As we head into the homestretch of the WNBA season, the pressure will steadily increase -- and the true all-WNBA players will emerge.
It will be interesting to see how the players who have done well so far respond to that pressure, and to that end FCP offers its midseason WNBA awards as a guide to the last few weeks of the season. These selections are drawn from personal observation and votes by other interested observers (but the final choices are FCP's alone).
MVP: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets (was there any question?)
All-WNBA: Cooper; Teresa Weatherspoon, New York Liberty; Andrea Stinson, Charlotte Sting; Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, Sacramento Monarchs; Elena Baranova, Utah Starzz.
Best point guard: Weatherspoon in a landslide.
Best two guard: Mighty Ruthie gave Cynthia a run here, but Cooper has been too good lately. It would be interesting to see, though, how Bolton would do with a good team and a good coach.
Best small forward: Not a strong category, so we're moving Stinson over.
Best power forward: Wendy Palmer was the overwhelming choice of the voters, but here at FCP we like the way Rebecca Lobo has been filling a role for the LIberty. Still, Palmer is the pick.
Best post player: Baranova can do it all, but she's not a pure post player. Lisa Leslie's struggled a bit, so in a close vote, we give the nod to Baranova. But we'll see how Leslie responds in the playoff hunt.
Best off the bench: Like the ABL, depth has been a problem in the WNBA. Sue Wicks (New York) and Merlakia Jones (Cleveland) have both had their moments, but we'll go with Jones because of her ability to score in bunches.
Best pure shooter: If you don't know the answer to this one, you haven't been paying much attention.
Best on the block: Isabel Fijalkowski of Cleveland is big, strong and has an assortment of post moves that offest Haixia Zheng's size and shooting touch.
Best shotblocker: Baranova is an incredible shotblocker, with long arms, great timing and great leaping ability.
Best rebounder: Leslie got a lot of votes, and so did Janet Lawrence Braxton, but we like Lobo.
Best offensive rebounder: A lot of people say Palmer, but Latasha Byears of Sacramento is incredibly effective on the offensive glass. What's even more amazing is that she's 5-11 and doesn't jump that well. We'll go with Byears.
Quickest hands: Weatherspoon.
Best penetrator: She just turned 21, and she's not really that effective yet, but L.A.'s Mwadi Mabika can go to the hole like no other woman in the world. When she starts learning the game, watch out.
Best passer: Weatherspoon edges Phoenix's Michele Timms in this category, but the last few weeks of the season could change the final result.
Best '97 grad: You really can't have a rookie of the year in a new league, but if it were possible, Tina Thompson of Houston would be a unanimous choice.
Best perimeter defender: Weatherspoon again, but Bolton is right there. (A question: If Weatherspoon is so good in this league, why didn't she make the Olympic team?)
Best interior defender: Baranova, but Fijalkowski, if she can avoid fouls, is right there with her.
Biggest surprise: Byears and Sophia Witherspoon both got several votes, but we'll go with Byears. The dismal Monarchs don't have much to smile about, but Byears has established herself as a legitimate pro.
Biggest disappointment: The L.A. Sparks and Lisa Leslie got their share of votes, but Sacramento's Pam McGee is the winner. She was supposed to be the best player at the preseason tryout camp -- and has done almost nothing for Sacramento.
Best attitude: Lobo gets the nod here, primarily because she's managed to stay cool despite all the hype -- which she knows as well as anyone else is overdone.
Worst attitude: A tough call, with McGee, Penny Toler and Nancy Lieberman-Cline all getting votes. We'll go with McGee.
Most overrated: The usual suspects -- McGee, Toler and Leslie. Again, it's Pam McGee.
Most underrated: Byears again.
Best coach: Nancy Darsch was the voters' choice, but we're going with Van Chancellor. Darsch was given the best lineup in the league while Chancellor has had to win with a lot less talent.
Worst coach: With Linda Sharp and Mary Murphy already gone, and Linda Hill-McDonald on a roll in Cleveland, it's hard to pick on anyone. Denise Taylor has no talent in Utah, but the Starzz seem to have given up, so she gets the nod.
Best referee: Sally Bell and Violet Palmer got votes, but our favorite reply was `Isn't that an oxymoron?' Maybe, or maybe the voter meant they're all morons.
Worst referee: June Corteau has fans everywhere, but they're not necessarily the kind of fans she wants.
We'll revisit these categories at season's end to see what story the last month tells -- and how it affects the voters.
7/31/97
