05/18/2006

Shimek hopes to land with Chicago

Sky is the third pro team for the Glen Lake grad

by mark urban

murban@record-eagle.com

Shimek

TRAVERSE CITY — As Friday's roster deadline looms, Glen Lake graduate Liz Shimek hopes the Sky is the limit.

Shimek hopes that the expansion Chicago Sky is her third and final WNBA team after she was traded from Phoenix to Houston on draft day and again to Chicago on Friday.

So it's been a busy and unusual start to Shimek's professional career for the 6-foot-1 honorable mention All-American forward from Michigan State.

Shimek's parents, Tom and Linda, are putting a positive spin on the whirlwind of events.

"I told her I was excited she got traded to Chicago," Tom Shimek said. "There are no established veterans which there were in Houston. There's also nothing political.

"I like that she's closer and she'll get more playing time if she makes their roster."

If Shimek does make the Sky, she'll also get to play for a recognizable name in former NBA MVP and Boston Celtic great Dave Cowens.

Shimek and the Sky have spent Tuesday and Wednesday on a naval base outside of Chicago to prepare and build team chemistry for the upcoming season, which begins on Saturday at Charlotte.

Tom Shimek said Liz carpooled to the base with players Stacey Dales and Rita Williams. Tom Shimek added Dales was one of the first to come up to Liz after she arrived in Chicago on Friday night and was picked up in a limousine for the Sky's second preseason game, a victory over Seattle.

"It was a nice welcome," Tom Shimek said of Liz's arrival in Chicago, which included a telephone call from Sky chairman and owner Michael Alter.

The Sky currently have 14 players on their roster. Just two of those are rookies: Shimek and first-round draft pick Candice Dupree of Temple.

Tom Shimek said Chicago will carry "11 of 12 players depending on salaray cap" when the final rosters are announced on Friday. The Sky make their home debut on Tuesday against Sacramento, part of a three-game homestand.

Liz Shimek has been spending most of her time at the power forward position with Chicago. In Houston, she played both small and power forward.

Shimek was the fourth pick in the second round of the WNBA draft by Phoenix. Then the Mercury traded Shimek, the 18th overall selection, and Mistie Williams to Houston for Ann Strother.

Liz Shimek played in Houston's first preseason game. She scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and had four rebounds and one steal in just 15 minutes of action.

But Houston then dealt Michigan State's all-time leading scorer and rebounder and a second-round draft pick in 2007 to Chicago for a second-round selection in 2007.