The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Waltiea Rolle has been the pioneer, breaking the barrier as the first Bahamian female basketball player to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

But although Rolle’s sting was shortlived with the Seattle Storm in 2014, she’s hoping that she will eventually work her way back into the league where she can either team up or play against Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones, who is having a sensational season with the Connecticut Sun.

When she left the WNBA, she has posted an average of 2.7 points per game with 3.2 rebounds per game in a total of six games played. She attempted to make another comeback, but was cut the day before the new season got underway in 2015.

“Right now, I’m trying to get back overseas,” said Rolle, who returned home in May after playing last season in Bulgaria. “Me and my agent are trying right now to get a deal somewhere in Turkey where the contract is a lot better than where I was before.”

In the meantime, Rolle said she decided not to reach out to any WNBA teams because she wanted to make sure that her body was in the best physical condition to take on the vigorous routine of playing at the highest standard in the sport.

“I could have been doing now, but with two young children to take care of right now, I have to devote my time with them and working out with my brother, Walter Rolle, and the teams he plays with.

“I just have to work on my speed. I need to get a lot faster,” Rolle said. “My post game wasn’t the best, but I hope that between October and November, I will be in shape to go overseas to play again.”

In the meantime, Rolle said she’s been watching the WNBA and Jones, the Grand Bahamian native, who has been in the conversation as one of the most improved players in the league this year.

Jones, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward-centre for the playoff-bound Sun, is averaging 15.9 points, a league-leading 11.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 block shots, while playing about 28.5 minutes per game, in her second season. She also came up with her first dunk on a break away one-hander with about 22 seconds left during the Verizon WNBA All-Star game for the East team that eventually lost to the west.

“I am happy for her. She’s really doing her thing,” Rolle said of Jones. “It would be good if the two of us can play together or against each other. I am just glad that I was able to pave the way.”

Although she’s trying to work her way back into the WNBA, the 6-6 Rolle, who will celebrate her 27th birthday on September 11, said she will be prepared to go along with the flow.

“I know what I have to do in order to get back there,” she admitted. “I’m not going to rush anything. I just want to make sure that I am in the best condition to play at that level gain because when I go back, I want to make an impact.”

The former CR Walker volleyball player, who was recruited in grade 11 by Olympic bronze medalist Frank Rutherford to head to Houston to finish school, went on to star for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2009-2012, establishing herself as one of the nation’s top shot blockers.

While in college, she suffered a setback when she had her first daughter, Carlisa Rolle, now five. After she was released by Seattle, she had her second daughter, Darielle Key, now 1.

“I don’t have any regrets about having the children. There are a lot of players who wish they have the opportunity,” she said. “I noticed that some of them are stopping now to have one.

“But they are a blessing to me. I’m glad that I have them. They are making me a little more hungrier to get back out there and playing. This is my living and I want to be able to provide a better life for them.”

Coming out of the Mason Addition where she grew up and still reside whenever she’s home, Rolle said it’s not been an easy for her, but she thank God for what she has encountered.

“It has only helped to make me stronger,” she said. “Just about every team that I’ve been on, I’ve seen the lesbianism at all levels, but I didn’t let it affect me. I know what I believed in and everybody have have a choice in life to make.

“I’m the type of person that speak my mind, so everybody knew where my stance was. I have my own mind and I wasn’t going to let anybody change my mind.”

It’s been a struggle for Rolle to get to the professional ranks that depicted the collegiate career that she experienced. But Rolle said she’s not going to give up on her dream.

“Everything happen for a reason,” she insisted. “I may not have had the type of career that I anticipated, but I’m not going to give up. I know I can still play this game and I’m going to prove that I can d it. “I am just waiting on the right opportunity for me to go back overseas and once I do, I will make the most out of it. I want to play in the WNBA again, but I won’t rush it. When the time come, me and my agent will reach out a team.”

This summer, Rolle opted not to participate on the women’s national basketball team that traveled to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands for the Women’s Centrobasket Championships.

She said there was some conflict that she and her agent were not able to iron out with the Bahamas Basketball Federation in reference to her insurance. But she’s not ruling out the possibility of playing for the country in the near future.

Right now, her focus is getting herself ready to get back plying at the professional level overseas in Europe, once the WNBA season is over in the United States.