WNBA Finals a Win-Win Situation for Rice's Williams

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 30, 2008) When the WNBA Finals get underway between the San Antonio Silver Stars and Detroit Shock on Wednesday, Rice women’s basketball coach Greg Williams has an interesting dilemma on which team to pull for because of his strong ties to both franchises.

Williams was an assistant coach with the San Antonio franchise, formally the Utah Starzz in 1997. He moved to Detroit a year later helping the Shock to a 17-13 inaugural season record.

Two years later, Williams became the Shock’s head coach and director of player personnel. He selected Deanna “Tweety” Nolan in the 2001 WNBA Draft, who scored over 20 points for Detroit in all three games of the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Liberty.

Nolan will most likely guard Silver Stars leading scorer Becky Hammon, who played for Williams at Colorado State. Hammon poured in 35 points on 10-of-18 shooting in San Antonio’s 76-72 game three triumph over the Los Angeles Sparks.

Both Nolan and Hammon were 2008 WNBA All-Stars.

But the connections don’t stop there for Williams or the Owls.

Valeriya Berezhynska was drafted and attended training camp with the Shock. In late July, Berezhynska signed a pair of 7-day contracts and appeared in two games for the Silver Stars. She now plays overseas for Team Reims in France

Game one of the finals is scheduled for 6:30pm CT on ESPN at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.