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BELOW THE RIM: WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

I no longer watch NBA games.

The artistry of playing the game below the rim has, for the most part, been lost. Often the ball is passed to a teams star player who then plays one on one against the opponent's best defender. The dunk, when performed with skill, is beautiful, but when performed clumsily, is an embarrassment. Most of the time in the NBA, it is an individual play performed for the highlight newsreel. The artistry of team play in the NBA seems to be a thing of the past.

The game is still artistically played below the rim in the WNBA.

I don't agree with some basketball fans, mostly men, who criticize women players for not having achieved the same skill level as the men. It is unfair to compare women players in the WNBA to the men players in the NBA. The men are stronger, bigger, and quicker. They have played the game above the rim for a long time.

The measure of how much women have improved their skills should be based on a comparison between how they were required to play the game before 1971 and how they were allowed to play beginning in 1971. Before 1971, the women played six on six, a semi-half-court game. A team consisted of three defensive and three offensive players. In one half of the court, the three defensive players of one team faced the opposing team's three offensive players. Only the offensive players were allowed to score.

If a defensive player stole the ball or grabbed a rebound, she had to throw the ball across the mid-court line to an offensive player on her team. Players could not cross the half-court line. Dribbling was not allowed. To advance the ball, players bounced it twice. The one-hand set shot was considered unladylike.

In 1971, the rules were changed to allow the women to play full court five on five, and the 30-second clock was introduced. The women learned, some of them on the asphalt courts of the cities, how to dribble, pass, shoot, and defend. Not being as strong as the men, they learned to be more artistic. The coaches emphasized teamwork.

Some fans, mostly men, probably think the ability to dunk is the best measure of how far women have come in developing their skills. Candace Parker has dunked twice since entering the WNBA. I saw her dunks both in college and the pros on newsreel highlights. For me, the dunks were sad news because I know others will use the dunk to measure her talent, ignoring the skills and artistry she displays below the rim. Least we forget, Parker's great teammate, Lisa Leslie has dunked a few times in her WNBA career.

Why was Parker's routine dunk a highlight reel play? As the New York writer, Martin Johnson, has noticed, interest in women dunking is growing. The women will probably play the game below the rim for a few more years, but Parker's dunks clearly indicate that it will not be many more years. Even as I write this, fathers, brothers, and boyfriends probably are teaching daughters, sisters, and girlfriends to dunk the basketball. Parker has set the trend, and she will be imitated.

Parker is not only a spectacular player but is the future of the league. Little girls will certainly imitate her moves and demeanor.

It will be a sad day for me and I believe women's basketball when dunking routinely makes the highlight reel. The artistic play below the rim will disappear.

Learn more about this author, Louis Willis.
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