Caught fever

NATALIE WILLIAMS

Four-time All-Star WNBA forward-center Natalie Williams was literally traveling to training camp for the start of the 2003 season when she was traded from the San Antonio Silver Stars to the Indiana Fever. After hearing the news in Albuquerque, N.M., she hastily altered her itinerary and drove to Indianapolis.

The trade brought Williams and the Silver Stars' first-round pick, Coretta Young, to the Fever in exchange for Gwen Jackson and Sylvia Crawley. For former Fever head coach Nell Fortner, the opportunity to acquire one of the game's most storied players (whom she had coached in the 1998 World Championships and 2000 Olympics) seemed too good to be true.

"Her size, her strength, her rebounding ability - there's not another player with her build in the league. So when I learned she was available, I just wanted to hurry up and get it confirmed by the league. You just never know what can happen. It can change in a 30-second period of time. So it was just like, Hurry up, let's lock it in," says Fortner.

Despite being a rookie on the team, Williams immediately became the Fever player with the most professional experience - having competed for two years in the American Basketball League before joining the Utah Starzz in 1999.

"It was kind of weird at first, but I know a lot of the players," says Williams, 33. "I played with Tamika [Catchings] at the World Championships, and I played with Coquese [Washington] and Sonja [Henning] before, and Ras (Kristen Rasmussen). I knew that Nell wanted me to be a leader. But leadership I can do on the court - by talking and defense and rebounding - and that's definitely what they needed on this team.

"I like the role and I was excited to play the part."

Williams stepped into the starting center role and averaged 13.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the season. She recorded her WNBA career highs in points (24 against Sacramento) and rebounds (17 against Connecticut) while wearing an Indiana uniform, and currently is in the top 20 in 22 separate statistical categories. She was named by the coaches to the All-Star Game, making her the first player to play for both Western and Eastern Conference teams.

Because the 1994 UCLA graduate possesses so many offensive weapons, other teams can no longer focus all their defensive efforts on Tamika Catchings.

"When Natalie gets the ball in the low post, you know that you have to double team her," says Catchings. "When I get the ball in the high post, you know that you have to double-team me. And it's kind of like, Who are you going to double team? Natalie in the low post or me on the high block? So having her down there, it means teams have to make a decision. She's going to kill you down low if you leave her one-on-one against somebody."

Utah's Female Athlete of the 20th Century lives in Salt Lake City during the off-season, where she owns a club named Natalie's. Her off-season plans include, "Taking a vacation. And continue to work on my game and do a lot of yoga and Pilates, which I did last year. That really helped me and I love that. And just hang out with my kids. That I didn't get to do a lot this summer."

Williams' children are 3-year-old adopted twins Sydney and Turasi. Williams seemingly juggles motherhood with a demanding career as easily as she grabs rebounds and scores on put-backs. "This year has been the hardest, just because they're 3 now and they understand when I'm not there. They say, 'I miss you Mommy.' I don't think they think that what I do is different from other moms because all their friends are the Indiana Fever girls. So they don't know what other moms do, but they think that they understand completely what I do, and they know that when I'm gone I'll be back in three or four days. They're very, very smart kids."

Williams hopes to again represent the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Thus she will spend several weeks in the off-season training with the U.S. Olympic team, which has at least two one-month training camps planned.

Next May will find Williams back in her second home, Indiana.

"It was a good move for me, and I thought it was the easiest transition," she says. "The team welcomed me with open arms and it's just been great. I love it here."

Copyright Ashton International Media, Inc. Dec 2003
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