Sparks Hit a Twist at Start
As the Sparks play their opener tonight in Seattle, Coach Michael Cooper has more than the WNBA season on his mind.
Cooper has been contacted by the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets about their head coaching vacancy, sources close to him said Friday. He is expected to interview for the position soon, perhaps on Sunday.
The Hornets also are considering former NBA coaches Byron Scott, Mike Fratello and Brian Hill, league insiders said, but the team may be leaning toward hiring a fresh face.
Cooper, an 11-year NBA player and three-year Laker assistant, fits that description. He has been with the Sparks since 1999, spending the first season as an assistant before taking over as head coach in 2000. The Sparks won back-to-back WNBA titles in his second and third seasons.
Reached by telephone in Seattle, Cooper declined to comment about the New Orleans job. The Hornets were 41-41 this season and lost to Miami in the playoffs’ opening round, after which first-year coach Tim Floyd was fired. It shouldn’t be difficult for the Hornets to talk to Cooper between the Sparks’ first and second games. After tonight, they play at Washington on Tuesday, Connecticut on Thursday and Detroit on May 29 before their home opener June 1 against Seattle.
The Sparks have not lost a season opener since 1997, the WNBA’s inaugural season.
Last year, they opened with nine consecutive victories, equaling their record start in 2001. In 2002, the team won 12 of its first 13 games. In 2000, the Sparks won 16 of their first 18.
Cooper said the fact his team is no longer defending league champion -- Detroit last season ended the Sparks’ two-year reign -- might help jump-start this campaign.
“We’re not the champions, so maybe people won’t look at us in the same way,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean they should expect victories to pile up easily. Seattle already has played -- and won -- a game. The Storm defeated Minnesota on Thursday night.
Also, Seattle has been a tough place to win in recent seasons. Last year, the Storm dealt the Sparks their worst loss in franchise history, 92-56. Star center Lisa Leslie was injured and did not play for the Sparks in that game, but she was present for the 79-60 road pasting by Seattle in 2002.
“I’ve been watching last year’s tape a lot,” Spark point guard Nikki Teasley said. “We were without two starters” -- Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones -- “and they needed a win.”
Added Teasley: “We know it will be harder to get a fast start this year because everybody got better. But it’s important to get ahead because of the upcoming Olympics. You want some leverage.”
The league will temporarily halt play in August for the Olympics, picking up the schedule in September.
The Sparks won all three of their exhibition games, two of them against the New York Liberty. They added six new players to this year’s team, most notably former Liberty stars Teresa Weatherspoon and Tamika Whitmore.