February 16, 2003
Cynthia Cooper redux?

Is two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper about to come out of retirement? Houston Comets owner Les Alexander thinks so:


"These are heady times for the Houston Rockets and Comets," Alexander said to those in attendance at the annual Tux & Tennies Charity Gala. "With Yao Ming, we are the No. 1 focus of sports around the world. With Steve Francis, we have one of the best guards in the NBA, and Cynthia Cooper will be coming back to the Comets.

"That announcement will made soon, but we'll go for another championship."

Alexander seemed certain there would be no problem finalizing the deal.

"Nothing is done until it's done," Alexander said after breaking the news. "But I'm very optimistic. Cynthia Cooper is the Steve Francis of the WNBA. Her coming back is fabulous."


As a Comets season ticket holder, this is exciting news. I should note, though, that Cooper's retirement was partly the result of her unwillingness to share the spotlight with Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. A certain level of ego is expected among star players - as Dizzy Dean once said, it ain't bragging if you can really do it - but if this second go-round is going to work, everyone involved will have to agree that there's only one ball, and only so many shots available. We'll see how Coach Chancellor deals with it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 16, 2003 to Other sports | TrackBack
Comments

I would like to comment on Cooper's comeback. I think that it is the best thing that happen in the WNBA history. Cooper is my biggest role model and I hope to play like her one day. After reading her book, She Got Game, I find that her background is similar to mine and that when she was younger, she use to take her stress to the court just like I did. Cooper is the best basketball player that I have ever known. Not only is Cooper my role model, but I also have to recognize, Thompson, Swoopes, and Arcain. Those three together are unstoppable and you know it!

Posted by: Felicia McCombs on August 23, 2003 4:40 PM

I think that Cynthia Cooper coming back to WNBA is the best thing to happen to this great organization because it gives more girls who has a dream of making it the WNBA a chance to achieve their dream. Besides her being the best WNBA player it will give the Houston Comets another chance to get to the finals.

Posted by: Serena Alga on September 24, 2003 7:12 PM

I have a question: are we believing that Les Alexander compared Cynthia Cooper to STEVE FRANCIS? EXCUSE me?? That is a SEVERE slap in the face to Coop...and to Michael Jordan, with whom everyone else compares her. Steve Francis was okay in 2003 (though he had serious holes in his game [see: shot selection in 2004 playoffs vs. Lakers]), but he will never compare to Cynthia Cooper. How dare Alexander say something so stupid about someone he hoped would return to his team!

Oh...and I'm not buyin' the deal about Coop not wanting to share the ball with Tina Thompson. Sheryl Swoopes maybe, as it was well-publicized that there was some sort of friction between her and Coop, and I could see it from time to time myself. But Coop and TT were tight, and Coop was too team-oriented to really care about how much she had to share the ball.

Posted by: Bob James on March 29, 2005 1:50 PM