunson blocking shots and swiping rebounds.

Finally, there was 33-year-old Ticha Penicheiro, providing flashbacks with her aggressive bursts and no-look passes.

"We tried to run the last few years," said Penicheiro, "but we're built to play this way. We are younger and athletic this year, and we have an 11-player rotation. We can wear people down offensively and defensively."

Some nights. Other nights? Against the Los Angeles Sparks and Candace Parker/Lisa Leslie, the Seattle Storm and Lauren Jackson/Sue Bird, or the Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi/Cappie Pondexter, the Monarchs will be pint-sized in terms of overall talent. "On paper, we're the underdogs," Boucek forcefully, "and I like that."

Ultimately, Boucek's ability to motivate her undersized, evolving team could prove to be the difference between a playoff berth or another visit to the postseason lottery. There undoubtedly will be times when "Yo" would look pretty good in her old uniform, creaky knees and diminishing skills notwithstanding.

But this is Boucek's team now, and for better or for worse, the decision to play small and play fast is the wiser choice.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Ailene Voisin, (916) 321-1208.