Duo gives Chicago high hopes
Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty ImagesSylvia Fowles and Candice Dupree give Chicago one of the best post duos in the league.They got to know each other years ago, as basketball prodigies growing up in Florida. It has been only as Chicago Sky teammates, though, that Candice Dupree and Sylvia Fowles have really gotten to know each others' games.
And the 6-foot-2 Dupree realized that she would have to change her game to best mesh with the 6-6 Fowles. She would need to develop a face-up game that included a dependable 3-point shot.
"It gives her a little more space to work with when she's posting up," Dupree said of Fowles. "If they double-team her, I can stay on the perimeter and knock the shot down. Last year, we didn't necessarily have that -- it was both of us trying to fight for a spot on the block.
"The main goal is to keep her on the block because she can dominate down there. It's working out so far, but I'm still trying to stay after practice and take more [3-point] shots. It is about repetition. That's the only way you can get it done -- you have to stay consistent with it."
It's not something that every player would do with such matter-of-fact determination, but that's exactly how Dupree has approached it. She focused on it during her wintertime overseas in Poland and in the short period between the end of her European season and the start of the WNBA season.
Dupree was 1-of-17 from behind the arc over her first three WNBA seasons combined. This season, she's 18-of-42 (43 percent), already surpassing the Sky coaching staff's hope that she would take at least 40 3-point attempts in 2009.
Her willingness to work hard at expanding her comfort zone as a shooter explains a lot about why Dupree is so respected as a leader, even though she turns just 25 years old later this month.
"With a new franchise, I didn't have much of a learning curve," she says of her rookie year in 2006, the Sky's inaugural season. "I started right away and played a lot right away.
"I think we've come a long way. From the top down in this organization, they're learning more about the women's game. We're getting the right players in and finding the pieces to the puzzle. This year, we definitely have the talent to make it to the playoffs, and right now that's our main goal."
If the Sky do that, it will be thanks largely to its young post tandem, certainly one of the most promising duos in the WNBA. Dupree is averaging 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Fowles, who has battled some knee problems since her college days at LSU but says she has it under control now, is at 11.3 ppg and 8.6 rpg.
An Olympian as a WNBA rookie last year, Fowles missed five games in early July this season -- and the Sky lost all of them. Chicago's record is 11-12 after a weekend featuring the "up" of edging the Dream 82-80 in Atlanta on Saturday and the "down" of falling to Detroit 64-58 on Sunday.
Still, the Sky are in the thick of the playoff race. Indiana (17-4) is running away with the East, but the other three postseason spots are up for grabs among everybody else in the conference (Washington and Connecticut are each 11-10 and Atlanta is 11-11). Even Detroit (8-11) and New York (7-14) can't be written off … especially not the Shock.
On Sunday, a combination of Detroit's defense and too many Sky turnovers contributed to Chicago's loss. But even in defeat, Dupree (16 points, 7 rebounds) and Fowles (10 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks) had their moments.
They were All-Stars for the East last month, along with Sky guard Jia Perkins.
"They make our job as guards easier, because teams have to give them so much respect," said Perkins, who is averaging 14.7 ppg and 3.2 apg. "I think that's what's helped me a lot.
"They both are great players, and they've already accomplished a lot in young careers. I'm sure they're looking forward to building on that."
A playoff spot would, indeed, be the next building block, and Fowles believes it's time. The Sky have been a far better team at home (8-2) than on the road (3-10) this season, and they will play seven of their final 11 games in Chicago.
"We are a young franchise, but it's all about how much you want it," Fowles said. "You have to have that willpower inside that you really want it, and then go out there and be consistent. If we can all stay on the same page, I don't think the fact that we're young will be an issue."
Fowles, who will turn 24 in October, recalls that her first meeting with her current pro sidekick was when she was in eighth grade and Dupree was in high school. Fowles grew up in the Miami area, Dupree in Tampa.
"We happened to play on the same AAU team at one point," Dupree said. "She was extremely shy; I remember she came one time and stayed at my house. But the silly, fun side eventually came out of her.
"When [Fowles] first came to Chicago, people said, 'She's so quiet,' and I said, 'Just wait, she'll open up.' She's one of the goofiest people on the team."
Fowles, part of so much success at LSU, was the Sky's top draft pick -- No. 2 overall -- in 2008 and was happy to have Dupree already in Chicago. Dupree had been the Sky's top pick -- No. 6 overall -- in 2006 out of Temple.
Think the L.A. Sparks, who selected UCLA's Lisa Willis at No. 5 then, regret the missed chance to nab Dupree? They should. The Sparks wanted a guard, but Willis wasn't the answer and eventually ended up in New York. She is not on a WNBA roster this season. Post-deep as the Sparks seemed then, how much would L.A. love to have Dupree now with Lisa Leslie set to retire at season's end?
Then again, if Dupree had been with L.A., perhaps the Sparks would not have lost enough games in 2007 (when Leslie missed the season on maternity leave and Chamique Holdsclaw left the team) to get in the draft lottery and snare the No. 1 pick that got them Candace Parker in 2008. So maybe a Candace/Candice front line in L.A. couldn't have happened anyway.
Still, it's quite a speculation puzzle, isn't it? If L.A. drafted Dupree in 2006, might it somehow have worked out that the 2008 draft had Chicago with the overall top pick -- bringing Parker to her hometown -- and then Fowles would have joined Dupree in L.A.?
It's impossible to say, and ultimately it just didn't happen that way. Besides, for the Sky's sake, Dupree and Fowles together in Chicago has been a blessing.
"It worked out perfectly," Fowles said. "My rookie year I came in and just wanted to learn the ropes. This year, it's more of a duo because we know each other now. I know where she is going to be, and she knows me. We have that special eye contact."
Mechelle Voepel, a regular contributor to ESPN.com, can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com. Read her blog at http://voepel.wordpress.com.
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