| | By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Nancy Darsch, who never hit it off with rising
star Chamique Holdsclaw, resigned Friday as coach of the WNBA's
Washington Mystics.
Darrell Walker, who served as interim coach with the NBA's
Washington Wizards last season after Gar Heard was fired, will
perform the same role with the Mystics. Walker, also the team's
director of player personnel, held his first practice with the
Mystics late Friday.
"We were not meeting the goals I set for myself or the team,"
Darsch said in a statement released by the team. "I felt there was
a need for new leadership. There needed to be a change, so I made
the decision to step down. This team deserves to be in the
playoffs, and I wish them the best."
Darsch did not inform the players of the news herself, leaving
them surprised and left to speculate that recent poor performances
and bad karma had finally taken their toll.
"Have you been to a game?" said Holdsclaw, referring to the
boos and negative signs held up by fans recently at the MCI Center.
"It's pretty brutal."
Darsch led the Mystics to a 12-20 record last season, a vast
improvement from 3-27 the previous year. But the Mystics are 9-11
this year, a disappointing record for a team projected to make the
playoffs.
"This was Nancy's decision after conversations this week with
me," executive vice president Wes Unseld said. "I reluctantly
accepted her resignation. She is a talented coach and we wish her
well in the future."
Darsch's explanation for her resignation made no reference to
Holdsclaw, the Mystics much-celebrated No. 1 overall draft pick a
year ago. Holdsclaw, who likes to freelance, never seemed to warm
to the structured triangle offense used by Darsch.
Three weeks ago, Holdsclaw criticized Darsch after being benched
for the last few minutes of a loss to Sacramento, saying: "I don't
play for the coaches, I play for my teammates. ... I think we'll
win basketball games with (Darsch), but I don't think we'll ever be
a great team. If we do, it will be because of us."
General manager Melissa McFerrin, a longtime friend and
assistant under Darsch at Ohio State and with the WNBA's New York
Liberty, gathered Darsch and Holdsclaw together to patch things up.
But some friction within the team re-emerged Wednesday night when
Darsch questioned her players' maturity following a 81-58 loss to
expansion Indiana.
Holdsclaw didn't feel she was to blame for running the coach out
of town.
"I don't have to handle that, because that was not the case,"
Holdsclaw said. "I don't worry about what other people say,
because I know what the deal is. What happened between us was over
with. After two days, it was over."
Darsch suffered through a personally difficult year in 1999. Her
mother died days before the season began and her brother had open
heart surgery, but she seemed fresh and revitalized when training
camp opened this year.
Walker, who will make his debut Saturday at home against
Charlotte, has coached in the NBA and CBA but has never coached a
women's team on any level. He was in Atlanta playing golf and
getting ready to do some scouting when Unseld called him.
"I'm just a company guy, whatever they want me to do. I
couldn't turn it down," Walker said after practice. "Once I got
on the court, I got excited."
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