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2010 WNBA—Not Exactly Inspiring, But at Least Interesting
By Clay Kallam
Correspondent
It’s not exactly inspiring, but the 2010 WNBA West is at least interesting. Seattle’s in and Tulsa’s out, but after that, pretty much anything can happen.
Phoenix does appear to be the class of the remaining four, but the Mercury’s system creates mayhem for both teams in almost every game, so it’s never certain which one will wind up on the wrong end of the 97-93 final.
There’s also a sense that tanking into the Maya Moore sweepstakes might not be a bad plan for San Antonio, Los Angeles and Minnesota, none of whom can expect much in postseason, or in 2011. After all, it worked for the Sparks when they landed Candace Parker (who may be available to play a full season one of these years), and though Moore isn’t CP3, she looks to be the only sure thing in the spring draft.
That contingency just adds more spice to what may not be a pretty stretch run, but what should be an entertaining one.
Credit: Original Artwork Courtesy istock Photo.com©
Atlanta Dream 2010: Will They Stop the Slide?
By Bob Corwin
Correspondent
The Atlanta Dream has been one of the big WNBA turnaround stories on the court over the last two years, turning a 4-30 finish in their 2008 inaugural year to an 18-16 record and a playoff berth in 2009. The Dream shot out of the gate in 2010, rising quickly to the top of the Eastern Conference in the early going. Lately, however, they have slid back to the pack, thanks to a recent four-game road losing streak.
With greater parity in the Eastern Conference than in any year in memory, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward—as in out of the playoffs for this season. Let’s take a look at how the current Dream roster was put together—what makes them successful (or unsuccessful) on the court?
East is the Beast in the 2010 WNBA
By Clay Kallam
Correspondent
The East is the beast this year, no doubt, as only league-leading Seattle seems capable of giving even the bottom-dwelling Liberty much of a battle.
That strength means that two pretty good teams are going to miss the playoffs. It also means that playoff dreams can be made or dashed in a matter of a game or two. That makes for an exciting final month to the regular season. Here’s a look at how all six stack up as of July 23.
Shock Trade Last of the Detroit Roster
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
With the announcement of today’s trade of Alexis Hornbuckle to the Minnesota Lynx in return for Rashanda McCants, the Tulsa Shock can declare “Mission Accomplished”—if, that is, the mission was to strip the roster of all remnants of the repeat-championship Detroit Shock. Last week, Tulsa sent Kara Braxton to Phoenix in return for Nicole Ohlde and a 2011 first-round draft pick.
Hornbuckle, who had been primarily a reserve in Detroit, had worked her way into the starting rotation in Tulsa, getting the nod in two-thirds of the 15 games in which she has appeared this season. However, the 5-11 former Lady Vol guard was averaging two-and-a-half fewer minutes on the floor and just 5.8 points per game, a marginal improvement on last year’s output of 5.4 points per game, and roughly the same as her 6.0 point per game average off the bench in Detroit. She had increased her assists to 2.7 per game (from a career average of 2.4 and last year’s average of 2.1 per game), but her rebounding had dropped to 3.5 boards per game, from a career average of 2.4.
The McCants trade is pretty much like-for-like. The 6-1 Tar Heels product, in her sophomore year in the pros, is a year younger than Hornbuckle and is a forward rather than a guard. But her scoring output has been just 5.6 points per game, though in fewer minutes on the court (15.8 minutes per game to Hornbuckle’s 21.1 minutes per game). McCants is averaging 2.4 rebounds per game, and both her scoring and her rebounding are incrementally improved over her rookie season.
At least some of the housecleaning has originated on the players’ end of the equation. Katie Smith, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Deanna Nolan declined to make the move to Tulsa. Star center Cheryl Ford was injured and unable to play this season which begs the question how anxious she would otherwise have been to make the move to Tulsa. And since making her own move to the Liberty last month, Plenette Pierson has disclosed in a personal blog that it was she who requested the trade after a disagreement with Tulsa Coach Nolan Richardson “that was hard for both parties to recover from.” The moves speak to at least some locker room dissension with Richardson and his “40 Minutes of Hell” system,” a game plan that is extremely demanding on the bodies of female pros who play basketball 10 months a year or more, putting aside the question of how likely it is to succeed at the professional level in the first place.
In any event, it is difficult to see how any of the Shocks’ recent trades are well calculated to improve on their dismal 4-20 start to the 2010 season. The Shock now have themselves a roster totally devoid of star power, one on which the best known name is that of Marion Jones, a 35-year old rookie, convicted felon, and disgraced Olympian, who averages 2.7 points and 8.3 minutes per game. The Shock’s hopes appear to be directed to the 2011 WNBA draft with Tulsa well-positioned for a choice pick in the Maya Moore lottery.
Budke Signs Contract Extension at OSU
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
Oklahoma State head women¹s basketball coach Kurt Budke signed a five-year contract extension following a meeting of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder announced Friday. The new contract will keep Budke at the helm of the Cowgirls through June 30, 2017, and increase his total compensation to $450,000 for the upcoming season.
“Coach Budke has made our program competitive in the toughest women’s
basketball league in the country. He and his family are active in our city
and our university community. He is a great fit for Oklahoma State,” said Holder.
Budke has transformed a program that went winless in conference play in 2005-06 into one of the top teams in the nation. Last year, Budke led the Cowgirls to a 24-11 record and a second round of the NCAA Tournament, marking their third NCAA appearance during his four-year tenure.
“It is exciting that our administration likes the direction of our program and this long-term commitment will only help us,” Budke said. “This is exciting for my family as well because we love Stillwater and it is were we want to be.”
Dribble and Dish: The 2010 WNBA Season at the Halfway Mark
By Christopher Thompson
Correspondent
As the second half of the WNBA season gets underway, it’s worth a quick look back at the opening half. Seattle has established itself as the best team in the league, and perhaps one of the best WNBA teams of all time. Atlanta has been a pleasant surprise, with Angel McCoughtry becoming one of the best players in the league during her second season. Washington has withstood the loss of Alana Beard as two other Blue Devils, Lindsay Harding and Monique Currie, have taken up the slack. On the flip side the three largest markets (Los Angeles, New York and Chicago) are all mired outside the playoffs and firmly in the Maya Moore sweepstakes. Here is a look at where each team stands as of the All-Star break.
Mercury’s 127-124 Double Overtime Win Over Lynx Sets New WNBA Scoring Record
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
It took the Phoenix Mercury two extra periods to put away the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, July 24, but the 127-124 set a new WNBA scoring record.
Phoenix rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull ahead, 90-88. But Minnesota’s Charde Houston knocked down a jumper and a trey on the next two Lynx possessions to restore the lead to Minnesota. With seconds to go, Diana Taurasi nailed a three-pointer to give the Mercury a one-point, 99-98 edge, but Lindsay Whalen made one of free throw, but missed the game winner, to tie the score and send the game to extra minutes.
Multiple records fell in the ensuing overtimes. The cumulative 251 points scored by the two teams made this the highest scoring game in league history. The Mercury’s 127 points also broke the WNBA scoring record for a single team, which had been set by Phoenix two days earlier in a 123-91 win over Tulsa.
The game’s high scorer, Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus, notched a season-high 36 points. Taurasi, the league’s leading scorer at 23.4 points per game, posted 31 points, 11 of them coming in the second overtime to give her team its fifth victory in its last six games. Despite the numbers, Taurasi struggled from the field, netting just eight of her 23 attempts, but went 14-for-14 from the charity stripe, including seven made free throws in the second overtime.
Also in double figures were Candice Dupree, who led the Mercury with 32 points on 10-of-12 from the field, DeWanna Bonner and Penny Taylor with 20 points apiece, and Tangela Smith who chipped in 10. Five Lynx players joined Augustus in double digits, including Houston, who finished with 21, Rebekkah Brunson (19), Nicky Anosike (17), Monica Wright (14), and Whalen (13).
The Lynx’ Brunson led all players with 17 rebounds, nosing out Dupree, who hauled down a team-high 16 for the Mercury.
The win marked the seventh consecutive game in which the Mercury have scored more than 90 points, which was also a league record.
Shock Send Braxton to Phoenix
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
In what appears to be a continuing effort to divest themselves of all remnants of the former Detroit Shock franchise (and with them, many of their own consistent scorers), the Tulsa Shock have traded Kara Braxton to Phoenix in return for Nicole Ohlde and the Mercury’s 2011 first-round pick.
Braxton, a 6-6 center out of Georgia, who is a six-year veteran of the league, has been averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with the Shock this season, an improvement on her career average of 7.4 points and 4.5 boards per game. She notched a season-high 18 points in Tulsa’s 123-91 loss to the Mercury on Thursday.
The 6-5 Ohlde, a seven-year WNBA veteran out of Kansas State, has averaged three points and 1.9 rebounds off the bench for Phoenix this year. Her numbers are well below her career averages of 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The only apparent advantage for Tulsa, which is clearly headed for the lottery with a league-worst 4-18 record two-thirds of the way through the season, is the pick-up of an additional first-round draft pick next year.