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Championship aspirations for Orlando

Untested coach Dee Brown implements a new offense in hopes of a winning season.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 11, 2002

The Orlando Miracle opens the WNBA preseason tonight with a slight sense of uncertainty.

For the first time since the franchise began play in 1999, Carolyn Peck will not be on the sideline guiding the team.

The former coach and general manager left last month to take over the Florida women's basketball program. Dee Brown, a former NBA guard with the Celtics and Magic who has no head-coaching experience, is the new coach.

But when the Miracle plays the Miami Sol at 7:30 in the T.D. Waterhouse Centre, Brown said fans can expect him to do everything in his power to make the game exciting and to help the Miracle compete for a championship.

"The ultimate goal is to win a championship," Brown said. "We want athletic players who want to play defense and who want to get up and down the floor. We're going to be intense on both ends of the court."

The Miracle is coming off a 13-19 finish and no playoff appearance. Brown said he plans to abandon the triangle offense the Miracle experimented with last season and institute a system that complements what he considers the team's strength: its backcourt.

"We will be implementing something to utilize our quickness and our ability to create our own shots with our great backcourt," Brown said. "We want to enhance their skills by putting a lot of pressure on the defense with our players that can score in transition or the halfcourt set."

But the Miracle's ability to fully implement Brown's system and style of play has been hampered by the success of several players overseas.

Veterans Shannon Johnson, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Jessie Hicks and Cintia dos Santos are missing a portion of the preseason because their professional teams overseas are still playing.

Orlando did get a key pickup in 6-foot-5 center Clarisse Machanguana, acquired in a trade from Charlotte.

"Clarisse brings veteran and WNBA playoff experience to our team," Brown said. "She is a legitimate center who works hard."

While the departure of Peck shocked the players, Brown seems to be making a strong impression on those who have reported to camp.

"I am really looking forward to and anticipating the upcoming season and working with Dee," forward Katie Douglas said. "I think he is a great fit for our team. I can't say enough good things about him and I am truly happy that he is part of this organization."

INJURY: Rookie forward Davalyn Cunningham is expected to be out six weeks after breaking the ring finger of her right hand in practice Thursday. During surgery that day, she was fitted with a cast extending almost to her elbow. Cunningham, from Rutgers, was the Miracle's second-round selection in the draft.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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