The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

They both felt that after playing in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), they were able to use their experience to feed off each other as the Bahamas professional twin towers basketball players Waltiea Rolle and Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones worked out together for the first time.

The duo, both 6-foot, 6-inches, practiced for the past two days at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium under the tutelage of Marvin Henfield, the director of CSA Basketball Academy, as they took advantage of a rare opportunity with both of them in New Providence at the same time.

Here to complete her paperwork to get back into the United States, Jones said when she heard that Rolle was in town, she jumped at the idea of the two coming together to practice. “She paved the way. She was the first Bahamian to play in the WNBA and I remember watching her play in North Carolina,” Jones said. “So I wanted to get to work out with her and coach Henfield was willing to take the time out to go through the practice sessions with us, so it meant a lot.

“Yesterday (Monday) we worked out and we did it again today (Tuesday), so it was good. We got to scrimmage with the guys, so I’m happy to know that a lot of these young guys were available to put in some time with us. So I really enjoyed it.”

“It was good to learn from her and she learned from me,” said Rolle, who came home after playing in Turkey but will be heading back to the University of North Carolina to complete the final eight hours to earn her college degree. “Hopefully we can get to do it a lot more often.

“I enjoyed playing with her. She fed off me and I fed off her. It was a good experience.”

Nobody was more thrilled about the two players on the court at the same time than Henfield.

“I’m very impressed with what I saw, especially from Jonquel. She has an amazing game and I can see why she is where she is in terms of being an all-star,” Henfield said. “I think the best thing about this was bringing them both together for the first time to work out through CSA. “Waltiea is a veteran. She’s a perennial pro and she has definitely improved her fitness since last year and I know she wants to achieve some personal milestones like getting back into the WNBA and she’s well on her way to doing that. So bringing back both of these girls together to work is a good experience. It was a historical one because we had the first and the second players to play in the WNBA on the court at the same time.”

Henfield said during the summer, he got the opportunity to work with at least 70 per cent of the Bahamian male pro players when they come home, but this is something that he always wanted to achieve and finally did by getting to coach both Rolle and Jones at the same time.

For Jones, who is preparing for her third season in the WNBA, she went to China and she was able to take her team to the championship for the first time in four years since they made it with American Maya Moore at the helm. Jones, however, said after their coach got fired following their three-point loss in the first game, things went downhill.

“We lost by 20-something points in the next two games,” she said. “For us, it was demoralising after the coach was fired, but we did some positive things. We had a good season and it was still a lot of fun.”

Having established herself as one of the top players in the WNBA, making her first All-Star game and becoming the all-time rebounding leader, Jones said if she can duplicate her efforts plus some, she feels the Connecticut Sun could be a team to reckon with this year when they begin the pre-season on the road on Monday, May 7, against the Los Angeles Sparks and the regular season opener at home on Sunday, May 20.

“I just want to do some of the stuff that I did last year like rebounding the ball, something that I’m known for in the league,” said Jones, who will be heading to Connecticut for the start of their training camp on April 29. “Plus, I want to get more scoring up higher. I was around 15 points per game. I think I can be around the top 5-7 players in the league in scoring.

“That is something that I want to do this year. I also want to be able to hit the jumper from behind the three-point line and be more consistent from the free throw line and driving to the basket too.”

At the end of the season after playing in all 34 games for the Suns, Jones accumulated an average of 15.4 points per game, 11.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.4 block shots and 0.8 steals. She helped Connecticut, coached by Curt Miller, to a fourth place finish with a 21-13 win-loss record in the regular season before they got ousted in the playoffs by the Phoenix Mercury.

Whatever she does when the 2018 season starts, Jones said she’s quite thrilled because if there’s anything she can say, it’s the fact that she’s getting to live out her dream.

“I get to lace up my shoes and say this is my job,” said Jones, who came from an impressive four-year sting at college for George Washington where she broke just about every record. “For me, this is something that I always wanted to do as a kid, so a lot of times it’s so surreal and a lot of times, I can’t even grasp it because so much is going on. “But I love it and I appreciate the support because this is really a dream come true for me.”

Last year for the Sun, Jones was not only named to the WNBA All-Star game, but she was awarded Most Improved Player after she won the Peak Performer and the Rebounding titles. She was also named to the All-WNBA Second Team.

Looking back at her success, Jones took the time out to compliment everybody who played a role in her life from her parents, her coaches, her family and anybody else who assisted.

“I always say that God has blessed me because most people who came in contact with me wanted the best for me and to become the best person that I can be,” she said. “So I think God has placed those people in my life to help me to become the person that I am today.”

Like all pro sports, Jones said she doesn’t know what to expect when training camp opens because the team could change drastically before the season starts.

“It’s only so many roster spots and there’s not that many teams,” she said. “So every time you come to training camp, people are fighting for a spot on the team. Obviously, I think our starting five from last year will be there. That’s given. We will probably only have about three players deep on the bench who will be there.

“We probably will only have one person there who wasn’t there last year so I think it’s going to be really good for us because our chemistry will be there and we know how to play with each other and we all know the system, so I think it’s going to be really good for us this year.”