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Saturday, December 9, 2000
Wahine’s Lee Even though the Stan Sheriff Center team chairs are padded, it's still hard sitting on the bench.
making things
‘Crystal’ clear
The senior was determined
to let coaches know she wasn't
happy on the benchBy Al Chase
Star-BulletinThat is difficult for a player getting just 8.8 minutes of court time after she started all 27 games the previous season.
Crystal Lee was in this emotionally confusing situation her junior year, the University of Hawaii's 1999-2000 season.
"There were a couple of games I didn't play at all. Those really tore me down," the 5-foot-11 senior forward said. "I had to make a decision of whether I was going to fight my way out of it."
Leaving the program crossed her mind. Lee did not tell anyone. She did not want to bring a negative into the team situation, but she did talk to her parents a little.
However, it was a big talk she had on a road trip to Texas with her coach, assistant Jon Newlee, that refocused her basketball life.
"I asked Jon what I needed to do myself, what I needed to work on individually because, coming off a season where I started every game to not playing, isn't exactly an ideal situation," Lee said.
Newlee told Lee there was a lot of season left, so she shouldn't be satisfied coming off the bench.
"He said the coaches thought I had spurts where I didn't work hard even though I thought differently," Lee said. "It's more working hard toward the things they want you to do, running hard in a certain drill.
"The bottom line is, if you want playing time, you need to go to the source and that source in the coaches. It doesn't matter what you think or how you perceive yourself. If the coaches don't think something, you're not playing."
The next game was at Rice, a turning point for the Veradale, Wash., resident. Lee came off the bench to play 24 minutes, score 15 points, grab three rebounds and make three steals.
"I remember Jon said the coaches would die of shock if they ever saw me dive on the floor for a loose ball," Lee said.
"In the Rice game I remember a couple of times diving on the floor for the ball.
"I needed to take what Jon said to heart or my future at UH was doomed.
For the final six games a year ago, Lee averaged 30 minutes and 12.2 points per game vs. less than two points for the first 19 games.
"I saw a big difference in the way she practiced," Newlee said. "Her intensity level was way up from where it had been and her game reflected that."
"She got to the top of the hill and that will carry her through her senior year," Wahine head coach Vince Goo said.
The experience left no doubts in Lee's mind as to what was necessary to be ready for this season.
"I came back this year, more than any other year, knowing exactly what I had to do, knowing what mattered, what I had to work on and what counted and what didn't," Lee said.
"I really didn't go in with a lot of expectations for myself, but more the expectation of us winning as a team. I'm glad now I made a turn for the better."
Her coaches and teammates would certainly agree.
Lee has been named all-tournament twice and was MVP of the Hawaiian Regent Classic. She not only leads the Wahine, but the Western Athletic Conference, with her 20.5 scoring average.
And she hasn't lost that desire to chase those loose balls.
"Crystal went after one in practice the other day and was yelling to her teammates to keep playing," Newlee said. "Afterward she came up to me and said, 'You like that, don't you coach?' I told her she didn't know how good that made me feel deep inside. She has come full circle."
Lee no longer goes into a game nervous, thinking if she misses a shot, she will get pulled.
The points and honors make Lee feel good, but they are not the most important thing. She would be just as satisfied getting a wining assist or key rebound.
"I'd rather win a tournament and I hope that is the attitude everybody on our team has because that's what you need to win," she said.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu