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http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20844555-23769,00.html
Jackson seeking male action
By Mike Hurst
November 30, 2006
LAUREN Jackson is the latest female sports superstar determined to test herself against the men.
Following in the footsteps of Wimbledon tennis champion Billie Jean King, golfers Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie, cricketer Zoe Goss and surfer Layne Beachley, the Australia women's team captain said yesterday that she wanted to play in the Australian men's National Basketball League.
But unlike her predecessors, 197cm tall Jackson has the frame and the game to hold her own against men.
"One day when I come back from the (US Women's National Basketball Association), I'd like to have a go," Jackson said while attending a Basketball Australia promotion in Sydney yesterday.
"I'd sit on the bench. I'm not saying I'm better than any of them. That would be a joke. But it would be a challenge.
"And if any of the boys come near me I'd knee them."
Brian Goorjian, coach of the Australia men's team and three-time NBL premier Sydney, yesterday extended an offer for Jackson, 25, to trial with the Kings.
"If she called me up and said, 'hey, I'd like to give this a try', I'd certainly call her in and give her a trial," Goorjian said.
"If she could hold her own, if she's good enough, I'd put her on the Kings bench - and if she was on our bench you'd play her.
"One thing about Lauren is she's physically and mentally tough.
"She's pretty damn good.
"But our guys would be taking no backward steps.
"If she can handle it, full respect."
Andrew Gaze, an icon of the Australian men's game, said Jackson was "a legitimate world superstar and I love her, she's brilliant".
But he said the speed and physical nature of the men's game would present problems for any woman.
"If she had limited minutes, coming in at a pinch here and there, maybe she could do it in the NBL," Gaze said.
"We've seen this in other sports where you'd think a female was more likely to do well, such as in golf, but the creme de la creme of women have yet to show they can compete successfully against men.
"But if anyone is capable of doing it, Lauren has shown she has a chance.
"The men's game is very physical, but there's still no substitute for someone who can put the shot in the hole."
Jackson may struggle to play with the Kings, but she said her next Australian women's team would definitely be the WNBL-leading Sydney University Flames.
"I'd have Karen Dalton as coach and I'm studying applied social science by correspondence at the moment so if I come back (during the WNBA off-season) I could study at Sydney Uni," Jackson said.
"It would be part of my contract."
Jackson seeking male action
By Mike Hurst
November 30, 2006
LAUREN Jackson is the latest female sports superstar determined to test herself against the men.
Following in the footsteps of Wimbledon tennis champion Billie Jean King, golfers Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie, cricketer Zoe Goss and surfer Layne Beachley, the Australia women's team captain said yesterday that she wanted to play in the Australian men's National Basketball League.
But unlike her predecessors, 197cm tall Jackson has the frame and the game to hold her own against men.
"One day when I come back from the (US Women's National Basketball Association), I'd like to have a go," Jackson said while attending a Basketball Australia promotion in Sydney yesterday.
"I'd sit on the bench. I'm not saying I'm better than any of them. That would be a joke. But it would be a challenge.
"And if any of the boys come near me I'd knee them."
Brian Goorjian, coach of the Australia men's team and three-time NBL premier Sydney, yesterday extended an offer for Jackson, 25, to trial with the Kings.
"If she called me up and said, 'hey, I'd like to give this a try', I'd certainly call her in and give her a trial," Goorjian said.
"If she could hold her own, if she's good enough, I'd put her on the Kings bench - and if she was on our bench you'd play her.
"One thing about Lauren is she's physically and mentally tough.
"She's pretty damn good.
"But our guys would be taking no backward steps.
"If she can handle it, full respect."
Andrew Gaze, an icon of the Australian men's game, said Jackson was "a legitimate world superstar and I love her, she's brilliant".
But he said the speed and physical nature of the men's game would present problems for any woman.
"If she had limited minutes, coming in at a pinch here and there, maybe she could do it in the NBL," Gaze said.
"We've seen this in other sports where you'd think a female was more likely to do well, such as in golf, but the creme de la creme of women have yet to show they can compete successfully against men.
"But if anyone is capable of doing it, Lauren has shown she has a chance.
"The men's game is very physical, but there's still no substitute for someone who can put the shot in the hole."
Jackson may struggle to play with the Kings, but she said her next Australian women's team would definitely be the WNBL-leading Sydney University Flames.
"I'd have Karen Dalton as coach and I'm studying applied social science by correspondence at the moment so if I come back (during the WNBA off-season) I could study at Sydney Uni," Jackson said.
"It would be part of my contract."
