Williams riding the bench — as a coach for Skyline

Most schools that attract a big-name coach have either a lot of money or a long championship history.

Skyline has neither, but in desperate need of a good assistant coach, head coach Deb Bennett dialed the number of a professional basketball player anyway.

"I knew Natalie (Williams) had coached some of our younger players in a summer league, so I just called her and asked her if she'd like to join our staff," Bennett said of her new assistant coach. "She's such a great coach, and she's had so much experience at every level."

Bennett really couldn't have found a better resume in women's hoops. Williams is a three-time WNBA All-Star, three-time ABL All-Star and member of the Olympic gold medal team in the 2000 Summer Games. She was the eighth leading rebounder in the WNBA last year and is the leading rebounder in U.S. women's professional basketball history. She's the second-leading scorer in U.S. professional women's basketball history.

Bennett lured Williams to Skyline with just the opportunity to help the Eagles win their first basketball title. The Eagles started the season ranked third in 5A but lost to unranked Kearns last week in overtime. They have two forwards bound for Div. I schools but lost their starting point guard to graduation. Bennett needed help with both her varsity girls and her very talented freshmen guards, who currently play junior varsity.

"I'd seen her play, and I know she's a competitor," Bennett said. "She's jumped right in and wants to help each kid meet their potential."

Money never was an issue. The current starting forward for the Indiana Fever said she doesn't even know what her assistant coach's salary will be. And right now, she is more concerned with why her guard didn't taken an open shot in a junior-varsity game.

"I was really happy when Deb asked," said the mother of 4-year-old twins. "I love this age. It's really fun for me, and coaching is something I love."

She hopes to elevate the play of the Eagles' two college-bound post players, Joh-Teena Filipe and Ashley Grimm. The seniors said they heard Williams was coming from players for region-rival Taylorsville — the school Williams graduated from in 1988.

"I just thought it was awesome," said Grimm, who is going to UVSC. "I found out about a week before the season started."

Grimm had seen her play for the Utah Starzz before the WNBA team moved to San Antonio. She knows if anyone can teach her to be a Div. I post, it's Williams, who played for UCLA.

"I thought it was great for me especially," Grimm said. "Because she can teach me a lot more."