Enjoying Liberty, McCarville losing no sleep over Lynx

Janel McCarville hasn't wasted her energy yearning about returning to Minnesota.

"Once they passed on me, that was basically it," McCarville said. "The heck with that. You obviously didn't want me."

The Lynx held the second pick in the 2007 WNBA dispersal draft, a result of the Charlotte Sting folding. McCarville, a 6-2 former Gophers All-America center, was tabbed the third-best player available.

But bringing back the player who helped lead the Gophers to the Final Four, the one who grabbed an NCAA record 75 rebounds in the 2004 tournament, the one who posted the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history -- to Minnesota seemed too good to pass up.

Until the Lynx did.

They chose forward Tangela Smith, who was later dealt to Phoenix for No. 1 overall pick Lindsey Harding during the 2007 draft.

"I'd say, yeah, at first there was disappointment," McCarville said. "Everybody I'd always talked to was saying, 'I can't wait until Minnesota has a chance to get you back.'"

While McCarville's story once seemed as if it might lead her back to the Twin Cities, her first several chapters in the WNBA prompted skepticism about how promising her career would be. McCarville -- the No. 1 selection by Charlotte in 2005 -- had a bulging disk in her back that turned into a rupture later in the season. She spent that first summer in rehabilitation, unable to play overseas.

By the time she was fully healed during her second season, Charlotte's starting rotation was set. Through the 58 games she played in preceding the dispersal draft, McCarville averaged 3.2 points and 3.1 rebounds.

On the decision to pass on McCarville, Lynx coach Don Zierden said at the time, "In this business, if you base everything emotionally, you're not going to be successful."

The Lynx (6-6) have fallen flat after a 5-0 start. The Liberty (6-5) visits Target Center after winning five of its past seven. McCarville was back in the Twin Cities last season but only played six minutes in a Liberty victory.

"[New York] is great in terms of basketball," McCarville said. "Intense fans who know basketball and really enjoy it. ... Just the fast pace of New York is great for our style, what people like to see."

"I think she's in an organization that lets her play to her strengths," Borton said. "Maybe those first couple of years she was playing for an organization that was trying to utilize her in ways she couldn't be used. She's playing free now. I don't think she's doing anything spectacular; she's just playing like Janel knows how to play."

McCarville assures she's not out for revenge on the Lynx. She's finally comfortable on the court, and she just wants to beat them as she would any opponent.