Figgs finds tough competition in WNBA

By Anne McLaren
Assistant Sports Editor

Former Boiler Ukari Figgs, now the starting point guard for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, is finding the level of competition in the pros much more challenging than in college.

"In college some teams were really good, and then some teams had point guards or centers who were good," said Figgs. "But in the WNBA everybody is good. You kind of have to go out and play your best every night."

Figgs, who was part of Purdue’s 1999 national championship team, exhausted her eligibility after the '98-'99 season. A third round draft pick (28th overall) by the Sparks, she played in just 22 games her rookie season due to injury.

"It’s definitely more physical than college basketball," said Figgs. "A lot more fast paced — a lot more running and gunning. Whereas in college a lot more teams are more half-court oriented."

After her injury, Figgs returned to full strength last season. Figgs started every game, averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 assists, as the Sparks went 28-4 in the regular season. After beating Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs, Los Angeles lost to eventual champion Houston in the divisional championships.

"We were really good last year — we had the best record in the league — but we just kind of faltered there in the end in the playoffs," she said.

However, Figgs has high hopes for next season.

"We’re going to be really good," she said. "I think with a year of experience under our belts … we’ll be even better. We got three good players in the trade and hopefully we’ll get a couple of good players in the draft and we’ll go from there."

The Sparks traded Allison Feaster and Clarisse Machanguana to the Charlotte Sting in exchange for Rhonda Mapp and E.C. Hill. They also traded LaKeisha Frett to Sacramento for Latasha Byears.

The first day of training camp is May 1. Figgs said she is planning to return to Los Angeles in April to begin working out more extensively than she has been in the offseason.

To stay in shape, Figgs has been working out at a local health center for the past few months.

"I go over there after work," she said. "I do cardio and I lift weights and then I go out and shoot and stuff. I go over there usually three times a week and I try to play maybe once or twice a week, on the weekends usually."

Figgs, who graduated from Purdue with a degree in mechanical engineering, spends much of her remaining time working at Caterpillar Inc.

"That’s really giving me a great experience to kind of see what engineering is all about and the real world is all about," she said. "It’s been definitely a great experience and it’s given me some other ideas about what I may want to do and maybe what I may not want to do after I quit playing basketball professionally."

Former Boiler Stephanie McCarty, who graduated with Figgs, also plays in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever.

"We talk to each other … pretty regularly and we try to go play every now and then together," said Figgs. "So hopefully both of us will be in shape when May rolls around."

McCarty led Purdue in scoring during its national championship season, averaging 20.2 points per game, while Figgs averaged 16.3 points.

Figgs said there are similarities and differences between this season’s Big Ten champion Purdue team (24-4, 14-1 Big Ten) and the national championship team that finished 34-1 overall and 16-0 in the conference.

"I don’t know if you can really compare them because we had so much experience in the backcourt," said Figgs. "We had the younger players at other positions. We had a lot of experience at the point guard and at the two guard and Katie (Douglas) was pretty experienced to be a sophomore."

However, Figgs said that although the current freshmen are inexperienced, they have been performing well.

"It’s tough coming in as a freshman to play point guard or to try to come out and play great every night when you start or when you’re the first person off the bench," she said. "They’ve done a great job and I think the coaching staff has done a great job mixing up the experience with some of the younger players to get the right combination on the floor."

Figgs has been in attendance at the women’s home games this season and has enjoyed visiting with her former teammates.

"I’ll always be a supporter of Purdue basketball and Purdue athletics in general," she said. "It’s been great to be able to see all the players who were here when I was here to do as well as they have been. (Captains) Camille (Cooper) and Katie have come out and just done a great job this year with so many freshmen that they have. The other seniors have stepped up."

At this point in her career, Figgs said she is honored just to be playing in the WNBA. Olympians Lisa Leslie and Delisha Milton are fellow Sparks. Figgs has also had opportunity to play against league MVPs Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper of the Comets.

"I never imagined I would be playing in the professional ranks when I got out of college," she said. "But I think it’s definitely neat to be able to play against them."

Figgs finds tough competition in WNBA

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Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

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