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    Former Tiger Whitney Boddie Working Back To The WNBA Boddie playing through training camp with New York Liberty
    Whitney Boddie

    Whitney Boddie

    May 27, 2011

    AUBURN - Auburn fans following the WNBA could see another familiar face this season as former Tiger Whitney Boddie is working her way onto a roster. Boddie, a native of Florence, Ala., finished her Auburn career in 2009 as the school's all-time assist leader, but finds herself now working through training camp with the New York Liberty.

    For a girl from small-town Alabama, traveling to the Big Apple for the first time for training camp was a new experience.

    "It has been pretty cool, I had never been to New York City before," said Boddie. "Cappie Pondexter took us out to dinner one night and the experience of riding on the train and the subway was cool. We were seeing the sites and trying not to look like tourists while looking up at all the buildings.

    "You don't get it until you are actually here. Finally being in this area has been a lot of fun."

    This is Boddie's second stint in the WNBA after being drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2009. She was cut during training camp but was later signed to a contract during the season, playing in four games for the Monarchs.

    Upon arriving in New York, Boddie was greeted by a familiar face in head coach John Wisenant, who was her head coach while at Sacramento.

    "The good thing with me is that I am familiar with the system," said Boddie. "Coach Wisenant teaches his white-line defense and I do my best to get after it on the defensive end. I feel like I have more experience, everything is still a learning experience because I have not played in the league."

    While she does not have that much WNBA experience, Boddie just completed her second season of playing overseas. She played in Poland during the 2009-10 season and in Turkey last season.

    "Being overseas helps because you are playing with the top players over there," said Boddie. "Having that experience and coming over here gives you more confidence than being a rookie coming in. The biggest things I have to learn with training camp is not getting too high or too low. Good practices, bad practices - you can't let it effect you. You can miss shots but you can always play defense and hustle."

     

     

    Boddie also believes the experience from her season in Turkey will help further her career. She averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds a game, but was twice sidelined with an ankle injury.

    "I studied a lot of film during that time and sat and watched a lot of practice, which is difficult for me," said Boddie. "It was more or less becoming a student of the game - watching other players in situations, adjusting to new plays. I became more of an observer, and I hope that will help me down the road."

    With training camp with the Liberty coming to a close, Boddie is coming up on decision time and roster cuts. She scored two points with an assist and a pair of rebounds in New York's loss to Washington in its first preseason game. The Liberty will play one more preseason game before opening the regular season on June 5 at Atlanta.

    Follow Auburn women's basketball on Twitter at twitter.com/AuburnWBB.

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