Practice Makes . . . Better!

Very early this season, while Tree Rollins was still the Head Coach, the Mystics held an open practice for fans. It was one of the most depressing things the BasketCases have ever witnessed. The team showed little energy or organization, and Tree appeared to be somewhat disengaged. We left the practice feeling so discouraged and concerned that we couldn't even bring ourselves to blog about the experience. Unfortunately, as it turned out, our concerns were well-founded.

Today, with the WNBA preparing to re-start the season following the Olympic break, the Mystics held another open practice, this time with Interim Head Coach Jessie Kenlaw at the helm. Actually, it was almost a private practice, since the 11 AM weekday start time only enabled a handful of fans to attend. Fortunately, we were among them, and we're happy to report that things today were 180 degrees different than they were earlier in the summer!

Those who have seen Coach J-Law on the sidelines during games no doubt have already realized that she is a very involved coach who demands much from her players. She's animated and can typically be seen encouraging, teaching and, yes, when necessary, criticizing. We saw all of that today during a very high-energy, high-spirited hour on the practice court at the Verizon Center, and it was a breath of fresh air.

Fans were allowed in after the team was already about an hour and a half into practice.

Then the team spent another hard hour practicing some more.

We got our first look at Tasha Humphrey as a member of the Mystics. She's got a big body and a nice, sweet jump shot.

Coach J-Law during a teaching moment. She and Assistant Coach Crystal Robinson pulled no punches when they saw something they did not like. And after the mistake, then . . .

Pushups!!!

At the end of practice, the players, literally drenched in sweat, listened as Coach J-Law addressed the fans. (That's new team member Shay Murphy second from the left.)

Coach J-Law said that she'd like to be able to "bottle up" all the energy she's seen from the team in practice and bring it to the remaining games.

Not all the news today was good. Who is that masked woman? The jersey number should answer the question . . . but otherwise it might be hard to recognize her! Giving new meaning to the term Olympic break, Crystal Langhorne's brother broke Lang's nose during a recent family basketball game. Lang needed surgery, and is currently wearing an off-the-rack face mask that apparently is as uncomfortable as it looks, and (we were told) impairs her vision. She's been fitted for a clear, custom mask, which should arrive later this week. In Crystal's typical Zen fashion, she assured all of us that she's "fine."

More bad news . . . Nikki Blue re-sprained her right ankle about a week ago; she hasn't yet been cleared for practice and it's not known whether she'll be able to play on Friday when the Mystics host the Chicago Sky. Blue spent today's practice session as a spectator, getting treatment from the team's ace trainer, Navin.

We were told that the players are tired of practicing and playing against each other, and, after a month off from competition, are really looking forward to playing against other teams. And we're looking forward to seeing them!

Photo Credits: DC BasketCases