SIMS' MOVE BOLSTERS UW'S FRONT LINE

JUNIOR LATONYA SIMS WILL MOVE FROM POWER FORWARD TO SMALL FORWARD THIS SEASON TO MAKE ROOM FOR FRESHMAN CENTER NINA SMITH.

Wisconsin State Journal

Nov 3, 1999

Authors: Jon Masson Sports reporter

LaTonya Sims battled opposing power forwards and centers last season en

route to earning first-team all-Big Ten Conference honors from the media.

Imagine what the 6-foot-3 Sims might do playing small forward, a more natural

position for the University of Wisconsin junior.

Sims, who averaged 18 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season, and

the UW women's basketball team will have the opportunity to find out the

results this season.

"She's honest. She's soft-spoken. She's humble. But put her on the court,

she's an animal," UW coach Jane Albright said.

The addition of freshman center Nina Smith to a front line that already

included power forward Jessie Stomski allowed Sims to move outside and

play small forward.

"I think their front line will be most formidable," Illinois coach Theresa

Grentz said of the Badgers.

Penn State coach Rene Portland agreed, saying: "Their inside game is extremely

powerful. Sims is so versatile."

Sims will be able to face the basket and see the floor better. She will

have room to create.

"I think it's like the perfect fit because Nina is the perfect `5,' Jessie

is the perfect `4' player and you have a 6-3 `3' player," Sims said. "So,

it will be hard to stop us."

Sims also relished not having to work inside for entire games.

"Playing with some of those big girls - I'm a skinny girl - it wasn't always

fun," she said.

Sims was named to the coaches' and media's preseason all- conference teams

Sunday in Chicago. Iowa coach Angie Lee said she believed Sims was one

of the top contenders for Big Ten player of the year.

Sims was pleased to hear Lee's remark, then said: "I just want to win.

I don't care about player of the year. It's a great honor. I just want

to do well, as far as the team goes."

Sims has come back after fracturing the second toe on her right foot in

July when someone stumbled and fell on her foot in an off- the-court accident.

She is adjusting to playing small forward, working on improving her defense,

shooting after coming off a screen and refining her ballhandling, particularly

by using her left hand more.

"She's really a very coachable person," Albright said. "She's worked on

her outside jumper. When she puts the ball on the floor, she can really

create. I think she will give a lot of matchup problems. . . . I think

she really will have a chance to showcase her talent."

Sims' impact also has been felt as an ambassador of sorts, while serving

as a host for recruits, including Smith.

"I just basically told the truth, and she wanted to hear the truth," said

Sims, who is studying business and Spanish at UW. "I think she loved Madison

just like I do. It's a great place to be."

Albright said UW's signing of Sims, a high school All-American from Racine

Park High School, opened the gates for significant future signings.

"LaTonya is kind of the girl next door," Albright said. "I don't think

there is a soul in the world who doesn't love LaTonya. She's never a problem.

She takes care of her business. She's really kind of a coach's dream, in

more ways than one.

"To be able to keep her in-state was a big day for us. It paved the way

for a lot of good things to happen. She was the first one we got who could

have gone anywhere in the country. When she said she was going to come

here, she helped us get everybody else."

Big Ten tourney set

The Big Ten women's basketball tournament will be played March 2- 5, 2000,

at the new Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after being played at the

RCA Dome in Indianapolis last season. The tournament then shifts to Grand

Rapids, Mich., in 2001. A decision on future sites will be made after that,

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said.