WNBA: Kristi Toliver And a Thing Called Confidence

by Andy Lipton

 

 Sometime during the 2007-08 college basketball season I happened upon a Maryland women’s basketball game on TV. 

 I quickly found myself enjoying the play of the Terps’ backcourt leader, senior guard Kristi Toliver.  

 

Her driving with the dribble, up the full court into an open court, her ball handling, and her ability to score in various ways.  

She along with her team moved up the court fast and she and her team seemed to play free.

  My first thought was that it must be fun to play in that kind of offense coached by Brenda Frese and that there were probably many guards whose skills would be better utilized if they had that freedom.

 

At the time I didn’t know anything about Toliver. 

 I later learned that as a freshman she hit a game tying three-pointer with six seconds on the clock after calmly working with the ball for about nine seconds, to send the 2006 NCAA Championship game into overtime that her Maryland team won in Boston. 

 

Watching her from time to time through the years, what became palpable to me was her confidence. 

 I could see it.  

Particularly, in not being afraid to keep trying to score, even if she was in the midst of a cold streak.

 Her smooth ball handling. 

 That steady impassive look in her face, that sometimes breaks into a small knowing smile when success has been achieved. 

 And the more I saw her play as the years went by, I could almost feel it as well, as if her confidence had vibrations.  

 

One game that stands out is the one and done game her Mystics played against the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden in the second round of the 2017 WNBA Playoffs.  

The Liberty had ended the regular season in third place winning their last 10 games.  

 The Mystics had finished in sixth place and won their single-elimination first round playoff game.

 

I watched as Toliver warmed up.

  She looked sharp, hitting many of her outside shots. 

 I remarked to Mystics assistant coach Marianne Stanley that I thought she was ready to have a great game. 

 Stanley replied “She’s certainly capable of it.”

 

But as the game started Toliver’s shooting was off.  

 In the first quarter she missed all three of her shots.  In the second quarter she missed three of the first four shots she took. 

 But she kept shooting.

 She finished with 32 points hitting 10 out of 20 shots; 9 of 16 of those were three-pointers.

 As Toliver heated up, you could see her teammates gain confidence offensively and defensively.

 The Liberty, who had led after the first quarter, 21-10, and at halftime, 45-41, lost 82-68.

 

It’s been quite a career for Kristi Toliver. 

 An ACC Player of the Year, a NCAA champion, a two-time WNBA champion, multiple championships in overseas play, a three-time WNBA All-Star, an integral starter for most of her career, and starting last year in her off-season, an assistant coach with the NBA’s Washington Wizards.

 

But for me it’s her confidence that I think about and how important that is for anyone to reach their potential.

 

So what is confidence?

 

There are a number of definitions of the word confidence in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. 

 The second one feels familiar. 

 “Faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.”

 

What factors are in play in having confidence? 

Previous success?  The will to succeed?  Not being afraid to fail? 

Are we born with it? 

 Is it a continuous work in progress?  Do we need others to have confidence in us for us to be confident in ourselves?  

Do we need to rid ourselves of guilt over past failures?

 

After Game 3 of the recent WNBA Finals, Toliver spoke with me about this thing called confidence.

The video was tweeted out a little while ago on the Guru’s account @womhoopsguru but can be found there if it is later and this is your first stop in the two element package.

Guru’s update - here is a direct link to the tweet: 

pic.twitter.com/CP2JhAnqrC