Sports (washingtonpost.com)

Meet the Mystics

The Washington Post
Saturday, May 22, 2004

Chamique Holdsclaw
Pos., No.: Forward, 1
Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 172.
Experience: 6th year.
Last season: 20.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 90.3 FT%.
Strengths: Matchups. Holdsclaw is too quick to be defended by a power forward, and too strong to be guarded by small forwards.
Questions: Can she stay healthy? Last year, Holdsclaw missed seven games, or 20 percent of the season, with injuries.

Coco Miller
Pos., No.: Guard, 9
Ht./Wt.: 5-9, 140.
Experience: 4th year.
Last season: 12.5 ppg, 1.2 spg, 45 FG%.
Strengths: Consistency. Steady guard does everything well; made 69.2 percent of her field goals in two preseason games.
Questions: Can she continue to improve? Miller's shooting percentages and production (points, rebounds, steals, assists) have increased every season.

Murriel Page
Pos., No.: Center, 10
Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 160.
Experience: 7th year.
Last season: 6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 24 blocks.
Strengths: Defense. The only player left from the Mystics' inaugural 1998 season is the team's best interior defender.
Questions: Can she regain her shooting touch? Page, a career 48.2 percent shooter, made only 37.7 percent of her field goal attempts (83 of 220) in 2003.

Kaayla Chones
Pos., No.: Center, 50
Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 180.
Experience: Rookie.
Last season: 14.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 51 FG% (at N.C. State).
Strengths: Athletic skills. Second-round draft pick is big, physical and mobile.
Questions: Can she follow in her father's footsteps? Jim Chones was a first-round pick in the 1972 ABA draft and went on to have a standout 10-year pro career, which included an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980.

Kiesha Brown
Pos., No.: Guard, 14
Ht./Wt.: 5-10, 134.
Experience: 3rd year.
Last season: 2.2 ppg, 1.0 apg.
Strengths: Energy. Provides a spark off the bench, and is capable of defending bigger guards.
Questions: Can she be effective in a limited role? Mystics have a loaded back court, and Brown has averaged 8.4 minutes per game in her two-year WNBA career.

Alana Beard
Pos., No.: Guard/Forward, 20
Ht./Wt.: 5-11, 160.
Experience: Rookie.
Last season: 19.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.4 spg (at Duke).
Strengths: Versatility. Second overall draft pick can play -- and defend -- all three perimeter positions, and was among the team leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots in the preseason.
Questions: Does she have enough left in the tank for the WNBA season? Beard played in 34 games for Duke this past season, then had little time off before training camp began.

Stacey Dales-Schuman
Pos., No.: Forward, 21
Ht./Wt.: 6-0, 155.
Experience: 3rd year.
Last year: 10 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.0 rpg.
Strengths: Savvy. Mystics list her as a forward, but she has the skills and smarts to play point guard; led the team in assists (114) and three-pointers made (57) in 2003.
Questions: Will she start or come off the bench? The addition of Beard makes the back court crowded.

Aiysha Smith
Pos., No.: Forward, 31
Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 173.
Experience: 2nd year.
Last season: 3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg.
Strengths: Athletic skills. The seventh overall pick in the 2003 draft runs the floor well and isn't afraid of taking three-pointers (5-of-34 shooting last year).
Questions: Can she take on a bigger role? Smith was very effective in limited minutes last year (averaged 13.6 minutes per game).

Tamicha Jackson
Pos., No.: Guard, 35
Ht./Wt.: 5-6, 120.
Experience: 5th year.
Last season: 8.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg (with Phoenix).
Strengths: Speed and quickness. WNBA general managers voted Jackson as the league's second-fastest player with the ball (behind Shannon Johnson of the San Antonio Silver Stars and U.S. Olympic team).
Questions: Can she improve her decision-making and shot selection? Jackson averaged 2.2 turnovers per game and shot 34.3 percent from the field last season.

Nakia Sanford
Pos., No.: Center/Forward, 43
Ht./Wt.: 6-4, 200.
Experience: 2nd year.
Last season: 2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 50 FG%.
Strengths: Size. Mystics' biggest player is a physical presence inside.
Questions: Can she stay out of foul trouble? Sanford averaged 2.1 fouls per game, while playing just 7.9 minutes per game.

Chasity Melvin
Pos., No.: Center, 44
Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 185.
Experience: 6th year.
Last season: 13.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 47.7 FG% (with Cleveland).
Strengths: Experience. Dispersal draft selection has played in 157 games (starting 127 of them) in her WNBA career, and has career averages of 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds.
Questions: How quickly can she adjust to her new team? Melvin missed the first 17 days of training camp because she was playing in Poland.