Adams Is Taking His Shot Courtside

When Marianne Stanley abruptly resigned as the Mystics' head coach in the offseason, Adams, who has lived in the Washington area since 1989, approached the team and requested an interview. He had never coached in the WNBA, but he looked at the success that Laimbeer and Cooper have had in the league, and figured that would help his cause.

"I think it was just a natural progression to get into coaching, to see if I can install a system of my own and make it work."

Adams has installed an up-tempo system, with more pro-style sets and isolations, to take advantage of the skills of Holdsclaw and rookie Alana Beard. He's watched several Maryland practices over the past few years, and cites Williams as one of his influences, along with Paul Westhead and Doug Moe.

He has spent a lot of time watching film, trying to familiarize himself with the personnel in the WNBA. Adams has been a fan of women's basketball; he was a Mystics season ticket holder in 1998, the inaugural season, and watched every home game from his courtside seat.

Linda Hargrove, who spent 26 years as a college coach and then served as the head coach and general manager of the now-defunct Portland Fire for three seasons, is one of Adams's assistants and has been giving him plenty of insight to the league and its players.

"Once Michael has gone through the league, he'll pick stuff up quickly," Hargrove said. "He has already. I think the thing that really sets Michael apart is his ability to communicate with the players."

Adams is 41, but he looks much as he did in his days with the Bullets, except that his goatee is now flecked with gray and he wears longer shorts.

He can still shoot. He proved that at a Wizards game earlier this year, when he was pulled from his courtside seat to take a three-point shot; if he made it, every fan in the arena was in for a free pizza.

"We hadn't made the thing all year," said Rick Moreland, senior vice president of corporate marketing and executive seating for the Wizards and Mystics. "He picked up the ball, did that herky-jerky shot up there without warming up, and it went in. He actually kidded that since he made that shot, maybe we'd look at him for a 10-day contract."

No such luck. Instead, Adams played pickup with Holdsclaw, Stacey Dales-Schuman and other local players after he took the Mystics job. The informal games were a way for Adams to evaluate his players' skills, but often the natural competitor in him came out.

Once, the Mystics invited a player in for a workout, and she wound up having to guard Adams. After the session, Hargrove joked with Adams that she never got a chance to evaluate the player's defensive abilities, because he shot the ball as soon as he crossed mid-court.

"He's still got it," Holdsclaw said of Adams. "He's shooting those long-range threes. But sometimes I have to tell him to chill with that 'And one' stuff."

Adams says that he doesn't plan on entertaining the Mystics with stories from his playing career. He doubts that the players are even aware of his background -- most of them, after all, were in middle school when he was establishing himself as one of the NBA's best three-point shooters.

A few, however, do remember him -- and for something other than that ugly shot.

"I remember him being a really quick guard, a really scrappy guard," Mystics guard Coco Miller said. "He was a little guy out there. It's just very motivating to see someone work so hard like that."

And as for that shot, that's one thing that Adams will not be teaching the Mystics.

"No, you don't want to learn how to shoot like me," Adams said with a laugh. "My mechanics are all wrong. But it worked for me."