You Ask, She Answers: Lisa Willis
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Now, down to the good stuff. But first,�I must say that really, all of these questions made me feel like�I was right back in New York with you all ...
QUBALLA368: Does the Liberty use male practice
players like most college teams do??
So for QUBALLA368,� yes we�have�played with male practice
players before.�It's more in a scrimmage setting, as opposed to them being present everyday at
practice. They are a big help.
Jade: Are you excited about the new season? Hey Jade, how are you? I'm totally geeked up about the upcoming
season. The summer is what we live for, right? I've been working on my game, so
hopefully I will be able to help the team get that 'ship that you all are waiting
for.
�
Pam: What do you do before and after a game? Well Pam, my routine varies before and after the game. But
for the most part, before the game, I make sure�I get a nice pre-game nap
in. Yea yea yea! I'm a sleeper. So, for me to be feeling at my best,�I need
to be well rested. Then,�I drive into the city a little early, with enough
time for me to pick up some Chipotle or Boston Market and eat it in the locker
room. On the way to the game�I like to listen to my gospel music. It's a
nice little drive, so,�I have a decent amount of praise and worship going on in the car,
all by myself. After the game,�I normally go out to eat - depending on
who we are playing,�I may go out to eat with the opponent.�Then,�I simply call
it a night.�
Chip: Can you play the
point?
Hey Chip, how are things? Believe it
or not, when�I first started playing basketball,�I was a point guard. It wasn't until years later that�I
moved over and started thinking, shot first. But today, in 2009 ... hmmmm,�as far
as the PG spot goes, yea,�I can. I'd need to brush up my skills
a tad bit.
John: Hi Lisa. What was your favorite WNBA
team/player(s) when you were growing up?
Hey John, do you mind if i call
you Johnny? Cool, thanks. Well Johnny, as a kid�I was a LA Sparks fan. That was my
home team, and there were many reasons for me to look up to them.
And on that team, Mwadi Mabika was my fave. But now, I'm a Lib
fan. Go Libs!!
Tandy: Lisa, Did you manage to learn any
Turkish during your European stint? And how do the locals react to the American
women ball players over there, or don't you get to have much
contact?
Tandy, you would not believe all the Turkish�I did NOT learn! But�I still managed
to get by with the important phrases such as, "I'm ready to go home" or "Do
you have my money?" and "My love, I'll be waiting for you." Yea,�I know the last phrase
was random, but believe it or not, I got good use out of calling
people "my love." It's "ashkum" to be exact. But my teammates spoke English, so
it was cool.
Jackie: Do you have a specific diet that you
stick to? What's your guilty pleasure snack?
Now Jackie, you're making me feel bad because�I know
there SHOULD be a diet that�I stick to. And�I promise that
I'm trying to find the right one, but right now, NOPE.�I just try to eat
right and eliminate the foods that�I know�I shouldn't be eating from
my diet. My guilty pleasure snack would have to be Peanut M&M's. And what
makes it so bad, Jackie, is that, I'll lay in bed watching
Nick-At-Nite, and just eat the whole bag. It's really
sad, but, I've been clean of Peanut M&M's for about�two months, with only one
relapse last week.
Annie: If you could live anywhere in
the world right now and play basketball there where would it be?
Hey Annie,
wassup? If�I could live anywhere and hoop there, I'd probably choose Spain. They have a good
league out there,�I speak some Spanish as well, so, I'd actually be able to communicate with the
locals. My question for you Annie is, do people ever sing the the song
"Tomorrow" to you from the movie Annie? If not, I'll sing it to you
when�I see you.�
Jennifer: If you could play a
one-on-one basketball game with any of the New York Knicks who would it
be?
Hey Jennifer. I'm the type that likes to give people nicknames, so�I hope it's cool
for me to call you Jenny, like Forrest Gump's lady friend. Anywho, Jenny (imagine
me saying it like Gump), if�I could choose, I'd probably want to play David Lee one-on-one or
Jared Jeffries. Why? Because they're cute, duh!
�
Chris: What's your workout regime like?
Good morning, noon, or night, Chris. How are you? Well, my
workout regime right now is pretty tough.�I think�I make it harder on
myself, though.�I like to get about three workouts in a day, but,
since�I wake up at about 10:00 a.m. that means there's not that much time
in between the workouts. But basically, Chris, I'll get up and run on the
treadmill for about 45 minutes to an hour. After that, I'll lift
weights�and do some abs. That's done at a fitness center, which means,
when�I do my basketball training, I'm driving to a different location. So,
about an hour later I'll workout with my basketball trainer for about an hour
and a half. Depending on the day, it�determines the workout.
But, it's good stuff that we're doing (you'll see come season). So�I may take a nap,
because as I previously mentioned, I'm a sleeper. Then, I'll get up and go play basketball
with some guys at a local gym. That's pretty much my workout. Somedays I'll go and play
with the�UCLA women's team - shout out to the Bruins!!! Other times,�I may play
with some ex-college players at night. So, it really depends, but that's pretty much
my daily workout.�
Lynn: Which do you like better - Cali or New
York?
Now Lynn, you know if�I say�I like Cali more than
New York, my New York people will kill me. And if�I say�I like New
York more than Cali, my Cali folks will jump on me. So here's what�I will
say: If for some odd reason,�I got kicked out of the UFO spaceship thingy
because the martians thought that�I didn't fit in,�I would
not
mind landing in New York
or Cali. Fair???�
Ella: Hey Willis! Your blogs crack me up. Do
you keep in touch with your Liberty teammates during the off season? What was
your most memorable moment from last season? Do you have any funny stories that
you can share about life on the road with the Liberty?
Ella, thanks for the question that won't get me killed. To
answer it,�I would have to say that we keep in touch a little bit via e-mail
or instant messaging. but, not all that much. My most memerable moments last
year would probably be�playing against the Fever, two games actually. One
game went into three overtimes�I believe, and then we won. Our team, just
like the Fever did not want to say die. We kept fighting and fighting, and never gave up. That showed what our
team was really about. Then Ella,�I don't know if you were there, but we played
them at the first ever outdoor basketball game in the WNBA.
Even though we did not come out with the "W," we still were
a part of history that evening. Geeez Ella, you� have me stumped.�I know there are like a
billion funny stories our team has, but,�I just cant think of any right now.�I know,�I
know ...�I'm sorry. Thank you for reading the blog entries,�and enjoying my sense of humor. My
mom thinks I'm embarrassing, but I'm glad you don't.
�
libertysbiggestfan: I love your three pointers
and especially your moves, they are so good and they get almost anybody. Do you
make them up? Any tips for ball handling? Thx (NY Liberty # 1 ) P.S. Cant wait
till the season starts!
�
LOL, well hello there LIBERTYSBIGGESTFAN.�That's
a cool name you have there. Thank you for your compliments, but no, I'm not sure�I
can take full credit for my moves. When�I was younger,�I would watch other people play, male
and female, and if they did a nice move,�I would work on it. Some moves stayed with
me, some didn't make the cut. As far as ball handlig tips go all�I
can really say is: practice, practice, practice. Then, once you think you've mastered it,
practice some more.�
Green eyes: First of all, love your energy
and sense of humor. You make me laugh. I love looking at your little dance on
the Liberty website. It cracks me up. How do you feel about the rosters in the
WNBA being cut down to 11 players each. This is really sad because we might end
up losing one of our players for new blood. If it were your chose who would you
draft in this upcoming draft? Keep on doing your thing and GO Liberty!!!!! I
would love for you ladies to take home the WNBA Championship. You all deserve
it!
Hey green eyes. Are
your eyes really green, or you just thought that would be a cool
name?? Anywho, thank you, as well, for enjoying my online dancing. Again, my mom finds me
to be out of control in that clip, but hey, if the fans love it, then
what's the problem?�I think that it�is unfortunate�that the rosters have to be cut down. But, that
is what�we are dealing with right now. The game will definitely be more competitive, something the fans and players will enjoy. I'm not super familiar with the
incoming rookies this year, so�I can't really have an opinion about who I'd want
to play with.
Well, it's late at night in Cali, as I finish this up, so,
its even later in New York. So, I'm going to have to say good night. But, thank
you all so much for talking to me via my HP Pavillion. I hope to see you all
soon. Sweet dreams everyone.
Willis, 40
See Lisa Willis in action all summer long at Madison Square Garden. The 2009 season tips off on Sunday, June 7 on The Garden floor against Eastern Conference rival the Connecticut Sun. Score season tickets now by calling 212-465-6073 or clicking here. When you purchase a season ticket in March, you'll get a limited edition Liberty gumball machine, and a free meal for Opening Day.