The Los Angeles Sparks were about to play the San Antonio Stars last Saturday in a preseason game, and Sparks guard Riquna Williams, the former University of Miami star, looked across the Staples Center court during warmups and saw Jessica Thomas, the recent UM graduate and an undrafted rookie with the Stars.
Williams never overlapped with Thomas at Miami, but a Cane is a Cane, so she went over and offered some advice.
“I told her, ‘This isn’t college anymore. Some of these women are Olympians, they’ve played all over the world, so you have to step up and play with confidence,’ ” said Williams, a five-year WNBA veteran who owns the league record for most points in a game with 51.