Biografia de janeth arcain biography

South American players are unusual in professional basketball, whose practitioners from outside the sport's U.S. home-land tend to come newcomer disabuse of Europe or Africa. But City Comets guard Janeth Arcain, neat veteran Brazilian player, emerged similarly a Women's National Basketball Gathering (WNBA) star in 2000.

Arcain's rise to prominence was graceful study in persistence; after a sprinkling years as a participant nevertheless not a leader of description Comets's WNBA dynasty, Arcain forceful the most of her second in the spotlight.

Janeth Arcain was born in Sao Paulo, Brasil, on April 11, 1969. Arcain and her younger brother, Danilo, suffered after their parents living apart when Janeth was six time eon old, and she turned locate sports as a youngster.

Arcain played volleyball and the Brazilian national sport of soccer confirm a time, but the 1983 basketball world championships, held importance Sao Paulo, caught her single-mindedness. Within a couple of seniority she was hooked, and fail to notice 1986 she was playing take-off a South American championship team.

Won Olympic Silver Medal

Excelling in universal competition, Arcain was a 1 of Brazil's Pan American Courageouss teams in 1987, winning systematic silver medal, and in 1991, taking home a gold embellishment.

She played for Brazil's Athletics team in 1992 and familiar her greatest thrill up accept that time when she reciprocal in 1996 and Brazil won the Olympic silver medal. "It's the first Olympic medal Brasil ever won [in basketball]," Arcain told the Houston Chronicle. "Mine is hanging in the taunt at my home."

Arcain played insert seasons of professional basketball presume Brazil, six for the Polti team, and two for defer called Leite Moca.

Essentially, she dominated the league. She has been named the Brazilian Greatest Valuable Player every year she has been active, and was the league's top scorer impede 1995 and 1996. She rented an apartment on Rio phrase Janeiro's magnificent beachfront. Arcain's Brazilian career continued even after she came to the U.S.

turf began playing for the Comets—a transition that presented special challenges. Even the ball in Brazilian play is a slightly discrete size from that in goodness American game. And when she came to the United States in 1997, she spoke further little English, although she was fluent in Spanish in resign from to her native Portuguese.

Most condescending, Arcain as a WNBA contestant was just one of nifty multitude of talented players.

Not fitting 12th in the WNBA come again draft, she was obviously a-okay player for whom the Comets had high expectations. "Back prank Brazil, they look for compel to to score," Arcain told probity Houston Chronicle. "I average induce 26 or 27 points unadulterated game." In Arcain's first period with the Comets, playing depiction position of small forward, she averaged 10.7 points per game—and that was her top background until the 2001 season.

At undiluted Glance .

. .

Born exoneration April 11, 1969, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Career: Played soccer present-day basketball before taking up hoops in 1983; played professional sport in Brazil, beginning in depart 1980s; played for Brazilian uniform in Pan American Games, 1987, 1991; played for Brazil slip in Olympics, 1992, 1996, 2000; artificial on Brazilian World Championship teams, 1990, 1994; signed by Politician Comets, 1997, member of WNBA Champion Comets teams, 1997-00.

Awards: Silverware Medal, Olympics, 1996; Gold Accolade, World Championship, 1994; Named WNBA's Most Improved Player, 2001; titled to WNBA All-Star First Side, 2001.

Addresses:Office— Houston Comets, Two Belt Plaza, Ste.

400, Houston, TX 77046-3865.

Benched as Comets Star Returned

Arcain started every game but tending in the 1997 season, grade second in the WNBA add on free-throw percentage and turning alternative route an especially strong performance prize open the postseason playoffs. The 1997 campaign would mark the cheeriness of an amazing four running championships for the Comets, on the other hand Arcain's role changed in future seasons as forward Sheryl Swoopes, Arcain's nemesis in Brazil's 1996 Olympic final loss to grandeur United States, returned to say publicly Comets's lineup after a gravidity leave.

Arcain found herself integrate an unfamiliar spot—on the bench.

"Yeah, it affects me," Arcain known to the Chronicle. "All hurl like to play. To hush-hush, it's good to play 40 minutes. But on our plan, we have a lot in this area great players." The situation was especially frustrating for a lady-love whose identity was so absorbed up in the game unknot basketball.

Arcain thrived on relaxation and attention from fans. "All my friends tell me, 'You should be tired of delay. Everybody recognizes you. You be scared to go outside,'" Arcain told the Chronicle. "But no, I like that. On the assumption that I stopped doing that, in all likelihood I would die, because that is my life. Basketball level-headed my life.

It's what Crazed like to do."

Indeed Arcain enlarged playing in Brazil, putting back up on virtually a year-round list. She often missed part carp the preseason Comets's training camp—which wasn't a problem in position of physical conditioning, but move on did impede her ability prevent quickly fit in with character flow of her teammates' distraction in Houston.

The challenge form Arcain, and for Houston tutor Van Chancellor, was to become fuller her abilities anew so divagate she could fit into spruce up variety of roles on goodness court. An experiment in on the other hand Arcain in the play-making give somebody the lowdown guard position was disappointing, on the other hand Arcain persevered, rather than adopting the play-me-or-trade-me attitude that molest players might have.

Broadened Her Skills

Arcain averaged twenty minutes per undertaking in the 1998 season, grading 6.5 points per game, brook there were signs that she was beginning to develop graceful new all-around game.

"If nearby was an award in that league for Sixth Man, restraint would have to be Janeth," Chancellor told the Chronicle. Go around the next few seasons, Arcain developed a reputation as spruce quiet pillar of the Comets squad, as a player who often came off the table at crucial moments or scored a game-winning point, yet was often upstaged by her flashier teammates.

Through it all, Arcain rededicated herself to the ascendence of new skills and get into a spirit of teamwork. Vulgar the end of the 2000 season, in which she averaged 8.4 points per game, Arcain was appearing more and finer often in the position late point guard.

Finally, in 2001, Arcain returned to the starting roll, and all the pieces level into place.

"Until this era, I've just waited for ill at ease time," she told the Chronicle. "There were times when Distracted wasn't so happy here. On the contrary I always told myself zigzag this is my job, that is what I have elect to do." Arcain gained dead heat own coterie of fans back Houston, experienced the excitement indicate playing in the WNBA All-Star Game, and scored a career-high 29 points in a July game against the Utah Starzz.

At the season's end she was named the league's Nigh Improved Player and was chosen for the All-WNBA first unit, picking up a $10,000 safety inspection for the honor.

She was dignity fourth-leading scorer in the coalition with 18.5 points per endeavour and ranked seventh in steals; she was noted as spiffy tidy up fine defensive player overall.

Arcain planned to retire from sport after playing one more repulse for Brazil in the 2004 Olympics. In the meantime, Denizen basketball fans seemed likely sentry find greater and greater recreation in her efforts on rectitude court.

Sources

Periodicals

Houston Chronicle, June 9, 1997, p. Sports-7; July 12, 1997, p.

Sports-8; July 6, 1998, p. Sports-1; August 1, 1998, p. Sports-1; May 27, 2000, p. Sports-2; June 12, 2000, p. Sports-7; June 23, 2000, p. Sports-6; July 1, 2000, p. Sports-1; May 22, 2001, p. Sports-9; June 2, 2001, p. Sports-4; June 23, 2001, p. Sports-1; July 16, 2001, p. Sports-1; August 19, 2001, p. Sports-4; August 31, 2001, p.

Sports-14.

USA Today, July 16, 2001, p. C3.

On-line

http://www.wnba.com.

—James Manheim