A glimpse into the future is exactly what Temple women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is getting right now.
There's a new member on the scout team for the Owls, and, according to Staley, ex-UNM women's basketball player Fatima Maddox is going to be Temple's ticket to going deep in the NCAA tournament come January 2006.
After 18 months under Lobos head coach Don Flanagan, Maddox transferred to Temple University and enrolled in classes for the spring semester.
The 5-foot-6 -inch guard, who started seven of the first eight games for UNM this season, was picked up by Staley and becomes eligible next January. She'll have a season and a half of eligibility remaining when she begins playing.
Maddox quit the Lobos Dec. 23 after she was benched Dec. 21 against New Mexico State for "her attitude and effort the two practices prior to the game," Flanagan said.
Upon her departure, she set off an inferno of controversy when she told the Albuquerque chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that Flanagan favored white players over African-American players on the team.
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Staley said Maddox's chances of success in her program ride completely on the sophomore's shoulders.
"It's not for me to decide how much she plays," she said. "That's on her. You know anyone who transfers realizes that it's their last chance to get what they want out of the collegiate experience, and Fatima feels that way."
The Owls' coach said she likes what she's seen so far from Maddox in the couple of practices she has had.
And if Staley's basketball-rich past is any indication, the coach might know talent when she sees it. Staley was a 2004 Olympic gold medallist and a Women's National Basketball Association all-star.
Her success in four years of coaching at Temple garnered a 2004 Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year award. She's led the Owls to a 15-3 overall record and a No. 24 ranking in the country this season. The Lobos hold the No. 27 spot.
"She's a good player," Staley said. "She adds instant speed to our team and has the ability to create her own shot. When she gets our concepts down defensively, she'll be a very complete player."
When Maddox enlisted the NAACP, she told Albuquerque chapter president Josef Powdrell she had plans to play professionally and didn't think she could achieve those goals playing at UNM.
Staley, who said she knows what it takes to get to the professional level, said she's going to do everything she can to help Maddox achieve that goal.
"I tell every young person that the chances of going pro are slim to none," she said. "I'll give her all the knowledge I have, but we'll see. She definitely has the speed to go to the next level."
Staley did say she had some qualms with the pot of controversy Maddox stirred up when she left.
"I don't like the way she left New Mexico," Staley said. "I'll say that there was some kind of miscommunication on her part. There needed to be some communication, and then it wouldn't have gotten as big as it did. That being said, we are going to embrace her as if she's been here the whole time."
