![]() ![]() “I think the level of competition here in the Pac-12 will prepare her,” Barnes said. “Or I could go play in Europe or someplace else.”īarnes thinks Reese is ready, especially since she will not have to deal with language barriers or isolation in Australia that players who go to other parts of the world can struggle with. “I could go on to play in the WNBL, depending on my performance,” Reese said. The WNBL, which is the upper-division league, runs through the other six months. Reese’s play in the second-level Australian league is also an audition for her next job. Like all players, she wants to win games simply for the sake of her own competitiveness and desire for her team to succeed. The opportunity presented by her time in the NBL1 is multifold for Reese. Former Washington State point guard Krystal Leger-Walker plays for the Southern District Spartans, the team the Rollers are scheduled to play in Reese’s debut. Reese will also find former opponents on the other side of the court. Games can also be streamed and replayed on the league’s website. The app and the streams are free and require no registration. Streaming: Download the NBL1 app on Google Play or the App Store. Online: NBL1 Headquarters | North Conference | Gold Coast Rollers (Women) ![]() Some of Reese’s new teammates know Manumaleaga from time they spent in the youth national team system.Ĭate Reese’s debut: Saturday, Apr. Former Wildcat Tara Manumaleuga is from the city. Reese also has some secondhand knowledge of her new city. “She’s a great coach, but she’s an even better person,” Reese said. She lives a block from the ocean, and Gold Coast Rollers head coach Jackie Brown has taken Reese under her wing. Her older sister Ali, with whom she has shared the love of basketball for most of her life, is with her. Instead of a tiny island in the Atlantic, she will be in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Reese will not have to face such a culture shock, nor will she have to face it alone. After her rookie season in the WNBA, McDonald attempted to go to Eastern Europe. It was a similar experience for Reese’s former teammate Aari McDonald. It was just such a huge lifestyle change.” I was scared because it’s like, unknown and I’ve never lived in such a small place. There were more cows than people on the island…And we stepped on the island and a big monsoon would come.I was on an island in the middle of nowhere, a tiny island. “When I first went overseas, I went to Portugal,” Barnes said. It was scary at times, especially on her first trip, which led her to the Azores. Arizona head coach Adia Barnes spent 13 years overseas, often in countries where she didn’t speak the language. It’s something her former coach could relate to. “I packed up my room in Tucson in one day,” Reese said.Īfter getting everything safely to Texas, she was on the way to join a team that had already started playing games. ![]() Once it was decided, there wasn’t much time to waste. Just days after learning that she had not been selected in the 2023 WNBA Draft, the former Arizona star was deciding where her next basketball steps would take her. ![]()
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