The next time Cindy Blodgett makes an appearance at Alfond Arena in Orono, it might not be on the side of the court where UMaine fans are used to seeing her sit.

Blodgett said in a telephone interview Sunday that in exploring her options for this winter during the long WNBA off-season, she has been in talks to possibly coach at the college level.

Some reports have one of those options as Boston University, one of UMaine’s America East opponents. BU has a whole new coaching staff for the upcoming season.

Blodgett, a guard for the Sacramento Monarchs, declined to say which schools she has talked to, but there have been discussions.

“I’ve talked to lots of different people and anyone that wants to talk to me, they know how to get in touch with me,” Blodgett said from Detroit, where the Monarchs were set to play the Shock Sunday night. “To be honest, people are talking to me and there’s nothing else really to say.”

The former UMaine star, All-American and two-time NCAA scoring leader said a meeting with new BU coach Margaret McKeon during a Monarchs road game is possible.

“That could happen. I think it’s too early for me to be discussing it,” said Blodgett, who is averaging 1.5 points, one steal and 4.3 minutes per game.update

If Blodgett were to coach at BU, she would face her alma mater twice in the 1999-2000 season. Maine hosts the Terriers on Dec. 11 and the two teams will play in Boston on Feb. 24.

And that, she said, would be a bit uncomfortable.

“Of course it would feel different, but people grow and get older. I think it would be awkward to coach anywhere other than Maine.”

A coaching position would not interfere with the WNBA season, which runs from training camp in May to the final game in August, Blodgett said. She added that she would be looking at a restricted-earnings position.

Blodgett, who graduated from Maine in 1998 with a degree in education, has listed on the WNBA’s Web site one of her goals after her basketball career is to be a “successful college coach.”

McKeon was an associate coach at George Washington University when she was hired on April 26 to replace Christine Basile, who retired at the end of her 16th season with the Terriers.

In June, BU hired Jerry McLaughlin and Gabrielle Butler as assistant coaches. McLaughlin is a former University of Alaska-Anchorage and Siena head coach and Butler coached with McKeon at George Washington.

But for now, Blodgett is focusing on the summer season, her first with the Monarchs. She was traded from the Cleveland Rockers to Sacramento on May 24.

The Monarchs, who were 8-3 and in second place in the Western Conference before Sunday’s game, have made a huge improvement over last season’s 8-22 finish. Blodgett credits the improvement to the new faces on this year’s team, such as WNBA Player of the Week Yolanda Griffith, as well as guard Ruthie Bolton-Holifield’s return to full strength after a knee injury last season.

Blodgett is also working to earn more playing time, which has dropped from an average of 8.4 minutes last season with the Rockers.

“Basically, it’s the same as last year, keep plugging away and stay working hard and be ready to go,” she said.