Dream's Lehning goes from long shot to starter

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Shalee Lehning was a long shot to make it to the WNBA. So what do you call it now that she’s the starting point guard for the Atlanta Dream?

Lehning, a second-round draft pick this year, has helped the Dream to the verge of the playoffs. She took over the starting spot 10 games ago, and the Dream are 7-3 in those games. They are 13-11 overall entering Thursday night’s home game against San Antonio, the fourth of a six-game homestand. After going 4-30 in their inaugural season, including a WNBA worst 0-17 start, the Dream are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining. Only one and a half games separate the second- and fifth-place teams in the conference. The top four teams make the playoffs.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know if I was going to get drafted,” Lehning said. “My college coaches [at Kansas State] were honest with me. They kept saying if a team takes a chance on you, you are going to make it, but we don’t know if they are. ...

“Late in the second round I started to panic because everyone said second-rounders, third-rounders usually don’t make it. It was a nerve-wracking experience for me.”

The Dream selected Lehning with the 25th overall pick. The 5-foot-9 guard waited, with no expectations, for a chance. Then as practice began for a July 15 game against Minnesota, Dream coach Marynell Meadors called Lehning’s name with the starting unit. Only after practice did she learn it was more than a move meant to “mix it up.”

“After practice coach came up and said ‘So, are you ready for your first big start tonight?’ ” Lehning said. “I was like ‘Yes, I am.’ ”

Lehning’s pass-first mentality led to her starting spot.

“We wanted to run, and she was the one to put us in gear,” said Meadors, who acknowledged that with 11-player rosters, a second-round pick has a hard time making a team. “She pushed the action. We’ve got speed and quickness on our team, and we’ve got to utilize that.”

Lehning’s statistics show her shoot-second game. She is averaging 2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists this season. At Kansas State she was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and ranks first in school history and second in Big 12 history in assists (800). She ranks fourth in school history in rebounds (912) and 19th in points (1,189).

The 22-year-old had a bigger adjustment than basketball in coming to Atlanta. Lehning is small-town. From Sublette (population 1,200) in rural Kansas, she graduated with a class of 36. It took more than just Atlanta traffic to get used to.

“My mom was freaking out because there were six lanes of traffic. I said, ‘It’s not that bad once you get used to it,’ ” Lehning said.

After several trips to the Georgia Aquarium, Stone Mountain and many restaurants she is not looking back. She will return to Kansas State following the season to finish her last semester and graduate in December. She might even head to Europe to play during the offseason.

“I’ve always been a person open to new experiences,” Lehning said. “I love it. I’ll never be able to go back to that small town [to live].”