News Articles – January 8, 2003

By Scott Puryear

Springfield News-Leader

January 8, 2003

Because nobody bid on the recent Fire sale, leaving the WNBA’s Portland team officially defunct, former SMS star Jackie Stiles is homeless. But, Stiles admits, leaving the Fire might not be such a bad thing. “Maybe a fresh start will be good for me,” Stiles said. Don’t get her wrong. Stiles appreciated the fans of Portland for the way they embraced the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader in two seasons with the Fire … at least those who chose not to bash her constantly in Internet chat rooms during her injury-plagued past season. But on the court was often another matter. In her first season, when the 5-foot-9 guard averaged 14.9 points and was named WNBA rookie of the year, Stiles could sense jealousy from veteran teammates who weren’t thrilled by the attention the humble star from tiny Claflin, Kan., received from the media, the league and the corporate world. Some off-season turnover in personnel lessened the dissension somewhat, until a season in which Fire coach Linda Hargrove kept putting a hurt and ineffective Stiles (averaging 6 points in 18 minutes per game) in the lineup in spite of the team’s success without her — Portland was 8-3 while she was out, 8-13 when she played — didn’t help unity matters, either. “I loved the community, loved the area where I lived and the fans were tremendous to me, even when I went through that second season and struggled like I did,” Stiles said. “But I haven’t been happy in my two years as a pro. It’s been tough. “And there were a lot of chemistry problems, to be honest with you. I came in (to the league) unproven, but had all that media attention right off the bat. Every city we went to, the media wanted to talk to me, and I felt I hadn’t deserved that … I felt then that it started me off on the wrong foot with some of my teammates. It was a situation I couldn’t control, so I just tried my best to fit in and get along. But some things, you just can’t control.” Which at this point includes where she’ll wind up this summer. Stiles spoke with a WNBA official on Monday who told her the actual roster of one of the three now-orphaned franchises — Orlando, Miami and Portland — could wind up in Hartford, Conn., as the league is exploring opportunities for a franchise there near the rabid fan base for perennial NCAA power UConn. If that’s the case, Stiles said, players from the other two teams Connecticut doesn’t pick for its player base would go into a dispersal draft for the rest of the league. “All three of us (abandoned teams) are just waiting,” Stiles said. “They couldn’t give me any time frame at all, but they said it’s going to take a while. They say they’re going to have it done before April and the (WNBA) college draft, but who knows how long it can be.” Stiles, 24, has no preference where she winds up mainly because she isn’t sure what team, coach or system would best suit her abilities. “I just want an opportunity somewhere. I don’t care where,” she said. For now, Stiles’ priority is fixing a right heel causing her great pain at a time — four months after the Sept. 6 surgery — when she thought she’d be back at full speed. She’ll meet today with a doctor in Great Bend, Kan., to go over MRI results and determine their plan for reducing the swelling in her Achilles’ tendon area. Options include a pain-killing shot, being placed in a protective boot for several weeks or worst case, another surgery. “All I know is I don’t want to put any more Band-Aids on these injuries,” said Stiles, who’s had five surgeries in the past 13 months after none her previous 22 years. “I want to totally fix them now.” If Stiles is thrown into a dispersal pool, she knows it becomes a matter not only of proving herself as a WNBA scoring threat all over again, but convincing any prospective employer that her recent health problems eventually will clear up. Which would be a lot easier if she knew the answer as well. “I think a team looking at me would be a higher-caliber team that can afford to wait on my injuries,” Stiles said. “But I, myself, don’t know how long it’s going to take.” At least she knows now that she won’t be back in Portland. A town that’s tough for Stiles to leave behind … but a team that isn’t.