Ask Nancy: with ESPN’s Nancy Lieberman

Hi Nancy, I love the WNBA! I am very excited about & will be a season ticket holder for the new chicago team next year! I was just wondering what can the fans do to help the league market & grow to where the nba is? It's a great league with the best ball!
-Cameron (Aurora, IL)
A: That's a great question because we need our fans to grow the game. Fans can produce people who have never gone to a WNBA game or watched one on TV. That's the best way � to take someone to a game so they can see the in-arena experience. And maybe that person ends up liking the way a certain player plays and gets hooked. I think that would be a wonderful grass roots foundation of growth.

Hey Nancy. Do you think Phoenix will ever reach .500 this season? Diana Taurasi can't do it all herself. How can she get help from her teammates, and who do you think needs to step up to help them win?
-AP (Mercer, PA)
A: I think Phoenix will get to .500 and will make the playoffs but I have to tell you, Penny Taylor is playing better than anybody on the Phoenix Mercury right now. Diana has had a good year -- she has not had a great year. I think she's been hampered by some injuries. They have a very, very talented basketball team -- they have Maria Stepanova, who's given them a defensive presence on the inside at 6-8, and Kamila Vodichkova, who's a wonderful faceup shooter. They have a lot of versatility and a lot of shooters. Diana has never had to do it by herself in Phoenix.

Do you think Tina Thompson's mid-season return to the Comets will give them the boost they need to make a good run at another championship?
- TSB (Nashville, TN)
A: She's certainly not in game shape. She's trying to work herself into game shape right now. I think Tina will be an asset a month from now, hopefully when the Comets get to the playoffs. But right now, she's just feeling her way. I think the Comets are playing well right now. They have good chemistry and Tina only adds to it.

Why do you think Katie Smith dosent get as much publicity as some of the great basketball players? She's just as good if not better.
-Jamie (Rogers, MN)
A: I think everybody in the know in women's basketball knows that Katie Smith is a future Hall-of-Famer. Her accomplishments speak for themselves. She has never been the type of person or player to seek out a lot of publicity. She just goes about her business but she's still been on an Olympic team, played for national championships. She's faced adversity and come back. So I think Katie Smith's place in basketball history is very secure.

Dear Nancy, Do you know what T-Spoon is doing now? I'm sorry she never got a WNBA championship. I always thought she was one of the nicest players in the game. Thanks, Joann.
-Joann (Connecticut)
A: She's obviously out of the league. She hasn't officially announced her retirement but she finished with L.A. last year. I'm really not sure what she's doing off the court. I would bet she's involved with children and helping teach the game -- she's very good at that.

Hi Nancy, I'm a girl's youth basketball coach.(9-11 yrs. old). How do you balance your practices with this age group? Do I stay with fundamentals, teach plays and sets that will give my team a better chance to survive the presses and different defenses? Thanks,
-Phil (King George, VA)
A: First of all, they need fundamentals. If you give them good, solid fundamentals, they will be better individually when you're asking them to run sets and plays. The problem with young players is they're so week fundamentally, when you put them in an offensive set, they're not ready to perform or execute what they're being asked to do. The better you can make players individually -- teach them how to break their defender down one-on-one; make them better with passing and shooting and off the dribble -- they're going to be more effective in whoever's offense. Not only yours but anybody else they play for.

Hey Nancy, I was just wondering if u think that there will ever be video games featuring womens basketball? I would love to see a WNBA game come out before some of the best players end up retiring. Do you know of any plans for any video games?
-Jessica (Asheville, N.C.)
A: There will be video games featuring women's basketball if fans buy them -- that's the only caveat. It's supply and demand. If there's no demand, there will be no games. If there is a demand, somebody will create the game. I think the fans have to want it.

What did you think of LISA LESLIE's amazing dunk in the all-star game?
-Mary (Charlottesville, VA)
A: I think Lisa Leslie's dunk was terrific. I don't know how amazing it was since she's been dunking for years. I was excited that it happened. It's good for the game. Lisa is one of the great ones.

Hey Nancy! First of all I would just like to say that you are one of my favorite people in the world of sports (along side Pat Summit, of course). But my question concerns Title IX. In what way did Title Ix help you become who you are today? Also, if Title IX never existed, where do you think you would be today?
-Nichole (Fort Bragg, NC)
A: If there wasn't Title IX, we wouldn't be having this chat. There wouldn't be a WNBA. There wouldn't be scholarships. There wouldn't be college basketball on ESPN. Title IX has changed everything and given an opportunity to all young women in sports. I'm a Title IX baby -- it changed my life. I was a poor kid from a one-parent family and basketball gave me an opportunity to have an education. It gave me an opportunity to grow as an athlete and to compete. To receive a scholarship. Title IX changed my life and it's changed the lives of many women.

Thank you all for the great questions!