Starbird’s Star Bright In Seattle Life Of Abl Rookie Busy, But Former Cardinal Fits In

Yes, the actual act of playing basketball somehow is squeezed into Kate Starbird’s day.

Basketball, and so much more for the American Basketball League’s brightest star who signed with the Seattle Reign in April.

“Last week, we had a day off,” said Starbird, who will be in Spokane on Friday when the Reign meet the San Jose Lasers in an exhibition game at the Arena.

“But it really didn’t feel like it. I did four media interviews.”

This week, there’s Fox news internet, a Seattle on-line magazine, a photo session in which Starbird has agreed to be followed all day - and yes, basketball practice and meetings as the Reign prepare for their Oct. 15 season opener against the Lasers.

Life in the spotlight is not new to Starbird. Sure, the watts may have increased, but it’s nothing she can’t handle or would dare duck.

“It’s a little different because before, the same people kept calling me,” she said.

Now, interest in the 1997 Naismith Award winner has expanded beyond the Palo Alto and Pacific-10 Conference boundaries. During her four years at Stanford University, Starbird helped the Cardinal to three straight NCAA Final Four appearances. She’s the school’s all-time scoring leader with 2,215 points, fourth all-time in the Pac-10.

“Last year, it was just as bad, and I also had classes,” added Starbird, a computer science graduate.

Class dismissed. Indeed. But not without rewards.

Starbird, a 6-foot-2, 150-pound off-guard known for her unorthodox shooting style and instinctive open-court passing, signed a three-year contract that reportedly will pay her $150,000 this season.

Some reports have this year’s salary as high as $250,000, and that doesn’t include the contract she signed with Nike. Although Reebok is the ABL’s official “ankle up” apparel sponsor, players are free to sign with other shoe manufacturers.

“Apparently someone said, ‘You’re just basketball players. Why do you get so much money?”’ But we’re nowhere near the NBA players,” Starbird said.

The 2-year-old ABL is thrilled to have Starbird, along with 10 of the 13 women considered the top athletes from the college Class of ‘97. The WNBA, the NBA’s summer experiment that succeeded, was equally as aggressive.

So why did she pick the less-visible league whose pockets aren’t nearly as deep?

“Do you want the rapid-fire answer?” said Starbird, fully aware no Starbird interview is complete until that subject is covered.

No. 1. Seattle. Starbird, the Reign’s regional first-round pick, played high school basketball at Lakes High School in Tacoma. Her parents still live in Tacoma. Her younger brother, Edward, attends the University of Washington and her older sister, Meg, is one of two roommates in her rented house.

No. 2. The majority of the better players are in the ABL. Among the rookie elite who also will be in Spokane on Friday are former Georgia guard Kedra Holland-Corn and former ODU center Clarisse Machanguana. Both play for the Lasers.

No. 3. The length of the season and the time of year. The ABL plays 44 regular-season games beginning in October and finishing with its four-team playoff in February. The 10-week, 22-game WNBA regular-season begins in June.

“I liked their (ABL) philosophy and how they treat their players,” Starbird added.

And it’s a safe bet the ABL adores the way Starbird treats the public.

“We love interacting with 12-year-old girls. That’s really rewarding. That’s the least painful of all of it.

“You wind down, talk to smiling kids that tell you what a great game you played … even if you didn’t,” she said.

Then there’s basketball, actual passing, dribbling, shooting and defending.

During the summer, Starbird was among eight ABL players who represented the U.S. at the World University Games in Palermo, Italy. The 12-player team beat Cuba in the gold-medal game 100-82.

Starbird, a reserve, averaged 15.5 minutes per game and scored 8.7 points on 66 percent shooting. She shot 55 percent from 3-point range.

“I need to improve,” she said. “I need to have total game improvement. I need to get quicker.”

Starbird is expected to start for the Reign. If four exhibition games this season, she leads the team with a 14.0 points-per-game average.

Seattle has been revamped after finishing 17-23, third out of four among Western Conference teams. Only five players from last year’s team are back. The Lasers also returned with just five chartered players.

“It’ll be different. Each game isn’t as important. In college, there was so much pressure. If we lost it would have been the end of the world.”

Notes

Two players on the Seattle Reign, Linda Godby and Rhonda Smith, will be at the East Central Community Center, 500 S. Stone St., today at 4 p.m. Buses will bring children from the West Central Community Center.

Godby, a 6-6 forward/center, played on three teams that made it to the NCAA championship game (‘88, ‘89, ‘90) at Auburn University. She played professionally overseas before joining the Reign last year.

Rhonda Smith, a 6-2 forward from the University of Washington (1992-95), played professionally in Taiwan last year.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COMING UP Seattle Reign vs. San Jose Lasers, 7:30 p.m., Friday, at the Arena. Tickets: G&B Select-a-Seat, Arena ticket office, or charge by phone at 325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT.