Correction appended It has become a tradition.
Each time Michelle Greco steps out of the shower after practice
with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, she surveys the locker room
and takes a quick head count. Usually, there’s at least one
less teammate to greet her. But Greco remains. Each time another
ex-teammate packs her bags and has her nameplate removed from above
her locker, the former UCLA great moves closer to earning a place
on Seattle’s final roster. “It’s a cutthroat
business,” Greco said. “I don’t want to jinx
myself, but I think I’ve got a good shot to make this
team.” The face of UCLA women’s basketball throughout
her five-year collegiate career, Greco has taken a torturous path
to the WNBA since going undrafted last year. She played
professionally in Israel and Greece this winter before arriving in
Seattle this past Monday after her agent, Gilberto Garcia, brokered
a contract with the Storm. With first-team all-WNBA guard Sue Bird
and former Louisiana Tech standout Betty Lennox firmly entrenched
at the back court positions, Greco probably has little chance of
cracking the Seattle starting five. But only 13 women are left in
training camp, so Greco is certainly in the running to snare a spot
as a back-up. “There are a lot of variables,” Storm
coach Anne Donovan said. “Michelle is definitely still an
underdog, but the fact that she has gotten this far says a
lot.”
Quick transition There’s a Starbucks on
almost every corner in downtown Seattle, and Greco is probably
keeping each of them in business as she readjusts to Pacific
Standard Time. Her flight from Greece landed in Los Angeles at 4
p.m. last Monday. By 8 p.m., she had said goodbye to her family,
repacked her bags, and boarded another plane to Seattle after her
agent notified her of the Storm’s contract offer. “I
ended up taking the wrong bag with me,” Greco said.
“Now I have a bunch of jackets, beanies and gloves from
Greece that I don’t need.” Wardrobe issues were the
least of her worries, however, after training camp began the
following morning. Donovan said Greco was tentative in her first
few days of camp, unselfishly looking to set up her new teammates
instead of looking for opportunities to find her own shot. “I
brought her into my office Friday and told her she needed to show
what she is known for ““ the ability to score,” Donovan
said. “I had to know she is capable of that on this
level.” Since then, Greco has been more aggressive, but that
has not lessened the immense pressure to prove she belongs. With
each errant shot, each missed defensive assignment, the 5-foot,
9-inch guard’s sense of urgency swells with the knowledge
that her next mistake could be her last. “(Monday) I went to
shoot a 3-pointer, and I felt like I was shooting a medicine
ball,” Greco said. “It’s frustrating. Half the
team already has a spot on the roster. I can’t afford to be
banking two straight 3-pointers.” Grueling two-a-day
practices and the abrupt time change have taken their toll on
Grecco’s stamina, but the arduous schedule has not affected her
desire. Greco continues to impress the Storm coaching staff with
her hustle and her tenacity even as her legs turn to jelly beneath
her. The first round of cuts is behind her, but more remain.
Seattle begins exhibition play this weekend and must trim its
regular-season roster to 11 with two optional injured-list players
by May 19. Greco, who a year ago was cut by the now-defunct
Cleveland Rockers prior to the exhibition season, believes her
experience overseas could be the difference this year. Donovan
agrees that she has improved since college, but cautions that she
has not made the team yet. “Michelle has no WNBA
experience,” Donovan said. “The most difficult team to
make is always your first.”
Stating her case Questions about Grecco’s size
and durability caused her to slide all the way out of the WNBA
Draft, and forced her to accept an invitation from Cleveland to
come to training camp last May. Her stay didn’t last long,
which may have turned out to be a blessing for Greco, who believes
the Rockers never expected her to challenge for a place on the
roster. “If I had gone there and blown everyone away, maybe
there would have been a spot, but I didn’t,” she said.
“I didn’t fit in very well with the team, and Cleveland
wasn’t the ideal place for me. I was somewhat miserable
there.” After a brief stint back in Southern California,
Greco headed overseas to showcase her talents in Israel’s
First Division, where she led the league in scoring, averaging
nearly 25 points per game. Greco left Israel in January and signed
as a mid-season replacement with the Apollon Ptolemaidas, a pro
club in Greece’s First Division. Facing double and triple
teams most nights, she still managed to average 18 points a game
and earn a spot on the all-star team. “I don’t think a
lot of people expected that from me,” Greco said. “That
really helped my confidence. You hear horror stories of players not
getting paid in Europe, but for me, it was a great experience
playing there.” Grecco’s reputation as a deadly shooter
and prolific scorer preceded her arrival in Greece. But her new
teammates were most surprised by Grecco’s devotion to her
alma mater. After a crucial victory one night in late-February, the
entire squad went to a dance club in Greece to celebrate. Grecco’s
teammates noticed that she kept checking her watch. “They
were like, “˜What are you doing?'” Greco said.
“I told them I had to leave to go listen to the Bruins on
Internet radio. We were playing USC, and we needed to win to make
the tournament. “Call me weird, but I’m like
that.”
The road ahead Seeing her basketball career
nearly end prematurely due to a string of concussions throughout
her sophomore and junior seasons has made Greco wary of what lies
ahead. “Sometimes I feel like I’m continually being
tested,” she said. The challenges don’t get any easier
for Greco as she makes her final push for a roster spot in the
coming weeks. But one advantage she does have is her lower salary.
Greco, who would make the rookie minimum of $30,600 per year, comes
at least $10,000 cheaper than all the veterans in camp. Donovan
said that was part of the reason why fourth-year guard Stacy
Clinesmith was cut Monday. Having endured the process once before
in Cleveland last season, Greco is saying all the right things this
time around. “Everything I did last year was to avoid being
cut,” Greco said. “Now I’m more relaxed, and I
try not to think about it.” At least until she steps out of
the shower. That’s when the head count begins anew.
Correction:Michelle Greco’s name was
misspelled.