Rookie Year

Former Baylor Lady Bears Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom were on top of the world last April when they became the University's first women's basketball players to be selected in the WNBA draft.
But to get the significant playing time that every pro wants, patience is the greatest virtue.
"At that level, they're all good," said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who as an assistant at Louisiana Tech coached such WNBA stalwarts as Teresa Weatherspoon and Vickie Johnson of the New York Liberty, Alisa Burras and Tamicha Jackson of the Portland Fire, Takeisha Lewis of the Seattle Storm, Monica Maxwell of the Indiana Fever, Ayana Walker of the Detroit Shock and Betty Lennox of the Miami Sol, just to name a few.
For Lambert, the excitement of being the Charlotte Sting's top choice (and the seventh overall pick) was tempered by a serious leg injury she suffered during the WBCA All-Star Challenge March 30 at the Women's Final Four in San Antonio. Lambert's broken right fibula and high ankle sprain temporarily derailed the Kodak All-American's plans to showcase her highlight-reel skills on the professional level.
"Basketball is my life and to have that taken away from me for several months was not good," Lambert said. "But Charlotte actually traded a pick to draft me and that made me feel like I can do this, I can pull through this injury and I can beat it."
With her leg in a cast and a screw in her right ankle, Lambert began her WNBA career on the injured list. Rather than shy away from the court, the Seattle native became a fixture on the sidelines during Sting practices, learning the pro game from teammate Dawn Staley, a WNBA veteran and Temple University head coach who is considered by many to be the best women's point guard ever.
"I think it helped me out a lot, but I did miss the experience of actually being on the court my rookie season," Lambert said. "I just take the pros and stick with them and then work through all the cons and then hopefully next season, I'll be able to show what I've got."
As difficult as it was for Lambert to watch from the sidelines, she began rehabilitating her surgically repaired leg in mid-May and was activated from the injured list July 19. She played four minutes that night with a rebound and an assist in Charlotte's 70-51 win over the Sacramento Monarchs. She scored her first basket as a pro Aug. 3 against the Indiana Fever.
"It felt really, really good to get back out there, although I wasn't 100 percent," Lambert said of her three-game, 16-minute rookie campaign for the Sting.
"You can see little flashes of what she's capable of," said Charlotte head coach Anne Donovan after Lambert's first game. "She's going to be an exciting player for this franchise."
A determined Lambert plans to return to Baylor to complete her degree in telecommunication. She also will concentrate on rehabbing her injury and getting back into playing shape.
"I've had some setbacks, but my leg's getting stronger," Lambert said. "I'm going to go through a lot of stuff - shin splits, tendonitis, aches and pains - until it gets back to how it needs to be. But I can play."
Crockrom, chosen by the Utah Starzz with the 11th overall pick, didn't spend her rookie year fighting through a major injury. However, cracking Utah's veteran lineup was almost as tough for the two-time Big 12 forward.
"When I came to Baylor my freshman year, I went to less playing time," Crockrom said. "I came into Utah with that same kind of mind-set that I have so much to learn. I'm just working on my game and getting better so I'll be ready when my name is called."
During her first year as a pro, the 6-2 Crockrom played in 18 games, averaging 4.7 minutes and 1.6 points per game. As the Starzz played their way into the WNBA Western Conference finals, Crockrom's foremost contribution happened out of the public eye.
"Every day in practice I have to guard (three-time WNBA All-Star) Natalie Williams, who outweighs me by about 60 pounds, and Margo Dydek, who's 7-2 and could be president of Poland, that's how popular she is overseas," Crockrom said. "With the Starzz, this is my job and what I'm getting paid to do. It's so cool."
Up next for Crockrom is a pro season in Athens, Greece. "It's a chance to get more experience playing on a professional level," said Crockrom, who needs one semester to finish her communication specialist degree.
Mulkey-Robertson stays in contact with both players, offering a needed lift when the lack of playing time or the frustration of an injury is worse than missing a wide-open layup.
"The thing I share with Danielle is that she has the disposition to not get too down and not get too depressed because she's been there before and she knows what it feels like to end on a good note," Mulkey-Robertson said. "I don't think Danielle's taking it as hard as Sheila, but that's because of Sheila's injury."
Most important, she reminds them that pro basketball is a business.
"They are learning from some of the country's best, and they're both back-
up players to Olympians," Mulkey-Robertson said. "As I tell them, you wait your turn, you get better everyday, you sign that paycheck. Their time will come."
 

Fogleman is director of media relations in the Baylor Office of Public Relations.