Langhorne Bouncing Back From Rough Rookie Season

For a few moments during the Washington Mystics' home opener on June 7, Crystal Langhorne slumped her shoulders. She had committed two turnovers and made another bad play to derail an offensive possession. No way she was staying on the floor, Langhorne thought as she waited to be summoned to the bench.

But the move never came. Langhorne played 22 minutes against Atlanta that day, recording 10 points and eight rebounds, reminding herself that her fate wasn't so inevitable after all. This year, she believed, would be her fresh start in the WNBA.

"I had been nervous coming back to training camp this year and didn't know what to expect," Langhorne said. "When [Coach] Julie [Plank] left me in that day I really just told myself, this is basketball. This is what you do, and you're good at it. I've had so much more confidence this year and it's helped a lot."

Through the first 14 games of her second season, Langhorne has rebuilt her WNBA identity. Her rocky rookie campaign shook her basketball mettle, but observers have brushed that off as an aberration while they watch the 22-year-old forward draw double teams on a nightly basis in 2009.

She has been among the league's top five rebounders all season, and heading into Washington's game against the Chicago Sky (8-9) on Thursday she leads the Mystics in rebounding (7.4 per game) and is third on the team in scoring (11.3). This time last year, Langhorne wondered whether she would ever adjust to the WNBA.

As Langhorne prepared for her rookie season, she anticipated growing pains but never worried much about moving to the next level of competition. Basketball had been one thing she consistently excelled at, regardless of her age, team or locale.

Coming out of high school, Langhorne was the top-ranked power forward in the nation. The New Jersey native's decision to turn down offers from powerhouses Connecticut and Tennessee in favor of Maryland instantly legitimized the Terrapins' program.

"She's always had an innate ability to rebound the basketball," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said during a phone interview. "She has tremendous footwork and knows how to get the ball, and size has never mattered. I used to call her the 'Beast of the East.' "

Langhorne became the top scorer and top rebounder in Terrapins history and the first Maryland player, male or female, to record more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. When the Mystics (7-7) chose her sixth overall in the 2008 draft, everything seemed in line for Langhorne to make her mark as a professional.

Instead, she foundered. Caught in the Mystics' riptide of coaching changes and lack of a consistent system, Langhorne struggled against taller, stronger post players who exploited her rookie uncertainties. Afraid of being relegated to the bench, she grew paranoid of making mistakes and stopped trusting her instincts.

The Mystics went 10-24 in 2008, and she finished the season averaging 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points and 4 rebounds per game. Langhorne's confidence vanished.

"It was really rough," she said. "This was the first place -- I've played a lot of places with USA Basketball too -- that I had a hard time, and I really didn't do well. On top of that, we didn't win. Some people told me I was going to be okay, but I was a little worried about basketball. I didn't want things to keep going downhill the way they were, and I didn't see an end to it. I was really happy once I went overseas and I knew that it was just a bad season."

During the WNBA offseason, Langhorne helped lead TEO Vilnius to the Lithuanian league title and was named MVP of the championship series. In 12 games of Euroleague play with TEO Vilnius she averaged 17.1 points and 9.9 rebounds.

Buoyed by her success against WNBA regulars who were also overseas, Langhorne returned to Washington, which has a revamped front office, with renewed resolve.

Plank didn't know much about Langhorne before her arrival in training camp but heard rave reviews about the young post player from colleagues at USA Basketball. When Langhorne carried her consistency from practice into games, she was rewarded with significant playing time. Langhorne is averaging almost 27 minutes per game.

Langhorne, who is considered undersized at 6 feet 2, has become a dynamic presence under the basket, drawing attention from the league's prominent post players. Despite their height advantage, opponents have failed to stop her shot or wrestle rebounds away, and her determination has not gone unnoticed.

"Last year she came into something that was out of sorts," guard Alana Beard said. "We didn't have a good situation for her, we didn't have a real system. . . . I don't really blame her for any of it. What I do give her credit for is going overseas in the offseason and really taking over, not giving up. She came back this year with so much confidence."