Chasing the Title

True Champion: Brandon Braun

2011-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sports can be so many things to so many different people, entertainment, socialization, an escape, health...but for some it has even more value, a value I hope most of us do not ever have to experience.

Despite the fact that some may consider professional sports and the athletes who play them to be rather frivolous in the larger scheme of things, and they likely have a very good point. Yet, regularly, the biggest wish that terminally ill children have is to meet their sports idols in person. There may be something about the ability to focus on something other than their own battles that let's them just be a kid for an hour so, or perhaps feel an odd sort of kinship with these athletes pushing their bodies to achieve goals most people cannot hope to attain.

I don't have an answer for what the connection is, or why is as common and powerful as it has shown itself to be.

A little over a year ago, six days after his 11th birthday, Seattle Storm fan, Brandon Brauns lost his seven year battle with brain cancer. Brandon was a season ticket holder for the Storm, served as honorary captain and had the opportunity to meet with many of the Storm players over the years.

The strength and selflessness of this child had him organizing fund raisers from his hospital bed and creating a toy drive for Seattle Children's Hospital at Christmas only months before his final passing.

His family have continued in their son's tradition, turning their grief and love into hope for other children and families facing similar battles.

Most of us will not have to face the trials, the pain, and be required to show the strength and capacity for hope and love that Brandon and his family have shown. We can however honor that courage, strength and hope.

Brandon's family have created the Brandon's Goal Foundation and they are joining with the Seattle Storm to raise money for Brandon's Goal Foundation on the July 9th Storm game against the LA Sparks. You purchase single tickets for the game or purchase a four pack of tickets which comes with t-shirts and wrist bands.

I am inspired by this young man and his family and encourage everyone to support them.

Prior to the start of the season, Jayda Evans at the Seattle time asked each player to finish the sentence, "A champion is...." I look no further than Brandon and his mother to find my answer to that question.

Lynx @ Sparks 3 June, 2011

2011-06-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

I caught this game last night on my DVR after taking four twelve year old boys to see the movie Thor.

At times Candace Parker and Maya Moore seemed a bit like the Asgardians in the movie as single warriors easily defeated dozens of frost giants apiece. Those two, offensively, are just so much better than everyone else on the floor. They both hit shots that no one else was going to hit, scored any way they wanted and just existed in a realm different than that of other players.

Those other players weren't slouches, mind you.

For Minnesota, Brunson rebounded the ball and scored baskets regularly, Lindsay Whalen muscled her way into the paint repeatedly, Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored inside and out while all ten players that saw game time scored. For the first half, it actually looked like the Lynx were going to win the game and they fought until the final minutes.

For LA, Thompson played as she has for the past 15 years, Noelle Quinn, Jenna O'Hea and Kristi Toliver caught fire in the second half, Ebony Hoffman fought for every rebound and every player in the game scored except Ticha Penicheiro. The veteran guard really struggled against the Lynx and the team looked better with both Natasha Lacy and Kristi Toliver manning the point. The Sparks made a big comeback with most of their starters on the bench and never relenquished their lead from that point on. Coach Gillom said her team was "11 deep" before the game and she played everybody except Jantel Lavender decent minutes. In fact with the exception of Lavender and Lacy, every player put in at least 16 minutes last night.

Maya Moore looked quite good and showed that she can score in the WNBA. Her percentages weren't that great, 41% from the field and 36% from deep, and I thought she took a number of poor shots, but she still put up 21 points in 29 minutes mixed with four assists, four rebounds and only two turnovers. I expect she will just get better from here as she learns how to play with her new team. The Lynx do need to figure out how to get their guards going, as Augustus, Wiggins and Wright are all better players than they showed last night. The talent glut at that spot and the clear emphasis on Moore may be causing these three talented players some mental challenges. The defensive breakdowns in the second half (a carry over from last season) and the struggle to score down the stretch made this promising team look less exciting in terms of potential success, though they will be fun to watch.

The Sparks would have lost this game were it not for the outside shooting spree the bench went off with in the second half. For a while there it looked like Quinn, Toliver and O'Hea could chuck the ball up from anywhere and hit the three. It gave them the W, but that shot won't be there for all three players every night. As improved as the Sparks look with regards to depth and the health of CP3, they still have a ways to go to make waves in the Western Conference.

Who is Lauren Prochaska?

2011-05-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Lauren Prochaska is an undrafted, rookie guard out of Bowling Green University in Ohio. She was recently ranked #26 on the list of the 50 best high school athletes in Ohio in the past decade. She was a four time All-Ohio selection out of Johnathan Alder High School in Plain City, Ohio where she ranked sixth all time in the state for scoring and holds the state career record for made free throws. At Bowling Green she was named Mid-Atlantic Conference player of the year and named on the MAC all-conference first team two years in a row. She is a well rounded player, leading her team in scoring and placing second in rebounding, assists, blocks and steals for her senior season. For that senior season she shot 40% overall, 38% from three and 91% from the free throw line.

My opinion: While her shooting may be impressive, I believe Prochaska will also be one of the first cuts made this week clearing room for the return of Sue Bird and Swin Cash to camp. The Storm are strongest at the guard position, and I don't believe that Lauren offers enough height at 5'11" to fit the mold of a swing player at the forward position where the Storm are currently thin.

Who is Courtney Ward?

2011-05-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Courtney Ward is an undrafted, rookie guard from Florida State. Ward was a key player at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Alabama winning a state championship in her final year. She was a top 100 ranked player coming out of high school and had a solid career at FSU, taking ownership of the starting position midway through her sophomore season and serving as team captain in this past season as a senior. She played particularly well in the the last two NCAA tournaments. She led the ACC in assists in 2009-2010. She has solid shooting range and actually shot better from distance (40%) than she did overall (38%) her senior year at FSU.

My opinion: Ward will be among the first players cut this week. Whether she performs well or not, the Storm are very strong at the guard position with Bird, Wright, and Smith with Cash able to play the two guard in a bigger lineup as well. The Storm are in much greater need of strong swing players to back up Swin Cash, and Coach Agler has shown a preference for swing forwards that can play both forward positions.

Who is Aneika Henry?

2011-05-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

I know I have been gone for a quite a while, but as WNBA camps begin to open, and my workload is starting to level out, I find myself with a little bit of time and a lot of passion about basketball. This post is the first in a series looking at the new faces rolling into camp next week. Cuts will need to be made quickly as camp rosters are limited 15 players. With the late start to the season, the starters will be available earlier in camp than in the past. With 17 players on the roster, the first two cuts should happen in the first week.

Aneika Henry is an undrafted rookie who graduated from Florida in 2009. While she is Jamaican, she played high school basketball in Coral Gables, playing basketball for the very first time as a freshman. Her athleticism, length and wingspan weren't enough to earn her college recruitment and she attended junior college at Seminole Community College through 2007. She played for their team in her sophomore year. She played in every game in her two years as a gator, but she came off the bench and averaged less than 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in about 13 minutes per game.

She has moved on to play in Europe, and had quite a successful season playing for Mann Filter Zaragoza averaging 9 points, 7 rebounds and a block across the Spanish league play and 11 points and 8.5 rebounds in Eurocup play. She had a bit of a mix with regards to performance, but had a number of strong games in both seasons. She struggled scoring and rebounding against WNBA caliber players such as Rebekah Brunson and Michelle Snow, but did quite well against the majority of the Europeans and quite well against former Oklahoma star, Courtney Paris. She was the first woman to dunk in a Spanish league game.

My pre-camp opinion: Aneika will need to play exceptionally well on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor in order to displace the veteran bench fixture, Ashley Robinson. Ashley has a reputation with the coaching staff for consistent commitment and effort in practice (though she sees little time in games) and has been lauded for her positive impacts on team chemistry. Filling the last post position for the Storm and overcoming the history and experience of a well liked veteran will be an uphill battle for this rookie despite the appeal of her rookie scale salary.

Temporary Refocus

2011-01-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

I have been offline blogging for several months. I took a recent promotion at work and my free time has been entirely absorbed by both work and training as I recently completed my first half marathon and have my first marathon scheduled.

I hope to finish putting my team together and find more free time in coming months as I get a better handle on efficiency with my new responsibilities.

I will be doing a mid-season and pre draft analysis of college seniors, but will be unable to track the weekly stats as I have done in previous years.

Come on, Seattle!!!

2010-09-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

My day job is absorbing all of my non-family time right now as I am trying to secure a promotion that has been two years in the making.

That doesn't mean that I am not obsessing utterly about the Storm and Game 1 of the WNBA Finals this Sunday.

The game is a 12 noon PDT, and will be aired on national, broadcast television on ABC.

Today the Storm are raising a flag with 6000+ season ticket holder names upon it to the top of the Space Needle.

According to TicketMaster there are only 16 (released for sale) seats left in the lower bowl of Key Arena for Sunday's game. That includes a single ticket in Section 120 and two blocks of "obstructed view" seats behind the baskets Sections 107 and 121 (my section!). The upper bowl has sold enough of the released seats to force the organization to open 5 additional sections of seating, which now have less than 50 seats available remaining. There are 14 additional upper bowl sections which have not yet been made available for sales.

Seattle is a basketball town.

Last year, the NBA's Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Sun coaches and players bought out the upper bowls of their arenas and gave the tickets away to fans to get people in the seats.

The last time we had a championship basketball game in Seattle (2004), those seats were all filled without a grand gesture and masses of free tickets. I was relegated to sitting in nosebleed seats in the next to the last row of the upper bowl. This time I will be in my own seat, 3rd row behind the visitor basket, right in the action.

I know the Seahawks will open their season this Sunday a few hours after this game. I know tailgating is part of the NFL football experience. I still hope to see a bunch of people in Seahawks gear at Sunday's WNBA game for the rare experience of a day of sports. Watch their local champions in the WNBA Finals and then head to Qwest Field for opening day.

Come on Seattle. We don't need the NBA to sell out our Finals. We can buy up those seats and remind everyone that this IS a basketball town. Come in your Seahawks gear, come in your Huskies gear, come in your Sonics gear, best of all, buy some Storm gear and come in that. A championship series game does not come along very often in this city. The crowd will be crazy, the players will play with every ounce of talent and passion they possess.

The bandwagon has 3,000-4,000 seats worth of room remaining for you. It doesn't matter if you leave a die hard WNBA fan or walk away with some more fodder for Sports Radio on why the WNBA doesn't matter. Just buy the dang tickets and come to the game. Bring your girlfriend, your wife, your daughter, your niece, that hot barista with the diamond in her right nostril you have been chatting up in the mornings, or be like me and bring your sons....just come on out.

Round 1, Game 1 (no numbers)

2010-08-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't even looked at the numbers...but my post from yesterday was still right on with Le'Coe Willingham being a non-factor while Ashley Robinson made a nice impact in limited time and Jana Vesela came up huge.

This is simply about match-ups...LA has exterior/mid-range shooting posts that neutralize Willingham's strength and low post defense/rebounding at one and and offer height and athleticism to compensate for her wily offense. Camille Little struggles against the sparks at times for the same reasons. The Sparks have guards playing the small forward spot with gives tall athletic players with range like Cash and Vesela a big advantage, particularly when LJ starts off the game on the block forcing LA to double/triple team her.

The crowd last night was great. They had a nice portion of the upper bowl open, and there were quite a few people up there. The energy of the crowd was a little different, they were almost jovial like they expected a win. The addition of the wave was interesting, probably a result of bandwagon newbies combined with an unusual post season confidence.

Can the Storm win 7 in row against LA this year and close out the series on Saturday? It should be a rocking game.

Storm vs. LA Numbers

2010-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

While I am way behind on the season, I do have all of the Storm vs. Sparks games entered into my spreadsheets. Here are some of the bits and pieces I have found from looking at the data...

The most effective lineups against the Sparks this season have been:

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +26 in 61 minutes of play

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Jackson: +10 in 7.5 minutes of play

Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Robinson: +8 in 5 minutes of play

The lineups that have struggled against the Sparks this season have been:

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: -6 in 3 minutes of play

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: -4 in 10 minutes of play

While Alison Lacey does not show a negative +/- value against the Sparks this season, she has barely played, with only 2.5 minutes all season.

Essentially, the numbers play out that the Storm don't play well against the Sparks with Willingham on the floor. She is -23 for the season against the Sparks at the PF position.

Vesela on the other hand has looked relatively good as long as she is on the floor with Lauren Jackson, and Robinson has looked good paired with either Jackson or Camille Little.

The key to this series may be allowing Le'Coe to continue healing while leaning more heavily on Vesela and Robinson.

Another issue for the Storm, as has often been the case, is that they struggle against the Sparks when Sue Bird is resting. Tanisha Wright is +31 against the Sparks when playing the off guard position and -12 when forced into the point guard slot to rest Sue. The one truly effective lineup with Bird resting against the Sparks this season has been:

Wright-Abrosimova-Vesela-Jackson-Robinson: +2 in 3 minutes of playing time.

Game 15, June 27th vs. Shock

2010-08-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Another come behind victory made more special as Sue Bird sat out almost the entire game.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Jana Vesela	70%	100%	100%	4	+4
Lauren Jackson	51%	56%	63%	24	+18
Svetlana Abrosimova	41%	79%	82%	21	+13

Top Storm Lineups

Wright-Abros-Vesela-Little-Jack: +18

Wright-Abros-Vesela-Will-Jack: +4

The Storm used 17 unique lineups including 6 new lineups in this game.

Game 14, June 25th vs. Fever

2010-08-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

div>The first revenge gdiv>The first revenge game. The starters took over near the end of the 3rd quarter and never let up again.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Lauren Jackson	72%	100%	103%	28	-2
Tanisha Wright	55%	40%	55%	7	+15
Swin Cash	55%	54%	65%	21	+4

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson : +10
Bird-Wright-Cash-Will-Rob: +9

The Storm used 8 unique lineups in this game.

June 18th, vs. NY Liberty

2010-08-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

This game came after the loss to the Fever and started a VERY long winning streak for the Storm.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Jana Vesela	68%	75%	87%	5	-3
Sue Bird	58%	60%	66%	22	+10
Tanisha Wright	57%	75%	80%	18	+2

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Will.-Jackson : +4Bird-Wright-Abros.-Little-Jackson: +4

Bird-Abros.-Cash-Will.-Jackson: +3

The Storm used 12 unique lineups in this game including one new lineup. There were two lineups that fared particularly poorly.

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: -3

Wright-Abros.-Cash-Will.-Jackson: -3

On Temporary Pause

2010-07-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have fallen behind, I know, but I am not stopping the work. My day job has just been invading my personal life a great deal over the past few weeks. I have been back and forth between Seattle and the East Coast for the past several weeks and for the next few. I hope to get enough spare time back in my schedule to get caught up before the post season. With the Storm playing so well, it hasn't seemed as important to analyze the numbers, but it will be important in the post season. Of course, if I listened to Coach Agler or his players I suppose I would realize that now is not the time to be complacent.

On a side note, it really looks like ESPN is putting a focused effort on delivering a quality product with ESPNw, the new digital platform to cover women's sports. Perhaps if the website draws enough attention we could see a growth in on air coverage as well.

Thanks to stever at Rebkell's Junkie Boards, we get to hear about one of the new consultants they are using and some of the approach they are taking to plan content.

Game 11 Storm @ Fever

2010-06-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

Darn those first games of East Coast road trips.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Lauren Jackson	57%	35%	51%	17	-2
Camille Little	54%	56%	61%	12	-3
Sue Bird	42%	63%	63%	15	-11

Where was the bench in this game? Willingham was the only one who came to play.

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Shavonte Zellous	63%	63%	68%	6	0
Tamika Catchings	55%	56%	75%	12	+1
Katie Douglas	55%	46%	52%	15	+17

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Abrosimova-Vesela-Willingham-Jackson: +5
Bird-Wright-Vesela-LittleJackson: +2

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +2

The Storm used 11 unique lineups in this game including one new lineup. There were three lineups that fared particularly poorly.

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: -6

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Willingham: -5

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: -5

Top Fever Lineups

January-Zellous-Douglas-Moore-Davenport: +10

Bevilaqua-Douglas-Catchings-Sutton-Hoffman: +6

January-Douglas-Catchings-Moore-Davenport: +4

The Fever used 12 unique lineups in this game with only four generating a positive value for the team. Two of them stood out as particularly ineffective.

January-Zellous-Catchings-Moore-Davenport: -6

January-Douglas-Catchings-Sutton-Hoffman: -4

Coach Agler

2010-06-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Kevin Pelton takes a closer look at the success of the Storm under Coach Brian Agler.

I know that our two previous head coaches have received significantly larger applause from game to game in Key Arena than Brian Agler ever has received. It is something about which I have wondered. In the first year it was so obvious coming off the rabid cheering for Anne Donovan as the most successful female coach in the WNBA. I wrote that off at the time to the crowd needing to see him prove himself.

The numbers in Kevin's article make me wonder once again. Coach Agler is the most successful coach in Storm history by record. Coach Donovan only had one successful post season, though it did lead to a championship. What is preventing this crowd from recognizing this coach?

He is the first male coach in franchise history. While I know that many of our fans celebrated the success of our female coaches, I like to believe that our fan base is above withholding praise just because our coach is a man.

Coach can be rather formal and withdrawn with both the fans and the media. Seeing him work with players and other coaches proved to me that we fans DON'T get to see the real Brian Agler. I think this has led to a failure for the crowd to establish a personal connection with him. Coach Donovan was not much friendlier...but she did have success and the gender "bonus."

I think Coach Agler also likes to hide in the background a bit. His introduction by the PA announcer is more subdued than his predecessors and he tends to tuck himself away in the corner to make sure that the crowd focuses on the players. While I truly admire his choice, in some ways I think it has hurt the fan's relationship with him as their coach.

In the end, perhaps our fans are just fickle. Perhaps we won't accept and adore Coach Agler until he brings home a trophy. We adored Lin Dunn because she was adorable, and she brought the WNBA to our city. We loved Anne Donovan because she took this team to the next level, elevated our stars and brought home a championship trophy.

I ask you, Seattle...what does Brian Agler need to do to get a little more love from Storm fans?

Game 10 vs. Sparks

2010-06-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well it turns out it was the second quarter that was screwed up on the play by play...but things look good now.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Le'Coe Willingham	100%	100%	100%	6	+8
Jana Vesela	84%	83%	90%	7	+4
Camille Little	77%	67%	93%	13	+18
Svetlana Abrosimova	75%	70%	77%	9	+22
Sue Bird	65%	68%	68%	15	+16

Isn't it great to see the bench dominate the top performance numbers in a game where they played quite a lot of minutes?

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Lindsey Wisdom-Hylton	67%	100%	125%	10	-8
Tina Thompson	51%	50%	59%	10	-9
NoelleQuinn	48%	50%	52%	3	-15

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +6
Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +6

Bird-Abrosimova-Vesela-Little-Willingham: +5

The Storm used 14 unique lineups in this game including six new ones. Only one lineup of the evening performed at all poorly.

Wright-Cash-Vesela-Willingham-Jackson: -4

Top Sparks Lineups

Toliver-Lennox-Thompson-Wisdom^Hylton-Parker: +4

Riley-Ferdinand^Harris-Thompson-Wisdom^Hylton-Parker: +3

The Sparks used 12 unique lineups in this game with only four generating a positive value for the team. Two of them stood out as particularly ineffective.

Toliver-Lennox-Thompson-Mokango-Wisdom^Hylton: -10

Penicheiro-Quinn-Milton^Jones-Thompson-Parker: -6

Notes

I brought a first time visitor to the game and he really seemed to enjoy the experience, though at 8, I doubt he could tell me the score at the end of the game.

The team continues to be a joy to watch and simply inspires wonder within me. While it is clear that they are not executing to their abilities on defense, their offense is so much more fluid and aggressive this season than it has been under Coach Agler to date. It seems as if he has loosened the reigns offensively and allows the team to pursue early scoring options more than in the past, but it may just be that the team is better prepared to execute the offense than they have been in previous seasons. With all five starters returning and a relatively experienced bench, the Storm are just able to find the basket and score with regularity.

The best part of the game will still always be the Stanky Leg video. It is so refreshing to see the playful, "Dad," side of Coach Agler. It was a stroke of genius to have a child interview him, I don't think we would have got to see as much of his personality in any other context. If the Storm find their way to the final stage, the arena better be full of "Stanky Leg" chants. I want to see that live next time, Coach.

As a long time Storm fan, it just warms my heart to see the execution of the bench this season. In 2004 the bench came up big at the end of the season with the play of Tully Bevilaqua, Chelle Thompson, Janell Burse and Simone Edwards. Seeing the bench get time this early and execute consistently is raising hopes and expectations for a lot of fans.

The next two days will inform us even more on where this team is right now as well as where they are going as the season progresses. Back to back games against strong Eastern Conference teams is the next measuring stick.

The Stanky Leg

2010-06-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Q found the gem...

Late on the numbers

2010-06-13T21:23:00.001-07:00

I have run into a conflict with the data from the wnba.com play by play and the posted individual +/- numbers for the game. I am still trying to track down the issue...we have been spot on all season, so I suspect a mysterious error with the published play by play is at fault.

On another note...it was way cool to see a photo Sue Bird coaching one of my K/1 kids at Stormtracker this week. Actually two of the kids in the photos have been on my teams...but only one was basketball. It really is great how they get out into the community and share a little of what life has given them with these kids who are still exploring what life has to offer them.

I know the kids had a blast and from the photos it looks like Sue and Coach Agler did, too.

Quarter Season Numbers

2010-06-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

We are at the quarter season mark already with 9 games played and the Storm at 8-1. It is shocking to witness what is happening with this team. I have been watching them play for eight seasons, and I have never seen them start a season like this. I have seen them play stretches like this, but never come out of the gate playing so well.

In the Agler era the Storm have been an average to below average offensive team and an elite defensive team by the end of the season. Seattle has not had an offensive rating above 100 points per 100 possessions since 2007. They are rating at 111.76 points per 100 possessions in my calculations for this season to date. Their defensive rating has slipped quite a bit (4 points)from 2008 but only 2 points per 100 possessions from last year. They are however 5th in the league for defensive rating. Their pace is at the bottom part of the league at this point. My original results were not normalized to possessions per game as they are usually something I run at the end of the season. As a result all of the teams with nine games played had much higher possessions than those with only seven or eight played fooling me considerably. The key defensively for the Storm has been their defensive field goal percentage which at 41.1% is second in the league to Indiana. Additionally they have dominated the boards with league best rebounding percentages of 38.13% offensive rebounding and 73.13 defensive rebounding. Atlanta and Minnesota are the only teams close to Seattle in those statistics so far.

Once upon a time ratings differential was the clear indicator of the WNBA champion, but that broke down a few seasons ago. However, Seattle has a dominant +13.64 ratings differential, meaning they score more than 13 points more than their opponents per 100 possessions. The only other teams with double digit differentials are Indiana (+10.25) and Connecticut (+10.06). Chicago, Atlanta and Washington are the only other teams positive in this category. Minnesota and San Antonio look quite hapless with double digit, negative differentials.

Top Shooter/Scorers

Camile Little has been the most efficient at maximizing her possessions with a Floor Percentage of 58.81%. Lauren Jackson is right there with her with 57.86%. In fact the Storm have been so effective this season that only Abby Bishop, Svetlana Abrosimova, Alison Lacey and Ashley Robinson have floor percentages below 50%.

Jana Vesela leads the team with an Effective Field Goal Percentage of 80% and True Shooting Percentage of 85.03%. Given she has barely seen any floor time however we will give the true leader nods to Camille Little's 54.12% eFG% and Lauren Jackson's 59.06% TS%. Allison Lacey, Ashley Robinson and Abby Bishop are the only players with an eFG% or TS% below 40%.

Given the excellent shooting, it is not odd that those same three players are the only three players on the team with an Offensive Rating below 100 points per 100 possessions. Lauren and Camille lead the team at 132.83 and 122.41 respectively. Vesela, Jackson, Bird and Little also have Individual ratings over 100. Last season only Lauren broke the 100 rating barrier and no bench player broke 90. In fact, only Sue and Tanisha were over 90.

Last year Tanisha Wright broke out as a key player for the Storm. It might seem that her performance has dropped off so far this season. In fact, the only area where Wright has actually slipped is with her free throw shooting. She shot over 90% from the charity stripe in 2009 but is only shooting just below 80% so far this season. Most of her other advanced statistics are actually up. It is hard to notice that however because of the huge growth from Camille Little. Little has quietly become the team's second most effective player

Top Performing Lineups

Working with only those lineups that have seen at least five minutes of floor time this season, here are the most effective so far.

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +92, +27 per 40

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Jackson: +14, +33.53 per 40

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +14, +18.42 per 40

Bird-Wright-Abrosimova-Little-Jackson: +11, +31.28 per 40

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +11, +17.48 per 40

The following lineups are struggling to be effective.

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Robinson: -18, -67.19 per 40

Wright-Abrosimova-Vesela-Bishop-Robinson: -17, -54.91 per 40

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Vesela: -9, -54.96 per 40

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Jackson: -7, -46.67 per 40

Bird-Wright-Abrosimova-Willingham-Jackson: -6, -38.81 per 40

The Per40 numbers display some lineups with potential as the season progresses:

Bird-Wright-Cash-Jacskon-Robinson: +8, +61.54 per 40

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Willingham: +8, +42.38 per 40

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +5, +38.96 per 40

The most effective lineups with Wright at point guard are:

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +5

Wright-Abrosimova-Little-Willingham-Vesela: +3

Wright-Cash-Vesela-Willingham-Jackson: +2

Player Pairs

Bird-Cash: +142, +23.37 per40

Bird-Jackson: +134, +21.86 per40

Cash-Jackson: +131, +22.23 per40

Bird-Wright: +112, +21.25 per40

Wright-Jackson: +108, +20.62 per40

The most effective bench pairings are:

Bird-Abrosimova: +40, +17.26 per40

Abrosimova-Jackson: +25, +12.04 per40

Abrosimova-Little: +12, +7.88 per40

Jackson-Robinson: +8, +58.36 per40

Abrosimova-Cash: +6, +2.55 per40

For the second year in a row the Jackson-Robinson pairing is a very effective one, though it seldom sees any floor time with Robinson primarily being used at the end of the bench. Newcomer Svetlana Abrosimova has proven to be the most effective player off the bench for the Storm in terms of allowing starters to rest. Coach Agler is resting Tanisha, Swin and Sue in rotation while Abrosimova is on the court.

Positionally, the team is +109 with Tanisha at shooting guard and -50 with her at point guard. Abrosimova's minutes at small forward are +3 while the team is -19 with her at shooting guard. Both of those are thrown off by the "garbage time" numbers that always have those two at those positions. As far as Willingham, she has been equally effective at the power forward and center position.

Game 9 vs. Mercury

2010-06-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

It really is nice to watch a good, old-fashioned blow out. Swin is the only starter who doesn't have at least three games with less than 30 minutes played yet this season. Now the team has earned two days off...all this rest is great for LJ and Sue. Other teams will get better as the season wears on and they will be needed.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Lauren Jackson	72%	63%	75%	16	+28
Jana Vesela	69%	100%	100%	8	-14
Sue Bird	68%	60%	60%	12	+38

I don't read much into Vesela's +/- for this game. She was +16 until the fourth quarter.

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Candice Dupree	75%	71%	63%	10	-29
Brooke Smith	100%	100%	66%	5	+13
Taylor Lilley	44%	100%	150%	12	+11

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +19
Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Willingham: +7

The Storm used 13 unique lineups in this game including four new ones with Vesela. Only the final lineup of the evening performed particularly poorly.

Wright-Abrosimova-Vesela-Bishop-Robinson: -13

Top Mercury Lineups

Lilley-Swanier-Holmes-BSmith-Ohlde: +11Swanier-Taylor-Dupree-Bonner-Ohlde: +6

The Mercury used 13 unique lineups in this game with the starters performing the worst overall. Only two other lineups offered positive values, one at +1 and the other at +2.

Johnson-Taurasi-Taylor-Dupree-TSmith: -12
Johnson-Taurasi-Dupree-Bonner-TSmith: -8

Swanier-Taurasi-Taylor-Dupree-Bonner: -7

My family missed the whole first half of the game striking a SIFF event across the way at the Alki Room, but they did remember to bring the BRICK! bullhorns just in time for Mercury free throws at our end of the floor.

Stormfans.org stuffed the cup holders with instructions for this game and it seemed to help somewhat with keeping the noise down prior to the brick yell. Our timing is still a bit off, but we got a great reaction from Nicole Ohlde. We forgot to "BRICK!" her first free throw (we were busy celebrating the HUGE lead (95-60 at the time.) She seemed very surprised and missed her first free throw and then looked up at us. For her second we got her with the "BRICK!" and she flinched at the last second missing that one, too which had her shaking her head and smiling.

Everything just seemed to work for the Storm. They were fighting for rebounds, getting to all of the 50/50 balls, hitting their shots and making great rotations on defense. It was beautiful to behold. They just weren't making that many mistakes, and Phoenix seemed so flustered by the display that they barely were able to take advantage of the mistakes that were made. The team really showed a ruthless commitment to each moment of the first three quarters.

The season is far from over, and I still believe that other teams are going to get better. If the Storm keep performing at this level, with this much commitment, though, it won't make a difference in the Win/Loss column how much better those teams get. The games will be tighter, but the Storm will keep on winning. They are making many of us have visions of upper bowl sell outs, confetti and parades.

For now, though, I am just satisfied to enjoy some of the best live basketball I have seen in my lifetime.

Game 8 @ Sparks

2010-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ah, the joy of the outdoor basketball experience....

We got to have the game blacked out in Seattle...someday the league and the broadcasters will actually work this out. LiveAccess worked, though and I managed to get it hooked up before tipoff.

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Sue Bird	65%	75%	80%	22	+15
Camille Little	60%	64%	67%	16	+1
Lauren Jackson	54%	50%	58%	17	+13

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Tina Thompson	61%	62%	51%	17	-8
Lindsey Wisdom-Hylton	56%	60%	70%	7	+0
Candace Parker	55%	57%	86%	24	+3

Top Storm Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +7
Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +5

The Storm used 11 unique lineups in this game with no particular lineup performing too poorly.

Top Sparks Lineups

Toliver-Lennox-Milton^Jones-Thompson-Parker: +10
Toliver-Quinn-Thompson-Parker-Wisdom^Hylton: +5
Toliver-Quinn-Milton^Jones-Parker-Wisdom^Hylton: +5

The Sparks used 10 unique lineups in this game with the starters performing the worst overall.

Toliver-Quinn-Milton^Jones-Thompson-Parker: -16
Toliver-Lennox-Milton^Jones-Thompson-Wisdom^Hylton: -5

Game 7 vs. Dream

2010-06-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Abby Bishop	85%	100%	100%	3	-4
Camille Little	61%	86%	90%	15	+10
Lauren Jackson	59%	66%	72%	32	+22
Jana Vesela	51%	0%	113%	2	-4
Swin Cash	48%	79%	83%	13	+26

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Armintie Price	58%	25%	41%	4	-5
Yelena Leuchanka	52%	38%	47%	8	+6
Alison Bales	51%	50%	52%	3	-7

Top Lineups

Storm

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Jackson: +7

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +6

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +6

Dream

KMiller-Price-McCoughtry-Leuchanka-Bales: +5

KMiller-CMiller-Raven-Leuchanka-Bales: +4

Lehning-Castro-McCoughtry-Lyttle-DeSouza: +2

So, these were the keys to the game I indicated yesterday morning...

Transition Defense: Don't let Atlanta get out on the break for layups. Sue Bird excels at transition defense, but all 5 players on the court will need to focus on getting back. Their half court offense is decent, but can be controlled by Seattle's post players and and the trio of Cash, Wright and Abrosimova.
Rebounding: Fight for position, box out and make sure that Atlanta does not get a huge edge on the boards. If they rebound they will get their running game going, and their posts are too strong to allow second and third chances on offense.
Perimeter Play: Seattle struggled against Chicago because their perimeter shooting dried up and Chicago has excellent post defenders. They will need Bird, Wright and Abrosimova on target with Cash, Little and Jackson ready to hit open threes

I think the Storm did pretty well on all three. Atlanta was limited to 6 fast break points. The Storm out rebounded the Dream 35 to 27 grabbing 36% of their available offensive rebounds while holding Atlanta to only 33%. Seattle got 7 three pointers on the evening (including FIVE from LJ) and saw decent scoring from Bird and Abrosimova to free up Cash, Little and LJ down low.

The game started off pretty sloppy by both teams with nine turnover in the first five minutes of play. Both teams were very aggressive defensively and neither seemed to be able to keep their hands on the ball. Eventually, however the Storm settled down somewhat and were able to execute their offense.

Essentially what I saw was a demonstration of what the key differences between Seattle and Atlanta are for the season.

Atlanta is a scrappy, opportunistic defensive team which will score most of its points off the other team's mistakes. This will serve them well at the start of the season when the majority of other teams are still getting things together offensively and adjusting to new personnel. The Storm are a veteran team with a solid core that knows exactly what they want to do and excel when they are patient enough to wait for that opportunity. I expect to see Atlanta struggle later in the season while Seattle will continue to fare about the same. They will lose more of the close games than they have so far, but in general they while they will get better as the season progresses, other teams will make bigger leaps forward. Seattle can tighten up offensively and defensively, but their greatest area for improvement will be strengthening the play of the bench. Already Willingham and Abrosimova are settling in, but to be successful, Robinson, Vesela, Bishop and Lacey will need to work themselves into the rotation and grow comfortable in their assigned roles.

Lauren Jackson is playing the game in top form. She is playing some of the best defense I have seen from her. Her hands are active, her positioning is solid and her rotations are near perfect. Offensively she will have nights where she shoots so well she barely has to work...other nights she will have to fight tooth and nail to score in the paint. I never worry about LJ offensively...she finds a way to make it happen. Seeing her play defense like this, however, is just thrilling. The Storm is virtually unstoppable when LJ anchors their defense the way she has been this season. When the rest of the defensive rotations tighten up, more teams will shoot like Atlanta did last night. One of my favorite moments of the game came when LJ was on the perimeter and a defender jumped out at her. LJ used her off arm to protect the ball but the defender just sort of flew by her with it looking like LJ flung her off. LJ looked to the referee to see if they were going to call a foul...paused, thought about tying her shoe, then decided to shoot the open three seeing as no help defense came to cover her while her defender tried to get back on her feet. She did retie her shoe at the other end of the floor after acknowledging her team's laughter at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

Svetlana Abrosimova really looks like the best acquisition of the season by Coach Agler. She is settling in at both ends with regards to the system, and still bringing the extra oomph she has always had as a player. She seems to have a natural instinct for knowing when something needs to happen and then making it happen. It can't be taught, but it is precisely the kind of edge the Storm have needed in the past but just not had. Sheri Sam filled that role back in 2004, but I think Abrosimova is more well rounded as a player and has been more effective in that role than Sam was that year.

On a side note, Scott from Stormfans.org swung by and dropped off bullhorns in our section last night. We had a nice little core of six or so people yelling "BRICK!" during Dream free throws in the second half. We struggled a bit with the timing, but actually might have had impact of some small sort on 1 or 2 misses. They felt perfectly timed, the shot was missed and the shooter looked rather annoyed.

I decided that it was just too complicated to travel to LA this weekend. Saturday is my wife's busiest day of SIFF after opening night, she is working a 14+ hour shift. I will have to make do with watching NBATV in HD.

I am so glad that I decided to return to my seats and not cover the team "officially" this season. I am truly enjoying the fan experience this year, and I have been able to not only get caught up on last season's numbers but also to make some advancement in my spreadsheets to make my analysis less time consuming. If I am able to capture some of that and use it for my NCAA analysis I might be able to keep up my column next year.

2009 Numbers

2010-06-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yes...I actually have finished the numbers for 2009.

TOP SCORERS

Player	PPG	Floor %
Lauren Jackson	19.2	52.29%
Sue Bird	12.8	44.31%
Tanisha Wright	12.2	49.69%
Swin Cash	12.2	44.70%
Camille Little	10.0	49.92

TOP SHOOTERS

Player	eFG%	TS%
Lauren Jackson	53.03%	58.58%
Katie Gearlds	53.38%	54.12%
Suzy Batkovic	52.33%	50.52%
Janel Burse	51.03%	57.44%
Sue Bird	48.01%	50.25%

TOP OFFENSIVE RATINGS

Player	OR	IR
Lauren Jackson	116.32	101.05
Tanisha Wright	105.66	92.67
Sue Bird	101.58	91.03
Janel Burse	105.57	89.80
Camille Little	101.55	84.39

TOP PERFORMING LINEUPS (Per 40 Minutes)

Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Jackson: +45.78

Johnson-Atkinson-Little-Batkovic-Burse: +42.35

Bird-Johnson-Wright-Jackson-Burse: +29.02

Bird-Johnson-Gearlds-Little-Jackson: +28.07

Bird-Johnson-Wright-Cash-Little: +27.69

Bird-Wright-Little-Jackson-Burse: +24.00

Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Jackson: +23.14

Bird-Johnson-Gearlds-Cash-Jackson: +20.06

Bird-Johnson-Gearlds-Little-Burse: +15.46

Johnson-Wright-Gearlds-Cash-Little: +15.22

TOP PERFORMING PLAYER PAIRS (NET 40)

Jackson-Robinson: +29.48

Bird-Jackson: +9.16

Jackson-Burse: +.870

Little-Batkovic: +.833

Batkovic-Burse: +7.08

TOP PERFORMING PLAYER PAIRS OVERALL

Bird-Jackson: +175

Bird-Wright:+141

Bird-Cash: +138

Bird-Little: +125

Cash-Jackson: +120

LEAST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Johnson-Wright-Cash-Little-Burse: -25

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Robinson: -19

Johnson-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: -17

Johnson-Wright-Gearlds-Jackson-Burse: -11

Bird-Johnson-Wright-Little-Jackson: -10

Game 6 vs. Silver Stars

2010-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Tanisha Wright	73%	70%	53%	9	+30
Lauren Jackson	69%	63%	87%	27	+31
Ashley Robinson	59%	50%	41%	2	-1
Camille Little	57%	57%	51%	8	+22
Swin Cash	58%	58%	58%	14	+33

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Ruth Riley	65%	33%	58%	6
Chamique Holdsclaw	58%	67%	62%	8
Roneeka Hodges	55%	50%	86%	12

Top Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +26

Bird-Wright-Abrosimova-Willingham-Robinson: +6

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Little-Jackson:+3

It was nice to see a good old-fashioned, Storm rout. There was not a single minute of this game where the outcome was in doubt. The Storm came out of the gate with solid, aggressive, physical defense and were able to score from anywhere on the floor. By the middle of the third quarter fans in the Stormfans.org chat room were agonizing over when the bench would get a chance to play.

Coach Agler, however, took the opportunity to experiment with on the floor chemistry until the final 5:49 of the game when he began to empty the bench. He has a seven player rotation that looks to be his focus for the season with Abrosimova and Willingham providing relief for Swin Cash, Tanisha Wright, Camille Little and Lauren Jackson. Wright will generally get a short rest and then return to relieve Sue Bird. Robinson will be next off the bench with Vesela, Lacey and Bishop seeing time only based on injury or games decided well before the final buzzer.

The truly nice thing about this road trip, despite the loss to Chicago, is that both games saw less than 30 minutes for the majority of the starters. This keeps them fresh and allows the bench to build some confidence. In this case the bench out performed the starters in Chicago, sparking a near comeback in the fourth quarter and then played well in San Antonio finishing the game -3 in the fourth quarter.

Tonight's game vs. Atlanta will be a true test. Atlanta has played some fierce defense and they have no fear of the outlet pass for layups. On top of that, they are rebounding remarkably well and demonstrating solid post play at both ends of the court.

The keys to tonight's game could well be:

Transition Defense: Don't let Atlanta get out on the break for layups. Sue Bird excels at transition defense, but all 5 players on the court will need to focus on getting back. Their half court offense is decent, but can be controlled by Seattle's post players and and the trio of Cash, Wright and Abrosimova.
Rebounding: Fight for position, box out and make sure that Atlanta does not get a huge edge on the boards. If they rebound they will get their running game going, and their posts are too strong to allow second and third chances on offense.
Perimeter Play: Seattle struggled against Chicago because their perimeter shooting dried up and Chicago has excellent post defenders. They will need Bird, Wright and Abrosimova on target with Cash, Little and Jackson ready to hit open threes.

Game 5 vs. Sky

2010-05-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Svetlana Abrosimova	70%	60%	65%	13	-4
Alison Lacey	70%	0%	100%	2	+7
Ashley Robinson	68%	50%	41%	2	-15
Le'Coe Willingham	61%	58%	67%	8	-4
Camille Little	55%	50%	48%	10	-5

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Sylvia Fowles	81%	67%	106%	19
Catherine Kraayeveld	66%	71%	69%	14
Epiphany Prince	65%	83%	108%	13

Top Lineups

Lacey-Abrosimova-Willingham-Bishop-Vesela: +8

Wright-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Bishop: +3

Chicago continues to pose serious match-up problems for Seattle. In this game though it was a combination of severe defensive lapses combined with a dearth of quality shooting. The defense has not been very strong so far this season, but in this game they gave up both the perimeter jumper on the week side and penetration into the lane. With both Bird and Wright missing even open shots, they had a tough go against a team with very strong post defense. San Antonio is the next test and then they have to face the undefeated Atlanta Dream. That will be a scary team. If they can't stop penetration and rebound effectively the Dream will slice them apart.

2010 Game 4 vs. Mystics

2010-05-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Camille Little	65%	64%	63%	11	+6
Sue Bird	58%	71%	114%	16	+12
Tanisha Wright	54%	60%	63%	16	-5
Le'Coe Willingham	53%	60%	108%	8	+1
Swin Cash	46%	50%	70%	14	+9

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Marissa Coleman	73%	133%	103%	8
Monique Currie	60%	71%	76%	24
Crystal Langhorne	52%	56%	74%	14

Top Lineups

Bird-Abrosimova-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +11

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +6

First of all, let me just say that I REALLY like what Coach Julie Plank is doing with Washington. She is really using her roster well and the style of play that she in implementing with them should be very effective and help them be very successful this season. This is a much improved team with her at the helm and I expect them to keep getting better.

It was a hard game to watch. I guess we are being told to get used to this. The Storm seem to go through the motions staying close to teams and then locking them down in the fourth quarter. Four close wins are still W's in the win/loss column, but they are putting themselves at risk when facing teams better prepared and more experienced than those played up to this point.

I got to share the game with a first timer, my friend's six year old daughter came with us, attending her first professional sporting event ever. She really seemed to have a blast (though she was exhausted by the end and slept the whole way home) cheering, chanting defense and hitting her thunder sticks together.

The fourth quarter was VERY exciting, though I was quite distressed to have a close game with Katie Smith on the floor for the opposing team. She may be a half step slower than two years ago, but she is a clear leader on the floor and capable of turning the clock back at any moment and nailing critical shots or getting key steals and rebounds. The Storm survived though, because of spectacular bench play from Abrosimova and Willingham. That left the starters fresh and both Camille and Tanisha had fresh legs under them when they hit some big threes in the second half because of the rest the bench earned for them.

4-0 folks. Only two teams remain undefeated. That is a lot of responsibility to bear. Let's hope the Storm can hold on to that weight and grow that first number.

2010 Game 3 @ Mercury

2010-05-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Le'Coe Willingham	65%	75%	100%	14	0
Svetlana Abrosimova	60%	50%	44%	7	+1
Lauren Jackson	56%	44%	52%	25	+9
Camille Little	55%	50%	47%	14	+1
Swin Cash	49%	42%	69%	18	+1

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Dewanna Bonner	64%	63%	100%	24	0
Penny Taylor	55%	56%	60%	14	+1
Temeka Johnson	42%	59%	68%	15	-1

Top Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +8

Bird-Wright-Abrosimova-Little-Jackson: +7

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +4

Bird-Abros.-Cash-Will.-LJ: +3

2010 Game 2 vs. Lynx

2010-05-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Camille Little	66%	54%	72%	18	-1
Swin Cash	57%	68%	109%	24	+3
Tanisha Wright	55%	100%	101%	9	+10
Sue Bird	52%	38%	50%	8	+3
Lauren Jackson	48%	53%	56%	18	+6

Name	Floor %	eFG %	TS %	Points	+/-
Rashanda McCants	56%	50%	63%	10	+3
Monica Wright	49%	53%	56%	19	0
Nikki Anosike	60%	56%	52%	13	-1

Top Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Willingham-Jackson: +9

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +3

This game was a bit of an odd one.

I was late to the game despite my Tee Ball game being cancelled by the weather. It was a late game on a school night with testing in the morning, so I decided to go to the game without the boys and had to wait for my wife to get home and relieve me of parenting duty for the evening.

I arrived midway through the first quarter and the score was tied with the bench on the floor with Bird, Cash and Jackson. The Lynx made a huge push as soon as I sat down, with McCants, Houston, Whalen knocking down shots putting the Storm down 7 by the end of the quarter.

Coach Agler started the second quarter with Wright handling the ball , within a minute, though, both Bird and Lacey were on the floor with Alison at the small forward slot. The bench saw som action with at least one bench player on the floor from the 2 minute mark of the 1st quarter until the end of the half. After the initial defensive melt down with the introduction of the bench leading to a -7 hole, the bench held Minnesota to a draw for the first five minutes or so. At the end of the quarter the starters with Willingham in for Camille made a push and went on a +5 run.

The first half, outside of the push at the very end, looked very stagnant. The Storm weren't playing horribly but they weren't playing well. They would get a stop but blow the scoring opportunity at the other end leaving them unable to make up any ground.

The second half did not get much better. Agler had the starters play all but 2:27 of the 3rd quarter, but things looked pretty much the same with defensive mis-steps at one end and sloppy execution on offense at the other end preventing them from gaining any real ground against the Lynx.

In the fourth quarter, however, Agler went with a UCONN lineup in the backcourt with Bird, Abrosimova and Cash on the floor with Willingham and Robinson. Swin started to find a groove and when Lauren Jackson and Tanisha Wright returned to the lineup things started to click. With just under five minutes remaining Little joined the rest of the starters and the experienced team closed out the game with focused defense on the perimeter and aggressive offense attacks. Cash was brilliant in the quarter with key efforts leading to choice baskets by Little and Jackson to seal the deal. Camille hit a three to give the Storm a lead and Jackson used an offensive rebound and putback to lock it up.

It is easy to see how the bench is struggling defensively and the offense just has not found its groove. However, if Swin Cash continues to play with this kind of aggression the offense should open up much more quickly. Willingham got some good looks at the basket (as did Lacey) which should start going in as she gets more floor time. Defensively she looked much better than she did in the first game of the season. We will see how fired up she gets taking on Phoenix this weekend.

WNBA Fans

2010-05-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

How can you NOT love a WNBA fan?

We have the league's unofficial "superfan," a male school teacher who traveled to every WNBA city for a game last season all to honor a dear friend and WNBA fan who had lost her fight with cancer.

We have Stormfans who earn 50% the leagues GM's vote for creating the most hostile atmosphere for opposing WNBA teams. This is something we really need to think about. Let's do the math, people. 6 GM's picked Seattle, 3 picked Connecticut and 3 picked unique teams not from either Seattle or Connecticut.

Here is my interpretation of those results. 3 GM's picked a particular rival city that hates their team. Chuck them. 3 eastern conference teams picked Connecticut, a small arena with a very passionate local women's basketball fan base fed by PASSIONATE fans in the locality of the most dominant NCAA Women's Basketball team in the history of the sport. If you didn't know, that team had UCONN great (Sayles) and now has three UCONN greats in Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles. Three of their current starters came out of their local program. Then we have Seattle. We have a Division 1 Husky team that has made the first round of the NCAA tournament once that I recall and has ZERO current alumnus on WNBA rosters. We have a defunct ABL team named the Seattle Reign, a team that only broke .500 in the final season of the league's existence when they folded after 15 games.

OK, I am biased...Seattle clearly has the best fans in the league...blah, blah, blah.

Back to my point. I simply got jazzed by the following quote from a USA Today article...

"Everyone deserves a second chance," said Phyllis Young, a longtime Shock fan who traveled to the game from Flint, Mich. "So you've got to support that."

The ownership of the Detroit Shock bailed. Unlike the Houston Comets, the Sacramento Monarchs, the Miami Sol, the Cleveland Rockers, and the Portland Fire, the Shock found a new home in Tulsa. This fan defies logic and travels all the way from Detroit, a city absolutely DECIMATED by the collapse of the US auto industry and the weakness of the US economy, to Tulsa to watch a team which only has two truly familiar faces on the roster. Kara Braxton and Plennette Pierson are the only faces of the franchise still on the Shock roster after the relocation. Pierson was a traded player who became an invaluable 6th woman while Braxton is the talented but frustrating player who moved into a starting role after the trade of Ruth Riley to San Antonio. Two of last year's rookies, Shavonte Zellous and Alexis Hornbuckle are nice players, but barely had a chance to woo over Detroit fans. Still, Young makes the trip to see HER team play.

That is the essence of a WNBA fan to me. Not every Shock fan makes that trip, but for any team in this league you WILL find fans who will make that trip.

2010 Game 1

2010-05-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Top Performers

Tanisha Wright- FL%: 63%, eFG%: 45%, TS%: 55%, +24

Lauren Jackson- FL%: 55%, eFG%: 41%, TS%: 72%, +22

Ticha Penicheiro- FL%: 72%, eFG%: 50%, TS%: 35%, -6

Top Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +21

Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Robinson: +8

Opening Night

2010-05-17T00:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. That was fun. I almost forgot how much fun it is to just be a fan of this team. Last year, even when I was in the stands while someone else officially covered the game I was much more reserved...probably from my poor attempts at being objective from media row.

Seattle returned all 5 starters...who we ALL recall played every minute of last season. OK, they didn't play every minute, but they did score every point. So I am guilty of a little exaggeration. Who cares?

The bench on opening night put up 4 points (A-Rob on an uncontested put-back layup and Svetlana Abrosimova on a second chance mid-range jumper) in about 26 minutes of game time. With 200 minutes of play available, the starters managed to only have to play 87% of the available minutes to start the season.

To be fair, Agler went to his bench early showing us his core for the season with Willingham, Abrosimova and Lacey being called on (no surprises) as well as Ashley Robinson. Many observers would have A-Rob as the 11th player on this roster...no wait, most would have had the young woman cut. Some have insulted the entire league and women athletes in general with blatant accusations equating to libel saying she has not earned her roster spot with her play on the basketball court.

Robinson is a professional. Her coach put her in the game, she did what she has always done. She played solid defense (guarding Candace Parker, perhaps the league's most dynamic post), making the proper rotations within the coach's defensive screens and taking shots in the offense that needed to be taken. Granted, as often happens, she only made one out of those three shots. The one she made should have been taken three seconds earlier. Wake up idiots. She isn't in the game to score baskets. She isn't in the game because of how she looks (sweet as it may be.) She is in the game to use her length, speed and height to disrupt her assignment and make the RIGHT rotation to help her team by stopping someone else from getting a basket while her assignment is well guarded. (See Le'Coe Willingham for an example of someone who only got the first half of that job right people.)

I am a self confessed Vin Baker apologist. I am NOT an Ashley Robinson apologist. I look at the roster Coach Agler has put together and I get it. It makes PERFECT sense to me. It wasn't the one I put together, but...

I don't get to watch any practice...
I am not as smart about basketball as he is...
It isn't my dang job!!!

I look at what he did, and I can see WHY he did it. I also can see why my lineup was probably not quite as good as his.

Anyone who loves this game has to think about one thing and one thing only. Lauren Jackson wants to win. This may be the singular most powerful thing I have ever learned about this young woman. I am not an insider. The few quality questions I have asked her have been answered tersely and without a personal connection. Actually she was much more real when I asked her a really BAD question. That actually informed me of what kind of person Lauren Jackson is. I am not a reporter...I am just a fan with some meager skills with language who had a chance to talk to a person who embodies the essence of the only sport he loves. I waited until the REAL reporters were done and then I asked my questions. I blew it. I asked some stupid question...I can't even remember what it was. She didn't rub in my inadequacy...she merely said "It's alright, mate." Then she created an answer to a better question than I had asked which I could quote in my game article for the night.

She did the same thing with A-Rob tonight. Ashley forcefully grabbed that offensive rebound. Then for what seemed like an eternity, she looked around for who she should pass it to. The whole time, LJ was boxing out what seemed to be the entire LA team while screaming, "Shoot the ball!" or at least she was screaming something. The crowd was far too loud to hear anything she was saying. Robinson shot the ball and made the basket. Lauren did not chastise her for waiting, and she didn't pretend that everything was OK. She just laughed...WITH A-Rob.

I could write pages on those 10 seconds alone. If I can sum it up...A-Rob is our woman and LJ, well, she is so much more than her height, her looks and her turn around, fade-away jumper. Those two women are Seattle Storm Basketball, and if you don't get it....you haven't been there.

By the way, there was a basketball game being played, did I mention that?

Yes, the highly touted (even here years before she wore the purple and vomit) Candace Parker shot 4-11 from the field. It wasn't as big a deal as the media will make it out to be. LJ played some spectacular defense on Parker...particularly when Parker tried to score on the move. She had some truly quality help from Wright, Cash, Little, Robinson and even Willingham. Le'Coe can defend one on one...(surprise Phoenix!) but she still has to internalize Agler's defense.

Really, his defense is not that complicated...if you have to coach it. Playing it, well that is another matter entirely. He gave his elementary version to the Boy's and Girl's Club of King County this year. I don't claim to understand it all, but the overview he gave answered a TON of questions I had after two years of watching his teams play here in Seattle. There are many nuances I don't get yet, (see pick and roll 101) but I see his ultimate vision. From there I can deconstruct much of what I see on the court (maybe low 60 percentile.) Willingham is still a step and a half slow at her reactions. She wants to hedge on the handler when she should be showing on the handler but hedging on her own assignment. Actually, this is where it probably gets too complicated. She likely has a primary hedge but has to adjust by how well the OTHER defender covers her assignment. OK, now I am getting confused...anyway...let us just say that I think Le'Coe is a dang sharp woman and she will have this down in a week or two. The lady just got to camp...give the "girl" a break.

So, my first time feeling truly free from the restrictions of an editor and I am just running off free form with tangential bruhaha.

In the end, the Storm won because they played starter minutes against a solid team on the second night of a back to back. LA is struggling (IMHO) to find the proper chemistry, and the Storm were able to exploit that by coming out aggressive and maintaining that aggression through the end of the game. LA did not fold until the 4th quarter. Seattle kept it close and played their bench more heavily in the 1st half. That left steam in the starting lineup to look for the weak point and go for the win.

I never doubt this team on the quality of their starters nor the quality of their coaching. I look forward to how the next few games play out. If this game was part of a complicated chess match to win one against LA, it was perfect. In the long run, though, we will need to see more offense from the bench and less minutes from the starters. A team that has fallen from the post season in the first round for 4 consecutive years CANNOT afford a 87% dependency on the starters for minutes.

Opening Weekend

2010-05-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

I got to see 2 games yesterday.

LA @ Phoenix

Phoenix looks odd without Cappie. Diana is still Diana, and with Penny Taylor they will always be a threat (her hair is auburn this season), but I don't see anyone on the roster who can create their own shot in the half court the way Pondexter could with that wicked crossover. Dupree is a nice addition and I still love Bonner, but at this point in the season Phoenix is not as good a team as they were last season.

LA was really strange to watch. Candace Parker looks in good form, playing overseas has her ready for the start of this season. Will it impact her health this year though? They have the point guard situation locked up. With Ticha Penicheiro, Andrea Riley and Kristi Toliver in place, they have distributors and scorers that they can mix and match at will. Tina Thompson looks like she is 30 not 35 and D-Nasty will always be in the mix. They were not playing as a team yesterday, but if they start to gel over the course of the season, the league better watch out.

Andrea Riley was simply hot yesterday. I loved the way she played with no fear. Gillom decided to just let Ticha rest her sore ankle after Riley went in the game and took it over. She attacked the basket, found open players...she looked like a real pro and not a high volume, rookie shooter.

Minnesota @ Tulsa

Minnesota was without the services of two of its best players. Seimone Augustus and Candice Wiggins are both still out with injury. In their absence, however, rookie Monica Wright proved she is going to be a really solid pro. She did everything she did in college in her first game as a pro. I was very impressed. Whalen was unremarkable...but Minnesota could be a really strong team under new coach Reeve's tutelage. Nicky Anosike is everything that Reeve wanted Kara Braxton to be in Detroit and Charde Houston offers some nice flexibility. It will be interesting to see how they look when they get their superstars back. Wright deserves a heavy role on this team...what will it be?

Tulsa will not be as bad as many have predicted, and their games should be a lot of fun to watch...40 minutes of hell to play, perhaps, but they will be fun to watch. Braxton and Pierson are the team's leaders and they showed it yesterday. With no Ford, Nolan or Smith, they will have to show it every night, something that has never been required of them. Shanna Crossley and Chante Black are going to be much better players in Nolan Richardson's system than most of us predicted. I really liked what they did in their home opener. The real surprise for me, though was the play of rookie Natasha Lacy. After being cut from camps the past two years, Lacy is thriving in Nolan's system. She was everywhere in this game. She could be the breakout player of the year. There will be better rookies, no doubt, but she is the one who is going to surprise us with how well she plays. Marion Jones was a non factor. Of the two games, this is the one I actually enjoyed the most. I have a defensive leaning in my philosophy of the game, and these two teams were both very aggressive defensively. I loved watching the players get after the ball. There is just something exciting about a well executed trap.

Not too bad...

2010-05-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Of my top 20 seniors this year, 9 of them made WNBA opening day rosters...

Kelsey Griffin

Tina Charles

Jayne Appel

Alison Lacey

Gabriela Marginea

Kalana Greene

Amanda Thompson

Monica Wright

Taylor Lilly

Some other top players by position...

Ashley Houts

Andrea Riley

Allison Hightower

Brittainey Raven

Jacinta Monroe

Surprise cuts for me:

Alysha Clark

Jenna Smith

Those are two players I think can play in this league if with the right system.

On Storm news...both Aja Parham and Ashley Walker are WNBA caliber players off the bench. In a 13 player roster they are both in this league and on this team, but they were cut today in favor of the height of Vesela, Bishop and Robinson.

OPENING DAY IS JUST 48 HOURS AWAY!!!!! Be there and be ready for The Brick Project!

Quiet will be mandatory for opposing free throws until the shooter finishes their shooting motion. We will force a league low FT% this season. You WILL be a factor.

The Ashleys

2010-05-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

Jayda mentions it in her piece while I was off at camp on Orcas Island with my son's elementary school...

Storm fans are robbed though if they don't get to see the video posted by Fox.

Ashley Walker and Ashley Robinson showed incredibly impressive, comic timing at Storm Media Day this week. They finish each other's sentences and do a brilliant back and forth that is truly entertaining. Those two ladies have some duo talent beyond what we get to see on the hardwood. They had the media in stitches and I simply could NOT stop smiling as they talked.

I haven't had the chance to sit through the audio yet...I had to go from Media Day to the technology free retreat, but I am not sure that internet or print media can do justice to The Ashleys. I am not a big reality TV fan, but I think I would have to set my DVR to The Ashleys.

On a side note, the fan lawsuit against Clay Bennett and the Seattle Sonics that I participated in has finally ended. My lawyer contacted me this week to let me know that settlement checks are being issued after the judge approved our settlement.

It was never about the money for me. I participated in the suit because I love the sport of basketball, I love the city of Seattle and I was personally disgusted by the callous way the Seattle fans of the NBA were treated by both Clay Bennett and David Stern. The business man in me comprehends their motivations, but the fan in me feels that they have dishonored the purity of the sport itself. Basketball is a sport and as such is so much more than the NBA. I feel lucky that the WNBA still embodies much of what the spirit of the sport inspires.

Anyone who was a true fan of the Sonics and watched the 1st round playoff match-up between OKC and LAL has to respect the passion and devotion those fans displayed for their team. I have always believed that Oklahoma City deserved a basketball team, and they proved their passion as fans this season. They did their team right and in my heart, I know they did Seattle proud as well. We could not have done a better job supporting that team than they did this year.

That said, I still feel that the league and the two ownership groups were irresponsible stewards of what should be a "public trust." As slimy a businessman as Bennett may have been in this endeavor, it was the poor choices of Howard Schultz and David Stern that represent the true villains in this story.

We are so lucky to have Force 10 and Karen Bryant here to represent what sport and community CAN be for this city. They are the role models we should embrace and share with our children. In my new endeavor as a youth coach, I have seen first hand what impacts sport can have on a child's development. My appreciation for the game and its values has only grown.

I decided before our lawsuit really took off that I would use any proceeds I earned from the suit to support Seattle basketball. I didn't qualify for much in the final settlement, but what I have will be spread across the Ballard Boys & Girls Club basketball program and youth basketball programs tied to the Seattle Storm. My ticket rep has been patiently waiting for me to tell him the settlement is in, so I get to give him the good news this week.

Camp shrinks before it can grow.

2010-04-27T14:57:00.001-07:00

According to @seattlestorm on Twitter, Chelsea Newton abruptly opened the field for perimeter positions at the Storm training camp by announcing her retirement. That is not a big surprise to many of those who have watched her play. She was a solid defender with limited offense. However recent injuries have impeded her ability to play quality defense against the athletic perimeter players in the league and she appears to have decided to move on.

No excuses for lazy journalists...

2010-04-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

As if we needed one more reason to love the work of Q McCall...

He let's us know what he REALLY thinks of the inane question that annoyed so many of us throughout the NCAA women's tourney.

One reason I can't continue to cover the WNBA the way I have in the past is that I simply don't have the time to do it right. Apparently that isn't an obstacle to many actual, PAID journalists.

I have taken to spending more time participating in sports over the past year, and spending less time writing about sports. On a side note, I am more than halfway done with last season's lineup information, though with all the roster changes this year...it may not tell us more than what we already know. Lineups with Bird, Wright, Cash, Jackson and Little are really good and the others...well they weren't. Coach Agler seems determined to change that. I like his training camp this year...though I still see his opening day roster already with just a few questions.

Storm go Bing!

2010-04-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

Time to change my default search engine.

Microsoft has stepped up as the third and largest sponsor of the WNBA via placing their logo on the game and shooting jersey's of the Seattle Storm.

So Bing! is now my official search engine.

Sorry Google, but my loyalty to the Storm is greater than my many year relationship with your engine.

Hampton's 09 Numbers

2010-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Floor %: 43%

efG %: 43%

TS %: 45%

Usage %: 33.76%

WinVAL: 3.20

BoxScores: 2.49

DefReb %: 11%

OffReb %: 4%

Stop %: 16.77

Off Rtg: 77.44

Net Pts: 5.35

Indiv Rtg: 70.44

Adjusted Rtg: 44.45

Team RPI: 0.6310

So in just over half the number of minutes for the season as played by Ashley Walker, Hampton was able to secure 11% of the total available defensive rebounds compared to Walker's 14%. Walker however was an excellent rebounder at both ends, also securing 11% of the available offensive rebounds. They had virtually the same number of rebounds per 40 minutes played based on Hampton's excellent defensive rebounding. Overall Hampton came up from a numbers perspective as a defensive rebounding specialist while Walker was much more well rounded and versatile. At 6'3" Hampton's potential value to the Storm will really be based on how successful she has rehabbed those knees. If she can offer more offense than she did her last year at Cal then her size and defensive rebounding could be quite valuable. If she can't contribute on the offensive end then I suspect A-Rob is the better option.

Storm Sign Devanei Hampton

2010-03-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

On a quiet St. Paddy's day the Storm signed Ashley Walker's former front court mate, Devanei Hampton. Hampton ranked 8th overall on my Center's for her senior season behind WNBA players Courtney Paris, Ashley Walker, Chante Black and Kia Vaughn. She is a strong rebounder who played a lot of minutes for Cal last year. Earlier in her career she was considered a fantastic prospect with rumors of a less than stellar work ethic. Unfortunately injuries really slowed down her progress and Walker was clearly the best player on that Cal team.

In my opinion she is a great training camp invitation but is unlikely to be a serious contender for a roster spot unless the Storm find themselves short in the post. She is bigger, stronger and more offensively skilled than Ashley Robinson but lacks the defense, athleticism and length that has kept A-Rob on the Storm roster the past few years. If Janel Burse returns she is still the superior player and both Little and Walker are stronger as well. If she is able to play at a higher level than she did last season she could prove a viable option over Robinson.

Jackson Wins

2010-03-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

Jayda shares the good news...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/womenshoopsblog/2011274203_lauren_jackson_wins_wnbl_title.html

On a side note, it was rather disappointing to hear this week that Baylor's freshman phenom, Brittney Griner over reacted to some very rough post play by throwing a punch and breaking the nose of an opposing player.

Griner has been played very physical all season long without losing her cool, but her temper broke free after being thrown in a tie up. She has been suspended for the last game of the season by the NCAA and her coach suspended her from the first game of tournament play. That could mean the end of Baylor's season. Hopefully she learns the right lesson from the experience and matures over her next three years of college play. Her skills, size and athleticism will mean a lot to the game but should not come at the cost of the other values of the game.

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 13

2010-03-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Taylor Lilly

Oregon

#1last week

Courtney Pilypaitas

Vermont

#4 last week

Ashley Houts

Georgia

NR last week

Laiken Dollente

Portland

#3 last week

Tasha Harris

Boise State

#2 last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	#3 last week
Monica Wright	Virginia	#5 last week
Allison Hightower	LSU	NR last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	#3 last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	#5 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Chattanooga	#2 last week
Lindsay Schrader	Notre Dame	#4 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#5 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#4 last week
Shanavia Dowdell	Louisiana Tech	#3 last week
Gabriella Marginea	Drexel	NR last week

Lindsay Schrader from Notre Dame would have been 5th on this list were I tracking her at PF which is the position she appears to actually play at Notre Dame.

Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

I don't have the answer yet as to what happened here. Charles had one poor offensive game against Syracuse, but it appears that it was her BoxScore that dropped this week. With these two players so close in total score that was enough to have her slip under Appel for only the second time this season. Interestingly she still tops Appel on my overall list because my center ratings weight shooting lower than my overall ratings do.

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 12

2010-02-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Taylor Lilly	Oregon	#1last week
Tasha Harris	Boise State	#3 last week

Laiken Dollente	Portland	NR last week
Courtney Pilypaitas	Vermont	#2 last week
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude	Stanford	NR last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	#3 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#4 last week
Monica Wright	Virginia	#5 last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Kansas	#2 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	#3 last week
Lindsay Schrader	Notre Dame	NR last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	#5 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#5 last week
Shanavia Dowdell	Louisiana Tech	#4 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#2 last week
Jacinta Monroe	Florida State	NR last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 11

2010-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00


Taylor Lilly	Oregon	#1last week
Courtnay Pilypaitis	Vermont	#2 last week

Tasha Harris	Boise State	NR last week
Ashley Houts	Georgia	NR last week
Jordann Plummer	Drake	#4 last week

NOTE: An error in my data entry gave Mickel Picco the wrong statistics, hence I have adjusted the ratings for this week.

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	#3 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#4 last week
Monica Wright	Virginia	#5 last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Kansas	#2 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	NR last week
Lacey Simpson	Illinois	NR last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	#5 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#3 last week
Gabriela Marginea	Drexel	#4 last week
Shanavia Dowdell	Louisiana Tech	NR last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#2 last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 10

2010-02-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Taylor Lilly

Oregon

#1 last week

Courtnay Pilypaitis

Vermont

#2 last week

Quenese Davis

San Diego State

#3 last week

Jordann Plummer

Drake

NR last week

Andrea Riley

Oklahoma State

#4 last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	#3 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#5 last week
Monica Wright	Virginia	NR last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Kansas	#3 last week
Lindsay Schrader	Notre Dame	NR last week
Danielle McCray	Kansas	#2 last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	#4 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#3 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#5 last week
Gabriela Marginea	Drexel	#4 last week
Ashley Sweat	Kansas State	NR last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 9

2010-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Taylor Lilly	Oregon	NR last week
Courtnay Pilypaitis	Vermont	#3 last week
Quenese Davis	San Diego State	#2 last week
Andrea Riley	Oklahoma State	NR last week
Tasha Harris	Boise State	#5 last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	NR last week
May Kotsopoulos	Vermont	#3 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#5 last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Danielle McCray	Kansas	#4 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Chattanooga	#2 last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	#3 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	#5 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Erica Beverly	Hartford	NR last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#2 last week
Gabriela Marginea	Drexel	#5 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#3 last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 8

2010-01-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

Ashley Houts	Georgia	#4 last week
Quenese Davis	San Diego State	#5 last week
Courtnay Pilypaitis	Vermont	#3 last week
Jordan Plummer	Drake	#2 last week
Tasha Harris	Boise State	NR last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
May Kotsopoulos	Vermont	#5 last week
Bianca Thomas	Mississippi	NR last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#4 last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Chattanooga	#2 last week
Nyeshia Stevenson	Oklahoma	NR last week
Danielle McCray	Kansas	#3 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	#4 last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#2 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	#3 last week
Gabriela Marginea	Drexel	#4 last week
Jacinta Monroe	Florida State	#5 last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#2 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

Nearing the End...(SONICS)

2010-01-22T12:40:00.001-08:00

Per the Seattle Times and other media outlets, the final chapter in the Sonics exit from Seattle is coming to a close.

The article states that the final lawsuit against the former Sonics organization (the lawsuit for which I am a named plaintiff) has been submitted to the court for settlement.

According to the article, should the judge accept the settlement, those season ticket holders who qualified will share a $1.6M settlement distribution. A certain number of ticket holders were excluded from the suit as it was determined that the equivalent seats in OKC sold for the same or less than the guaranteed Emerald Club pricing which was at the center of the suit. The key is that the judge ruled that the defendants violated the terms of the contract allowing Emerald Club pricing guaranteed for 2 additional seasons at the price paid for those tickets in the Sonics last year in Seattle. He then sent the case to a Seattle jury to determine damages. Only those ticket holders who were unable to realize a gain on the asset (OKC ticket buyers paid more for the tickets than the Seattle people would have paid) were included.

There is no true vindication for Seattle fans with regards to this settlement.

In spirit, the settlement indicates that even the NBA is not allowed to make false commitments to their customers in order to secure their business.

It does not address the poor way Seattle fans were treated. It does not address the many questions about the fairness of the relocation. It does not make me feel any better about losing my other basketball team.

It does prove that it is in the NBA's best interest to treat its fans with honesty when it takes their money. Unfortunately, in many respects that is a hollow "victory" purely based on business for something that is by far more emotional for any true fan.

In the end though, it does mean closure, at least for me. My period of grieving is over, I have moved on. Now my last stray thoughts on this issue can fade to join the emotions that have already faded at least for me.

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 7

2010-01-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

Taylor Lilly	Oregon	#2 last week
Jordann Plummer	Drake	#3 last week
Cortnay Pilypaitis	Vermont	#1 last week
Ashley Houts	Georgia	#4 last week
Quenese Davis	San Diego State	NR last week

Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#2 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	#4 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#5 last week
May Kotsopoulos	Vermont	#3 last week

Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee	#1 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Chattanooga	#3 last week
Danielle McCray	Kansas	#2 last week
Amanda Thompson	Oklahoma	#5 last week
Lacey Simpson	Illinois	NR last week

Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#1 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#2 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	NR last week
Gabriela Marginea	Drexel	#4 last week
Jacinta Monroe	Florida State	#5 last week

Tina Charles	Connecticut	#2 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#1 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	#4 last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	#5 last week

NCAA Senior Watch: Week 6

2010-01-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Courtnay Pilypaitas (Vermont): NR last week

Taylor Lilly (Oregon): #3 last week

Jordann Plummer (Drake): #5 last week

Ashley Houts (Georgia): #1 last week

Kalana Greene (Connecticut): #1 last week

Ashley Barlow (Notre Dame): #3 last week

May Kotsopoulos (Vermont): NR last week

Alison Lacey (Iowa State): #2 last week

Brittainey Raven (Texas): NR last week

Alysha Clark (Middle Tennessee): #1 last week

Danielle McCray (Kansas): #2 last week

Shanara Holinquest (Chatanooga): #3 last week

Monica Wright (Virginia): NR last week

Amanada Thompson (Oklahoma): NR last week

Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska): #1 last week

Jenna Smith (Illinois): #2 last week

Shanavia Dowdell (Louisiana Tech): NR last week

Gabriella Marginea (Drexel): NR last week

Jacinta Monroe (Florida State): #3 last week

Jayne Appel (Stanford): #2 last week

Tina Charles (Connecticut): #1 last week

Keke Carrier (Auburn): #3 last week

Alyssa DeHaan (Michigan State): #4 last week

Angel Robinson (Georgia): #5 last week

Swish Appeal on Wright

2010-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

If you only read one basketball article this week, it had sure as heck better be this one.

Q may be new to covering the women's game but he has already established himself among the elite. I never tire of reading his work.

Senior Watch Weeks 5-6

2009-12-30T16:18:00.000-08:00

PG
Ashley Houts Georgia #1 last week
Kelsey Luna Indiana State # 2 last week
Taylor Lilly Oregon #3 last week
Quenese Davis San Diego State NR last week
Jordann Plummer Drake #4 last week

MIA: Courtnay Pilypaitis (Vermont)

SG
Kalana Greene Connecticut #1 last week
Alison Lacey Iowa State #4 last week
Ashley Barlow Notre Dame #5 last week
May Kotsopoulos Vermont #2 last week
Brittainey Raven Texas #3 last week

MIA: They all stick

SF
Alysha Clark Middle Tennessee #1 last week
Danielle McCray Kansas #3 last week
Shanara Hollinquest Chattanooga #4 last week
Nyeshia Stevenson Oklahoma NR last week
Heather Bowman Gonzaga NR last week

MIA: Lacey Simpson (Illinois), Monica Wright (Virginia)

PF
Kelsey Griffin Nebraska #1 last week
Jenna Smith Illinois #2 last week
Jacinta Monroe Florida State #3 last week
Dana Mitchell St. Bonaventure NR last week
Erica Beverly Hartford #4 last week

MIA: Siarre Evans (East Tennessee State)

C
Tina Charles Connecticut #1 last week
Jayne Appel Stanford #2 last week
Keke Carrier Auburn #3 last week
Alyssa DeHaan Michigan State #4 last week
Angel Robinson Georgia #5 last week

MIA: They all stick, but I am only tracking 5 of them...Monroe falls at #4 here if I were ranking her at center.

NCAA Senior Watch Week 4

2009-12-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

Player	School	Movement
Ashley Houts	Georgia	#2 last week
Kelsey Luna	Indiana State	#3 last week
Taylor Lilly	Oregon	#5 last week
Jordann Plummer	Drake	#4 last week
Courtney Pilypaitas	Vermont	#1 last week

I had to pull JJ Hones from the list after it sunk in that the 4th year student red shirted last season and has one more year of eligibility remaining.

MIA: They all stick.

SG

Player	School	Movement
Kalana Greene	Connecticut	#1 last week
May Kotsopoulos	Vermont	#2 last week
Brittainey Raven	Texas	#4 last week
Alison Lacey	Iowa State	NR last week
Ashley Barlow	Notre Dame	#3 last week

MIA: Brittany (Ray Rutgers)
Ray drops out as Raven and Lacey pull ahead.

SF

Player	School	Movement
Alysha Clark	Middle Tennessee State	#1 last week
Lacey Simpson	Illinois	#2 last week
Danielle McCray	Kansas	#3 last week
Shanara Hollinquest	Chattanooga	#4 last week
Monica Wright	Virginia	#5 last week

No movement in the list, but Kalana Greene would have slipped to number three this week behind Simpson were I tracking her at the forward slot.

MIA: They all stick.

PF

Player	School	Movement
Kelsey Griffin	Nebraska	#2 last week
Jenna Smith	Illinois	#1 last week
Jacinta Monroe	Florida State	#3 last week
Erica Beverly	Hartford	#5 last week
Siarre Evans	East Tennessee State	NR last week

The top players swap spots. After watching Smith play this week I considered moving her to Center, but decided to keep watching her here as a likely Power Forward consideration in the WNBA. Sweat continues her inconsistent play and drops from the list this week.

MIA: Ashley Sweat(Kansas State)

C

Player	School	Movement
Tina Charles	Connecticut	#1 last week
Jayne Appel	Stanford	#3 last week
Keke Carrier	Auburn	#4 last week
Alyssa DeHaan	Michigan State	NR last week
Angel Robinson	Georgia	NR last week

I took Amber Harris off the list as an astute reader pointed out she is a red shirt Junior this season. Jenna Smith qualified as #2 on this list as well, while Jacinta Monroe would have been #4.

MIA: Harris' exit leaves me with only 5 senior centers to track. I may have to consider moving either Monroe or Smith over to this position.

NCAA Seniors Week 3

2009-12-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

I mucked with my formulas this week to better differentiate the values for posts vs. perimeter players.

Houts and Lilly return, and I move Pilypaitis over from shooting guard to take over my top spot at the point. The Vermont backcourt is confusing to me, and I have not seen them play. Pilypaitis is taller than Kotsopoulos, but she appears to be the primary playmaker.

PG

Courtnay Pilypaitis Vermont (NR last week)

Ashley Houts Georgia (NR last week)

Kelsey Luna Indiana State (#1 last week)

Jordann Plummer Drake (#4 last week)

Taylor Lilly Oregon (NR last week)

MIA: Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State), Jareica Hughes (UTEP), Mickel Picco (Boston College)

Moving Pilypaitis to point lets Green take the top spot, and the newly tracked Kotsopoulos fills in the # 2.

Kalana Green Connecticut (#2 last week)

May Kotsopoulos Vermont (NR last week)

Ashley Barlow Notre Dame (#5 last week)

Brittainey Raven Texas (#4 last week)

Brittany Ray Rutgers (NR last week)

MIA: Lele Hardy (Clemson)

I am tracking Green at shooting guard, but she would be #2 on the SF list as well. Wright falls back and Simpson continues to climb.

Alysha Clark Middle Tennesee (#1 last week)

Lacey Simpson Illinois (#5 last week)

Danielle McCray Kansas (#3 last week)

Shanara Hollinquest Chattanooga (#4 last week)

Monica Wright Virginia (#2 last week)

MIA: They all stick.

I move Jacinta Monroe to PF from C after watching her play this week. Florida State plays her mostly at PF and she ranks higher in that list this week.

Jenna Smith Illinois (#2 last week)

Kelsey Griffin Nebraska (#3 last week)

Jacinta Monroe Florida State (NR last week)

Ashley Sweat Kansas State (NR last week)

Erica Beverly Hartford (#2 last week)

MIA: Ashley Ellis-Milan (Minnesota), Gabriela Marginea (Drexel)

I moved Monroe to PF, but she would have been 4th on the C list had I left her. Her move saves DeHaan after a bad week.

Tina Charles Connecticut (#1 last week)

Amber Harris Xavier (#2 last week)

Jayne Appel Stanford (#3 last week)

Keke Carrier Auburn (NR last week)

Alyssa DeHaan Michigan State (#5 last week)

MIA: They all stick.

Working the Numbers

2009-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a chance to catch any games yesterday, though my DVR captured three of them for me.

Instead, I had the privilege of attending a coaching workshop through the Ballard Boys & Girls Club run by the Seattle Storm and led by head coach Brian Agler.

It was a real pleasure to experience first hand what I heard throughout last season with regards to Coach Agler's skills as a teacher. As likely the least experienced attendee, I learned quite a bit, though most of it won't help my Kindergarten/1st Graders. I did decide to keep coaching and will be picking up either a third grade boys or girls team next week.

I am crunching numbers for last week and should have a post up on Tuesday with the current state of my senior watch.

The Storm have their practice facility for the next five years having inked a deal with SPU.

Weekend Watch

2009-12-06T06:57:00.000-08:00

I managed to fit three college games in yesterday, two were recordings of games from earlier this week.

North Carolina @ Michigan State

This game was a nice upset by Michigan State of the #4 ranked team in the nation. North Carolina made it interesting with a big second half comeback, but did not have enough steam left to secure the road win. I was watching this game to observe Michigan State senior center Allyssa DeHaan. I was disappointed at first as she picked up two quick fouls and sat out the entire first half. In the second half she played quite well, displaying some skills at both ends of the floor to go along with her obvious attributes of size (6'9") and length.

Florida State @ Indiana

I had a chance to watch Florida State take out Indiana in the Big 10/ACC Classic. I wanted to catch senior Forward/Center Jacinta Monroe and did get to see quite a bit of her. The Seminoles play her mostly at Power Forward, so I will add her to this week's list at that position as well as at Center. Monroe played very well in this game, scoring, rebounding and blocking shots. Like DeHaan, though, I think she will need a stronger base to play the post in the pros. Her 6'8" height is great, she has nice long arms, and she does seem to have more of a wiry strength than I saw in DeHaan.

Louisiana Tech @ Baylor

Yes, I am watching as much Baylor as I can this year even without a senior prospect on my list. I can't pass up a chance to watch Griner and see how see matures over the next four years. The last high school phenom I watched, Candace Parker, was much more polished when she arrived at Tennessee (of course she redshirted her freshman year). Griner brings a raw quality with her skills and physical abilities that is more exciting. You watch this young woman play and wonder what things will be like next year. In this particular game, Baylor faced almost all man to man coverage in the first half. Louisiana Tech's coach, WNBA great Teresa Weatherspoon refused to use the zone defense until the game was mostly out of reach. Griner and a sharp looking set of players starting and on the bench made them pay. The 10 point final margin is deceptive, as Baylor led by 15-20 points most of the game and only allowed themselves to relax in the final two minutes. Griner ended the game with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks. I really like senior Morghan Medlock, but at 6'1" I don't think her skills will translate to the pros. On Louisiana Tech's side, I am tracking senior Power Forward Shanvia Dowdell. She was last on my PF rankings last week but in my top 40 overall players. She was clearly Tech's best player, and played remarkably well against superior competition, but at 6'2, I don't know that her skills will translate as a pro.

NCAA Seniors Week 2

2009-12-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Lots of movement in the guard realm this week, but the bigs are staying tight. Tina Charles is still in front of the whole pack at this point, not that we expected anything less.

PG

Kelsey Luna Indiana State (#3 last week)

Andrea Riley Oklahoma State (#1 last week)

Jareica Hughes UTEP (NR last week)

Jordann Plummer Drake (NR last week)

Mickel Picco Boston College (NR last week)

MIA: Tasha Harris (Boise State), Ashley Houts (Georgia) and Taylor Lilly (Oregon)

Courtnay Pilypaitis Vermont (NR last week)

Kalana Green Connecticut (#3 last week)

Lele Hardy Clemson (NR last week)

Brittainey Raven Texas (NR last week)

Ashley Barlow Notre Dame (NR last week)

MIA: Alison Hightower (LSU), Tyra Grant (Penn State), Deirdre Naughton (DePaul), Alexis Rack (Mississippi State)

Alysha Clark Middle Tennesee (#2 last week)

Monica Wright Virginia (#4 last week)

Danielle McCray Kansas (#1 last week)

Shanara Hollinquest Chattanooga (#5 last week)

Lacey Simpson Illinois (NR last week)

MIA: Sade Morris (Kansas)

Kelsey Griffin Nebraska (#3 last week)

Jenna Smith Illinois (NR last week)

Erica Beverly Hartford (#2 last week)

Ashley Ellis-Milan Minnesota (NR last week)

Gabriela Marginea Drexel (#4 last week)

MIA: Ashley Sweat (Kansas State), Pauline Love (Southern Miss)

Tina Charles Connecticut (#1 last week)

Amber Harris Xavier (#2 last week)

Jacinta Monroe Florida State (#5 last week)

Jayne Appel Stanford (#3 last week)

Alyssa DeHaan Michigan State (NR last week)

MIA: KeKe Carrier (Auburn)

Lest We Forget...

2009-12-02T08:11:00.001-08:00

Remember how lucky we are...

Sonicsgate

I am more than halfway through the numbers for last week's NCAA seniors...I should finish them up today.

NCAA Senior Rankings

2009-11-23T17:07:00.000-08:00

Through the first week of play here are my top performing senior WNBA prospects...this list will change GREATLY as more games are played and RPI starts to have actual meaning.

Andrea Riley Oklahoma State

Tasha Harris Boise State

Kelsey Luna Indiana State

Ashley Houts Georgia

Taylor Lilly Oregon

Alison Hightower LSU

Tyra Grant Penn State

Kalana Greene Connecticut

Deirdre Naughton DePaul

Alexis Rack Mississippi State

Danielle McCray Kansas

Alysha Clark Middle Tennessee

Sade Morris Kansas

Monica Wright Virginia

Shanara Hollinquest Chattanooga

Ashley Sweat Kansas State

Erica Beverly Hartford

Kelsey Griffin Nebraska

Gabriela Marginea Drexel

Pauline Love Southern Miss

Tina Charles Connecticut

Amber Harris Xavier

Jayne Appel Stanford

KeKe Carrier Auburn

Jacinta Monroe Florida State

Jackson May Stay Home, Baylor Rolls

2009-11-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

GIRL NEXT DOOR

As the wife of the recently murdered Spartak owner looks over her finances and how she will structure her team, the highly priced Lauren Jackson may not return to Russia and Sue Bird's status is also in question. The Australian press seems certain that Jackson will remain in Australia, where she has been recovering from surgery since the Storm were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs this autumn.

Canberra has a lucrative contract offer that has been made public, but it is almost certain that every team in the WNBL will be vying for her services.

BAYLOR IN ACTION

I caught my second Baylor game yesterday in addition to watching San Diego State run all over Arizona in the second half.

Baylor looked very well balanced against Cal, and freshman #1 recruit Brittany Griner seemed to have settled down after her opening game jitters in Tennessee. There was solid play from their junior leader Melissa Jones who had a double double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. The rookies were great as well, with guard Shanay Washington adding 18 points and 4 assists to go with Griner's 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. Baylor won the game 69-49.

Griner looked to notch her first collegiate dunk (other than her dunk in the exhibition season) near the end of the game on a nice wrap-around pass from Jones, but was fouled hard at the rim and missed the jam. A second Cal player then wrapped up Griner who attempted to rebound the ball despite the whistle. Griner, showing some grit as a freshman essentially threw the Cal player off with one arm. Cal had stated before the game that they did not intend to allow a dunk on their court. Baylor coach, Kim Mulkey pulled Griner from the game after her free throws to protect her freshman from injury or her own retaliations.

As nice as Baylor looked in this game, they may be even better next year having signed a letter of intent with the top ranked high school point guard in the nation, Odyssey Sims out of Irving, Texas. Championship caliber teams are often built on combing a dominant post with a solid point guard. With the complimentary players that Baylor already has in place they could look to be a serious contender for the next few years.

Can Team Sports Have Negative Impact on Teens?

2009-11-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

The answer according to a recent study is both yes and no. It also appears that most of the negative impacts are relegated to boys rather than girls.

For males, taking part in team sports was associated with fighting and binge drinking, but also linked with lower levels of smoking and depression. For females, taking part in sports was associated with lower levels of fighting, depression, smoking, drug use and unhealthy weight-loss habits.

The question of particular interest is whether the "association" is a direct tie or more a set of behaviors that happen to occur in parallel.

The strength of peer support in a team sport environment could certainly increase the amount of peer pressure to participate in risky behaviors like drinking or fighting. I find it particularly interesting that the negative impacts don't cross genders which leads me to think that the social behaviors of boy's and girls within gender specific social structures like a sports team may be a key piece of the puzzle.

Males and females bond and interact in different patterns and with different priorities. These differences may drive riskier behaviors in males while promoting positive behaviors in females. It would be interesting to see someone examine the data from this study with an anthropological approach to better understand where the behaviors are initiating within the teams and what impact gender has on the resulting behavior.

Monarchs Fold

2009-11-20T12:10:00.001-08:00

The Maloofs have shut down the Sacramento Monarchs as of today to focus on fixing their ailing NBA franchise, the Sacramento Kings.

The WNBA quickly responded with the news that they are actively pursuing ownership to relocate the Monarchs a short drive south to the San Francisco bay area.

Senseless Tragedy, Help if You Can...

2009-11-19T18:29:00.001-08:00

As a parent, and now a coach, I beg you to help two helpless victims who face so much adversity from an overwhelmed and under-supported foster care system. Thank you to former Connecticut Husky and current Minnesota Lynx star, Charde Houston for bringing this tragedy to the national stage.

http://www.thefemalesportsnetwork.com/charde/charde.html

LJ is in Demand

2009-11-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

The current word on the street is that the wife of the assassinated owner of the Spartak Moscow basketball team will take over ownership and continue employing Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles and other WNBA stars this WNBA off-season.

Despite that assurance, the Canberra Capitals (coached by Opals Head Coach and Jackson friend, Carrie Graf) of Australia's WNBL are aggressively pursuing LJ with a $250,000AUD or ~$US230,000 contract offer to finish out the WNBL season. That is pretty heady money for the WNBL which averages near the same salaries as the WNBA if my research is accurate.

According to the article Jackson fully intends to honor the Russian contract if it remains solvent, and she has shown that loyalty is a core part of her personal/professional character. I know she went to Russia after only one year with Korea on a two year contract, but I believe that Korea broke that deal in order to build their local talent in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.

On a side note, my K-1 boys faced their first girls in competition this week, the opposing Timberwolves fielding two young ladies on their roster. My boys won bonus points from me for not even commenting on the fact that there were girls playing, and I was certainly not going to point it out to them.

When my older son played (5 years ago) the boys all giggled about playing against girls. My boys didn't even notice. That may be a side effect of the growth of the Storm in our community as most of these kids have been to a Storm game or even met Storm players at their schools or after school clubs. We play as part of the Ballard Boys & Girls club which has had the Storm out a number of times and boasts Storm logos (painted on the wall of one room) and gear all over the facility. It may be a small sample size, but I will extract my own observations in any case.

Overseas updates are in vogue...

Bill Simmons LOVES the WNBA

2009-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we all know that is far from the truth, but now we have photos of him carousing with a WNBA mascot and holding what could be his first WNBA jersey.

http://tracker.stormbasketball.com/?p=1067

We will need to remember these pictures next time he goes on a WNBA bashing spree.

In his recent "sports-hate" column, he only hates WNBA commercials, not the league itself so maybe he is coming around.

Time

2009-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since I have posted, and to be truthful I have barely thought about the WNBA or women's basketball in that time frame. With Phoenix wrapping up a second championship, my focus drifted elsewhere.

In August I was fortunate enough to return to my former job, which, while more rewarding on a personal level, is also more demanding.

I have not quite made it halfway through the Storm's 2009 season from a numbers perspective, and the NCAA season is already upon us. I am prepping my senior rankings and will have my first data next week after enough teams have opened their seasons.

I am coaching basketball for the first time, though at this level it is more about herding cats as I try to teach 10 K-1 boys how to enjoy the game. I am actually really enjoying it myself, though I feel like I could teach them more if I had more time. We had two one hour practices a week for a few weeks and now we play games twice weekly with 15 minutes of practice before the game.

Even at this early age, the talent beast rears its head as it is pretty clear which kids simply have a knack for the game. Experience matters, too, even for these kids. The boys who have spent time with a basketball prior to joining the team are simply more comfortable out there. For some, it is hard to watch how their brains get something before their bodies are able to help them execute.

It was disappointing that we didn't have a single girl sign up, but perhaps they don't get involved until they are a little older.

On a side note, I will not be covering the Storm for SportsPageMagazine.com next season. It was a nice experience, but convinced me that I am simply not a journalist. Additionally, I really missed sitting in the stands as a fan and sharing my love of the game with my sons, even if they are currently rebelling against being forced to watch basketball. Next season I will be back in my seats cheering on the team once more.

Be sure to catch Kevin Pelton's season recap...

A Sense of Urgency

2009-09-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

As we approach Game 2 of another playoff series with the Storm down 0-1, we will hear people talk about the same things:

Lauren Jackson's injury
Sue Bird's performance
A lack of perimeter depth

All of these three are truly important, and we can add in the need for BOTH Bird and Cash to step up in the abscence of Jackson.

Having watched all four game 1's so far this post season, though, I will step out and say that I think the key for the Storm in the next game and beyond will be one simple directive.

Play with a sense of urgency.

We saw this in Detroit as the Shock overcame a significant deficit to hold serve on their home court.

We saw this in San Antonio as the Silver Stars pushed on every weakness they could expose on the Phoenix defense and stars found their games in the waning moments of what we knew would be a tight game.

We saw this in Washington as the Fever refused to let the lower seed win that first game despite their inspired play early on.

We did NOT see this from Seattle or LA in their game 1. Seattle allowed themselves to be punished early and despite a late push could not recover. LA was in control of the game and then relaxed enough to allow Seattle to challenge them.

With their backs against the wall, the Storm will need to play with that sense of urgency. I don't mean that they should change their style of play or take badly rushed shots. I mean they need to put every ounce of effort on what they do best. Every player on the floor, all eight of the available players, will need to play like every possession matters, because it will.

LA has enough bravado to avoid playing their best game. They don't play Seattle with a sense of urgency. They are sure enough of themselves that they will expose themselves to a focused attack and true hustle.

Players like Little, Wright and Walker play like this every game, but the rest of the lineup needs to take that cue and play with the same grit, determination and hustle. Talent will not win this series, I doubt it will win a game for Seattle with Jackson on the bench. In my opinion, LA has Seattle beat EASILY on the talent meter at the moment.

Hustle, passion and a sense of urgency are the things that will win this series for Seattle, the question is whether they have the desire to express them.

Lineup Info

2009-09-17T10:18:00.001-07:00

I am only a third of the way through the season data, but here is a quick look at the first 11 games of the season....

Top Performing Lineups

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson +68 (146 minutes) +18 per 40 minutes

Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Burse +16 (28 minutes) +23 per 40 minutes

Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Jackson +10 (18 minutes) +22 per 40 minutes

Top Player Pairs

Bird-Jackson +103 (318 minutes) +13 per 40 minutes

Bird-Wright +97 (286 minutes) +14 per 40 minutes

Bird-Little +74 (253 minutes) +12 per 40 minutes

Luck of the Draw

2009-08-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes fate just smiles on you.

My wife is out of town, and I was only able to get a babysitter for 2 of the next 4 home games while she is gone. It just so happens that the games I get to attend as a fan (since I have no sitter, I get to bring the kids to the game) are the returns of Tully Bevilaqua and Iziane Castro Marques.

It will be nice to get to be a part of the crowd on those two evenings, as I was able to do for the All-Decade Team game as well.

Indiana will be a true test for this Storm team and their home court prowess.

Proud of Storm All-Stars

2009-07-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Seattle has a lot to be proud of with regards to the WNBA All-Star game this season. Fans voted three of the Storm's players to start in the All-Star game and all three performed very well. Surprise starter, Swin Cash showed any doubters that she deserved her spot in the game and she gave those fans quite a show. Cash set a WNBA All-Star scoring record with 22 points, eclipsing the 21 point record set only minutes earlier by first time All Star, Nicole Powell from the Sacramento Monarchs. Cash added six rebounds and four assists to earn All-Star MVP as her Western squad reclaimed the All-Star crown in a 130-118 scoring battle.

Lauren Jackson was a perfect 3-3 from long range in the first half but sat out the second half to rest her injured achilles tendon. When questioned about her remarkable performance despite injury, the ever humble Jackson claimed innocence. She said she just ran up to the line and shot without playing any offense or defense in the game.

Sue Bird played a solid game herself, with the only double-double of the afternoon, 16 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

Sylvia Fowles took two uncontested attempts to dunk the ball in the final seconds to the delight of the fans.

This was one of the better ASG's in the recent past, mostly due to the back and forth scoring. Neither team controlled the game until the fourth quarter when the West added some defense to fulfill LA Sparks forward, Tina Thompson's demand that they win this game.

Bird was unable to recover from the bad luck of shooting last in the first round and first in the second, as she squeezed by the NY Liberty's Shameka Christon by hitting her last money ball of the first round. Becky Hammon's 16 points won the second round, beating the 12 points tying Bird and Detroit's Katie Smith. Hammon and Bird showed that, while Smith may hold the current record, these two young players are going to give her a run for the money in their careers.

Cash's MVP performance in the game itself made up for her missed free throw that set her Western team behind in the Skills Challenge which was won by the other Western team made up of Minnesota's Charde Houston, Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter and San Antonio's Sophia Young.

Sportswriting

2009-07-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

I know that for some this is the dream job. You cover a sport that you love, and people read your thoughts and ideas.

I will be the first to admit, that it is harder than it seems.

I am not a great writer, though I have some skill with language. However, trying to fit your thoughts into 500-800 words after a game with cohesion and flair...that takes true talent.

I am certainly learning the craft with each piece I write, but I am also learning that I miss the role of the fan. My kids were right. I do enjoy being a fan. This role as a media representative prevents me from fulfilling that role.

I have a new respect for the pros. It is not just asking the right question at the right time. I have seen every reporter in the room get the disdainful look from a player or a coach for asking a question they feel is wasted. We all have stories to write and angles we want to pursue. Our questions are as biased and colored as the answers we get.

It is the ability to find the theme or the thread of interest that drives an article that is so very difficult.

Anyone can talk about sports.

I suspect a large, but somewhat smaller subset can write about sports. Blogging is a free form that allows us to journal our thoughts in a shared forum. Some use it exactly that way, while others strike a more formal path.

I find that I, through my commitment to covering the games, find less time to do the things that I enjoy doing about the games. The last game I ran the numbers for was the Sky game last month. By the time I finish my commitment, I find I lack the passion or the energy, or perhaps simply the time to do what I have always done.

Please forgive my delays in game analyses as I fulfill my commitments. I believe so strongly in the need to cover this league at the local and national level, that I have sacrificed some things that I WANT in order to ensure that this team is covered. I am not blogging all that much, I am not Tweeting, and my son is seeing less basketball than ever. I feel good that the tickets are paid for, but sad that the seats are empty.

I will get back to my data. It just may take a little more time than it used to. In the mean time...if the economy is slapping you around, but you want to see a game. Let me know. I have four seats begging for fans.

Game 3: Seattle @ Chicago

2009-06-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Seattle Storm

Top Shooting

Floor%: Lauren Jackson (63%), Swin Cash (60%), Tanisha Wright (50%)
eFG%: Swin Cash (71%), Lauren Jackson (67%), Sue Bird (60%), Janell Burse (50%)
TS%: Swin Cash (100%), Sue Bird (85%), Lauren Jackson (70%), Camille Little (50%)

Top Ratings

Offensive Rating: Lauren Jackson (140.98), Swin Cash (123.40), Tanisha Wright (101.97)
Individual Rating: Lauren Jackson (124.87), Swin Cash (119.40)

Plus Minus

Sue Bird +9
Lauren Jackson +6
Ashley Robinson +3
Ashley Walker +1
Camille Little 0
Shannon Johnson -3
Katie Gearlds -8
Janell Burse -9
Tanisha Wright -11

Top Performing Lineups

Bird-Gearlds-Cash-Little-Jackson +8
Bird-Wright-Cash-Jackson-Burse +4

Chicago Sky

Top Shooting

Floor%: Katie Douglas (63%), Khadijah Wittington (60%), Tammy Sutton-Brown (56%), Ebony Hoffman (54%)
eFG%: Khadijah Wittington (67%), Katie Douglas (63%), Tammy Sutton-Brown (50%)
TS%: Katie Douglas (80%), Khadijah Wittington (67%), Ebony Hoffman (60%)

Top Ratings

Offensive Rating: Katie Douglas (150.28), Khadijah Wittington (119.73), Ebony Hoffman (18.36), Tammy Sutton-Brown (117.03)
Individual Rating: Katie Douglas (122.74), Khadijah Wittington (120.20)

Plus Minus
Tammy Sutton-Brown +17
Ebony Hoffman +11
Tully Bevilaqua +7
Yolanda Griffith +3
Katie Douglas +2
Tameka Dixon -2
Briann January -3
Khadijah Wittington -3
Christina Wirth +5

Top Performing Lineups

Bevilaqua-Douglas-Catchings-Sutton^Brown-Hoffman +13
January-Dixon-Douglas-Sutton^Brown-Hoffman +5
White-Douglas-Catchings-Sutton^Brown-Hoffman +4

Game 2 Seattle vs. Sacramento

2009-06-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Storm

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Katie Gearlds	64%	83%	83%	5
Janell Burse	61%	75%	82%	8
Lauren Jackson	56%	66%	74%	25
Camille Little	55%	50%	51%	11
Sue Bird	53%	63%	58%	15

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Katie Gearlds	159.77	154.98
Lauren Jackson	126.71	121.09
Janell Burse	119.76	117.88
Sue Bird	114.76	112.80
Camille Little	111.83	95.07

PLUS/MINUS

Sue Bird: +21
Lauren Jackson: +19
Swin Cash: +12
Tanisha Wright: +10
Camille Little: +9
Ashley Robinson: 0
Janell Burse: -2
Katie Gearlds: -5
Shannon Johnson: -6
Ashley Walker: -8

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Bird-Wright-Cash-Little-Jackson: +10
Bird-Johnson-Wright-Little-Jackson: +5

Monarchs

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Nicole Powell	60%	67%	74%	14
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba	54%	50%	82%	8
Chelsea Newton	52%	63%	63%	5
Kara Lawson	50%	68%	67%	17

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Nicole Powell	143.66	128.59
Chelsea Newton	123.95	113.02
Kara Lawson	123.17	116.52
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba	121.76	107.60

PLUS/MINUS (My numbers for this game do not align with the WNBA)
Kara Lawson: +8
Courtney Paris: +8
Nicole Powell: +4
Chelsea Newton: +3
Crystal Kelly: -2
Laura Harper: -3
DeMya Walker: -5
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba: -10
Rebecca Brunson: -15
Scholanda Robinson: -16
Ticha Penicheiro: -22

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Lawson-Newton-Powell-Walker-Kelly: +7
Lawson-Maiga^Ba-Powell-Kelly-Paris: +4

Game 1 Seattle @ Sacramento

2009-06-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Storm

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Lauren Jackson	82%	75%	96%	23
Katie Gearlds	51%	64%	64%	9
Tanisha Wright	47%	63%	58%	21
Ashley Robinson	41%	100%	100%	2

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Ashley Walker	233.33	200.00
Lauren Jackson	189.09	151.95
Katie Gearlds	147.13	112.41
Shannon Johnson	113.67	76.86
Sue Bird	111.61	66.84

PLUS/MINUS

Lauren Jackson: +30
Sue Bird: +23
Tanisha Wright: +17
Katie Gearlds: +14
Janell Burse: +2
Shannon Johnson: +1
Camille Little: +1
Ashley Walker: -6
Ashley Robinson: -14
Swin Cash: -18

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Jackson-Burse: +9
Bird-Johnson-Wright-Little-Jackson: +8
Bird-Johnson-Wright-Gearlds-Jackson: +7

MONARCHS

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Laura Harper	70%	57%	74%	11
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba	68%	50%	58%	8
Rebecca Brunson	60%	50%	58%	8
Ticha Penicheiro	51%	33%	58%	11

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Laura Harper	147.95	127.12
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba	128.94	98.28
Rebecca Brunson	127.02	99.05
Ticha Penicheiro	105.63	80.36

PLUS/MINUS

Chelsea Newton: +13
Crystal Kelly: +1
DeMya Walker: 0
Courtney Paris: -1
Rebeccas Brunson: -1
Kara Lawson: -3
Hamchetou Maiga-Ba: -9
Ticha Penicheiro: -9
Nicole Powell: -9
Laura Harper: -10
Scholanda Robinson: -21

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Lawson-Newton-Powell-Brunson-Harper: +8
Penicheiro-Newton-Maiga^Ba-Walker-Kelly: +3

Atkinson and Terry Cut

2009-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

With this next round of cuts...only rookie Parham and 2nd year player Franklin remain in camp and on the bubble. Given the significant playing time and subsequent play from Gearlds and Robinson, it looks like the roster is decided. I am not sure of the reasoning for keeping Parham and Franklin at this point...

Preseason Game # 2 Stats

2009-05-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Storm

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Ashley Robinson	37%	50%	50%	4
Ashely Walker	52%	36%	45%	12
Tanisha Wright	45%	40%	48%	16
Katie Gearlds	29%	40%	40%	8

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Ashley Walker	108.81	84.89
Tanisha Wright	97.92	84.91

PLUS/MINUS

Ashley Robinson: +5
Tanisha Wright: +2
Ashley Walker: +2
Sue Bird: -2
Katie Gearlds: -2
Camille Little: -5
Shannon Johnson: -6
Janell Burse: -9

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Robinson: +4
Bird-Wright-Gearlds-Walker-Little: +4
Johnson-Wright-Gearlds-Walker-Robinson: +3
Johnson-Wright-Gearlds-Little-Burse: +2

Mercury

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
Diana Taurasi	52%	60%	60%	13
Temeka Johnson	43%	65%	65%	13
Brooke Smith	31%	100%	69%	2
Laurie Koehn	38%	60%	60%	6

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Laurie Koehn	115.13	108.72
Temeka Johnson	111.81	111.50
Allison Bales	108.83	106.38
Diana Taurasi	107.28	102.46

PLUS/MINUS

Allison Bales: +17
Laurie Koehn: +13
Brooke Smith: +10
Le'Coe Willingham: -1
Cappie Pondexter: -3
Dewanna Bonner: -8
Temeka Johnson: -9
Diana Taurasi: -10
Tangela Smith: -12

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Oga-Brooks-Koehn-BSmith-Bales: +8
Johnson-Pondexter-Mazzante-Willingham-TSmith: +6
Johnson-Taurasi-Pondexter-Bonner-TSmith: +5
Brooks-Quigley-Koehn-BSmith-Bales: +4

Guest in the Key

2009-05-25T11:05:00.001-07:00

Read Q's great post on his visit to Key Arena for last week's preseason game.

http://rethinkbball.blogspot.com/2009/05/wnbas-west-coast-pre-season-opener.html

Preseason Game # 1 Stats

2009-05-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Storm

TOP SHOOTING

Player	Floor %	eFG%	TS%	Points
La'Tangela Atkinson	61%	67%	64%	5
Ashely Walker	63%	50%	54%	10
Shannon Johnson	52%	67%	64%	5
Janell Burse	54%	50%	56%	10
Kimberly Beck	51%	75%	75%	3

TOP RATINGS

Player	Offensive	Individual
Kimberly Beck	153.73	139.69
Ashely Walker	124.31	99.81
La'Tangela Atkinson	117.99	114.24
Janell Burse	112.47	99.19
A'Quonesia Franklin	100.45	93.49

PLUS/MINUS

Katie Gearlds: +11
Shannon Johnson: +7
Kasha Terry: +7
La'Tangela Atkinson: +7
Aja Parham: +3
Kimberly Beck: +3
A'Quonesia Franklin: +2
Camille Little: +2
Ashley Robinson: +1
Janell Burse: 0
Mara Freshour: 0

MOST EFFECTIVE LINEUPS

Johnson-Atkinson-Gearlds-Little-Burse: +4
Johnson-Atkinson-Gearlds-Little-Terry: +4
Franklin-Johnson-Gearlds-Walker-Burse: +3
Franklin-Gearlds-Little-Walker-Burse: +3

Monarchs vs. Storm 5/21

2009-05-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

I do intend to run the numbers for this game, but I have a badly sprained ankle that makes sitting to type rather uncomfortable. Hopefully it will start to feel better soon.

I completed my first game from press row, and it was definitely a new experience. I still get to enjoy great professional basketball but my focus and my enjoyment of the game is more analytical and less personal. I am not sure yet how I feel about that change.

It was a new skill to perform post game interviews with the coach and players, and I definitely had some rookie jitters, but am looking forward to improving over the course of the season. I got the quotes I was looking for with regard to my post game article, but also took some time to talk with the three rookies about their first WNBA game. Parham and Freshour particularly seemed surprised to have someone interested in speaking to them. They both handled themselves well, however, and gave me some good quotes for a rookie story I am considering.

It great to see a nice size crowd for an exhibition game, looking forward to a much more packed house on opening night.

My first Media Day

2009-05-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

I survived.

My rookie nerves had me ready to fall flat on my face, ask a stupid question, miss the key interview or just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thankfully, the Storm PR staff are pros and they made sure everything moved along smoothly. Other members of the press were very helpful, sharing logistical advice and being very friendly in general. I was not the only rookie, and I appreciated that fact.

I enjoyed watching the seasoned pros at work in the process, and took my time, watching and learning through the early interviews, waiting for my spot. As the morning wore on, I felt a little more prepared and asked a few more questions. We had just a handful of us around for many of the players with other interviews with Sue Bird and Brian Agler being more crowded.

I listened to my interview recordings on my run this morning...searching for a theme for my first piece. There is so much material, I understand now why I was told Media Day could provide me a foundation for the entire season.

I am looking forward to covering my first game this Thursday.

Storm Media Day

2009-05-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, I have not been posting much of late.

It has been the combination of a number of things:

* Slow News
* Busy Schedule

but the kicker has been over my decision to change my role covering the Storm this season.

I have agreed to cover the Storm in an official capacity for Sports Page Magazine. As a result, I will have access to more information, however, my content will be at SPM's site.

I will continue to provide statistical analysis here on the team, but most of my writing will be done in official capacity.

I have to make a few sacrifices to take on this role, and perhaps the hardest will be surrendering my fan experience. My kids were the ones who were most concerned about that aspect, and perhaps they are showing some key insight. We shall have to see.

I will be attending Storm Media Day tomorrow, and I will likely share my personal experience here on the blog, though the interview content will be on SPM's site.

I am excited about the new challenge and the opportunity that SPM has offered me to increase the depth of my coverage and convert from a casual blogger into a more official, journalistic role. I hope those that follow me here will continue to follow me over at SPM.

Cheers,
Patrick

Storm Entry Video

2009-05-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it, you should.

Also you should read Kevin Pelton's exclusive interview and listen to the recordings. LJ was truly moved, and strangely surprised by the outpouring of genuine support from Seattle fans. She points out, specifically, how the notes wishing her only happiness without regard for her final decison swung the pendulum firmly into the Storm's camp. Her comment that "I really had no idea how passionate people were about the Storm and me coming back." were almost amusing in their true humility. Her choice of the word "family" is a key one, in fact I believe I was one of the ones who used that term in my thank you to her. She is a part of our family and we are just oh so glad she has decided to come home!

Welcome home, Lauren.

The Great Barrier Reef is Intact!

2009-05-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

LJ signed with the Storm.

'nuff said.

Swin makes some funnies...

2009-04-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

On Twitter today...Swin Cash teased that she knew where LJ had signed, but of course she ran out of room on the 140 character limit...twice.

She said she was responding the "Swin Flu" jokes on the web that she was told of by a friend, leading to the loss of Swoopes, Griffith and LJ.

Glad she has a sense of humor.

The President on Women's Sports

2009-04-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

From an AP article by Andrew Miga, the Seattle Times quotes President Obama...

Obama said that as the father of two young daughters, he especially appreciates the success of female athletes like the Connecticut team.

"My girls look at the TV when I'm watching 'SportsCenter' and they see women staring back," Obama said of the ESPN program, a personal favorite. "That shows them that they can be champions, too."

According to the article, the president played a game of P-I-G with the UCONN Huskies after recognizing them as 2009 NCAA champions.

Ashley Walker Senior Profile

2009-04-12T07:09:00.001-07:00

Here are the senior year numbers for Ashley Walker, the Storm's 1st round draft pick, the person Coach Agler called,

Probably one of the better offensive players in the draft.

Ashley was my #5 player overall based on senior performance, behind Courtney Paris, Dewanna Bonner, Angel McCoughtry and Marissa Coleman. She was my number two post performer behind Courtney Paris and just ahead of Ashley Paris. She was a very effective rebounder, ranking #7 overall on Rebounds per 40 minutes. She was not spectacular in any other area, but rose to the top because she was consistently solid in 9 of my 11 categories, ranking in the top 25 of all of them other than strict offensive rating.

Shooting/Scoring

Floor %: 57% of the time Walker attempted to score on a possession she was able to put at least one point on the scoreboard.

Effective Field Goal %: 55%

True Shooting %: 60%

Rebounding

Defensive Rebounding: Walker secured 15% of all available defensive rebounds for Cal this season. (15% of Cal defensive + Opponent offensive)

Offensive Rebounding: Walker secured 10% of all available offensive rebounds for Cal this season. (10% of Cal offensive + Opponent defensive)

Rebounds per 40 Minutes: Walker was just shy of 11 rebounds per 40 minutes this season.

Efficiency

Offensive Rating: Walker scored 77.16 points per 100 possessions.

Adjusted Indvidual Rating: With adjustment for strength of schedule, Walker had an individual rating of 101.09.

Points Produced Per Game: Just under 8 points per game can be attributed to Walker (based on partial scoring for assisted baskets and offensive rebounds)

Adjusted WinScore: 6.5

Usage %: Walker utilized approximately 30% of Cal's possessions this season.

BoxScores: Walker could be credited for 8 of Cal's 25 wins this season. In other words Cal would only have been expected to have 17 wins this season had Walker not played.

Notes
Walker was actually the top performer early in the season, going head to head with Courtney Paris in terms of numbers and overall performance. Once her front court partner Devanei Hampton returned from injury mid-season, though, her numbers dropped as the talented Hampton took advantage of some of those post scoring and rebounding opportunities.

Girls in Sports

2009-04-09T11:21:00.001-07:00

I have my first chance this year to have an early impact on girls and their attitudes about sports, athleticism and even themselves. I was conned into coaching my five year old's T-ball team, which has a nice diverse group of kids. We have 15 kids aged 5-7, of which 1/3 are girls.

We had our first practice last night, and I feel pretty good hearing from one Mom that her little girl's comment in the car was "Wow, T-Ball is soooo fun!" Two of our girls were so ready to play they were the only ones to show up for practice with their own batting helmets.

My first teaching moment was the first girl to bat missed the ball entirely, to hear giggles from the crowd behind her. I just whispered into her ear not to worry because she will hit the ball soon and she will still be a faster runner than any of them. She flashed a big smile and ran her heart out after she got her first hit on the ball.

I had a blast coaching, even with all the extra work I am having to spend on the T-Ball USA site learning what skills to teach, how to teach them and trying to come up with fun, engaging games to incorporate those skills in a way that 5-7 year olds can learn without knowing they are learning. I am looking forward to fall and a sport I actually know something about!

Draft Day Steals

2009-04-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

A new article at WNBA.com covers past draft day steals. There were a few names on there that I had forgotten were late rounders...

Janell Burse (#28), Erin Buescher (#23), Jia Perkins (#35), Sheri Sam (#20) and Taj McWilliams-Franklin (#32) were all 2nd or 3rd round picks who have made nice careers for themselves.

3rd round pick McWilliams-Franklin has been an All-Star (1999-2001, 2006-2007), All-WNBA (2006-2007) and All-Defensive team member (2006).

Even in what appears to be a thin draft year, a player with the right mix of skills, desire and luck can connect with the right coaching staff, team and environment to surprise all the pundits.

As an irrepressible fan of the underdog, I am rooting for all those players in the last two rounds to take off.

Here are a few I am rooting for specifically:

Megan Frazee F Liberty
Shalee Lehning PG Kansas State (could go at the end of the 1st)
Kristi Cirone PG Illinois State
Danielle Gant F Texas A&M

I will be tweeting during the draft at Noon Pacific today!

Husky Champions

2009-04-08T13:39:00.001-07:00

Well, it wasn't our own Huskies, but the other dawgs finished the school's third perfect season behind great play from Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore. The game started very close, but by the end of the first half, Louisville was starting to show cracks. Coach Auriema shoved his crow bar into those cracks and yanked in the second making this game even less of a contest than the men's championship on Monday night.

Tomorrow all those draft questions will be answered as the draft airs in High Definition for the first time.

Who will go first? Will it be McCoughtry, Paris or the new favorite, Montgomery?

Which point guard is the first to go, Toliver or Montgomery?

Do the Storm pick a wing or the best player available?

What happens in the jumble that is Courtney Paris, Dewanna Bonner and Marissa Coleman?

What happens to my favorites, Lehning, Frazee and Cirone?

Which of the 15 invitees is left alone waiting for their name to be called?

Final Four

2009-04-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Louisville pulled off an upset off some emotional play by Angel McCoughtry. The game started in Oklahoma's favor early, but they failed to put the Cardinals away, missing a number of opportunities and allowing the underdog to stick around. After a tongue lashing from their coach, the Cardinals came out in the second half and took over. Oklahoma had a chance to win it with a three at the buzzer but the ball went in and bounced back out. They were unable to rebound and shoot fast enough to tie. Courtney Paris promised to make good on her guarantee to pay back her scholarship. It will take her a few years on a $45K or so rookie scale contract unless she gets some endorsement deals.

Connecticut put Stanford away quickly despite some great play by Jayne Appel. I didn't even finish this one as it was over before halftime.

Championship on Tuesday and the draft short behind.

Cleaning up the Mess

2009-04-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know what Blogger did, but it has taken me weeks to fix all the problems with the blog with disappearing text and shifted margins. Hopefully it will all hold steady for a while.

Final Four begins this afternoon..looking forward to the adventure. I intend to be live on Twitter during most of the two games, but I have been informed that I am kicked off the TV at 8pm Pacific for Amazing Race.

The big questions for me are whether Connecticut can hold up dominance for another game and whether the Paris sisters can do a better job controlling the paint this time around.

Butterfly Effect

2009-04-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

Write it and they will come, Kevin...

How does it feel to be a source?

How many times will Michael Cooper leave LA to pursue more money?

Twitter Experiment

2009-04-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

As a worker for an IT company, I am always open to the new technology, so I decided to experiment with Twitter during last night's two tournment games. It is certainly easier to comment moment to moment than it is to write up a detailed analysis.

I will continue to experiment during the Final Four games on Sunday and on into the draft next week.

The .com has their draft site up now...as do both the Storm and the Lynx. Of course there is also WNBA Draft Net.

Elite 8

2009-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

You know you have a good tournament game when you one team is clearly losing, but you refuse to fast forward because you know the other team could make that big comeback. Watching Louisville/Maryland yesterday I just couldn't let go of the thought that Maryland just might shoot their way back into the game. They did not ever get there though...Louisville had an answer every time Maryland hit a big shot and Maryland just wasn't interested in defending Louisville for 40 minutes of game time.

I did not hang on long for the Iowa State/Stanford game, though, that one got away and I missed seeing Appel make school history.

Seniors to watch tonight will be Renee Montgomery for Connecticut, Briann January and Sybil Dosty for Arizona State in the first game. Lauren Lacy was a player we tracked this season but is not one I expect to get drafted. The second game features Courtney and Ashley Paris as well as Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton for Purdue. Ashley was on Coach Agler's watch list, but won't likely be around at number 12. Wisdom-Hylton is a skilled but undersized post in the mold of Camille Little, and I think there will be players that are better fits available at number 12.

Fate screams out for Connecticut and Oklahoma to advance...we will see if ASU can muster a challenge or if Purdue can compete with the strength of Oklahoma's posts and speed of its guards.

I was once again struck by the emotions in college basketball, I was equally impressed/moved by the sheer joy of Angel McCoughtry (Where are you Kara Lawson? President Obama! President Obama!) and the devestation of Marissa Coleman.

Sweet 16 Part 1

2009-03-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

OK, I "knew" that Louisville would be moving on. The 1-2 combo of probable #1 pick Angel McCoughtry on the wing with likely 2nd round pick Candyce Bingham in the post was going to beat the somewhat gimpy senior trio of Player, Morrow and Allison. Baylor put up some serious fight until around the 10 minute mark of the second half when their lack of depth began to fail them.

I still put McCoughtry as somewhere between Sheryl Swoopes and Swin Cash, but she is clearly a top pick in the draft. She does so much on both ends of the court and clearly possesses the desire that creates greatness. It will be hard for her to fall out of #1.

I really like even the injured Allison and assertive Player, though Morrow doesn't cross the line for me. I don't think either make the cut in a tightened roster year, though.

Next up for me on the DVR is Maryland. Just have to wait 5 more minutes for the kids to finish up on Kingdom Hearts.

Been a While

2009-03-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot of numbers and very little writing here of late, so I thought I should catch up.

First, the Storm waived Kelly Santos with little fanfare. It is somewhat surprising to me to see a player with a non-guaranteed contract waived before camp unless it was decided she was not likely to make the roster and wanted to allow her a chance to find another opportunity.

Half of the Great Barrier Reef is signed with Suzy Batkovic returning to the Storm, now we just need her buddy to sign. Suzy showed offensive promise with the Storm and her olympic play makes me think she has grown in her time away from the W.

I saw Shavonte Zellous from Pitt play on Saturday in the NCAA tournament, and her physical gifts are remarkable, she reminds me of Betty Lennox with hops. You can catch her against Gonzaga tonight at BOA Arena at Hec-Ed Pavillion on the UW at 6pm or on ESPN2. Gonzaga, by the way looked great taking out #5 seeded Xavier, but the will be out-sized and have to contend with Zellous tonight. I don't think they can handle both those issues in one game.

Tennessee lost yesterday in the first round and failed to make the sweet 16 for the first time ever. The joy on the faces of #12 seeded Ball State team after their win, was truly invigorating, but I also saw the other side when Mandy Morales went to the bench as her team lost to Pitt on Saturday. Her anguish at a end of her college career was palpable.

There were a few upsets this weekend other than Tennessee and Xavier, #7 Notre Dame fell to #10 Minnesota, number 6 Texas fell to # 11 Mississippi State, and #7 Depaul fell to #10 San Diego State. I am looking forward to round 2.

Swin to have Back Surgery Today

2009-03-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

via Pilight at rebkell...

Swin Cash has launched a new website with video blogging and she dropped a big exclusive in her first post sharing she will be having back surgery on March 9th and hopes to be healthy and contributing to a Storm championship this season.

We will have to wait for official Storm word on the recovery time expectations.

Weekend Basketball

2009-03-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

I watched two games this weekend, Louisville vs. Pittsburgh and Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa.

The first game offered me a chance to see McCoughtry and Bingham again as well as my first look at Storm prospect Shavonte Zellous. McCoughtry was brilliant and Bingham played quite well, setting her career high on Senior Day. I like Zellous quite a bit, and she would be a nice option for the Storm if she is still on the board at number 12. Zellous has a lot of elevation to her jumper and she is a nice scorer off the dribble going to the basket. She is similar to Tanisha Wright with a leaner build and more length and athleticism. Wright is actually taller than Zellous but has a more compact build...Zellous has long arms and more "hops."

The second game was my first opportunity to observe Kristi Cirone in action. I like her game a lot. She has a sweet jumper and works very hard to keep her team involved. Earlier this season she set the all time Illinois State record for career assists and shortly into the second half of this game she set the record for career scoring. She is only 5'8" but seems taller, perhaps it is just part of the issue with college versus pro play...there are less tall players available to fill college rosters.

Also, this weekend, the injured Shalee Lehning from Kansas State was honored by having her jersey retired on Senior Day. She has set every record at the school and they celebrated her contributions to their program in a fitting style.

A side thought for me this season has been wondering what Baylor will look like next year. They will lose three key players in Morrow, Allison and Player, but they will add high school phenom Brittany Griner. Griner is 6'8", lean, athletic and can jump out of the gym. Like Sylvia Fowles, she has a physique you just don't find in the women's game and she backs it up with skill. I will be watching her growth over the next few years. It should be exciting as she plays against stiffer competition and continues to mature physically, and mentally. She is so young, it is scary to imagine how good she could become as she gets experience and really learns the game of basketball.

Leading Senior Post Players

2009-02-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

Courtney Paris: 6'4" Oklahoma center. Courtney has set a virtually unbeatable record in NCAA Women's Basketball with triple digit, consecutive double doubles. That streak was broken this year in a win over Pat Summit's Tennessee Lady Vols. Courtney is a fantastic rebounder and is virtually unstoppable under the basket. She has serious bulk to back up her height and knows how to use it without fouling. The biggest knock on Courtney is that in the pros she will simply be out of shape and too heavy. Centers will be taller, stronger, faster, more athletic and more well rounded in the pros and her strengths will not be enough unless she improves her fitness.
Ashley Paris: 6'3" Oklahoma power forward. This past summer, Ashley did what Courtney has yet to do. She lost weight, quite a bit of it. The change to her body has redefined her game and she has become the perfect post counterpart to her twin. She is faster, stronger and more athletic, plus she is a better outside shooter. She has played so well this year that she is somewhat of a golden girl with Bobbie Knight telling a national television audience (in his first role calling a women's game) that Ashley was the better of the twins based on that single Tennessee game. I still think that if you take Courtney off the team, Ashley's numbers drop considerably as the double teams move to her. Courtney's better numbers come given she is the first option for her team. They defend her more tightly, they focus on her, they TRY to box her out. Ashley gets a lot of freebies as a result.
Natasha Williams: 6'3" DePaul power forward. I haven't seen Williams play yet this season. She is a great scorer, a great shooter and rates very high for BoxScore, but her rebounding is not all that impressive. I need to review her game to have some observations to back up the numbers.
Ashley Walker: 6'1" California power forward. Ashley puts up great numbers but she is a bit undersized for a pro post and that will impact her place in the draft. She is a solid scorer, shooter and rebounder, but she has a fairly low offensive rating. That means that within her system, she does not produce as much offense as the other senior posts, she sat at the very bottom of this category. I haven't taken the time to watch Walker yet this season, though she started the season stronger than she is finishing. I am not sure how much the return of Devanei Hampton has impacted her numbers as she must share the post with a better player than with whom she started the year.
Marshae Dotson: 5'11" Florida power forward. She is playing well on a strong team, but she hasn't stood out when I have seen her play, and she is by far too small to play the post in the pros. There are pro point guards taller and stronger than Dotson. I don't see Marshae going until the second round at best.
Chante Black: 6'5" Duke center. Ah, a true post in size who actually puts up strong numbers! It seems like such a rarity in a draft full of overperforming undersized posts. Black is going to go in the first round, though she doesn't stand out enough to be selected by a team that is not looking for a post.
Star Allen: 5'11" Ohio State power forward. Need I go on about size some more? Allen has bulk, power and feistiness that have led me to compare her to Latasha Byears. She could find a place on the bench of a 13 roster team in another year, but I don't think she sticks in this 11 player roster system.
Robyn Fairbanks: 6'1" Utah Valley State center. She is an offensive power house in a "free agent" college program that is not tied to any conference. She has played well against ranked teams with solid posts in the past, but she is not likely to get enough attention to warrant a draft outside the third round at best.
Candyce Bingham: 6'1"" Louisville power forward. Candyce puts up solid numbers next to potential #1 pick Angel McCoughtry. Angel draws so much attention that Candyce is easily overlooked. Strong tournament play could turn GM eyes her way.
Noteisha Womack: 6'3" Seton Hall power forward. I am not sure that Womack's performance will be noted in a smaller school despite her decent size. There are lesser performing players with greater recognition likely to be drafted prior to Womack.

Honorable Mention: Aisha Mohammed (Virginia), Whitney Thomas (Indiana), Jessica Adair (George Washington), Lindsay Wysdom-Hylton (Purdue), Tiffany Green (Old Dominion), Marlies Gipson (Kansas State), Traci Edwards (Wisconsin Milwaukee), Christina Wirth (Vanderbilt)

Big Disappointments: Megan Skouby (Iowa), Kia Vaughn (Rutgers), Sybil Dosty (Arizona State), Rachel Allison (Baylor), Devanei Hampton (California)

Leading Senior Perimeter Players

2009-02-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

I have added a split to my senior data to look at posts and perimeters separately...which included different weightings for shooting and rebounding. That is my first step towards improving the prospect ratings. I still need to add some individual stats to the mix like steals and blocks and track this years rookies as well as run the system over the best rookies of the past few years.

Here is how the current batch of senior perimeter players looks by my new ranking system:

Dewanna Bonner: 6'4" Auburn small forward. Bonner is tall and lean...with the lean being her current biggest knock. Her height and length will make her a tough defender and tough to defend at the three in the pros. On the other side of the coin, she was simply pushed off the block by much shorter players who had greater strength and bulk. If it is tough for her to post in college it will be even harder for her to post in the pros.
Marissa Coleman: 6'1" Maryland small forward. Coleman had a rough start to the season but has really come on strong as part of a senior tandem with Kristi Toliver. I think her numbers could be even better if Toliver learned to recognize mismatches even when the game is on the line.
Kristi Toliver: 5'8" Maryland point guard. Toliver has a solid WNBA body, she is a great ball handler and has nice court vision, especially on the break. She has an amazingly quick release and a gorgeous fadeaway three she uses against bigger defenders when they switch on picks. She is not afraid to penetrate and take a hit in the lane. My biggest concern is that once she decides to take over a game, she drives with her blinders on and forgets that she has Coleman there to help. If her shot is on, they win, if her shot is off they lose. She needs to learn to lead by making the right choice rather than simply lead by keeping the ball in her own hands.
Kristi Cirone: 5'8" Illinois State point guard. I haven't seen Cirone play yet this season (heading to the DVR to look for games shortly), but she shoots and scores even more effectively than Toliver. Her Floor Percentage is much higher than her Maryland counterpart and she offers slightly better shooting percentages as well. Essentially her numbers are all around better than Toliver's but her team has had less success with a lighter schedule. How much of that is due to the presence of Coleman on Maryland is not something I am prepare to vote on until I see Illinois State play.
Danielle Gant: 5'11" Texas A&M small forward. Gant is a player that might be the Storm's pick at number 12 this Spring. She plays hard at both ends of the floor, and when they beat #2 Oklahoma this week she guarded much larger players like Courtney and Ashley Paris. In the second half she started a 17-0 A&M run with six points in less than a minute. By the end of the run, she was vomitting on the bench and had to miss the final seconds after sustaining a blow to the head in a previous game. On the court she never missed a beat, playing with fire and verve against a superior opponent. At that timeout she virtually collapsed having truly left it all out on the floor.
Angel McCoughtry: 6'1" Louisville small forward. Angel offers physical gifts that could make her the number one pick in the draft. She has great length and athleticism which she uses to be perhaps the best wing defender in draft. If I could do a better job getting defense into my scoring system, she would likely be my number one as well. She rebounds well, blocks shots and leads the NCAA in steals. She needs to improve her shooting and learn how to use that length and athleticism to get higher percentage baskets. I struggled with a WNBA comparison for her leaving her somewhere between Sheryl Swoopes and Swin Cash which is not a bad place to be. I see her becoming a star in this league within a few years.
Whitney Boddie: 5'9" Auburn shooting guard. I have to admit, I was so interested in watching Bonner play that I virtually ignored her team mate. I am hard pressed to find a particular thing at which Boddie excels, yet she does pretty well in every area I track pushing her near the top of the list. Playing with Bonner and lacking a standout attribute will hurt Boddie more in an 11 roster limit draft year than it would in past years.
Shalee Lehning: 5'9" Kansas State point guard. Lehning is one of my favorite players this season. She has been either first or second in the NCAA all season in assists despite lacking real scorers to support her. She rebounds better than any point guard I have ever seen, particularly at the offensive end. She is always in the right spot for the rebound, and if the opponent corrals it and brings it down, she will rip it right out of their hands. She can get in the lane anytime she wants against every team she has played this season. The two biggest knocks against Lehning are her utter lack of 3 point shooting and concerns about her individual defense and poor lateral speed.
Renee Montgomery: 5'7" Connecticut point guard. People love her or hate her. I think she will make a perfect complimentary player and could make a team like Phoenix or LA really shine. She has never been the star but has stepped up each year as her role has shifted under Geno's system. She knows when to get the superstar the ball and when to score it herself. She gets knocked for shot selection, but all I ever see is her coach telling her to shoot those open threes. She is small and could struggle against some of the taller, stronger guards in the pros.
Amber Guffey: 5'7" Murray State point guard. Amber reminds me of Lindsay Whalen. She has the same build and the same fearless willingness to drive right into the trees and try to score or draw the foul. She is not a prober, when she heads to the paint she is going to get to the basket by you or through you. She is a strong shooter and a solid defender. My biggest concern is that a player from a small school will likely not get enough focus without a combine.

Honorable Mentions: Mandy Morales (Montana), Rachel Porath (UW Green Bay), Amber Bland (NC A&T), Briann January (ASU), Porchia Green (Ball State), Shavonte Zellous (Pittsburgh, another Agler watch list member)

an LJ poem

2009-02-24T12:52:00.001-08:00

Inspired by the thread on RebKell and the challenge for a pro Seattle poem...though I am no poet, it was fun to play one for a day...

Spring in Golden Tail

Grey breaks,
Cold damp warms.
Auburn youth rises in tail,
Tween two, round three or four or five
The Runner rises to shine.
A new spring emerges as the oated citrus finds the spiderless web amidst the emerald towers.

Spring returns the bird brings with it the wings that lead to flight.
Runner morphs to turn to fade to fall.
Gold from auburn back in tail,
New trails born as wasteland fades..
Oasis blooms...
Season ends though flight goes on in new life found.

Whose wings bring spring once more is lost as two to one...
Golden tail to trail to three, to turn, to fade to fall again
again
again.
the end, too soon,
the season fades but golden tail stands tall
the crown is seized from the head whose tail has fallen
by ring, by hand by auburn past.

Spring flies in once more with flock in tow...
Golden tail with wings and flock to fly...
to trail to three to turn to fade to fall and fall and fall and fall...
but STOPPED.
Golden tail cannot grasp its golden dream...
a loss felt deep is followed by more...
from the depths of loss comes fire and furor and victory...
all who face the golden tail, the bird with beak askew, the flock
they fall and fall and fall again till noise and joy unfelt arises
the flock carries the bird with golden tail aloft and lifts a land aloft.

Spring roars in again...
migration rends the flock...
beak knocked askew once more...
yet still the trail the three the turn the fade the fall shall fly.
yet still the pain...
in limb in loss in heart in mind
the dream is wrenched from grasp again.

Spring limps in on battered limb...
the ticks the count the golden tail is held
counted, counted, stopped.
the pain blossoms as once the masses grew themselves...
yet worse...the fear...
clay from dusty bowls stirs fear of endings, of friends, of family.
more pain, more loss and stopped, stopped,
stopped.

Spring roars in once more...
In health...
In fire...
In fury...
To turn to fade to fall to post to block to three to WIN.
Fear is stirred but fails but...
the turn the fade the post the block the three must fall
as must the fear.
Crown and scepter seized again but still...
The End?
unknown but stopped once more.

A Perfect Spring as golden tail and bird join flock so newly born...
fear is vanquished as hope and joy and dreams emerge...
To steal to block to turn to fade the three to fall and fall and fall again.
stop.
The bird and flock must fly alone as golden tail must seek again...
Gold, gold,
gold cannot be grasped and tail not gold must face the pain...
again.
stopped.
Stopped.
stopped.

The bird awaits within its nest...
a new flock has formed to wait...
to wait...
to wait...
Emerald towers sway in gray unbroken,
cold damp unwarmed.
Will Spring return in golden tail
to trail to three to turn to fade to fall...
or only
to wait,
to wait
to wait.
We wait,
to scream to stand to leap to cry to hope to fill.
We wait.
to see to know...
we wait.