A Lil' Bit With Shannon Bobbitt

By Linda Edwards: SPM CA Writer
Posted Monday, August 18, 2008

Shannon Bobbitt relaxed for a second as she waits for play to resume - File photo by Donald Barnat.

Los Angeles Sparks rookie point guard Shannon Bobbitt is quick. Not only on the court but in moving up the LA roster from the bench to the starting point guard position. Drafted with the Sparks first pick in the second round just four months ago, Lil’ Bit, as she is known, has passed up two veteran point guards to start at the one-spot for all of the last 10 Sparks games she participated in before the Olympic break. The shortest Spark (5-2) co-leads her team in assists, along with fellow University of Tennessee rookie Candace Parker. Bobbitt stopped long enough after her team practice on Wednesday to speak with SPM by phone about the Sparks, being a champion, and looking forward.

SPM – Thank you for taking a few minutes to speak with me today. At the Olympic break you lead the Sparks in assists, at 3.5 per game, along with Candace Parker, and you had a season-high 10 assists in your last game versus Minnesota.

Bobbitt – Yes indeed!

SPM - Do you feel satisfied with your rookie season so far?

Bobbitt - I feel ok. Not comfortable at all. You can never get comfortable at this level, but I feel like I’m meshing very well, and learning from the veterans, and just doing the best I can.

SPM - Right now the Sparks are in third place in the Western Conference, and if the game in Minnesota (just before the Olympic break) had been a loss, the team would be in sixth place now. In preseason polls the LA was picked to finish first in the West. Do you think expectations were too high this year for the Sparks?

Bobbitt – Not at all. We’ve got a great team, a great coaching staff…. Things happen. We fell into a slump and lost a few games, but it’s a competitive league, you know what I mean, so you can lose on any given night. We had some tough losses, but we’re here on the Olympic break working on our game.

SPM – Tell me what you are working on this Olympic break without your three bigs being there. [Lisa Leslie, Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones are playing in the Olympics in Beijing]

Bobbitt – Definitely how to lead; and my (game) IQ, stepping up, learning the game, and just being comfortable in my position, and running the team.

SPM - You won two NCAA titles in college and a national title in high school too…

Bobbitt – Yes indeed.

SPM - So I guess you know a little bit about what it takes to be a champion.

Bobbitt – Oh definitely!

SPM – So what do the Sparks have to do if they want to win the WNBA title this season? What does the team have to do to get to that championship level?

Bobbitt – We have to definitely outrebound our opponents. We have to limit turnovers, and play together. [We have to] have great chemistry, and play hard on every possession. Playing defense is most important. So that’s what we’re working on this Olympic break – learning how to defend and helping each other and staying together as a team.

SPM – So did you get a little mini vacation at the beginning of the Olympic break?

Bobbitt – Yes, I went home for a week.

SPM – OK, and where’s that? To New York?

Bobbitt – New York.

SPM – Have you had a chance to do anything in Los Angeles this season?

Bobbitt – Again, everything has just been working hard and staying focused, so I’ve not really had any fun activities to do. But I will start having fun!

SPM – I hope so! Anything special you want to see or do?

Bobbitt – Yeah, I just want to see the lights of LA. It’s a great place, well known for stars, and a lot of things to do, so that’s what I plan to do – just go out and explore.

SPM - You’re the second Tennessee second-round pick in a row that has stuck with the Sparks [teammate Sidney Spencer did it last year]. What did you learn from Pat Summitt that made you ready to make a professional team?

Bobbitt – How to be a competitor, and to work hard, and definitely to lead the team and to bring the energy as a point guard. That’s what’s most expected, and to make the players around you better.

SPM – You’re the first junior college player in 30 years that made the Tennessee team. That’s pretty amazing. How did that happen?

Bobbitt – You know, God works in mysterious ways. At the point in time that I came out of JUCO [junior college] being a Most Valuable Player in the JUCO league, and I won (2006 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Junior College) Player of the Year, and at the time Tennessee needed a point guard, and I was there. Pat Summitt gave me a chance, and we won two great national championships, so she doesn’t regret it, and I don’t regret it.

SPM – When you were growing up, who was your favorite WNBA player?

Bobbitt – I didn’t have a favorite, I just liked all of them. All of them brought something different to the table, all of them were great players.

SPM – Were you a (New York) Liberty fan?

Bobbitt – Nah, I liked individual players, but not restricted to a team.

SPM – So, before the Detroit game, have you ever been involved in anything like that [the melee that resulted in 10 players’ suspensions, including a two-game suspension for Bobbitt] on the court?

Bobbitt – No, I’ve never been involved in anything like that.

SPM – So what are your thoughts when you look back on that game now?

Bobbitt – I don’t look back. I look forward.

SPM - Do you wear contacts while you’re playing?

Bobbitt – Yes, I wear contacts.

SPM - OK, because I always see you in glasses after (the games).

Bobbitt – Yeah, definitely. I love my glasses. But I put on my contacts during the game.

SPM - So after the WNBA season is over are you planning on playing overseas or are you going to take some time off?

Bobbitt – I’m not sure what I’m going to decide yet. I’ll figure with my agent about that. We’ll see what happens once the season is over. I’m just trying to finish out this season and win me a title in the WNBA right now.

SPM – So after your professional basketball career is over what would you like to do?

Bobbitt – I’d like to be a coach, be a teacher, teach the young kids how to compete on and off the court, with life and with basketball. And then I want to be a mentor.

SPM – Great! I think point guards make the best coaches.

Bobbitt – Definitely, definitely.

SPM – That’s it. So thank you Shannon, and good luck with the rest of the season.

Bobbitt – Thank you. Have a good day.

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