14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 6, 2001
PLAYING WITH FIRE
Former Wolverine Stacey Thomas returns home with with Portland
By Benjamin Singer * Daily Sports Editor
AUBURN HILLS - Michigan
coach Sue Guevara waited for
her former player to come out
of the Portland Fire locker room. Stacey
Thomas emerged, and the two greeted
each other happily with hugs and
smiles.
"Tell me what you need," Guevara
said, still trying to take care of her
once-leader and still friend. "You need
shoes?" she asked, looking down at
Thomas' white sneakers.
"No, I'm alright, coach," Thomas
smiled back.
Guevara, who would normally pull
for the Detroit Shock in a WNBA
game. stood in her Portland Fire shirt.
As she cheered on Thomas as a fan (not
a coach), the Flint native scored seven
points, three rebounds and added one of
her specialties - a steal.
The Shock nevertheless completed a
comeback of an 11-point halftime
deficit to win 70-65. Sophia Wither-
spoon had a chance to tie the game at
68-68 for the Fire in the closing sec-
onds, but missed the three pointer.
"I wish (Stacey Thomas) had the shot
at the end," she said.
Maybe that's how Guevara would
have drawn up the last play a couple
years ago at Michigan, but on this Sat-
urday night, Thomas sat on the bench
for the last shot.
After starting for four years as a
small forward at Michigan and then a
year of starting for Portland in her rook-
ie year, Thomas is being introduced to a
new responsibility on the basketball:
team-role player.
"This season is the first year of her
life when she hasn't been a starter,"
Guevara said. "She's adjusted to a new
role of coming off the bench. Her role,
in one respect, is the same as it was
here, defensive specialist."
Thomas made her mark as a tena-
cious defensive player as a Wolverine.
She won the first-ever Big Ten Defen-
sive Player of the Year in 2000. She also
cites breaking the Big Ten steals record
as her favorite basketball moment.
At Michigan, she was productive on
the other side of the ball as well, scor-
ing 13.5 points per game in her four
years. But in her rookie season with the
Fire, she managed just 5.1 points an 6
outing. Then the Fire made a few off-
season acquisitions, including first- Portland's Stacey Thomas (left), the all-ti
round draft selection Jackie Stiles - the next move by the Detroit Shock's Ed%
the all-time scoring leader in women's defensive specialist, she lives up to her
college basketball from Southwest Mis- reputation by nearly nabbing a steal for
souri State - and Thomas found her- every game she plays --27 take-aways
self squeezed out of the starting lineup, in 28 games - while averaging just 13
"She's got to becone a better shooter minutes a game.
for her to be able to get more time," "Stacey is our best perimeter defend-
Fire coach Linda Hargrove said. er," Hargrove said. "She's a great ath-
"Towards the end of last year people lete on the perimeter, very focused on
really started to play off of her and we defense and somebody who's very
couldn't get the ball into the post. quick, can get steals for us."
"That's something she's got to h Thomas is one of two former
get to be really successful on this Wolverines in the WNBA, with the
level, she can't just take it to 1998 Michigan graduate.
the hole every time. She Pollyanna Johns of the Cleve-
knows that that's her area of . land Rockers being the other.
weakness and that's where she's got to Both Thomas and Guevara have hope
get better in the offseason." that some other Wolverines will be
Although she doesn't start, Thomas playing alongside those two in the
is proud of her contributions to the WNBA someday soon.
team. As someone who comes off the "I feel like practically all the seniors
bench, she can be used to try to change have the potential to do it," Thomas
the tempo of the game, a pick-me-up said. "I played with them two, three
for Portland to light the defensive years and they're tough."
"Fire" under her team's collective belly. Thomas also got to see them play
"I always tell everybody I love without herself on the court for the first
defense more than scoring," Thomas semester of the 2000-01 season as she
said. "I take great pride in it. It probably finished up her Business degree at
started in my college years. It started Michigan. One of those Wolverines she
off with getting a lot of steals and watched from the stands was WNBA
checking the toughest player on the hopeful Anne Thorius.
other team." Thorius, who was drafted in the
As Thomas adjusts to her new title of fourth round, was the last cut by the
Orlando Miracle, keeping her out of the
league for this year. But she signed with
MARJORIE MARSHALL,
me Big Ten leader in steals, anticipate
wina Brown.
a team in Poland and will be tryin
improve her game in Europe for an
er shot at the WNBA.
"(Michigan) lost a really good lea
Anne Thorius. She was the floor ge
al, the pilot of the team, even wh<
was there," Thomas said, who sI
four months of basketball in Swe
herself before her rookie year v
Portland. "I think it's going to be a g
experience (for Thorius). It's goin;
put her in the position to score an
work on her defense. Point guy
being able to defend is a key thing."
Thomas was able to stay in ce-
with Thorius last summer whil
interned at Nike in Portland dui
Thomas' rookie season. Former te
mate Katie Dykhouse, who just
ished her Michigan career with Thos
has that same internship this sums
and according to Thomas attends e,
Portland game.
Thomas still e-mails her old cc
Guevara for advice and encouragej
as well. But no amount of contaN
technology makes up for being bac
home with her friends, family and f
"It was great hearing people c
my name," Thomas said, who spe
several signs during the game in
support. "Everyone's talking about
Blue' and 'Go Wolverines,' so it
nice. I had alot of fun."
MARJORIE MARSHAL
Stacey Thomas (left) tries to drive against Edwin Brown of the Detroit Shock.
Thomas scored seven points In this her homecoming.
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Princess of thieves
Stacey Thomas made a name for 4
self at Michigan with her smothering
defense, which helped earn her the
all-time Big Ten record for steals,
and the Big Ten Defensive Player of
the Year. She was drafted by the
Portland Fire in the second round of
the 2000 WNBA draft as the 23rd
overall selection. Here are her col-
lege statistics:
Year G PPG RPGA 4
1996-97 26 12.9 6.6 50 71
ssOW5/DaIs 1997-98 29 11.7 7.3 52 89
The foundation of Thomas college 1998-99 30 14.9 7.8 56 111
career was her defense. 1999-00 30 14.5 7.7 64 10:
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