Mystics Ready to Open 2005 Regular Season
“Old people go out, new people come in,” said the Mystics’ sophomore star Alana Beard. “That’s just how it is. And it’s a good thing when I look at what the front office has done here. They’ve done a great job of bringing in people to make a complete team. Anyone can step in and be big for us on any night. We have a good combination of players, and we’re excited to get it going.”
The combination of players that Beard referred to includes a point guard in Temeka Johnson and a new addition to the frontcourt in Delisha Milton-Jones, both of whom figure to play a big role in what Beard thinks will be a big season in DC.
“She’s exactly what we needed,” said Beard of Johnson, a 5-3 rookie from LSU. “She makes us deeper at the guard position, and she really knows how to play. She sees the court. She knows the game. And most importantly, she knows how to get her teammates the ball. The fans will really enjoy watching her play.”
Johnson, who could crack the starting line-up as soon as her professional debut on Saturday when the Mystics tip-off the season in Charlotte, will team with incumbent guards Kiesha Brown, Tamicha Jackson and Coco Miller to give Washington a dynamic guard group.
As for Milton-Jones, a gold-medal winner from the 2000 Olympic Games, her arrival in camp was delayed by her responsibilities to a team overseas, but her presence gives the Mystics another frontcourt veteran to join Chasity Melvin, Murriel Page and Nakia Sanford inside.
“We wanted someone else to get in there and bruise” said Beard. “We’ve got some bruisers now. We needed a bigger bruiser and we got one. We needed help at the point, and we got it. It will allow me to step more to the ‘2’ which is my natural position.”
While she says that she will play "the 1, the 2, the 3, the 4 or the 5, whatever they need," Beard is happy to leave the bruising to the players in the paint. In a preseason in which she has been hobbled by an injured hamstring that caused her to miss the team's two preseason games, Beard’s frustration hasn’t dulled her excitement and infectious spirit for the season ahead.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I’ve had my hard times. I’ve had my rookie blues, and that’s all past me. I’m stronger and wiser. I’m definitely more comfortable coming into this year simply because I know my teammates. We’re trying to get used to a new system with Coach Adubato, but we’re all in the same boat. I feel like a vet now.”
Not that anyone had a hard time following Beard’s lead last season – with her work ethic and charisma, not to mention a string of six straight 20-point games to close out the regular season – but there’s something about removing the ‘R’ from next to your name on the roster that boosts your leadership capabilities.
“I think I’m a natural leader,” said Beard. “I’m going to say what needs to be said. I want to lead this team to a championship. I’d do anything for the team, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
As the personnel has changed slightly, and individual roles have also evolved, so too have the goals of the Mystics who have lofty ambitions in 2005.
“We have bigger expectations this year,” said Beard. “We made the playoffs last year, now we want to take it one step further. We don’t want to just make the playoffs. We’re chasing the ultimate goal.”
The Mystics’ quest begins on Saturday night in North Carolina, and the action returns to DC on Sunday, when Washington makes its home debut versus the Connecticut Sun at 6:00 pm.
