Guru’s WNBA Report: Zooming From Afar Through the WNBA Wubble

By ROB KNOX

(@knoxrob1)

 

Now that the Indiana Fever have officially touched down, all 12 WNBA teams are safely inside of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, affectionately known as “The Wubble.”

 

The Fever contingent includes new coach Marianne Stanley, the Immaculata graduate who had been a longtime assistant to Mike Thibault with the defending champion Washington Mystics, and Temple graduate Candice Dupree, one of the elder stateswomen among the players contingents. 

 

Former Owls star Shey Peddy, one of the feel-good stories getting a roster slot last season, returned to active duty recently for another tour with Washington after former Saint Joseph’s star Natasha Cloud, a Cardinal O’Hara grad, took advantage of the opt-out choice for the summer.

 

One of the league’s top social justice voices, Cloud made history in the offseason becoming the first WNBA player to sign a Converse deal. Soon after her decision, the shoe sponsor said it would pick up her season salary, which she sacrificed to make the move. 

 

Players have been quarantined and they finally practiced. Many of them from across the league met the media this weekend.

 

All week, teams will host their media days via zoom software from the wubble but before moving ahead, 

 here is a quick Zoom through the wubble and recent sessions after listening to 21 players from nine teams share their thoughts about the upcoming season, being in Florida, social justice and more. 

 

This is the way of the 2020 WNBA, a season like no other. 

 

Rob’s Zoom Flashback

 

Throughout the weekend, there were plenty of entertaining moments and strong quotes from the likes of Moriah Jefferson, Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Oguwmike, A’ja Wilson, Kiah Stokes, Essence Carson, and many more. Atlanta’s Elizabeth Williams and Princeton graduate Blake Deitrick were socially distant as they did their interviews together. 

 

“I feel like I was made for quarantine after playing 10 years in Russia,” Taurasi said laughing. “It’s a huge sacrifice for everybody. You kind of lose track of what day it is here. 

 

“Now, that we’re here, we have to make the most of it. There’s no excuses. The players who opted out, I respect their decisions. Everyone has different circumstances going on in their life that dictated their decision come here. There’s no right or wrong decisions.”

 

Washington’s Ariel Atkins consulted with her family and prayed about her decision to play this season. 

 

“With a lot going on in the world, I am just thankful to be here,” Atkins said. “I’ve never experienced a pandemic before. I was home in Texas with my family so I was happy and thankful that I got to spend time with them. I know it was tough for those who couldn’t be around the people they loved during this time.”

 

Speaking into webcams, players stood in front of team backdrops, while others conducted calls from the comfort of their hotel rooms and some spoke on the practice court as building workers were sweeping the floor behind them. Many players adjusted their hair before speaking. 

 

“The accommodations here are much better than I expected,” Chicago Sky guard and Rutgers graduate Kahleah Copper said. “Where I live is great. It doesn’t take much to impress me. I live in a great place and I am eating great so those are the two most important things to me.”

 

Jefferson made sure to place her mask over her mouth and nose as soon as she finished greeting the media. Carson reminded everybody to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and cover their mouths as she ended her session. 

 

Los Angeles’ Brittany Sykes wore a black T-shirt with “Change Has No Offseason” on it. Stokes compared bubble life to being back at UConn with her teammates and living in close quarters. Chicago’s Stefanie Dolson, who successfully recovered from COVID-19, has done jigsaw puzzles every day and played cards with her roommates. The Mystics have hosted some fierce video game tournaments.

 

Princeton grad and Dallas Wings rookie Bella Alarie, who was taken in the first round of April’s draft, has set up her own YouTube page. 

 

The first couple of days were tough, but that’s behind the players now. 

 

“I knew coming in the first couple days were going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because you’re accustomed to a lifestyle and things are going to be different,” Wilson said. “There were some mishaps. It was a little crazy, and it never should have gotten to that point. At the same time, the recovery factor and the way the league has taken care of things has been surprising to me.”

 

Each player this season is competing with a purpose. 

 

Diggins-Smith, who will turn 30 in a few weeks, missed last season after giving birth to her son. The four-time WNBA All-Star guard was liberated from the only franchise she had ever played with (Tulsa/Dallas) when she was traded to the Mercury this past February. 

 

She is passionate about basketball, but her thoughts were with her family she reflected on the current climate of the country. As a parent of a nine-year old son, Diggins-Smith’s comments hit home for this author.

 

“I'm just happy to be here,” she said. “I’m kind of conflicted being here. But I'm happy to be on this team, I'll say that. 

 

“I don't know what to say. I mean, it's non-whites being killed by policemen disproportionately. As a mother, as a Black woman, as a human being, it doesn't sit right with me. 

 

“It's unsettling. I have a husband that is Black, I have a son that we're raising that's Black. So, obviously, everything that's going on, the climate, I feel some sort of way about it.”

 

Meanwhile, Oguwmike, as the WNBA Players Association president, has a full plate trying to find a balance of addressing concerns of the players and working with the league. It wasn’t easy for her to decide to play this year, but she was comfortable with all of the protocols put into place that ensured safety.

 

“It’s been a lot, but we’ve focused on solution-based action,” Oguwmike said. “We are in a space we’ve never been in before. It’s not just new for us, but for IMG. Everyone is on the same side and we all want this to go well. We all want everybody to be safe and healthy. This season won’t have an asterisk, it’ll have an exclamation point.”

 

We’ll let Taurasi finish our zoom through the wobble.

 

“There are things that we’re not willing to stay silent about anymore whether it’s Black Lives Matter which is something that the league and the WNBA support and will continue to support whether people don’t like it.

 

 “We’ve made strides in a lot of different social areas. Black Lives Matter should’ve been No. 1 from the beginning. You see a lot of people stepping up in that role to make sure our voices are heard. Not everyone is going to like it. Some people are going to feel uncomfortable, but that’s life. A lot of people in this country have felt uncomfortable for a long time already.”