Monarchs Blog and Q&A

Bee staff writer Melody Gutierrez grew up in Twentynine Palms. At 14-years-old, she decided to combine her two passions -- sports and writing -- when she became a special assignments reporter for the Desert Trail, her hometown weekly newspaper. Melody headed to Northern California in 2000 to attend Chico State and has remained in the region ever since. She earned an internship with The Bee and subsequently became a staff writer in 2004 and has covered virtually every sport, starting with high schools, up through college and then the pros. Melody took over coverage of the Monarchs last season and chronicled the team's pursuit of a second straight league championship -- a quest that fell just short.

Melody welcomes your questions and will answer as many as she can as the season progresses.

• Ask a question

Monarchs Blog and Q&A front page | May 2007 »

April 27, 2007

Keeping an Idol watch on two Monarchs

If this was American Idol and I was asked to identify the bottom two players so far at Monarchs training camp, here is how I'd call it:

LaToya Bond is quick on the floor but lacks a certain oomph, with veteran Yolanda Griffith assessing: "I told her I'm going to have to bring her something for breakfast so she can have a little more energy!" Bond is in the difficult position of having to beat out some established players to earn a roster spot. Being shy or quiet is one thing, but Bond looks downright bored during drills the media are privy to.

Antionette Wells is in the bottom two, but not because of a lack of effort. Wells doesn't pick up plays very quickly and her movement through the plays has been awkward. Her timing was off during the first couple days of practice and appeared clumsy at times. However, Wells is the first to arrive at camp every day and the last to leave the court. She works with assistant coach Monique Ambers before and after practice to go over plays. Her hard work and eagerness to learn has made her a player that teammates are cheering for.

No one will be asked to leave Monarchs camp until mid-May, leaving plenty of time for others to fall into the bottom two. Of the 15 players who will report to training camp, two will be cut and two will be named to the inactive list.

Posted by tnegrete at 03:29 PM | Comments

April 26, 2007

No offense, but what will Boucek do?

Question: What type of offensive system does Coach Boucek plan on using? At times last year, it was downright painful to watch us on the offensive end of the floor.

Thomas Johansen, Rocklin

Answer: Coach Jenny Boucek said she plans to add a few new things offensively in order to make the team less predictable, which is probably your complaint. She doesn't want any thing too complicated, but wants the team be more deliberate offensively. They've worked heavily this week in practices on setting screens that open up shots.

Boucek said she wants to add "more wrinkles in order to make shots easier."

Something tells me Nicole Powell will like Boucek's system when she returns from playing in Spain.

Question: Since we now have a new coach, do you think the Monarchs would keep the same rotation style of giving the bench really good minutes (around 15+ minutes) as opposed the other team's more traditional rotation of starters playing ~30 or more minutes?

Jason, Omaha, NE

Answer: That's certainly the plan. By all indications, the Monarchs will rely on the 9-10 player rotation you're used to seeing. It would be near impossible to run former coach John Whisenant's white line defense without a good mix of players coming on and off the court.

The other reason Monarchs new coach Jenny Boucek will look to her bench is because this is a very talented squad. It's hard to say who will win a starting role when the season starts. Ticha Penicheiro or Kristin Haynie at point guard?

Chelsea Newton or Kara Lawson at the two spot? What about Scholanda Robinson? She has looked so much improved in practices that I think she's making a good case to be a key contributor in the deep shooting guard position.

Robinson struggled last season with turnovers and had a reputation as a selfish player. She came out to camp this year in good spirits, great shape and has been pushing herself to improve daily. Even Yolanda Griffith has pinpointed Robinson as one of the most improved players from last season.

While two will be cut, here is the depth chart so far:

PG Penicheiro/Haynie

SG Lawson/Newton/Robinson/Bond

SF Powell/Smith/Atkinson

PF Walker/Brunson/Williams

C Griffith/Wilkins/Wells

Posted by Bill Bradley at 06:06 PM | Comments

April 25, 2007

Defining 'new'

Question: I keep hearing the players talk about "newness," but in my estimation, the Monarchs still have eight core players from the 2005 championship squad, including Chelsea Newton. How much is the new coach influencing the newness, and will we see some changes in the team's philosophy?

I am a die-hard and cannot wait for the season. The Monarchs add so much interest into what would usually be a boring summer.

- Donald, Sacramento

Answer: You're right. To a degree, this is not a very new team. The entire starting roster that won the 2005 WNBA championship is returning, and the Monarchs are working to replace role players such as Erin Buescher and Hamchetou Maiga-Ba from last year's team that finished a game shy of repeating.

Coach Jenny Boucek has emphasized that she doesn't want to mess with something that isn't broken. She plans to keep former coach John Whisenant's signature defense. But - here comes the change - offensively, Boucek has been tinkering.

As Yolanda Griffith said today: "I'm adjusting to the new offense. I haven't had (new) offense in what, three years? So I think it's a good step."

From what I've seen in a few scrimmages and drills, Boucek looks to set more screens and plans to push the ball more.

- Melody Gutierrez

Posted by Brian Blomster at 06:02 PM | Comments

Watching from afar

Monarchs general manager John Whisenant had lasik surgery this morning on one eye to repair an eye on which he had surgery five years ago. The former Monarchs coach is in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., for his daughter Jordyn's wedding this weekend.

Whisenant reports he is doing well, finding time to look at the Monarchs' salary cap situation during some down time. Because his vision is blurry following the surgery, he said he called basketball operations manager Pam Kay to be his calculator.

Whisenant said he has looked at several scenarios relative to which of the 15 players at training camp will make the 13 roster spots. WNBA teams can keep 11 active players and, if desired, two inactive players. Final cuts are May 18.

Whisenant said he believes there will be room for two inactive players under the $728,000 salary cap.

"We will keep who makes us the best team," Whisenant said. "If you have the ability to maintain 13 players, it gives you more options. You always want to leave room in case the right trade or somebody else gets caught under a salary cap situation."

- Melody Gutierrez

Posted by Brian Blomster at 05:55 PM | Comments

April 24, 2007

Update: The boss is ailing

Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek will be held at UC Davis Medical Center another night as doctors await tests results.

Posted by rprice at 08:23 PM | Comments

Who will get the point?

Question: Will Kristin Haynie be the starting point guard this season? I hope so.

- Carolyn Fritz, Detroit

Answer: I can see this question comes from Haynie's home state, so let me start by saying the third-year guard is a valuable piece of the Monarchs puzzle.

Haynie was instrumental in the WNBA Finals, where she clearly outplayed starting point guard Ticha Penicheiro. With new coach Jenny Boucek taking over this year, Haynie has a fair shot at replacing the veteran Penicheiro, who had some unproductive minutes on the court during the 2006 Finals.

Detroit defenders consistently left Penicheiro open on the floor, knowing she was too reluctant to take her shots.

In the five Finals games against Detroit, Penicheiro averaged 4.2 points off 7-for-34 shooting from the floor in 20 minutes. She was scoreless from three-point range on seven attempts.

Haynie averaged 8.4 points off 17-for-35 shooting from the floor in 17 minutes. Haynie sank 5 of 14 three-pointers.

However, Penicheiro's leadership and WNBA experience affords her the benefit of the doubt with those five Finals games.

In summary: This will be an interesting contest for the starting point guard role.

- Melody Gutierrez

Posted by Brian Blomster at 04:07 PM | Comments

The boss is ailing

Monarchs new coach Jenny Boucek was hospitalized overnight following Monday's training camp after reporting of a pain in her abdomen, prompting concern she might have appendicitis.

Doctors today were assessing Boucek's condition and have ruled that appendicitis is unlikely, team officials said.

As soon as more information is available, I'll share it with you.

Boucek wasn't the only member of the Monarchs to miss today's practice with an illness. Yolanda Griffith missed the first three days of training camp with a stomach flu. She is expected to practice Wednesday.

Practice was run effectively run Tuesday by Monarchs assistant coaches Tom Abatemarco, Monique Ambers and Steve Shuman.

Posted by Brian Blomster at 03:59 PM | Comments

April 23, 2007

Positive spin on late arrivals

I got a call from Phoenix coach Paul Westhead on Sunday night as he prepared for today's opening of the Mercury camp. While I was hoping to hear from him for Saturday's story in The Bee about the overlapping contracts WNBA players sign with international leagues (see: http://www.sacbee.com/352/story/159014.html), I found his comments noteworthy enough to share.

Westhead said he has two returning players at camp. The rest are on international teams, including two players in the notoriously late Italian league.

He tried to remain positive: "Basically, the good news is it gives us a chance to focus on free agents and draft choices. We are forced, in a good way, to focus on them."

The Mercury finished one game out of the playoffs last year after stumbling through their first 11 games, losing seven of those. Entering his second season, Westhead said his team's early struggles last season included getting players back late. However, he stopped short of criticizing players or the WNBA for not finding a solution.

"To be honest, I try to focus on the things I have slight control over," Westhead said. "It's a reality that I kind of stumbled into last year when I was in this situation."

Posted by Brian Blomster at 06:07 PM | Comments

Catching up with Chameka

A couple readers have noticed Chameka Scott now is in Seattle trying to make the Storm's roster. Scott was an inactive player with the Monarchs during the entire 2006 campaign.

With the Monarchs picking up players with WNBA playing experience - LaToya Bond, La'Tangela Atkinson and Adrian Williams - Scott made a smart move to head to Seattle. She would have been a long shot to make the Monarchs inactive list this season, let alone one of the coveted 11 roster spots.

"I just felt like I was going to be a practice player for a lot longer than I wanted to be," Scott told the Waco Tribune-Herald. "It just seems like a lot more promising opportunity for me to actually go in and contribute.

"(Seattle coach Anne Donovan) knows what I can do, and that's what she's going to expect of me. At Sac, I felt like I had to keep proving myself every day."

Seattle has 21 players at training camp after waiving two players Monday.

Posted by Brian Blomster at 06:03 PM | Comments

Updating the scorecard

The Scholanda Dorrell fans came to know last year is returning to training camp with two changes. First, she has a new do. Second, it's no longer Dorrell.

The second-year guard, who already changed her name once before, will be picking up a trey on this one.

After going by Hoston during her playing days at Louisiana State, Scholanda will be using the last name Robinson.

Here's why: Scholanda's maiden name is Dorrell. When she married Frederick in 2002, he was using his mother's last name of Hoston. Recently, however, Fredrick changed his last name to Robinson, his father's surname.

Thus, Scholanda now is Mrs. Robinson.

Posted by Brian Blomster at 08:50 AM | Comments

April 21, 2007

Peeking at training camp rosters

Looking around the league at training camp rosters, two in particular stand out. Detroit has 11 players on its roster after coach Bill Laimbeer waived two players and the team announced Kedra Holland-Corn would retire. On the other end of that spectrum, Los Angeles has a training camp roster 23 players.

The Sparks are taking a little bit of a risk with that many players. If a player is injured during training camp, the team is required to compensate her for that season. That money directly affects a team's salary cap, which is set at $728,000. The WNBA does not have a luxury tax.

Both Monarchs general manager John Whisenant and Laimbeer took possible injuries into consideration in limiting the number of camp invitees they brought in. Both teams have several veterans making close to the league maximum $93,000.

The Monarchs have 15 players on their training camp roster, which includes one invitee (Antionette Wells out of Wichita State) and no 2007 draft picks. Last year, the Monarchs had 18 players on their training camp roster, including six invitees and three 2006 draft picks.

Also of note, a former Monarchs player quietly announced her retirement from the WNBA last week. Detroit's Holland-Corn, an instrumental member of the Shock's 2003 and 2006 WNBA championship teams, barely made a peep with her decision to call it quits on her six year WNBA career.

Holland-Corn spent four seasons with the Monarchs, averaging 10 points. Last year, she was named to the Monarchs' All-Decade Team.

-- Melody Gutierrez

Posted by tnegrete at 07:36 PM | Comments

---

Ask a question

Please use the form below to submit your question. Because there is a 100-word limit for questions, a word counter is located directly beneath the box where you enter the your question.

Name:

City:  State:

E-mail:

Monarchs question:

Your letter contains of 100 words allowed.  Count words


Your IP Address has been recorded as 38.103.63.17 and will be included with this submission.

---

Contact Sports

Tom Negrete - Asst. Managing Editor, Sports & Business - (916) 321-1171
e-mail: tnegrete@sacbee.com.

Bill Bradley - Sports Editor - (916) 321-1224
e-mail: bbradley@sacbee.com.

For comments or questions about high school sports coverage, e-mail preps@sacbee.com or call (916) 441-4100. Fax: (916) 326-5503.