The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER spending the past four months playing in the Turkish women's second division, Bahamian professional basketball player Waltiea Rolle wants out.

The 6-foot, 8-inch centre, who has been the focus of attention for the Edremit Belediyes Gurespor, has advised her agent that the team is not one that is conducive to her future development. "Our head coach just quit and we got a new coach, but I don't think I will be staying on this team," Rolle told The Tribune in an interview. "My last game is this weekend.

"There's a lot of things going on. It's a stressful situation that I'm in with the team. They never keep me updated on certain things and there are a lot of financial issues."

Rolle, 27, has not yet decided where she will go. She's waiting on her agent to make the determination where she will play the remainder of the season before she comes back home.

Over the four-month period, Rolle has helped her team to an 11-5 win-loss record, having lost their final game 70-58 on Friday to Mersin University in which she contributed 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

She also pulled down 11 rebounds, dished out three passes, stole two balls, added a block shot and had four turnovers as she played a total of 32 minutes.

Through the season, Rolle is averaging 26.6 minutes, shooting 97-for-172 from the field for an average of 56.4, 35-for-47 from the foul line for a 74.5 average or a total average points of 15.3 along with 9.6 rebounds 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.1 blocks per game.

"I feel like my game is still there. When you get home, you get relaxed and stuff," said Rolle, who has left behind two young children in the Bahamas to pursue her career. "But I feel once you get back into the rhythm of things, everything comes back to you.

"I think my game is going pretty good. It's getting better as always. I just need to work on my strength, like my legs and stuff. I need to strengthen them. But overall, I feel good about my game."

Based on putting up double digit figures in both points and rebounds in all of her games so far, Rolle said she's proven that she has the capability of playing in the league's division one.

"I feel I am capable of playing on the division one level," she said. "Some of the players that I play against are pretty decent too. I feel they should be playing division one too. But I guess it's all about the connection and who your agent knows."

Rolle and Edremit will play again on Saturday on the road against Bodrum, the top ranked team in their league. They are currently sitting in second or third place, but Rolle said they have the potential to be much better than their record indicates.

"I'm disappointed in the team. For my mental state, it's not good for me to be here," Rolle pointed out. "I've gone through some tough situations mentally and I've dealt with it.

"But this situation is not for me. There are so many other things on top of it. Anytime I get back home, it helps me to get over the mental stress. But when you come into a foreign country, you have to be careful of how they treat foreigners."

Not to sound like "sour grapes," Rolle said Turkey is a wonderful place to be and her team-mates are some of the best she's ever played with. But she noted that what's happening at the management level is what has been her biggest problem.

"The country itself is great, the city I'm in is wonderful. It's nice and small and the people and the food is really good," she stressed. "But it's not the best environment from a management perspective."

Rolle said her agent has a couple of teams elsewhere for her to play on. She's just waiting on the right opportunity. She added that there may also be something in the works for her to get back into the Women's National Basketball Association.

Drafted as the third round pick as the 36th player overall by the Minnesota Lynx in 2013 after she starred for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Rolle opted to complete her degree in sports administration and exercise sports science and playing a year in Europe.

She eventually returned to the WNBA where she made history as the first Bahamian to play with the Seattle Storm in an 80-74 loss to the Tulsa Shock on July 29, 2014.

Rolle said she missed playing in the WNBA, which made her play at a higher level. She's hoping that she will end up back in the league where she can join Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones, who had an exceptional year with the Connecticut Sun last year.