By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Although she follows NCAA coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin in another historic moment when she was selected in the third round with the last of the 36 picks for the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), center Waltiea Rolle said she’s not looking to report to Minnesota Lynx until the 2014 season.

Rolle, the first Bahamian ever to be selected in the draft that was held at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, on Monday night, said her priority right now is completing her degree in sports administration at the University of North Carolina this year.

Once she’s done with UNC, she plans to play for about six months in Europe to earn some experience before she ventures into the big leagues, joining the two-time championship finalist. The Lynx relinquished their WNBA title this year to the Indiana Fever.

“I was thinking that they were not going to call my name. I was looking on line at the mock draft and they were saying that I was going to go to Minnesota in the second round,” said Rolle, who watched as that pick went to Chucky Jeffery. “So I was kind of waiting to see what happens.”

Before being drafted, Rolle helped to lead the UNC Tar Heels to a 298-7 record this year as they made a trip to the ACC Tournament final and the No.3 seed in the NCAA Bridgeport Region. The 22-year-old averaged 12.1 points with 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

The former CR Walker student, who left the Bahamas to finish high school in Houston, Texas, earned the All-ACC Defensive honours for the second time this year. She had 89 blocked shots for the sixth most in a single season for the Tar Heels.

“Having being drafted in the third round, I can finish school, which is more important to me right now,” said Rolle.

“I don’t have any more eligibility to play in college, so they picked me in the third round so that I can finish school, go overseas and play for six months and still be guaranteed a spot on the team next year.

“I will be playing for Minnesota next year. I really just want to be able to finish school and get my degree first. I will go to Europe in October to play for about six months before I come back and play in the WNBA. But it’s crazy because I never thought that I would be where I am right now. Growing up in Nassau and not focusing on playing basketball and one day my life just turned around when I went to Houston and now I’m drafted in the WNBA. I never expected it to happen like this.”

But for Rolle, she couldn’t ask for a better script.

“It’s been great. I had a little set back in my junior year with my daughter, but everything else has been good,” she said. “I just have to work on my strength level, getting back into shape. I’m still trying to get back into shape after having my daughter. But I’m very pleased with the way I have been performing.

“I just have to get in better shape because the people in the WNBA or in the professional league in Europe are not like college. They are in better shape, so I have to work it out.”

With McPhee-McCuin selected as the new head coach of Jacksonville Dolphin women’s basketball team and the new head coach of the women’s national basketball team that will compete this summer, Rolle said she’s still contemplating whether or not she will be available for duties here.

“I think they are in the summer and I have to take my classes in the summer,” Rolle said. “But right now, I have to finish school, so I will see what happens.”

McPhee-McCuin, the first Bahamian female to coach at college after serving as an assistant at Clemson, said she would welcome Rolle as a member of the national team.

“I’m very happy for her because she has worked very hard this year,” McCuin said. “The reason why I got into coaching was because I wanted to see the advancement of women’s basketball in the country and now we have Waltiea following what I did, so it’s huge for the country. But I know she won’t be the last.

“I just wish that she can come out and help us with the national team so we can make a strong push for the 2016 Olympics (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). That would be huge.”

One of the persons who weighed in heavily on Rolle’s achievement was coach Phyllis Dallas-Morris, who actually coached Rolle when she moved to Houston in her AAU programme. According to Dallas-Morris, Rolle lived with her and she got the opportunity to help groom her into the player that she has developed into before she went to college.

“I’m excited for her. She probably didn’t know she had that potential when she first came here because she had never played before,” coach Dallas-Morris said. “She was just like a sponge. She picked up the game and she just got better and better every time out. She’s only going to get better this year.”

Dallas-Morris said if Rolle decides to go to Europe before she enters the WNBA, she will definitely improve her game tremendously.

“In Europe, they play a little different. I played over there myself, so I know first hand playing overseas and playing here in the United States,” Dallas-Morris said. “It will benefit her more playing in the WNBA. But she’s at the top. She still has the potential to be better because she started playing the game so late at age 14. That’s when I got her.

“She just has unlimited potential and I’m just glad that I had the opportunity to coach her and to be a part of her progress.”

Locally, Anthony Swaby, one of the premier coaches in the game, said it’s a great time for women’s basketball in the country.

“We were so elated when Yolett was named as the new head coach and the first for the Bahamas,” Swaby said. “Now we have Waltiea being the first selected in the WNBA draft. She is such a humble young lady. Although she has a very good post-up game, she still has a lot to learn. But just the fact that she was selected in the draft is noteworthy. This gives women’s basketball the kind of attention that track and field receives when one of our athletes do something big. So we are all very proud for her and we look forward to seeing her play at the next level.”