Dionne Pounds – life on the sidelines

Everyone in the Finnish basketball circles knows the name Pounds – and this time I caught up with Dionne Pounds. Player who was for years in the Women’s National team, played at the highest level in Finland for almost a decade – with a little stint in Spain in between.

But now… she is the assistant coach at ToPo, the newly promoted team in Naisten Korisliiga. So, how has the change been for Dionne – when she now can effect the game as a coach, but not as a player?

I caught up with her in Tapiola after a ToPo game vs Honka … as always, you are met with a smile… she must be one of the happiest people I’ve met in the game of basketball, smile never seems far from her face. When I ask how the change to coaching has been, Pounds replies “I get the same kicks out of coaching as I did as a player, and it is great to be back in the Naisten Korisliiga”.

Talking about the difference between the 1st Division and Naisten Korisliiga, Pounds points out that the top tier is more physical, as well as the teams being more evenly strong, partly thanks to the two/three import players in each team. Which automatically raises the level of performance in teams.

VIDEO INTERVIEW (in Finnish/Suomeksi)

With Didi having only hung her playing shoes a while back, one couldn’t resist asking if there had been even the slightest temptation to put on the jersey and get back to playing. With a smile (as always) she replies that the shots still go in from beyond the arc with a good percentage, but the rest of what goes to playing basketball… like running or defending… not something that at the moment. And as Laura Saarinen (player in ToPo) mentioned earlier in the season that Dionne could just run the gap between halfway line a three point line.. and keep dropping the shots… to that Pounds replies that probably many teams would be happy to have her sinking in the shots .. but at the moment all her focus is in learning how become a better coach and at that side of the game.

For me – it maybe starts to show my age and how long I have been around Finnish Basketball – as players who maybe only started to play at senior level when I was first around.. are now hanging their boots and starting ‘real’ careers, or switching to coaching. But it is also great to see that players like Didi are willing to make the switch and teach the future generations. In Finland we don’t have that many people who are involved in basketball – so to see the former National team players being there after their playing careers… I hope it will bring the game to the next level over here.