by EDDIE SEFKO, Staff Writer esefko@dallasnews.com , THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

There was a time, when she was young, when she was first to play Basketball with the boys.

So why not?

Why not be the first woman to coach a men's Basketball team? Lieberman, a Hall of Famer who has done pretty much everything there is in the scope of women's Basketball. Now, she'll go to work as the coach of the NBA Development League team in Frisco, which will begin play in the 2010-11 season.

"I can't ever look at anything as daunting because then it becomes overwhelming," the 51-year-old Lieberman said. "I look at it as an unbelievable opportunity to do something positive for the sport I love. I've been on every level of this. I'm certainly used to being the first female or the only female to do something. It's second nature to me."

Lieberman was introduced as coach of the yet-to-be-named D-League team owned by Mavericks' president Donnie Nelson and local businessman Evan Wyly.

Also on the management team is Del Harris, who will be general manager, and Spud Webb, who will be president of Basketball operations.

"We've never been part of anything like this," Nelson said at the ceremony at Dr Pepper Arena.

The time is coming when there will be a European or a South American or an Asian as a coach in the NBA.

With the move to hire Lieberman, Nelson and Wyly have launched the first step toward a woman being an NBA coach at the assistant or, eventually, the head coaching level.

"As coaches or general managers of this team, we're coaching the whole player. There's a place for a team psychologist. And there's a place for a woman, too. We call ourselves a family, after all," Harris said. "So this is a breakthrough. And I'm sure she will do well. And it can open doors for future involvement at various levels, I think."

As for the comfort level of a woman leading men, Harris said it's no different than a woman doing so in any other business.

"It's really up to the coach to earn the respect, regardless of sex or background, by being prepared and being able to help a player to get better," Harris said. "Ninety-some percent of the players realize they need to get better. ... And the bottom line is, if Tiger Woods needs a coach, we all need a coach."

And Lieberman will do the coaching.

"I'm going to have to earn their respect and their going to have to earn my respect," she said. "It's a two-way street.

"I don't do anything that's premeditated. I have to be in the moment. Barack Obama, he knows he's the first black president. He gets it. I understand I'm the first female coach. But he has to be the president. And I have to be a Basketball coach, regardless of gender, creed, religion."

Spoken like a true coach.

Briefly: The Mavericks took Thursday off after back-to-back games and still were smarting after the overtime loss at New Orleans. "We played a great game," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We didn't play a pretty game. But we really battled and put ourselves in a position to win. NBA Basketball is 48 minutes and on consecutive nights, strange things can happen." ... The Mavericks were burned by a 3-pointer by Peja Stojakovic, who was 0-for-7 to that point, that sent the game into overtime. The Mavericks were upset at their lack of execution in the final moments. "The key things we talk about all the time, free throws, getting out on the shooter - those things are what championship teams do," said Jason Terry. "Obviously we're not there yet and we'll learn from this loss."

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