With all the world, seemingly, focused on college hoops this week, yours truly is looking ahead to this year's WNBA season. It is sure to be an eventful one with fallen track star Marion Jones signing with the Tulsa Shock.
It's so. She signed with the WNBA's newest team earlier this month after an individual workout. Jones was the starting point guard for the UNC Tarheels in the 1992-93 season as a freshman and a part of the 1994 National Championship team. Though she excelled in track *snicker* she attended Tarheel Country on a basketball scholarship, so mildly put, the girl had skills. She was actually drafted in 2003 by the Phoenix Mercury in the third round, but she never played a minute for the team.
Now, I'm sure you all have heard about her using performance enhancing drugs and having her medals from the 2000 Olympics revoked. She also served six months in federal prison for lying about taking the steroids (perjury) and for check fraud. The Tulsa Shock organization has said she deserves another chance to succeed at athletics. I agree.
At this point, I want to know if she can succeed without her helpers. At 34, I'm pretty sure she's not the point guard she was at Carolina some 18 years ago, but let's hope she's wised up a bit and can be the point guard this brand new team needs.
If nothing else, let's hope she'll be the voice those ladies need in the locker room to keep their heads on straight and focused on their sport.
I'm rooting for Jones. Her fall kinda took the wind outta my sails as a former athlete, but she serves as a reminder as to why we shouldn't put athletes on pedestals. They tend to fall off.
Good luck to Jones and the Detroit *cough* uh, Tulsa Shock.
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