Swish Appeal

Atlanta Dream Free Agency Breakdown: de Souza Expected to Re-sign, Searching for Veteran Point Guard

2010-02-08T14:07:57Z

In a phone interview with Swish Appeal last week, Atlanta Dream coach Marynell Meadors said that she expects restricted free agent center Erika de Souza to re-sign with the team, maintaining arguably the strongest post rotation in the league.

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Nobody expects much from an expansion franchise in their first few years of existence, so even after the Atlanta Dream’s somewhat nightmarish debut season in 2008, coach Marynell Meadors remained positive.

Atlanta Dream's turnaround ends with franchise's first playoff berth - ESPN
Still, coach and general manager Marynell Meadors was all about the "bright side" of the expansion season. Such as the games in which the Dream were competitive, even if they didn't win. And the foothold the franchise started to develop in Atlanta. She had ideas of how to improve, and she knew she'd have a very high draft pick in April to help.

Hope for the future turned into change on the court much more quickly for the Dream than anybody might have imagined. After a 4-30 record in 2008, the Dream finished 2009 at 18-16, making the playoffs for the first time. Had it not been for injuries to starters Chamique Holdsclaw and Shalee Lehning down the stretch, the Dream might not only have had a better record, but also made a deep playoff run.

“We had two of our starting five out of the lineup when we went to the playoffs last year, which I thought was a tremendous detriment and probably cost us maybe moving on to the second round,” said Meadors in an interview with Swish Appeal last week. “I don’t know whether we have or not, but I thought we would have definitely had a better chance of doing that.”

So one can probably imagine that Meadors has high hopes for 2010 and for good reason.

“We want to be the best,” said Meadors when asked about her expectations for this year. “We’re going to play to win and we’re certainly dreaming to make a difference – that’s kind of our [motto] this year.”

One reason for increased optimism in the franchise's third year is that they will have arguably the best post rotation in the league, with Los Angeles Sparks legend Lisa Leslie retired and Meadors expecting to re-sign free agent center Erika de Souza. de Souza and Sancho Lyttle were named to the 2009 Eastern Conference All-Star team and reserve center Michelle Snow is among the most athletic post players in the league. So as much as the second season turnaround was the outcome of a revamped team – three starters (Holdsclaw, Lehning, Lyttle) were new to the team in 2010 – it can be said without reservation that their post play carried the team.

2009 Review

Atlanta was first in the league in points in the paint and second chance points in 2009 and tied for third in offensive rebounding percentage, behind the Los Angeles Sparks (who lost Leslie) and the Sacramento Monarchs (who folded). Their 9.65 steals per game (2nd behind the Indiana Fever) also led to the second most fast break points in the league with 13.29 per game. So the Dream were a team that thrived on getting themselves easy baskets with little support from the perimeter – they finished second to last in 3 point percentage at 30.5% last season.

Basketball common sense would suggest that having such ineffective perimeter shooting would stifle a team that relied so heavily on interior play (see SPI playing styles chart below: the team got 40.03% of their production from de Souza, Lyttle, and Snow). That problem would also seem to be compounded by the fact that the committed so many turnovers -- although the Dream were second in points off turnovers and fourth in turnover differential, they were second to last in turnovers per game with a mark of 16.53 for a turnover percentage of 14.54%. While it wasn't their biggest weakness based on a Four Factors analysis -- that would be free throw rate -- it's a noticeable problem, but Meadors had a reasonable explanation.

	eFG%	Fta/Fga	Oreb%	Tov%	TeamFacs	Synergy
Atl	47.19%	31.11%	32.92%	14.54%	5.53	0.98
Opp	46.08%	34.04%	29.21%	14.59%	5.32	1.08
Weighted Diff.	eFG%	fta/fga	Oreb	Tov%
Atl	0.11	-0.06	0.16	0.00

Atlanta Dream Four Factors for 2009

“I really think that you have to stop and look at all the new players we had last year – we had 8 new players last year out of 11,” said Meadors about their turnovers. “Any team that uses the fast break like we do – we’re not as good as Phoenix, but we’re pretty close – in pushing the ball up the court, you’re going to have more turnovers.

“But I think the knowledge of the players having one year under their belt playing with each other and [coming] back more mature and knowing what we expect from each other is definitely going to cut down on the turnovers.”

Nevertheless, in the eyes of fans these two major perimeter flaws – three point shooting and turnovers – are part of what made point guard Lehning such a lightening rod for fan criticism.

Despite having the league’s highest assist rate at 50.67% (Ticha Penicheiro was second at 43.68%), Lehning is not a player adept at slashing to the basket and creating easy baskets and she had the highest turnover percentage on the team at 19.05%. Of course as a point guard, her assist rate more than offsets her turnover percentage, something clearly indicated by her pure point rating of 4.27, third best in the league. Given the number of weapons the Dream have, someone that comes down the court and just looks to pass may be ideal and the turnovers might work themselves out with experience. Despite having the most turnovers on a turnover prone team, Lehning was still a good fit.

Revisiting Rookie Point Guards: How Does Atlanta’s Shalee Lehning Compare to Her First Round Counterparts? - Swish Appeal
Put simply, Lehning makes outstanding decisions with the ball given her limitations and rarely makes bad mistakes. It’s not a terrible starting point for a rookie. And I'm not just going to make a simplistic assist to turnover ratio argument. I'm talking more about how well Lehning plays the position.

As of yesterday, she leads the league in assist ratio – the percentage of plays she makes that end in an assist -- at 49.06%. To put that in perspective, the player in second is Sacramento Monarchs’ point guard Ticha Penicheiro. That also reveals a quirk with this particular number – if you don’t shoot much and pass a lot, then of course your assist ratio would be high. Nevertheless, the fact that half the plays she makes end in an assist is impressive as a rookie.

Nevertheless, if an offense is leaky, people will begin to look at the point guard position as the source of the leak.

Lehning’s glaring flaws led Dream fans to clamor for fan favorite Ivory Latta, a player that is capable of scoring and spreading the defense, which would in theory open up even more scoring opportunities for other players. However, Meadors doesn’t quite see Latta as a point guard.

“Ivory is a smaller point guard, she handles the ball, and she scores more than Shalee,” said Meadors. “I truly believe that Ivory is a 2-guard – she’s in a 1-guard body, but she’s really a 2-guard and she’s a great scorer. And 2-guards look to score."

Looking at the Sparks SPI playing styles for the Dream last season puts makes Meadors' point about the tendencies of the two guards much more clear.

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores
lyttle, sancho	39.50%	41.97%	69.75%	PP	26.88	19.19%	3.45
de souza, erika	20.98%	13.58%	93.20%	IU	26.76	17.85%	3.21
mccoughtry, angel	72.22%	72.22%	17.28%	PS	21.15	15.27%	2.75
holdsclaw, chamique	0.88	0.49	0.28	S	27.60	0.09	1.58
castro-marquez, iziane	98.14%	46.91%	3.70%	S	26.41	10.04%	1.81
lehning, shalee	1.85%	98.14%	41.35%	D	20.41	6.75%	1.21
snow, michelle	16.04%	14.19%	94.44%	IU	14.38	7.25%	1.31
latta, ivory	95.06%	79.62%	1.85%	SP	14.04	3.88%	0.70
miller, coco	69.13%	61.72%	32.71%	SP	11.56	3.93%	0.71
price, armintie	12.34%	64.19%	72.83%	IU	12.42	4.39%	0.48
lacy, jennifer	59.87%	11.11%	73.45%	PP	11.10	2.03%	0.37

Atlanta Dream SPI Playing Styles for 2009

In terms of tendencies, Latta had the strongest scoring tendency on the team and was among the highest scoring ratings in the league. Although she was not a pure scorer like Holdsclaw or Castro-Marquez, her assist rate further reinforces Meadors' point that Latta is 2-guard in the body of a 1-guard: her assist rate was 19.18%, not only below Lehning, but also below league average. Conversely, her turnover percentage was 13.66%, much better than Lehning. Yet playing around with statistics is not what Meadors is concerned with when considering who will start at the point guard position for her.

“We won 18 games with her as a starter, so it’s kind of tough to not put her back out there again,” said Meadors about whether Lehning is the projected starter for 2010. “It seemed that at times, Shalee did a great job of running our team and we were basically looking for that…To me Shalee has proven herself, even in her rookie season…When she got hurt two games before the playoffs started, when we moved to Detroit to play them it really hurt us not having her at point guard.”

Despite praise for Lehning, the team is still looking for a veteran point guard who can shoot the three.

“What I would like to do is sign a veteran point guard who can score from the three point range,” said Meadors. “We’re still trying to find that – but we have to get one… We just feel like if we get a veteran point guard that will put us in a situation where we can challenge for that championship.”

At season's end, Latta had the highest three point percentage at 36.0% and Castro-Marquez shot 34.5%, but nobody else on the team shot higher than 30%. Lehning, last year's starter, shot 20% on 30 attempts in 34 games. As it happens, there are two veteran point guards on the market that fit the bill: unrestricted free agents Kelly Miller and Kiesha Brown and restricted free agent Temeka Johnson and Kelly Miller.

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores
brown,kiesha	58.64%	64.81%	37.65%	M	10.97	0.04	0.68
johnson, temeka	37.65%	87.03%	26.54%	D	26.00	0.11	2.62
miller, kelly	35.80%	82.09%	33.95%	PU	19.32	0.05	0.77

In at least one sense, Johnson is the better candidate -- she's coming off a championship season with the Phoenix Mercury and shot 41.4% from the three point line last season. In addition, her assist rate of 32.1% was 10th in the league compared to Miller's 26.8% assist rate, which was 21st in the league. Johnson is much more of a distributor than Miller, which makes a lot of sense for a team that gets so much scoring production in the paint, either from drives or post-up situations. And of course, for a team interested in running the fast break, Johnson is also proven as one of the best.

The advantages for Miller might be at least slightly more difficult to determine. Miller is seven inches taller and an aggressive defender, but shot 33% from the three point line on less attempts than Johnson. Although she went to the University of Georgia, she is four years older, coming off a down season, and a much less efficient scorer by almost any standard last season. In fact, Lehning had a higher true shooting percentage (47.82%) than Miller (47.26%) and a much higher two point percentage (47.61% to 38.55%).

Brown can shoot the three, but is even less of a distributor with an assist rate of 20.68%. As a mixed player, her tendencies put her in the middle third percentile of every category in the league, but she did so in limited minutes and was responsible for a very small percentage of the Sun's overall production last year. Although she is also a Georgia graduate, she wouldn't appear to offer the team much more than Latta (or Coco Miller for that matter) offensively, which is what Meadors seems to be looking for.

But of course, with a lower salary cap there are also fiscal considerations.

Even with the team’s recent signing of center Yelena Luchanka, the expected signing of de Souza, and the signing of a draft pick the team will likely have enough cap room to sign either player to well above the veteran minimum salary. However, there are two additional considerations -- Johnson is a restricted free agent that and might be able to command more money than Miller (i.e. the Dream could not afford to pay Johnson the maximum salary for a veteran). Conversely, Brown and Miller are unrestricted free agents that would probably command less money despite having played more than six seasons.

In other words, Johnson could theoretically sign with the Dream and would probably be an excellent fit, but Brown or Miller would be the path of least resistance.

2010 Outlook: “Dreaming to make a difference”

Maintaining one of the league’s strongest frontcourt rotations while adding perimeter support could make Atlanta a very dangerous team in 2010. And in addition to free agency, the Dream should have substantial internal development that will help them reach their goal of being the best.

Holdsclaw struggled with injuries at the end of last season and the Dream lost four of its last five games. Meadors has spoken with her recently and with her returning to health, the Dream will definitely be stronger.

“She’s good right now,” said Meadors about Holdsclaw. “I talked to her last week and we probably talked for an hour in Cyprus – she’s playing in Cyprus right now. She said that her knee felt better than it’s ever felt. So I’m very confident that when she comes back she’ll be ready to go with us.”

In addition, 2009 Rookie of the Year Angel McCoughtry is a player who Meadors says has the capability to carry a team and will only get better in the coming season. She was already an outstanding defender and showed the ability to create shots off the dribble, drastically improving her productivity in the second half of the season.

“I think we talked about consistency and I got an email from her a couple of days ago and she’s talking about our goal is to win the championship this next year,” said Meadors. “She’s going to come in here bound and determined that she’s gonna make some things happen. I just truly believe that she’s going to be a great leader for us, whether she’s captain or not.”

The Dream very well could challenge for the Eastern Conference title this year, especially if they’re able to add a veteran three point threat who can create scoring opportunities for others and spread the defense. Even without a significant addition, the expectations are high for 2010.

“I just think the Dream fans are in for an exciting year,” said Meadors. “If we can get off to a good start -- which that’s true in everybody’s situation – we got a chance to have a good year. And our goal is to do a whole lot better than we did last year. And we went from 4 wins [in 2008] to 18 last year. And we definitely want to surpass that.”

Transition Points:

Meadors on Erika de Souza: “Yes, I do expect to re-sign Erika de Souza,” said Meadors. “And what she brings to our team is she brings speed, quickness, athletic ability, size. She just is kind of like a do-all type player in the post area.”

Meadors also expects improvement from the All-Star center: “We talked about finishing around the rim a little bit better than she did last year. And the other thing I want her to improve upon is her defense. She’s offensive-minded and a lot of WNBA players – and NBA players too – are more offensive-minded, but I think if she can get a little bit better on the defensive end and finish around the rim, I think she’s going to be pretty tough to stop.”

Statistically, although de Souza had the most field goals made within 5 feet of the basket in the WNBA, she didn’t rank in the top ten in field goal percentage from that range. However, the more immediate concern when Meadors talks making shots around the rim might be the 6-10 foot range where de Souza shot only 30%, seventh worst in the league.

So improvement around the basket would make her quite a dominant force in the post – she had 146 FGs made from five feet and in and the next closest player had 123 (Crystal Langhorne).
Meadors on Holdsclaw helping McCoughtry: “She’s definitely not going to hold Angel back because she really pushes Angel and inspires Angel to play better, and better, and better. And I think that with having Angel and Chamique in that position it’s going to extend Chamique’s career a little bit because Angel can come in and play some major minutes if needed.”
Meadors on the rule of having only one assistant that can travel and needing to restructure the positions of the other two under contract: “I think that’s wrong, not having two assistants. Everybody has at least two assistants all the way down to grade school. Even in AAU they have at least two assistants.”
Meadors on new owner Kathy Betty.

Poll

Would the Dream be the best team in the Eastern Conference if they added a veteran point guard who can shoot the three?

Just knowing Kathy Betty the short time that I’ve known her, she’s competitive, she’s energetic, she...

2010-02-07T23:13:17Z

Just knowing Kathy Betty the short time that I’ve known her, she’s competitive, she’s energetic, she’s a winner. She wants to do what we have to do to win the championship and she wants to do it as fast as she can.

-- Atlanta Dream coach Marynell Meadors on new owner Kathy Betty in a phone interview with Swish Appeal last week.

Bonvicini, Seattle Honor Kay Yow: How Can We Preserve the Humanity of a Legend?

2010-02-07T17:48:08Z

More photos » Al Goldis - AP

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During her halftime speech at Seattle University about breast cancer prevention yesterday, cancer survivor and KIRO news anchor Michelle Millman briefly mentioned that this Pink Zone game took on additional meaning because coach Joan Bonvicini, a friend of Kay Yow, was present on the sidelines.

"I’ve known her since I first started coaching and she was a great, great coach – an Olympic coach, she coached one of my players on the Olympic team," said Bonvicini of her friend after the Redhawks’ 52-42 win over the University of South Dakota. "But as great a coach as she was, she was a better person."

After opening with how special it was to speak at this particular Pink Zone event, Millman briefly described her own struggle with cancer, cracked a joke about taking her hat off, and then informed the crowd that she would have her final chemotherapy session on Monday to a round of applause. A few moments later, she transitioned from her personal story to talking specifically about what college students to do to raise awareness and prevent breast cancer, saying she wasn’t there to talk about her individual experience.

Sitting feet from where Millman stood, I was struck by her transition from the personal significance of the event to the advocacy of the Kay Yow Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Of course, it was understandable – she had a time limit, had a message to deliver, and probably wanted to leave people with something to act upon. Nevertheless, I found the transition – and the fact that the radio announcer sitting next to me began his halftime rundown during her speech – somewhat jarring.

On the one hand, she opened by explaining the personal significance of the moment by acknowledging Bonvicini’s friendship and giving the audience an account of her own struggle with breast cancer. On the other hand, she quickly moved to rather impersonal advocacy for a cause that was obviously related to her experience and that of Yow, but somewhat detached. It’s not that she did anything "wrong", but as someone not as familiar with Yow or Millman, I found the personal stories more compelling, if not more refreshing, than the advocacy.

Perhaps that sounds obvious – everyone loves a good story and the fact is that Kay Yow has a great one, whether you are interested in basketball, cancer research, or human life.

"She had this battle with breast cancer and actually the first time she was diagnosed was like a year before the Olympics," said Bonvicini. "And it came back, went into remission, and it came back again in 2000, and then like 2008 again. But she was public about everything so she inspired – obviously coaches – so many people with her message."

But what I found interesting about Millman’s speech is this tension between honoring the life of Yow and honoring the cause she represents through advocacy.

Having never watched Yow’s teams play, seen her in person, or spoken to her, my opinion of her has been shaped almost entirely by the well-crafted narrative about what she stands for and imagery designed to promote awareness of breast cancer. She – and more specifically, her story – has become at various times and places a cause, a commodity, an icon, or a theme for an event.

And it’s a phenomenon I always find problematic.

Something gets lost in the retelling of retold stories that seems to stand in stark contrast to what I understand to be the dynamic personality of Yow. The problem is underneath the message, the legend, and the cause is a person that continued to stay strong even when life dealt her every reason to give in. There seems to be something stifling about the way we elevate people to iconic status, reducing the complexity of human life to a single cause.

Mechelle Voepel articulated the predicament well in a recent article about how women’s sports Billie Jean King deals with her status as a living icon.

Billie Jean King fights for women's rights - ESPN
Being a tennis champion who changed not just her sport but the course of women's athletics might be enough for one lifetime for most people. It's just not enough for King, who hasn't opted to be a static torchbearer. That works great for monuments, like the Statue of Liberty, but not so well for human beings. So she needs to be approachable and down-to-earth and open to a different spin on issues she has pondered for decades. She needs to keep moving. If she's to be regarded as a living legend, she'd prefer you focus on the "living" part of that.

Although Yow is no longer with us, Voepel’s point resonates – static images "work great for monuments…but not so well for human beings."

It’s not that there’s something inherently wrong with honoring a person’s memory by using their story for the sake of a cause – it’s a cause she not only cared about, but personally struggled with. Of course, constructed narratives and metaphorical reifications are helpful because they help us grasp, express and act upon the ideals of any given cause – rarely do we find a great cause without great imagery.

The problem with raising a human being to "icon" status and casting them as an epic character that represents a singular cause is that it almost denies them their humanity, even in death. Unfortunately, as time passes and the people retelling the stories get further and further away from the person who "catalyzed" the cause, we have a bad habit of detaching the narrative from the person’s live to such an extent that we lose the meaning the person constructed in the process of living.

In taking whatever we want from them we deny ourselves the opportunity to reflect on their contribution to humanity and our society. So the question I have a little more than a year after Yow’s passing is how do we both honor her by advancing cancer research and maintain some element of humanity in how we talk about her?

And why does this matter at all?

Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin believed that one of the most dangerous forms of violence is to lie about another human being because it fundamentally denies them the possibility of representing themselves truthfully. Similarly, casting people as "epic" characters – inaccessible, inflexible, pre-defined, and static – denies people their humanity because it fundamentally denies people their uniqueness. Epics are familiar narratives that is already completely finished and reinforces notions of past that we want to believe rather than allowing the lives of the past to live for themselves. But perhaps most pertinent to narratives about legends, is a line from Bakhtin’s essay, "Epic and novel":

In its style, tone, and manner of expression, epic discourse is infinitely far removed from discourse of a contemporary about a contemporary addressed to contemporaries…the represented world of the heroes stands on an utterly different and inaccessible time-and-value plane, separated by epic distance. The space between them is filled with national tradition.

In smothering humanity in a morass of tradition, the humanity of heroes is lost – they simply tell us exactly what we want to hear. In Bakhtin’s terms, novel stories are "determined by experience, knowledge and practice" full of "openendednes, indecision, and indeterminacy", allowing characters to be interpreted within their own context relative to their relationships and actions.

Instead of filling in the blanks with tradition and cultural tropes, novel stories allow us to relate to people as humans instead of monuments, to borrow from Voepel. Stories should allow us to "meet" people in all of their humanity instead of "making reference to them" and explaining them away as characters that fit neatly into our predefined notions of the world. Novel stories should not just be about what the person represents, but more authentic accounts that "evoke the various events, moods, [and] impasses" that a person experiences. Although it is certainly easier to simply rely upon epic stories that reinforce tradition, novel stories of humanity actually allow us to reflect upon how we live life.

In particular, human existence exists within dialogue and interaction, not in static symbols. In the words of Brazilian activist educator Paulo Freire, "To exist humanly is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the namers as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection."

Breast cancer happened to Kay Yow but hopefully we don’t ever get to a point where that representation becomes the totality of who she was – to define her as a "cancer patient" is to deny her a large part of her humanity. So in preserving Yow’s life and preventing her from becoming a static monument, perhaps the question we should wonder about words, work, and reflective action carried out by Yow.

Of course, as Millman said, that’s what makes it so special to have a contemporary on hand to talk about Yow.

In about two minutes, Bonvicini mentioned that Yow was bigger than her coaching accolades about four times.

"For me, just to say I was a friend is great," said Bonvicini. "As great a coach as she was, she was a better person."

When asked specifically what sets Yow apart as a person, Bonvicini mentioned something that may be obvious by the way people have rallied around her memory, but is worth noting nonetheless.

"I’ll tell ya, in coaching it’s a very competitive business, but I have never heard one person honestly say one bad thing about her," said Bonvicini. "She’s someone that is really missed, but to have her name in this event I think is a tribute to her but moreso the respect she had around the country."

Perhaps part of the "new naming" exhibited by Yow is that she somehow rose above the petty competitiveness that some of women’s basketball’s biggest names have been trapped in over the last few years. In account after account we see that she was a person who genuinely cared about people in a competitive business that is increasingly concerned with players as cogs in a winning machine.

Marissa Kastanek Relishes Lasting Link to Kay Yow -- NCAABB FanHouse
What she came to find in Yow was a coach who had marquee credentials, yet was plain-spoken and down-to-earth. "She just acted like a regular person who was just trying to help girls play basketball and had a goal to get to and win a national championship," Kastanek said. "That, to me, was amazing. She didn't treat anybody any different and she didn't expect to be treated differently. She was a woman who had a goal. I saw that and I was very attracted to it."

The way she legitimately cared about people and the development of the game is what even distant colleagues recognized as what made Yow special.

"It’s nice to play these games, there’s a bigger purpose behind them," said South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams after the game who never competed against Yow but did hear her speak at a convention. "You just read stuff about her and everybody liked Kay Yow. She was good for the game, she was good for kids, and when you really look at the big picture, that’s what it’s about. Yeah, it’s wins and losses and we get fired because we don’t win enough. But really the bottom line is a good experience for our kids and coaching them hard and making sure they perform well and that’s what Kay did."

It may sound clichéd and cheesy to talk about a "bigger purpose" behind Pink Zone games, whether it be for a good cause or not. For some observers, the talk of a bigger purpose in women’s basketball is tiresome, subordinating the accomplishments of female athletes in a sport to some heavy, arduous movement against centuries of negative social forces.

However, Bonvicini described Yow’s message as "staying strong and fighting."

By all accounts, Yow's fighting extended beyond just fighting cancer – her 34 years in women’s basketball was also fundamentally about advancing women's basketball. To deny that Yow is part of a larger historical narrative of a sport growing despite considerable obstacles is to fundamentally deny Yow her humanity. The human element of Yow, as espoused by her contemporary Bonvicini, calls upon us to recognize that there is something bigger at stake in women’s basketball.

If nothing else, even this little shred of Yow’s story gained from Bonvicini speaks to the power of women’s basketball as a forum to showcase the feats of women both on and off the court and bring attention to issues specifically affecting women that are so often ignored. Returning to Voepel’s article about King, what initially caught my eye was the subtitle of the article: Tennis legend: Until women are brought out of poverty, humanity can't move forward. In King’s words, standing up for causes as athletes is not just an opportunity, but something of a responsibility, especially for those with legend status.

Billie Jean King fights for women's rights - ESPN
"We've got to do good work through sports, because kids look up to sports people. Even if they don't know who you are, they kind of get it if the adults get excited."

Maybe that's what King can provide as much as any sports legend could ever hope to: a sense of excitement. About charitable endeavors. About the opportunities to help. And about the need to keep doing something athletic, no matter what it is.

To deny that women’s sports are important for reasons beyond the field of play is to deny the very fact that people like Yow and King have spent their lives fighting for the advancement of women’s sports. To not acknowledge their work now is an act of presentism that seems to deny them part of their humanity even as we honor them. Sports have the potential to capture our attention and draw attention to things that cheap talk simply doesn’t.

Feminism on the Field | Women Talk Sports | The first online blog network for women's sports
Part of the power of sports, in my opinion, is that it allows women, especially young women, to see their bodies as functional, rather than purely decorative. It is this important shift in self-perception that makes sports for women so personally impactful. So, when is a soccer team more than a soccer team? When it’s a women’s soccer team. Then it is a symbol of equality and a tool for empowerment.

So as we continue to honor Yow as a fighter – both an advocate for women’s sports and breast cancer research – hopefully we will preserve her context. She is significant for what she did and how she interacted with people, not just as the figurehead of a cause.

Transition Points:

"The other thing is very coincidentally she worked with Jim Valvano at NC State – he died from cancer," said Bonvicini. "So for both of them – like the Jimmy V Foundation, now this is Kay Yow’s foundation – it’s unusual. In fact, I knew Jim very well too."
Bonvicini also mentioned that Yow was "very much a Christian woman and put God before anything else." While I will not equate Yow and Martin Luther King, it does evoke King's notion of "bearing the cross" relative to Yow's life.

freedarko.com: Majestic Scorn and Risk
Of course, that’s impossible when we have whittled King’s entire life down to one or two soundbytes, commodified them, and annually celebrated a watered down memory for so long that it’s hard to even discern what his life was about. A day of service or quietly engaging in service throughout the year without taking a public stand is in direct opposition to what King stood for. It’s comfortable – as comfortable as watching the game on the day off granted to us in memory of King – and we should not confuse that with honoring King’s life.

The title of Garrow’s book about King is Bearing the Cross, a biblical reference and described as participation in the struggle in his writings (p 148): "I know this whole experience is very difficult for you to adjust to," King wrote, "but as I said to you yesterday, this is the cross that we must bear for the freedom of our people." The struggle is difficult, but "I am asking God hourly to give me the power of endurance."

If we set aside whatever qualms we have about organized religion, the point here is that King was more than speeches and sloganeering – it requires people to stand up and publicly assume a heavy and burdensome responsibility for enacting change. The civil rights movement was indeed a struggle that forced many people to make sacrifices that we have not just forgotten but ignored. So while people often wonder where our great leaders have gone, perhaps a better question to ask is where are the people willing to stand up and assume responsibility for moving us forward? It’s not at all that they don’t exist – I work with and know many of those people. It’s that far too often, we look for others to "bear the cross" while we continue to live our lives of comfort.

You know -- as an educator, I'm all for full, quality participation. There's a pedagogical reason...

2010-02-07T17:04:16Z

You know -- as an educator, I'm all for full, quality participation. There's a pedagogical reason behind having that sort of athletics in our schools. There's also a strong pedagogical reason for having competition and excellence.

What you have here in UConn is excellence. What you've had in Tennessee is excellence (and still have - remember who won two in a row recently?). What you had with LaTech, with Delta State, with the Mighty Macs, with Nashville Business College, with Des Moines American Institute of Business, with Wayland Baptist, with Dallas Cyclones is excellence.

You know what is bad for women's basketball? That so many will find the names mentioned above unfamiliar.

-- from Helen at Women's Hoops Blog.

And to extend: pedagogically, there is no better way to encourage growth than setting the standard high and holding everybody accountable to it. It's anti-competitive and detrimental to suggest that there's something wrong with having a high standard.

Cal, UCLA Set Record for Fewest Total Points Scored: "Isn’t this why they invented the shot clock?"

2010-02-07T02:26:46Z

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that University of California guard Alexis Gray-Lawson scored more than 39 points in consecutive games (47 points @ Oregon State University, 39 v. University of Arizona)? So how on earth did the team only manage 32 against UCLA?

Just following the game thread on California Golden Blogs is painful: "Isn’t this why they invented the shot clock?"

Perhaps the press release is even more depressing:

UCLA Downs California, 44-32 - UCLA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Cal scored the game's first eight points, keeping UCLA off the scoreboard until Christina Nzekwe made a free throw at the 10:01 mark. The Bruins missed their first 12 field goals of the game before Dixon finally hit a jumper at 9:20. The tables turned for Cal, however, as the Golden Bears did not score for the final 11 minutes of the half, allowing UCLA to not only get back into the game, but take the lead. The Bruins used a 14-0 run to end the half with a 14-8 lead. Nina Earl had seven of the Bruins' 14 points in the scoring run. The Golden Bears shot a paltry 8.7% (2-for-23) from the field in the half. UCLA did not fare much better, shooting 20% on 5-for-25 shooting.

That does not necessarily constitute a "defensive battle" -- it's just bad basketball any way you cut it.

Games like this -- along with Arizona State University's 66-62 loss to previously winless Washington State University and the University of Washington's 30 point loss to the University of Arizona -- does not bode well for Pac-10 RPI come tournament time...

Update: The game is a UCLA record for fewest total points, fewest opponent points, and fewest points in a win. Working on determining the Pac-10 record.

Poll

How many Pac-10 teams will get invites to the NCAA tournament?

Extra Extra! Jayne Appel Thrown Out of Game for First Time Ever!

2010-02-05T21:32:55Z

Post players are often taught to keep the ball high and elbows out. So how did Appel get a T?
(Photo by Craig Bennett/112575 Media)

So C and R were sitting there watching a perfectly normal Stanford women’s basketball game vs UCLA when the abnormal happened. Jayne Appel got ejected from the game in the second half! Jayne? Our Jayne? Our mild-mannered, everyone loves Jayne, Jayne? The Jayne who had a foot infection and wasn’t even supposed to play tonight Jayne?

When C and R saw Jayne run to the locker room we looked at each other. We have never seen Jayne thrown out of a game in her four years here. We looked away and then back at each other and then said we can’t remember a Stanford player EVER getting thrown out of a game in all the years R has been going (She has had season tickets longer than she has known C). Head Coach Tara VanDerveer said the same thing the next day, that in her 24 years of coaching, she’s never had a player thrown out.

And it did seem like a normal PAC-10 game. UCLA came out scrappy and hustling, and in a man-to man press. We took an early lead, let them come back and take the lead, then we had a slight lead at half, then came back and pounded them in the second half to win 74-53. You know, typical game for us against a PAC-10 foe, as it has happened three times in a row now.

What was abnormal was that Jayne was having a game from last year. Even coach Tara VanDerveer was quoted as saying, "She was the old Jayne." Jayne was taking them one-on-one and had 23 points and 13 rebounds before she was tossed with 7:41 left in the game (Think if she played the whole game). By contrast, Kayla had 4 points at that juncture.

Also abnormal was we discovered Stanford’s 6’2" Nneka Ogwumike can dribble. Yes, really. She even dribbled between her legs in the opening minutes. When Stanford is pressed, as they were last night by UCLA, a tall person will inbound it to the guard and the guard, feeling pressure, will pass it back to the person who threw it in, as she is not guarded. The other team rarely expects them to throw it backwards. We have been lucky in that usually it is Kayla Pedersen back there, who is a great ball handler for someone so big. But tonight it was Nneka inbounding the ball, and she kept winding up with the ball in her hands and she took it up court in the point guard position. In past games, when we have seen her dribble, it is high and not so deft. She did a credible job last night but let’s not have this be standard operating procedure, Stanford.

UCLA is coached by Nikki Caldwell, a former Tennessee player and assistant coach under Pat Summit. You could see Pat Summit’s fingerprints all over this team. They were disciplined and in shape. They ran and they hustled constantly. They did the fundamentals extremely well. (They boxed out Jayne so hard one time they made her bend over backwards and got called for a foul). They even had a little speedy but teeny point guard ala Shannon Bobbitt to push the ball up court.

So here’s something funny we noticed about UCLA. The faster they pushed the ball, the better STANFORD responded. UCLA came out of the gate in the opening seconds pushing the ball up court quickly, and playing an up tempo game. We responded by scoring 11 points to their 2 in the first five minutes! Then they slowed down. And we slowed down all of a sudden it’s 16-10, Stanford, with 10 minutes gone. We said in a previous post we seem to respond or mirror the team we are playing. Play us up tempo and we come out firing. Play us slow with a set half court offense and defense and we are sluggish and lose our scoring ability. Hmmmm, hope other teams don’t catch on to this.

As UCLA and Stanford slow down, we let them take the lead with about 6 minutes in the half and then hang on to a 36-32 lead at half time. The game is getting rough, as UCLA is scrappy and the refs are allowing it, emboldening UCLA to get even more scrappy, which will come in to play in the second half and Jayne’s ejection. (Yes, finally, we got to the ejection! You were just about to go to another site to satisfy your curiosity, weren’t you?)

So here’s what happened: Jayne grabbed a rebound…did you know going in to the game she was just 17 away from the all-time Stanford record? And last night she moved past Val Whiting and into second place on Stanford's career rebounding list with 1,140? She is three away from tying Nicole Powell’s school record. (Arrgh, R just pinched me to get on with it).

So Jayne grabbed the defensive rebound and three UCLA players surrounded her. Usually one UCLA player would harass the rebounder, but they were getting a little desperate with the score being 60-42, trying to force turnovers. Jayne did as she was taught, which was to move the ball quickly back and forth in her grip to not let them grab it, and if they reached in, would probably foul her as she is moving her arms quickly. When the three UCLA players did not back off from her movements, and were reaching in on her, she moved the ball quicker and higher, and her elbow caught Jasmine Dixon in the face, and she dropped to the floor and the whistle blew.

Now, you know C and R are huge Stanford fans. Heck, it says it all over our website. But we are also honest and fair to a fault. And in our opinion, it was not a dirty play on Jayne’s part at all. She was not slinging her elbows maliciously or far away from her body. She was not using her elbows as a weapon. She was moving aggressively within the context of protecting the ball and the UCLA players were not giving her any space, in fact were moving in closer on her. At first we thought UCLA should be given the foul and when we found out it was Jayne, we booed with the rest of the crowd. Then when it was apparent UCLA was shooting a two shot technical, we were livid and booed harder. It was not flagrant, in our opinion, as we said. Give Jayne the foul, but not a technical. Then when we saw Jayne run to the locker room and was ejected, we were really, really mad. It was not done deliberately or maliciously; there was no reason to kick her out of the game. And would she be suspended for the next game, too?

When play resumed to a chorus of boos, the refs are calling any little contact (Two UCLA payers would eventually foul out of the game). After a minute and a half of whistles, Stanford steals the ball and gets it to Ros Gold-Onwude. She is running uncontested for a lay up and we see the UCLA player speed up from behind. Now, C and R are thinking, if the UCLA player is smart, she will let this play go, she can’t stop the lay-up, and in light of a player just getting kicked out and seeing the refs are whistle happy, should not risk a foul here. Instead the UCLA player grabs Ros’ arm as she is jumping up. Okay, if you aren’t going for the ball on a lay up, if you grab a jersey or an arm to stop a lay up, that is usually a technical foul. If a player touches the body or hand trying to stop the shot, then that is a regular foul. The technical foul designation is used to stop a player from coming up from behind and stopping the player at all costs, by saying grabbing a fistful of jersey, or hair or her arm. Do they call a technical? Noooooo. The crowd is even more incensed. (Someone grabbed my ponytail once to stop me on a fast break and got a technical, hee hee, but it sure did hurt).

Back to Jayne’s technical and ejection. This morning, Jayne said her action was unintentional, and Dixon and UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell backed her.

"Appel was just trying to get the rebound and clear the board," Dixon said. "I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Said Appel, "I was in no way intentionally trying to be flagrant or trying to hit her, just playing basketball."

While neither VanDerveer nor Caldwell saw the entire play, both defended Appel. Caldwell recruited Appel while working at Tennessee.

"I saw lot of arms and people around and Jayne trying to square up," VanDerveer said. "She's got like three people all over her. People are swiping at her. She was trying to hold onto the ball and be aggressive with the ball. She's not a dirty player."

Said Caldwell, "I don't think she's that type of kid who would intentionally try to hurt anybody."

Gracious of UCLA’s coach Caldwell and Jasmine Dixon, and we appreciate their candidness. We hope the PAC-10 review committee that is deciding if Jayne can play in the next game is listening.

OMG, almost forgot to report THE most exciting part of the game. As the Stanford women’s team was throwing their red victory balls, Joslyn Tinkle ran over to our section and C was vigorously shaking her tinkle bell. She looked right at us and threw the ball to R! So we want to give a big thank you shout out to Joslyn Tinkle and say how great you look on the court!! Hee hee. R said she bets her mom made her find us and throw us a ball! So thanks Mrs. Tinkle. C and R didn’t have time to meet Mrs. Tinkle when she was here, but the coach of our little girls’ team, who is from Montana, did. Mrs. Tinkle probably told Jos to throw those women a ball; they are so nice to you!

See you on Superbowl Sunday, with or without Jayne.

See the orignial post and more Stanford stuff at C and R Stanford Women's Basketball Blog

Photo Gallery: Arizona State vs. Washington - 2/4/10

2010-02-05T16:46:13Z

Arizona State 67, Washington 61 (OT)

Photo by Max Simbron

Huskies | Washington women fall to Arizona State in overtime, 67-61 | Seattle Times Newspaper

TEMPE, Ariz. — Kayli Murphy scored a career-high 16 points and went 5 for 6 from the free-throw line in overtime to help Arizona State beat the Washington women 67-61 on Thursday night.

Murphy added 11 rebounds for her third career double-double. She had three assists, three steals and a block as the Sun Devils (14-7, 6-4 Pac-10) won for the fifth time in six games.

More photos from Max Simbron after the jump.

Kayli Murphy's career high leads ASU women to overtime win over Washington
"How about Kayli Murphy?" ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "She really put us on her shoulders tonight. It wasn't just her scoring and rebounding. She's like a one-woman help side on defense. She's guarding her player and somebody else's player almost every possession. She was unbelievable."

Huskies Can't Knockout Sun Devils In Tempe - University of Washington Official Athletics Site
Another positive for Washington was the return of Sara Mosiman, who had missed the last nine weeks after doctors inserted a titanium rod into her leg to alleviate shin splits. The senior played just five minutes, but her quicker-than-expected return was redemption to her after there was speculation whether she would play again this season.

Thibault Confirms UConn's Charles Will Be Drafted #1 By the Connecticut Sun

2010-02-05T03:23:32Z

In his interview with Swish Appeal this week, Connecticut Sun Head Coach Mike Thibault ended all speculation about who his team intends to draft with the number 1 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft.

"I would think it would have to be something crazy that I can't even fathom right now that would make us change our mind," said Thibault when asked about drafting Charles in a phone interview with Swish Appeal Wednesday. "She's the reason we made the deal and she's clearly the number one pick. It's a pretty easy choice for us."

The Sun acquired the number 1 pick and former UConn guard Renee Montgomery from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for point guard and Minnesota native Lindsay Whalen and the 2nd pick.

It had been assumed since the deal was first announced that the Sun would reunite the successful pair that played so well together just 23 miles down the road at the University of Connecticut. Now Husky, Sun and all WNBA fans have the confirmation they've been waiting for.

For more on the Sun, please see the interview with Mike Thibault.

Connecticut Sun Free Agency Breakdown: How Well Does Kara Lawson Fit?

2010-02-04T14:00:25Z

Second year point guard Renee Montgomery is still unproven, but will bring quickness, scoring, and defensive ability to the Connecticut Sun, according to coach Mike Thibault in an interview with Swish Appeal. Next to recently signed free agent guard Kara Lawson, the Sun should have a much more dangerous backcourt in 2010. (Photo by Max Simbron)

View full size photo »

Last month’s Connecticut Sun – Minnesota Lynx trade was a "blockbuster" because it undoubtedly involved the biggest exchange of talent in the WNBA's short history to date.

Perhaps even more significantly, it is one of those rare professional sports trades that is truly a win-win in terms of talent rather than just bringing heroes home, creating flexibility for a future move or being a matter of "addition by subtraction".

It should be quite easy for most fans to understand how the trade constitutes a win for the Lynx – in point guard Lindsay Whalen, they get a homegrown complementary talent that gives them one of the most flexible rosters in the league and makes them an almost instant contender.

For the Sun, the situation might not be so clear. How could exchanging arguably the best point guard in the league for an unproven second year player be "fair"? Part of the answer lies in a combination of quirky decisions and coincidences that converged to create a serendipitous opportunity for the Sun.

Hartford Courant writer John Altavilla summarized the benefits of the trade best, laying out what would end up being the blueprint for how the Sun plan to capitalize on this opportunity.

Uconn Huskies Women's Basketball News Blog - John Altavilla - Hartford Courant
The Sun were slow and lethargic in many positions last season. They didn't score well and got bogged down by injuries, especially the one that basically ended Tamika Whitmore's season before the All-Star break.

Connecticut needed an infusion of youth, speed and scoring ability. And if things work out as planned, they will get it in abudance in this deal.

Montgomery and Tina Charles, who we anticipate will be the Sun's draft pick, are good friends and have the experience of playing together for two Final Four teams and one unbeaten national champion. They work well together; they are in synch mentally and techincally.

They run the floor with abandon, especially Charles, who may be the most agile post in a long time, and that's taking Candace Parker into consideration. Her inside game has been strengthened by international play over the summer - she was USA Basketball's player of the year - and she can shoot the 15-footer with consistency.

Montgomery is a leader. She can play the poiint and the off-guard. If the Sun sign Kara Lawson in free agency, which is another thing we've been hearing, CT's backcourt not only will be transformed will be one to be feared.

The Sun needed to do this, despite fan sentiment.

Altavilla’s description of what made the trade so great for Connecticut also articulates what made it work for the Lynx – Whalen is a calculating, deliberate facilitator who sees angles on the basketball court as well as anyone in basketball. She ran Thibault’s offense -- which was predicated on strong ball movement -- to perfection. The problem is that the Sun needed her to score in order to win. Montgomery can do that.

Montgomery is still unproven, but she did enough last year to demonstrate that she has the potential to be a star scoring point guard. The thought of pairing her with UConn senior center Tina Charles under the direction of coach Mike Thibault – definitely a key consideration in all of this – is almost too good to be true. So as far as Thibault is concerned, we might as well just end speculation about whether the Sun are considering picking anyone other than Charles.

"I would think it would have to be something crazy that I can't even fathom right now that would make us change our mind," said Thibault when asked about drafting Charles in a phone interview with Swish Appeal yesterday. "She's the reason we made the deal and she's clearly the number one pick. It's a pretty easy choice for us."

The final piece of Altavilla’s blueprint fell into place Tuesday with the signing of free agent guard Kara Lawson, who was left as an unrestricted free agent without the option of re-signing with the recently folded Sacramento Monarchs. So although they lost the veteran savvy that Whalen brought to the point guard position, they managed to add a player that is perhaps most well-known for the "intangibles" she brings to the court.

So in a sense, it’s not even that the Sun have made good decisions so far this off-season – it’s almost as if fate forced their hand.

"For us, this was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so to speak, to dramatically change your team," said Thibault. "Different things kind of came together at the right time. I never not want to make the playoffs, but this year -- with the injuries that we had -- probably not making the playoffs was a blessing in disguise because it put us in a great draft position, it put us in a good position in the dispersal with Sacramento, and allowed us to do some things that under normal circumstances we wouldn't do."

However, with all the talk of "intangibles", "leadership", and "potential" – obviously important soft-skills – the matter of how well this team might actually function on the court remains an open question. Altavilla wrote yesterday that the Sun's drastic off-season makeover has "rejuvenated" the team, but what exactly does that mean? How well will all these moves translate into on-court success?

Drawing upon the SPI player styles spectrum and insights from a phone interview with coach Thibault, perhaps we can figure out what type of basketball visiting teams can expect when they arrive in Mohegan Sun Arena.

2009 Review: The final chapter of the Whalen Era

In summarizing the end of the Whalen Era, perhaps it’s useful to go back to Altavilla’s claim from his synopsis of the trade:

"The Sun were slow and lethargic in many positions last season. They didn't score well and got bogged down by injuries…"

Thibault disputes the notion that the team struggled to score last season, rightly pointing out that the Sun were one of the higher scoring teams in the league.

"People talk about our lack of scoring in certain areas and yet we ended up third in the league in scoring," said Thibault. "It's a little bit mystifying to me where the word "lack" comes for our team. When Asjha Jones got hurt and Tamika Whitmore because of her injuries was unable to pick up the slack, I think that was where the biggest problem occurred...it's just hard when you take two prime power forwards out of your offense and a major part of your production."

On the one hand, he's right -- despite a rash of injuries, the Sun finished last season tied for fourth in scoring with 78 points per game, which does account for any noticeable lack of scoring. On the other hand, Altavilla also has a point.

Watching the Sun in person last season against the Seattle Storm (a game in which they were missing Jones), there were possessions on which the Sun just seemed to experience some sort of gridlock – they were still running their beautifully systematic sets crisply, but they just weren’t scoring. It was almost as though Whalen was patiently looking to make plays while the rest of the team was waiting for her to make plays. There were times when it seemed nobody was actually looking to score. That might have been better with Jones, but the fact remains that there were times last season when the team lagged.

Where that shows up statistically is not points per game, but points per possession. Although the Sun did put up points last season, they did so with the third highest possessions per game. So not only were they ranked 11th in points per possession last season with 96.44, but they also had a negative scoring differential, though small (-.01). Combined with a field goal percentage of 40.6% (12th in the league), this team did indeed score, but not particularly efficiently or often.

One way to account for that is that they had the second lowest points in the paint last season (26.71) and the third lowest three point percentage (31.6%). In other words, it could be said that the Sun struggled to score at times because they neither had a reliable three point threat to spread the court and open up driving lanes, nor a reliable interior scoring threat to get them easy baskets. That could be explained by the injuries to their post players as Thibault pointed out, but there's another piece to it. What they had was a lot of players relying on Whalen’s assists – they finished 2nd in the league in assists with 17.88 – without being able to reliably create much, as evidenced by their usage percentages.

That is exactly what we see when looking at the individual SPI playing styles for the Sun in 2009.

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores	Usage%
whalen,lindsay #	38.88%	82.71%	33.33%	D	28.94	19.45%	3.11	19.76
jones,asjha	86.41%	34.56%	43.20%	S	30.65	12.73%	2.04	26.06
gruda,sandrine	67.28%	17.28%	66.66%	SI	30.65	11.26%	1.80	23.36
white,tan**	73.45%	66.04%	24.07%	SP	21.50	10.60%	1.70	20.60
phillips,erin	53.70%	73.45%	35.18%	P	22.66	10.63%	1.70	17.74
jekabsone,zogota	91.35%	52.46%	21.60%	S	23.41	6.66%	1.07	20.22
holt,amber	42.59%	62.34%	55.55%	M	16.09	5.59%	0.89	18.81
gardin,kerri	12.96%	46.29%	84.56%	IU	17.52	8.34%	1.34	17.74
turner,barbara x	60.49%	77.77%	22.22%	P	18.71	0.90%	0.14	15.71
cirone,kristi	2.46%	96.29%	57.40%	D	5.00	0.56%	0.09	13.72
brown,kiesha*	58.64%	64.81%	37.65%	PU	10.97	4.28%	0.68	18.82
black,chante	6.79%	7.40%	97.53%	IU	12.45	4.69%	0.75	14.36
whitmore,tamika !	80.86%	43.20%	40.12%	S	15.08	2.36%	0.38	19.37
ervin,lauren	64.19%	2.46%	82.71%	IS	6.50	0.53%	0.08	16.60

As it turns out, the problem was not as much the lack of scorers as much as a lack of aggressive scorers who could create their own shots.

Only four of the players in their regular rotation could be considered scorers and only two players on the roster ranked in the top 50 in usage percentage last season – forward Asjha Jones (#15) and forward Sandrine Gruda (#38). As the team's primary post players, both Jones and Gruda rely on passes from others to get baskets.

Whalen – who was responsible for much of the distributing – had the fourth highest usage percentage on the team (#73). This reinforces the point above – there was a dearth of players able to create their own shots, one of the players who could was more of a distributor, and most of the rest of the team was reliant on the distributor.

Although the Sun suffered injuries to post players, their best post player by most people’s standards – Jones -- was more of a pure scorer than an interior presence. Sandrine Gruda was the only interior scorer to play significant minutes, but had an average 2 point percentage of 46.7% (15th in the league among forwards). Center Chante Black, the other interior scorer to play significant minutes, was 24th in field goal percentage among centers.

In other words, they didn’t have many scoring options in the post, they weren’t necessarily the most reliable post scoring threats, and yet those were the players who looked to score most often. They weren't necessarily an imposing team in the post offensively or defensively.

From the perimeter, even though they did have two of the top 15 three point shooters in the league (#10 Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and # 14 Tan White), the rest of the team shot 27.80%. Considering that Jekabsone-Zogota was only responsible for 6.6% of the team’s overall production since she didn’t become a major part of the rotation until around August, they were a team that was limited from deep and limited inside for much of the season.

Lingering in 2009 for one moment more, what’s immediately striking is that Whalen (traded) and Tan White (free agent) were responsible for 30% of their production last season, based on valpct and just under 5 wins based on Boxscores.

So how can they make up for that production – while addressing glaring needs -- with their most recent acquisitions?

While White has reached a verbal agreement to re-sign with the Sun according to Thibault, there is still the matter of making up for Whalen’s production, which is certainly no small task.

"She and I had such a good relationship that she kinda knew what I was thinking," said Thibault. "But I think Renee and Kara have great understanding of the game. They know the tempo I want to play at. They both have a great basketball IQ, so I don't think it will be a very long time before we're all on the same page."

However, considering their needs above, the key here might not be "replacing Whalen" but reshaping the team with players who bring the things they lacked. Whalen is not necessarily the best fit for a team without players looking to score (hence why Minnesota, a team with 3 high usage scorers, makes sense for Whalen). Therefore, one could argue that the team either needed to get more scorers for Whalen to distribute to or replace Whalen with players that have a scorer’s mentality. The Sun have opted for the latter, while perhaps still maintaining some of the "intangibles" and "leadership" that Whalen brought.

"Lindsay is historically been about a 15 point a game, you know, 5 assist kind of person," said Thibault. "Well, I'm not going to say that either Kara or Renee will be exactly that, but between the two of them their numbers will be higher than that. I fully expect the two of them between them to average 20-25 points a game, between the two, and somewhere between 7 and 10 assists a game. So that's a huge factor to us."

Essentially, what Thibault is suggesting is that Whalen’s contributions will be distributed between Lawson and Montgomery this year. They will definitely lose Whalen's rebounding at the guard position, but gain two much needed perimeter scorers. As a heady player who plays very well in the flow of the game, Lawson is a complement to Montgomery that might make their backcourt more dangerous despite the loss of Whalen – they’ll be much more difficult to defend this season because of their ability to adjust to whatever the defense throws at them.

The Post-Whalen Era

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores	Usage%
lawson,kara	85.80%	70.37%	6.17%	SP	23.48	7.28%	0.87	18.47
montgomery, renee	83.00%	66.66%	10.49%	SP	22.02	8.00%	1.23	20.16
walker, demya	41.35%	51.85%	62.34%	M	23.71	9.78%	1.17	20.17

SPI playing styles for Connecticut Sun 2010 additions

Montgomery, a young player with much strong scoring tendencies than Whalen, is the perfect response to Altavilla’s assertion that the team needed an infusion of speed and youth. On more than one occasion last season, Montgomery showed the ability to aggressively attack the defense and get to the rim at will, single-handedly winning games for the Lynx. For a team of players that does not look to score and struggles to get baskets in the paint, Montgomery fits nicely.

Given that Montgomery’s usage percentage is likely to increase on a team with less players looking to score, it would seem that a distributor who can defend would be ideal next to her. The Sun didn’t necessarily do the opposite, but went a slightly different direction.

In addition to bringing intangibles, Lawson brings the Sun a scoring perimeter player who complements Montgomery well in terms of scoring – despite shooting a career low 33.6% from the three point line during a season plagued with injury, she is a threat from beyond the arc. Make no mistake – Lawson is on the edge of being a pure scorer, but what she brings to the Sun is versatility from the guard spot.

"She plays both guard positions," said Thibault, in response to what Lawson brings to the team on the court. "So we can play her at the point and have her run the team, she can play off the ball and come off screens and be a spot-up shooter. She can defend both positions -- she gives us the ability along with Renee Montgomery to play full court man defense, which allows us to pressure people more consistently than we've done before. She's a terrific three point shooter, which certainly I thought was a deficiency on our team last year. All of those things are basketball skills that we absolutely need."

Another, perhaps more subtle, addition is Jekabsone-Zogota, who joined the team late last year and started 16 games. In those starts, she not only played just over 10 minutes more per game, but also scored 5.7 more points per game. As a three point shooter, just playing more minutes for a full season will be a huge boost for the team in 2010.

"The last third of the season we got great production from Anete Jekabsone when she became a starter and kind of got used to the league," said Thibault. "She's capable of being a double figure scorer for us as well. So we've enhanced overall our perimeter scoring."

As for their needs on the interior, while it is obviously unclear exactly what Charles will contribute in her rookie season, it is clear that she will likely be some sort of contributing presence in the post, whether that be a stronger rebounding presence or scoring. With Charles, as well as the addition of DeMya Walker, the health of their veterans, and the development of their young players, Thibault is optimistic about their interior game this season.

"Now with Asjha and DeMya Walker and probably drafting Tina Charles, you're looking at players who are capable of getting big numbers every night," said Thibault. "I just think it's a total offensive makeover as far as definitely being able to sustain when one person goes out and having somebody else to take their place."

It would look like the Sun have not only filled multiple needs, but have gotten deeper and have young players that will continue to develop.

So what more might the Sun do in free agency?

With the signing of Lawson and forthcoming draft picks, the Sun are not likely to make any more significant moves in free agency, according to Thibault.

"Unless we were to do some sort of other deal we're pretty close to the cap," said Thibault. "We haven't really been exploring going after any other free agents at this point. We have picks in the draft, we're returning other players. If we do something, it will just happen to all of a sudden [appear] to us."

If they were to make a move, it is likely to involve guard Erin Phillips. Phillips is a reserved player whom the Sun have already offered a contract, meaning she cannot sign anywhere else. However, she has expressed interest in changing teams and the Sun are looking to accommodate that request with a sign and trade.

That means they are likely to add another new player to the roster and the ideal would be an interior scorer given their remaining needs. Even if they were to find that player, complicating the issue for the Sun is the reduction in the salary cap.

"It takes away the equivalent of another veteran minimum salary," said Thibault. "Reduce it by $52,000, just makes it less flexible for a lot of teams to do some things...I get a feeling that we'll see a lot of teams with high end contracts and rookie contracts but not much in between."

In any event, as a team with young talent with new pieces coming together with a shortened pre-season, expectations about the impact of the Whalen trade are probably more future-oriented than 2010 championship expectations of their trading partner.

"I think we've put in position to compete for it again," said Thibault, when asked how far away the Sun are from a championship. "We're bigger, more athletic, quicker, hopefully we've addressed some outside shooting issues. I think we certainly can contend for a championship right away...we need a little bit of luck but I think we can put ourselves in that position again.

Transition Points:

Coach Thibault on White: "Tan is right now pretty mch verbally agreed to a contract -- she just has a couple of things to take care of -- so she'll be back with us."
Coach Thibault on Phillips: "She's a reserved player, she's not a free agent. She can only sign with us unless we can sign and trade with somebody else. She's been offered a contract. So far, she's not signed it. There's part of her that wants to go somewhere else. She's looking at our roster and seeing what's there and she might think she can play more somewhere else. That's something we just have to work through over the next month or two. So that's kind of one of the last questions to be solved."
Versatility is becoming the theme in the WNBA and Thibault described an exciting vision of the Sun's versatile backcourt:

"I think you just need to have good players," said Thibault of Lawson and Montgomery. "The fact that they both have skills that are similar but yet you can play them both together at the same time makes our team more versatile. It doesn't matter which one gets the outlet pass to start the fast break because the other one can take off and run. It doesn't matter which one is wanting to take the ball up because one of them at different times is going to make the right decision and the other one can be a spot up shooter on the other side -- it doesn't make any difference. So you don't have to slow the team down to make sure everyone gets back into the right spot each time because they're capable of being interchangable."

Poll

How good will the Sun be in 2010?

"Stay Strong, Play On": Celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day in Pictures

2010-02-03T16:36:00Z

In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, members of the Women Talk Sports network were asked to submit their favorite photos of women in sports from the past year. The result is the slideshow below showing women doing everything from playing basketball to wake boarding. You will notice a few NCAA and WNBA photos from Swish Appeal photographers.

For more on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, please see the WomenTalkSports.com event page for more information about what's going on nationwide in celebration of female athletes.

National Girls & Women in Sports Day | Women Talk Sports | The first online blog network for women's sports
Thousands of coaches, athletic directors, recreation directors, sports educators, association members, students, sponsors and parents across the country will show their support for National Girls & Women in Sports Day. This year's theme is "Stay Strong, Play On."

NGWSD is a special day for girls and women to celebrate their participation in sports and athletics. This day is the perfect opportunity to let others know how many girls & women Title IX has helped and how much it has truly accomplished.

Pac-10 Weekly Review & Honors: Walker, Williams Help UCLA Tie USC for Second

2010-02-03T14:00:47Z

University of Southern California sophomore guard Briana Gilbreath has been doing a little bit of everything to help her team win this season. This past weekend, she averaged 4.5 blocks per game. Unfortunately, a loss to the University of Oregon leaves her team in a tie for second with UCLA. (Photo by Craig Bennett/112575 Media)

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Swish Appeal's Pac-10 player awards for the weekend ending 1/31/10 (all based on David Sparks' MVP metric)

MVP: Markel Walker, UCLA, (46.43 MVP)

The Pac-10 and I agree on the top player for this week in Markel Walker, so I'll let them speak first:

UCLA's Markel Named Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week - PAC-10 OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Markel Walker (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a big week, averaging 16.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, posting double-doubles in the weekend series against the Oregon schools, helping the Bruins move into a tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings. She went 12-for-21 from the floor (57.1 percent) and was 9-for-10 from the charity stripe, also averaging 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Walker had 17 points, a career-high tying 14 rebounds and a career-best eight assists in UCLA's 104-80 win over Oregon. She added four steals while committing just one turnover in 25 minutes of action. In the 70-44 win over Oregon State, she led all players with 16 points and had 10 rebounds, six on the offensive end. With her two double-doubles this weekend, Walker leads the team with six double-doubles on the year, the most by a Bruin since Noelle Quinn had 10 in 2005-06.

For further perspective on how dominant she has been on the boards, against Oregon, she had an offensive rebounding rate of 28.71. Against OSU, she had an offensive rebounding rate of 47.43%. This means that against OSU, if UCLA missed a shot while Walker was on the court, she was likely to get it half the time. The fact that they shot 53.13% from the field makes her rebounding effort even more demoralizing.

But her impact last weekend didn't end with rebounding -- against Oregon she had 8 assists and 1 turnover and an assist rate of 35.52%. Even if all of those assists were on kickouts to shooters from the post, those are very, very impressive passing numbers.

UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell has said that transfer forward Jasmine Dixon's mentality might be good for younger players like Walker. if the team wants to hold off USC for second place, Walker's play -- though not necessarilyat this level -- will be critical to making sure they have a second (or first?) option to complement Dixon.

Newcomer of the Week: Mariah Williams (22.06 MVP, 11.5 ppg, 3 apg, 2 spg)

So obviously, this could be Walker's award, but she was so dominant she went and took MVP. It could also have been Jasmine Dixon's award. But...she is pretty much newcomer of the year for the Pac-10...so she can afford to give one week to a teammate.

UCLA is a team starting three newcomers in conference play and although Dixon and Walker are the headliners right now, Williams' performance this weekend is critical because her play as a freshman point guard might make the difference for the team down the stretch in securing second place and a possible NCAA tournament berth.

UCLA WBBall lays down a beating on Oregon, 104-80 - Bruins Nation
Mariah Williams easily had her best game as a Bruin. I never quite understood why she replaced Darxia Morris in the starting line up, as Darxia played more minutes, and is probably the most clutch jump shooter on the team in critical situations. While Darxia easily had her poorest game of the season (2 fouls in the first kept her on the bench for much of the 1st half, and finished with only 4 points), Mariah showed for the first time that she can contribute a solid part of the scoring as well. Whether Darxia or Mariah starts, it gives the team extra depth that is very key.

So perhaps it doesn't matter who starts for this team, but the fact that they continue to have players emerging and playing big roles bodes well for the team heading into the second half of the season.

MVP: Briana Gilbreath, USC, 1-1 (45.84 MVP, 15.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 4.5 bpg, 54.16% fg%, 4 apg)

The USC media guide says that Gilbreath has her sights set on the WNBA and there's no better way to demonstrate one's worthiness than by finding new ways to lead the team every week.

When she's not leading the team with her scoring, as she did against Washington State University, she's leading the team in steals, as she did against the University of Washington. When she's not putting up double-doubles, as she did against the University of Oregon with 18 points and 12 rebounds, she's leading the team in blocks, as she did against Oregon State University last weekend with 5 blocks.

Right now, it's perhaps her ability to block shots that most strong demonstrates her athletic ability as a guard:

USC Women Bring It To The Bay, Visit Cal And No. 2 Stanford - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site
BRI'S TOP BLOCKS Briana Gilbreath served up a career-high six blocks in USC's win over Long Beach State and has continued to deliver stuffs on defense. She had nine blocks in two games last weekend, pushing the sophomore to the No. 1 slot on the Pac-10 charts on the year entering the week with her current average of 1.9 blocks per game. That's also good enough to rank Gilbreath 52nd in the nation in blocks.

It's quite remarkable for a guard to be leading a major conference in blocked shots, especially when considering that GIlbreath does so while picking up so few fouls (against OSU and UO, she had 9 blocks, 2 steals, and 6 fouls). She is a player who is quietly becoming a major impact player on defense by picking her spots rather than recklessly going after every single opportunity. The fact that she can do that while on any given night leading her team in any one of 5 categories makes her a very, very valuable player.

Transition Points:

There are some great pictures of the UCLA games at SBN's UCLA site Bruins Nation.

vs. Oregon

vs. Oregon State

Poll

Which do you think is the second best team in the Pac-10 after the first half of Pac-10 conference play?

Mix of New and Old Leadership Keeps Dream on Same Page

2010-02-03T03:01:54Z

For the greater part of the offseason, news from the Dream organization has come from new owner Kathy Betty making the rounds in Atlanta to promote the team.

Betty has appeared at the Georgia Tech women's basketball games to advocate for both Georgia Tech and the WNBA Atlanta franchise as a graduate of Georgia Tech. The Dream has further partnered with WXIA to present a Team of the Week award to deserving girls' basketball teams in Georgia. All of this is well and good in putting the Dream in the public eye…but fans probably want to know what's going on inside the Dream.

As most WNBA fans know, there have been some changes in the off-season that affect every team. The salary cap has been lowered, and only one coach may be the "assistant coach" in terms of road travel. There are three coaches on the Dream staff - Fred Williams, Carol Ross, and Sue Panek who is director of basketball operations.

So which one of the three will travel with the team? That hasn't been decided. However, all three coaches are still employed by the Dream organization. Teams are apparently allowed to keep them on the payroll, but not technically as assistant coaches. So the Dream might continue to benefit from their basketball knowledge, even though only one of them might be sitting next to Meadors on the bench during road trips.

Another open question is Chamique Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw is one of the greatest WNBA players, but she suffered from injuries both before and during the 2009 WNBA season. Both Holdsclaw and Shalee Lehning were essentially out during the playoff series against the Detroit Shock; their absence had a lot to do with Atlanta being swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The big question: how healthy is Holdsclaw? Can she still contribute?

Now in Cypress, Holdsclaw had a nice game recently, which is a good sign. If Holdsclaw remains healthy for most of the season, and if the Dream lose no one important (de Souza) to free agency then a season like last year's wouldn't be unexpected.

What might be the strangest thing coming out of the 2010 Dream season? Stability.

A new owner who theoretically isn't going anywhere.

A solid coaching staff.

A returning healthy veteran.

The return of the Rookie of the Year.

For those of us who suffered from the 2008 season, stability will take a little getting used to.

The other thing with us in signing Ruth Riley is having her healthy. She is coming off of surgery...

2010-02-02T23:04:09Z

The other thing with us in signing Ruth Riley is having her healthy. She is coming off of surgery where we're looking forward to a health situation that we haven't enjoyed with Ruth -- I think she could be the healthiest we've coached her in three years...I think she and Megan Frazee are people that are interesting to see how 2010 plays out.

- San Antonio Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes on their signing of center Ruth Riley in a phone interview with Swish Appeal.

Penny Taylor confirmed she's coming back to the Phoenix Mercury. This was expected, but it is still...

2010-02-02T20:42:23Z

Penny Taylor confirmed she's coming back to the Phoenix Mercury. This was expected, but it is still good news for Mercury fans. This video is from the web site of Penny's teammate in Turkey, Chasity Melvin.
h/t to Shrew on Cafe Merc

Minnesota Lynx Free Agency Breakdown: Why the Lynx Are the Ideal Intro to the WNBA

2010-02-01T14:00:22Z

If you agree that the WNBA "needs more Whalen", then the basketball significance of the Minnesota Lynx acquiring Lindsay Whalen is that it puts a player the WNBA needs more of in position to win a championship in a situation that almost perfectly complements her style of play. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Last year, I took four WNBA first-timers to see Seattle Storm games: one against the Phoenix Mercury, the other against the Connecticut Sun.

I didn’t choose those games simply because they were the “best” teams, but the teams that are most representative of what the WNBA has to offer.

The Mercury were an obvious choice: in addition to emerging as a favorite to win the WNBA championship, they had Diana Taurasi (and you don’t), and their pace alone is usually a revelation to people who dismissed women’s basketball long before Taurasi even started her freshman year at UConn.

The Sun might be less obvious: they weren’t even a playoff team, but one of the people I was with noted on multiple occasions how well they seemed to work as a unit and how systematic they were in executing their offense (despite not shooting well) -- even during scoring droughts, it was good basketball. And of course, the biggest reason to see the Sun was Lindsay Whalen, arguably the best point guard in the WNBA and a player that the WNBA needs more of, if you believe Bethlehem Shoals.

Hopefully, that adds some context to why Minnesota’s acquisition of Whalen is so significant for the WNBA: the trade puts a player the WNBA needs more of in position to win a championship in a situation that almost perfectly complements her style of play. The Lynx are undoubtedly the team I would take a new fan to see in 2010.

On paper this team looks really good. In my imagination, this team is almost a basketball ideal. Although they will enter the season with five former All-Stars, there is no one dominant star whose style of play stands to shape or overshadow the team. Each one of these players not only does what they do well, but they are also all adept at playing within themselves well. Selflessness, rather than talent, might be the defining characteristic of this team by the end of the 2010 season.

“Having so many buttons to push will make us a difficult opponent to beat,” said new coach Cheryl Reeve in an email Q&A with Swish Appeal. “Our players know how much talent we have on this team. The key will be our players being selfless - we cannot care who scores the most, etc - it has to be about the big picture - the TEAM winning the CHAMPIONSHIP.”

That the team has championship expectations is the icing on the cake that separates them from the young balanced teams with “potential” in the NBA – the Lynx seem to be a perfect blend of new and returning, veteran and young players and are instantly a contender. And with two top 3 draft picks and free agency now upon us, this team only stands to get better. However, given where the roster currently stands, forthcoming moves will likely involve complementing their existing unit rather than plugging holes, a luxury rarely enjoyed by a non-playoff team.

Still, a question to ponder until everything is solidified and the season tips off is what makes this particular team look so good on paper, in basketball terms, rather than the box office revenue possibilities of bringing a home town hero back?

Using David Sparks’ SPI playing styles framework, it’s possible to talk about how well these pieces fit together – and what the team could add – with a bit more specificity.

Lynx 2009 Review

It’s probably not much of an understatement to say that the Lynx weren’t exactly a strong defensive team last season.

Although they were the second highest scoring team in 2009 in terms of points/possession and third in points off turnovers, they gave up the second most points and the second most points in the paint, second only to Phoenix. So if Phoenix can win as a high scoring team that gives up a lot of points, why didn’t Minnesota?

According to Swanny’s stats, the Mercury scored 108.5 points per possession while giving up 104.1 while the Lynx scored 100.0 while giving up 103.4. The simple explanation is that the Mercury had an effective field goal percentage of 51.20% last season compared to a 47.52% eFg% for the Lynx.

In other words, the Mercury were fast and allowed opponents to score but just consistently outscored their opponents whereas the Lynx were less efficient and gave up more.

Nevertheless, they had a rather potent lineup:

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores
anosike, nicky	9.25%	71.60%	70.37%	U	29.20	0.22	3.05
augustus, seimone**	95.67%	40.74%	24.69%	S	29.00	0.05	0.67
hodges, roneeka**	77.16%	51.23%	34.56%	S	26.94	0.12	1.65
hollingsworth, quanitra	33.95%	4.93%	91.97%	PP	12.26	0.05	0.74
houston, charde	63.58%	39.50%	56.17%	M	22.74	0.16	2.29
humphrey, tasha	90.74%	10.49%	54.32%	S	13.93	0.04	0.62
mccants, rashanda	70.37%	40.12%	51.23%	S	13.71	0.04	0.49
miller, kelly*	35.80%	82.09%	33.95%	PU	19.32	0.05	0.77
montanana, anna*	11.11%	86.41%	50.61%	PU	10.19	0.02	0.28
montgomery, renee	83.33%	66.66%	10.49%	SP	22.03	0.09	1.24
pringle, latoya	3.08%	27.16%	98.14%	IU	9.50	0.02	0.26
thomas, christi	24.69%	30.86%	83.95%	IU	5.36	0.00	-0.04
wiggins, candice	87.03%	63.58%	13.58%	S	29.56	0.13	1.79

In fact, in terms of playing style tendencies, the Lynx were by far the most versatile team in the WNBA, a huge asset with rosters limited to 11 players. That versatility includes an odd coincidence – Kelly Miller was arguably the second most versatile point guard in terms of tendencies last year to Whalen.

All-Star Charde Houston is a valuable “mixed” player, meaning she added a little bit of everything, although she’s less perimeter oriented (assists and steals). As a stronger player who scores with a lot of mid-range shots and drives to the basket from the perimeter, she’s a player that can be depended on to create her own scoring opportunities rather than relying on others to set her up.

Augustus, a pure scorer in terms of tendencies, was another player able to create her own scoring opportunities. Prior to her injury last season, she was putting up MVP-level numbers. While she will be a major asset this season, we probably should not expect her to snap back into form right away.

"Seimone's knee rehabilitation is on schedule," wrote Reeve. "Seimone was playing some of the best basketball of her career when she was injured so I don't know if we should expect her to pick up where she left off. I only know that she is eager to return to the court."

Anosike flies under the radar

However, epitomizing the team’s versatility is athletic center Nicky Anosike, who was in the top 30% of WNBA players in 2009 as both a perimeter and interior player due to her ability to block, rebound, and steal the ball. And even after an All-Star selection in 2009, Anosike is still among the league's most underrated players.

“Nicky has such solid guard play around her that her presence in the post flies under the radar,” wrote Reeve, when asked to identify a player who gets less fan attention than she deserves.

And unfortunately, for all the hype about Whalen and Augustus' return, Anosike might continue flying under the radar despite being one of the most intriguing players in all of basketball. The best way to understand what makes Anosike so intriguing is to place her in the context of basketball history.

After watching the Sun, Shoals suggested that the WNBA is "the new frontier" of basketball. Although he was referring to Whalen and Lauren Jackson, in truth, Anosike might even better represent the notion that the WNBA is not just different, but in some cases actually illuminating basketball possibilities we might never have imagined.

In the basketball universe, it’s almost unheard of to see a defensive player like Anosike able to both patrol the paint and even pester guards into turnovers. She looks as comfortable defensively on the wing as she is in the post.

To put her ability in statistical perspective, over the past two seasons, Anosike has had the best two year run of steals of any center in WNBA history since Yolanda Griffith between 1999-2000 (they each had 156, but Griffith had the edge in steals per game). Griffith actually led the league in steals per game in 1999 and 2004. If you're a long-time WNBA fan, perhaps this isn't that remarkable since it's happened twice in league history. But it's never happened in the NBA, even among power forwards, who are generally shorter and quicker.

That Anosike -- who was second in the league in steals per game last year -- has a chance to repeat that feat is therefore quite astounding in the context of basketball history. While Griffith was a much more well rounded player -- she led the league in rebounding, steals, and free throw attempts in 1999 and was second in scoring and field goal percentage -- we must also remember that Griffith was 29 in 1999. Anosike will enter this season at 24. It's not entirely far fetched to say that she could develop into a similarly dominant player.

It's just another aspect of the game that makes this team so fascinating to watch for people who enjoy thinking about the game of basketball.

However, although Anosike is getting better in that regard, one thing the Lynx lacked in terms of tendencies is a strong post scorer – someone who they could depend upon to work in the paint for easy baskets. Certainly Anosike should get better in that regard, but it is another hole to fill.

So how does Whalen fit into a team that struggles defensively despite having a standout defender?

Looking at a brief factoid from the Hartford Courant, the real question might be what kind of team wouldn’t Whalen fit on?

Keys To The Sun-Lynx Deal - Courant.com
>> Lindsay Whalen: On pace to become just the third WNBA player with 2,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists (joining Vickie Johnson and Shannon Johnson).

Looking at her playing style profile, she is definitely the most versatile point guard in the league – if you define versatile as in the top 2/3 of WNBA players in interior orientation, perimeter orientation, and scoring.

Lynx New Additions

Player	S%	P%	I%	Type	MPG	ValPct	Boxscores
whalen, lindsay	38.88%	82.71%	33.33%	D	28.94	0.19	3.11
brunson, rebekkah	46.29%	15.43%	78.39%	PP	23.70	0.14	1.72

Perhaps most importantly for the Lynx, Whalen is not exactly a slouch on defense. While she’s not known for blazing speed, she’s a very good team defender and as Sun coach Tom Thibault has said, she has the ability to guard more than one position.

Storm – Sun Reflections: Bird the Facilitator vs Whalen the Combo Guard - Swish Appeal
During the halftime interview last night, Thibault discussed the strengths of Bird and Whalen. To paraphrase, he said that although they are about equal defensively, Whalen’s physicality allows her to sometimes guard 2’s and 3’s.

I don’t think that she’s a defensive stalwart by any means, but it certainly gives a team more options when trying to find winning combinations to put on the floor.

For Reeve, it’s not just about Whalen’s versatile skillset, but also her ability to assume responsibility for moment-to-moment decision making.

“Lindsay's court awareness in transition and decision-making in the half court should translate into easy offense for those around her,” wrote Reeve. “As a coach, my job is easier when you can hand the ball to a veteran like Lindsay and say go to it.”

With the number of players already able to create scoring opportunities for themselves, Whalen adds a wrinkle of someone who can set up others – three point shooters and cutters going to he basket. It makes an already dynamic scoring offense even more dynamic when a player who tends to focus on passing more than scoring shows up.

While Whalen adds leadership in terms of running the offense from the perimeter, the addition of forward Rebekkah Brunson through the dispersal draft adds a different kind of leadership: modeling what it means to have a steady focus on the little, less glamorous aspects of the game that contribute to wins.

“Brunson's veteran leadership in the areas of defense and rebounding will have an immediate impact on our team,” said Reeve about what Brunson might bring. “Defense and rebounding wins games. Brunson's focus in this area will help us win the close ones.”

Possible lineup

So the Lynx have not just added talent for talent’s sake, but have also become much, much more flexible while also addressing some of their major needs: defense and rebounding. In Whalen and Brunson – strong rebounders at their respective positions – the Lynx stand to be a grittier, team in 2010.

“We will continue to be a team that pushes the tempo and likes to score the ball, however, the 2010 Lynx will be focused on playing off of our defense,” said Reeve. “Fans should notice a marked decrease in our opponent's field goal percentage as compared to previous seasons.”

With an increased focus on defense and the flexibility of the roster, a prospective rotation for the Lynx could look something like what Kevin Pelton has already suggested:

Whalen (D), Wiggins (S), Augustus (S), Brunson (PP), Anosike (U)

Having a well-rounded offensive player like Houston come off a bench would a huge asset – she can still get minutes, but it allows the team to exploit mismatches bringing her in at either the 3 or 4 spots. McCants and Hollingsworth would bring their total roster count to 8.

Assuming the Lynx go with that core, add two rookies, and do not offer Humphrey a reserve contract, they would have one remaining spot to fill either through the later rounds of the draft or free agency.

However, there are two potential holes in the lineup: a backup point guard for Whalen and a consistent interior scorer.

Free agent outlook

A major debate among Minnesota fans especially during Wiggins’ rookie year was whether she could play the point guard. There are pros and cons to that, but Reeve is confident in Wiggins’ ability to play point.

“I believe Wiggins can play the 1 and play it well,” wrote Reeve, when asked if point guard was an area for concern. “The key to maximizing 11-man rosters in the WNBA is versatility. Having a player like Candice able to play two positions is a big plus for us.”

With that and the flexibility of other players on the roster, it appears that point guard is not necessarily a position they will look to fill and that makes free agent Kelly Miller expendable.

Their other potential area of improvement is adding a scorer in the post.

As for interior scorers, although there might not be a free agent that fits that need, they might be able to fill it through the draft…and then some.

“We are evaluating a number of players for our 1st round draft picks,” wrote Reeve. “Tina Charles, Epiphanny Prince, Jayne Appel and Monica Wright are widely considered to be the top draft choices so we are considering those players and a few more.”

So do the Lynx even need to add a free agent?

Reeve wrote that that the Lynx will, “look at free agency as an opportunity to sign a player or two that will complement our core group.” In saying that, it’s clear that a core group is in place and they will probably make only minor moves in free agency.

Re-signing Hodges -- a three point scorer -- might be worthwhile. Hodges shot the most threes on the team while having a tru shooting % of 56.45. Other than that, it's hard to say what more they would want to complement their core.

When you consider the totality of what the Lynx have and what they could possibly get through the draft, there’s not a whole lot of reason that they should aggressively pursue any free agent. Any free agents they add would only marginally help the team -- they have so much talent coming into begin with that free agency might not be a very high priority for this team. Moreover, only making minor moves would allow them to maintain their financial flexibility.

“Roger Griffith has done such a great job managing the Lynx salary cap that we are one of the few teams with flexibility in this area,” said Reeve.

What that means is that as good as this team should be in 2010, they also have the financial flexibility in the future that will allow them to keep the core in tact even if they find the need to add complementary players.

With this year’s salary cap allowing up to five max contracts, the Lynx have room to add two more once Augustus signs her extension. With the rest of their roster still younger players on cheaper contracts, they’ll have cap room available to pursue free agents in the future or re-sign their younger players once they become eligible for raises.

It’s financial flexibility combined with a flexibly skilled roster. It’s hard to beat that in terms of building a contender.

By filling some big holes from last year and adding a point guard that should make their offense even more efficient, it’s still hard to get over just how balanced and potent this young, talented, Minnesota Lynx could be this year.

The Lynx are the perfect team to introduce someone to the WNBA with

Quite simply, anybody who loves basketball – as a sport, not just another form of commodified entertainment – should be able to appreciate the Lynx. This is not just a team that has potential to win a lot of games (they might) or a team that exhibits an expert command of basketball’s core principles as they systematically execute their offense (at times, they will).

The mental image this talent-laden roster conjures up is one of a beautifully constructed roster with a near-perfect balance of players who complement one another well while simultaneously possessing the ability to impose their will upon the game at any moment. The have MVP-level players in Augustus and Whalen and one of the most intriguing players in all of basketball in Anosike. Plus, they're likely to fill remaining holes through the draft.

It’s a team that’s engrossing even while only imagining the multiple combinations they could use and many different ways they could beat teams. If you see only one game all year, this is probably the team to see. Basketball teams this fascinating don’t come around often.

Transition Points:

Late edit: the original story said the Lynx would have "two remaining spots" after selecting their #2 and #3 picks. It has been corrected to read "one remaining spot".
It took a while to get over the geeky basketball giddiness and overwhelming intrigue about point guard Lindsay Whalen before writing about it. But after much quiet contemplation, indulging in Whalen poetry, and euphorically ranting about the existential significance of the Minnesota Lynx to the basketball universe, it was finally possible to gather some thoughts and write them down.

Poll

Who will be the most important player on the Lynx this season?

Photo Gallery: 2010 USC Basketball, USC Trojans vs Oregon Ducks - 1/30/10

2010-02-01T18:42:40Z

Oregon 85, USC 77

[2010 Pac 10 Womens Basketball] USC Trojans vs Oregon Ducks - January 30, 2010 - Images by Craig Bennett/112575 Media

Providence Can't Withstand Balanced Red Storm Attack

2010-01-31T01:38:48Z

How much do I love my team? How much? Entirely too much more than is healthy. Are all college teams so adorable that you want to pinch their cheeks and give them all brownies? Or is this just a symptom of advancing age?

Some fairly impressive hairdos today, both for good and for ill. Sky had an enormous bun that made me think of Erika Arririan from Texas (no fauxhawk attached, though; trying to imagine Sky doing that to her hair might make my head explode). Jennifer's 'do really took the cake, though- heavily frosted gold on top, regular below. It was interesting, to say the least.

We sat over by the band today in order to help with the noisemaking, and my ear's still a little numb, though that might also have something to do with the extreme cold that's fallen over New York. My throat hurts a little, but I think I'm developing calluses for yelling.

There was a youth clinic before the game, sponsored by the Liberty; Lisa White and Catherine Proto represented for the pros, though they disappeared sometime in the second half (presumably with the signed Leilani Mitchell ball, since it didn't look like anyone came to claim it). I didn't get to show off my Liberty dog tag to them. There were a few people in Liberty t-shirts from various years, though they were all Fan Appreciation Day giveaways from the last three seasons. Yes, I know entirely too much about Liberty gear.

I wasn't impressed with the anthem. It wasn't awful, but the harmonies could have used a little more rehearsal. The chorus got stronger as the song went on, so I have to give them credit for that.

I was surprised that Lola Wells came off the bench; I remembered hearing her name before. I like her hustle. She went hard after loose balls and forced one especially tough tie-up through excellent positioning and sheer tenacity. Jessica Clark scares me a little. She's got crazy eyes. The first time she was in the game on offense, she was very insistent about getting the ball, and I was afraid of what might happen if she got it. Her intensity discomfited me. I'm not sure if she was posturing because she was in front of friends and family in her hometown, though. Chandler McCabe has got to learn to play her position. It might amuse her to think that she has an outside jump shot, but if she does, she didn't bring it with her from Providence. Brittany Dorsey had one fierce rebound in a sea of white jerseys that I recall. Hurd mostly got garbage minutes.

I've actually heard of Chelsea Marandola, so I was keeping an eye on her. She got to the line pretty well, but otherwise she didn't do much. I think we were marking her and trying to keep her from getting the ball; I know there were a couple of possessions where Joy, who's one of our best defensive players, was on her. The player who really impressed me for the Friars was Mi-Khida Hankins, who showed a lot of grit and ability to get inside. Symone Roberts shows promise, but she's only a freshman; I don't think she's as good yet as she thinks she is, if that makes any sense. Trinity Hull's jump shot is pretty funky-looking. I'm really not sure who was running Providence's offense, though given that they shot 26% from the field and only scored 46 points, the argument could be made that no one was running their offense. Emily Cournoyer played sort of decent post defense- at least she was in the post, unlike some of her teammates- but was under the impression that she was supposed to be on the perimeter on offense.

Jennifer Blanding sighting! She's definitely a little rusty. Maybe more than a little. I wish she'd stop being so tentative. Buzz has more nerve than she does, which is perhaps not as useful in a wiry guard like Buzz. It was really nice to see Buzz get extended time, if only because she turns the most interesting colors (not quite the range of Cathrine Kraayeveld or Richie Adubato, but interesting shades) when she's been out too long. She hit the first shot she took and got a couple of rebounds- she's a pretty good rebounder for a guard. Eugeneia started out hot, but her free throw shooting degenerated as the game went on, and she seemed to lose a little steam. Kelly, while she made a couple of dumb plays, especially on defense, was at least less chary about shooting than she has been. Put 'em up, Kelly! Go for 200! It's within your reach! Coco was unmemorable, other than the immortal instruction, "COCO, TURN AROUND!" The stuff she gets done, she gets done quietly.

Nadirah was off her game on offense- she wasn't seeing the open woman as often as she usually does and she was making some questionable decisions with the ball. But when you can say your PG is having a so-so game and she still puts up six assists, you might have a good one. Sky had a pretty solid game, though I swear one of these days one of her dance routines is going to kill me. I'll spit-take and choke on a soda, or a piece of granola bar will stick in my throat, or I'll fall off the bleachers laughing and crack my head open, and then who'll write Game Notes of Doom? Shenneika is back in the starting lineup, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't pour it on like she did at Syracuse, but she didn't really need to. Her defense still needs a little work, since she sometimes doesn't seem sure of where she's supposed to be in anything other than a straight man-to-man, but she's only a freshman, and defense always comes more slowly than offense. Poor Da'Shena's sick again- she seems to have spent a large chunk of this season under the weather- and despite hacking up phlegm at one point (at least I hope that was phlegm that was going into that garbage can...) she still managed nine points and eight boards. Take care of yourself, Da'Shena. Lots of rest and lots of fluids. We need you for the Georgetown game. Fortunately, Joy seems to have escaped captivity from the Pod People and is back to herself. She's fighting for rebounds again, and those soft shots in the lane are falling once more.

Dennis DeMayo, I'm disappointed. You're usually a much better referee than this. You're usually more familiar with the rules of the women's game and you don't mix them up with the fine nuances of the rules of the men's game. But the way block/charge was called in this game was very reminiscent of a crew that thought there was a charge circle in the women's game. None of them seemed able to count, either, as a couple of very blatant travels went unremarked. But credit where credit is due: there was a very difficult to see over-and-back call, and one of the referees (Brunette, I think) was right on top of it. I just wish they'd been on some of the very obvious holding.

Today was the long-awaited autograph session day. I like sessions like this because you get to see a little more of who these young women are in your team's uniform. Okay, I also like them because it helps us in our quest to decorate EVERYTHING we own in women's basketball posters. Because my uncle neglected to check the schedule before buying Broadway tickets for my mother, I had a shirt to get signed for her as well. The freshmen came out first, though I don't know if that's from inexperience or hazing ("here, you get first crack at facing screaming small children!"). Shenneika had a lot of pent-up energy, and spent some of her time roaming up and down the line to sign for people. I guess she wanted to keep things moving quickly, because half the team was standing because either they didn't have room for more chairs or they didn't think they needed more chairs, or maybe that's a class thing too. I don't know. I also don't know if it was too weird that I mentioned to Elón that I actually got see her play this season (she's had a grand total of three mintues due to injury). Jennifer's the most extroverted of the young'uns, or at least the loudest, but we already knew she was the loudest. Kelly remembered me from the Stony Brook game, and I finally got a chance to dare her to go for 200 career threes. Da'Shena was bundled up in a jacket and scarf, and sounded half-dead when she did manage to get out a few words. Tamiflu, orange juice, chicken soup, and lots of bed rest, seriously. No breaking the sophomore. And I got to babble at Joy a little, which was all right. I'm going to miss her SO MUCH.

Play of the game for the Red Storm: Eugeneia missed a contested lay-up. Nadirah came flying in and up for the putback. Given that Nadirah lists at 5-7, that's pretty impressive.

What I liked about this game was that we kept the pressure on. We led by 12 at the half; we won by 24. We didn't really slack off until the last couple of minutes, when Jennifer came into the game. What I'm hoping that the last few minutes of the game proved was that Buzz is worth working into the rotation as more than the next-to-last player off the bench, as someone who only sees garbage time. So far, she's shown me that she can contribute in a real way in the Big East.

If anyone happens to be going down to Washington DC on Tuesday, would you mind making room for a passenger? I'd be willing to pay at least part of the gas cost. This game against Georgetown is going to be so important- it might be for the last double-bye in the Big East tournament, or for a berth in the NCAA tournament. Come on, Johnnies! The easy part's almost over. Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, Notre Dame, Rutgers- they all lie ahead, and it's time to prove that our time is indeed now.

St. John's Red Storm 70, Providence Friars 46

Photo Gallery: 2010 USC Basketball, USC Trojans vs Oregon State Beavers - 1/28/10

2010-01-30T19:57:22Z

USC 61, Oregon St 34

[2010 Pac 10 Womens Baksetball] USC Trojans vs Oregon State Beavers - January 28, 2010 - Images by Craig Bennett/112575 Media

California Golden Blogs Interviews Swish Appeal About Cal Women's Basketball

2010-01-29T20:31:55Z

California Golden Blogs Interviews Swish Appeal About Cal Women's Basketball

One of the great things about a fancentric social media network like SBN is that it provides opportunities for collaboration across different fan communities. The latest is an extended collaboration between Swish Appeal and California Golden Blogs to bolster their women's college basketball coverage.

We're both looking forward to not only collaborating further, but also building bridges to other women's college basketball communities to share information and insights. And if you're a Cal fan, CGB is the place to be on game day -- norcalnick normally runs a game thread and has the link the online stream.

From CGB: "We are very excited about women's basketball here at CGB. I realize this is somewhat odd for SBN blogs. Looking at some of the other college blogs, some of the are focused on next year's football season without a care about women's basketball at all. If that works for them, great, but here we feel that our readership wants to learn more about the women's basketball team, which is young, but only getting better.

To that end, we've teamed with Swish Appeal, SBN's women's basketball blog, to provide high quality content regarding women's basketball. You've already seen links to some of their writing sprinkled around this site. NorCalNick, our resident women's basketball guru, has already started working with them, too. Here, we've decided to ask Swish Appeal general questions about the Cal women's team this year. Enjoy their answers after the fold and GO BEARS!"

Click to continue reading >>>

WNBA Addresses Mercury Pre-season Game In Korea

2010-01-29T17:33:18Z

Early this week there was a report in The Korean Times that said a deal would soon be in place that sent the Championship Phoenix Mercury to Korea to play an exhibition game.

Here's the report:

WKBL Champion Could Face WNBA's Phoenix Mercury
"The talks have reached about 50 percent complete and we will continue to discuss it with the WNBA,’’ a WKBL official told The Korea Times Thursday. According to its plan, the Mercury will play the WKBL winner from the 2009-10 season and the WKBL All-Star team. However, despite the comment from the WKBL, earlier in the day the head of the women’s basketball organization said the deal had been completed. "We have reached an agreement that the 2009 WNBA winner will come here to play in May,’’ WKBL Commissioner Kim Won-kil said according to a local media report. The report said that the commissioner, who has been invited to the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 15 (KST), will finalize all the details at the game.

The Mercury would not comment and referred inquires to the league office who said that they normally don't discuss pre-season schedules until they are released in mid-March. A WNBA spokesperson did leave the door open by saying this in an email to Swish Appeal, "We look forward to ongoing discussions to develop a relationship that will bring the WNBA to Korea."

The possibility of this game raises two points. The first for the Mercury is what promises already to be a limited pre-season and training camp with a number of their top players likely still engaged deep in the Eurocup Tournament.

In 2008 when the WNBA season started early to accommodate the Olympics there were players that arrive just in time for the regular season which left the team without the chance to prepare and gel as a team. This was cited as one of the many reasons why the Mercury didn't make the playoffs coming off their 2007 championship season.

Mix in a trip to Korea and it's bound to disrupt which is already going to be a challenging camp for Coach Gaines.

The second issue is financial. At a time when the league is cutting assistant coaching positions down to one per team and the salary cap was reduced in an attempt to save money, how will the cost of this trip be explained to fans.

Will the costs be covered by a specific sponsor? Will the Korean's pay the expense? Maybe there is a way that this trip actually generates revenue. Those question won't be addressed until (if) this game becomes a reality.