- IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Jamaican WNBA star Simone Edwards (left) gives some pointers to young basketballers and netballers attending a netball rally at St. Andrew High School last year.
Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
STANDING AT six feet, four inches and every inch of her proud to be Jamaican, Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) centre Simone Edwards has reached to heights that many have only dared to dream of.
Sprouting from humble beginnings, Edwards grew up between the St. Andrew communities of Hermitage and Angola. Like many other youngsters from that area, she attended St. Francis All-Age School and then went on to Kingston Technical High where she picked up the sport of basketball in her final year.
The rest from there, as they say, is history. In 1993, after attending Seminole Junior College, she was given a scholarship to the University of Iowa and from their started her WNBA career when she was drafted by the New York Liberty.
Life in New York was tough and the player struggled to find playing time, so she journeyed to Israel, but there a knee injury forced her out of the game for two years.
However, rehabilitated and ready to try again, Edwards made her return to the WNBA in 2000, signing up with the newly-established Seattle Storm. There Edwards found a home and in 2004 the 'Jamaican Hurricane', as she is affectionately called by fans, helped the Storm defeat the Connecticut Suns to win their first WNBA title. She had a championship ring, a goal that has eluded some of the basketball's most celebrated athletes.
"It's really awesome. I watch a lot of NBA players, they make a lot of money, millions, but a lot of them wish that they could give up some of that money for a championship ring," Edwards recently explained.
"I'm not making even close to what they are making but I have my ring ... but it would be nice to have some of the millions," Edwards added with a chuckle.
PERSISTENT INJURIES
While taking pride in competing with some of the best players in the world, persistent injuries have her thinking about retirement from the WNBA.
"Only a few have made it to where I am. I'm lucky to be one of them and also to be in it for so long. Many of them are finished after one or two years," she said.
"I was able to stick with it until I won a championship and I'm ready to retire from the WNBA now. I need to think about being able to play longer professionally overseas," she said.
Recently, Edwards shocked the local media with the announcement that, despite what is bound to be disapproval from the Seattle Storm franchise, she will take part in this year's Caribbean Basketball Championships in Jamaica.
In fact, the player went as far as to state that she would be willing to walk away from the league to take part in the event.
Edwards still vividly remembers when her 28 points and 20 rebounds were not enough as Jamaica narrowly lost to Guyana in 1996.
"I got two big awards but I still felt like I walked away empty handed; it was close," recalled Edwards, who lists Vince Carter as her favourite NBA player.
"This time knowing that it is at home and knowing how the Jamaica fans are, I'm hoping to get the arena filled. An WNBA championship and a championship in my country, what could be better than that?" she asked.
Edwards hopes her appearance at the championships will prove to be stimulation for the youth. She hopes to one day return to the island to start clinics all over the country which will harness what she believes to be an abundance of talent.
"The WNBA is where I'm getting paid and some people might think that I'm crazy to prematurely walk away from it," she said.
"But I'm doing this mostly for the kids here so they can come out see it and get excited. I'm hoping that the sacrifice will motivate and perhaps give confidence to others."
