Hoops

WNBA 2015 Season

Seattle Storm Season Recap: Jenna O’Hea

http://storm.wnba.com/news/season-recap-jenna-ohea/

"She sought to break that pattern and worked with assistant coach Ryan Webb to add to her game and it was something that was evident as the season wore on. O¹Hea took the ball off dribble more and more and became a playmaker for her teammates."

The terrible news for Tolo is confirmed :(

http://www.hoopfeed.com/content/2015/08/28/los-angeles-sparks-center-marianna-tolo-to-undergo-acl-reconstruction-surgery-no-timetable-on-return/

Big blow for the Opals.

Serious looking injury to Tolo in this game @ Indiana.
Hopefully not the dreaded ACL :(

Phillips & Tolo with games to be proud of this morning, although the Sparks ended up losing in OT thanks to a very nice play Brondello drew up to get Leilani open for her only 3 of the night.
Marianna did a great impression of the 2014 worlds the way she competed against Griner, and finished with 10, 4 & 4, plus 3 blocks herself, before fouling out late in the game. A couple of illegal screens cost her today, but overall she is looking great.
Erin was 4/6 from outside the arc in her 20, 4 & 5 performance.
The Sparks are, as expected, starting to look distinctly dangerous as they get their injured & overseas players back into action.

For Phoenix, Cayla has predictably seen her minutes slashed with Griner back, and unfortunately Madgen was the player cut to make way for Xargay's arrival from Spain.

Some more nice performances by the aussies today, but all in losing efforts unfortunately.
Cayla got Phoenix back into the game when she came in. 13 points (6/10), 6 boards, 2 steals & 3 blocks in her 20 minutes.
O'Hea & Bishop had nice games too, but the Storm blew a rare chance to beat the Lynx, helped a bit by Abby's unfortunate and-1 foul down the stretch.
Jenna 10, 2 & 2, and Abby 11 & 7.

Tess played 4 minutes with just a PF to show for it. Expect Cayla's minutes to drop now with Griner available from the next game, although hopefully the 2 of them can spend some time side by side in the front court. I think they could make quite a handy combo if there are some opposing 4's that Cayla can stay with.

Abby Bishop 18 pts, including 4/9 from 3, in Seattle's win over LA. Very nice.
O'Hea shot poorly but had 5 assists.
For LA, Erin had a very solid 10, 5 & 5 game, while Tolo had 5 pts & 6 reb.
All 4 aussies started that one.

Cayla Francis just misses the double-double. 9 pts & 10 reb as the Phoenix upset the Lynx
Leilani 11 pts, 7 ast & 3 steals.
Tess with only 1 token minute in this one but that's good news that the ankle is obviously not too bad.

Unlike poor Bec Allen's knee "niggle" which has become season-ending for her :(
That really sucks after a very promising start.

The two things are pretty much mutually exclusive. Obviously you want your players to be good at both ends and there's no reason they shouldn't aim for that.

Defence is everyone's responsibility. One bad/lazy defender can bring down 4 other good ones.
Leilani's main deficiency in that department is her size. I've never noticed her particularly lacking in the effort department, reading the play, or excessively gambling on D, and I don't think her size is nearly as big of a deal as some (eg. Laimbeer) do.
She's certainly the closest thing to a Harrower type pure point guard that we have.

She's a billion times better than Tessa Lavey though Brendon joyce can't see it

Yeah she's no Erin Phillips at that end, though she's far from alone there.

Some alley-oop assists would look good on her resume ;)

Well I hope Joyce was watching that game.
Francis got understandably Boguted to the bench today in place of Bass. She responded with 8 boards, a couple of blocks, and much better shot selection, though her D and her care of the ball was still frustrating.

Tess Madgen earned herself 20 minutes of valuable time until an ankle sprain took her out of the game down the stretch :(
She looked in a lot of pain. Hopefully it's not too serious. Rotten timing.

The real story was Leilani Mitchell knocking down 6/8 from 3 point territory on her way to 22 points. She's tiny but she's by far our (Opals) best floor general and has always been able to knock down the open shot.

I thought Tess looked very tentative out there, but totally understandable in her first game, and a tense one it was too. Nailed her only shot attempt though and started looking a little more comfortable by the end of the game. Nice to see Sandy giving her so many minutes, but I guess that was smart with that being game 1 back-to-back road games.
Cayla was pretty average unfortunately. Reality check game at both ends. She's been thrown in the deep end with Griner missing for the first 7 games but she'll be better for the experience in the long run.

Worrying about Bec Allen, with a comment being made that she may need minor surgery on the knee. Fingers crossed that minor is all it is.

Very solid start by the aussies in the WNBA this season.
Yesterday Bec Allen had an excellent game for NY, playing 19 min off the bench for 6 pts (3/6), 3 reb & 3 steals. Her first basket was an encouraging drive to the hoop after beating a defender off the dribble on the perimeter. She got a little excited and forced a couple of ill advised 3's but overall looked good, not overawed, and played some very nice defence.
She played again today. I didn't watch this one - a road loss to the Mystics - but she went 0/4 in 14 min but did get 6 boards & 2 blocked shots.

Cayla played well in Phoenix's win over the Stars. 17 min off the bench, including being on the floor down the stretch of a close game, so Sandy already putting faith in her from day 1. 10 points on 5/7 shooting - both misses being 3 point attempts. 3 rebs & 2 steals. Her D was patchy but not too bad.

Tess didn't make it onto the court, and is going to struggle to do so this season with so many guards on that roster.

Today we had 4 aussies starting in the one game as LA played in Seattle ... and got smashed. O'Hea 8, 3 & 3) & Bishop (2, 3 & 3) were both solid; Erin (11, 2 & 5 + 2 stl) played well in a losing cause. Marianna (3 & 3) struggled a little. Hung around the perimeter a lot of offence and even attempted a 3 at one point, which was odd. Didn't look too comfortable out there. Hopefully she'll be fine once she adjusts to the tempo of this league though.

Bec Allen 21 minutes off the bench today for 10 points (4/11 FG, 2/6 3P), 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 st, 1 bs in the last game before the regular season tips off this weekend. Caps off a solid pre-season for her.

Phoenix Mercury had their media day overnight
http://mercury.wnba.com/media-day/
Mercury GM Tim Pitman talks briefly about Cayla & Tess at the 9 minute mark
Sandy Brondello is interviewed at 28:00 (at 23:00 if you feel like 5 minutes of fluff first)
Leilani Mitchell at 38:00
Cayla & Tess interviewed at 50:00

Looks like Tess has survived the remaining cuts and made it to Phoenix's final roster. Great news! :D

(this according to Ben Madgen's tweet)
"So proud and excited for my sister @tessmadgen for making the Phoenix Mercury's roster. Hard work really pays off. What a superstar! #WNBA"

More pre-season action.
Seattle 73 @ Phoenix 79
O'Hea 3 pts (1/3) & 3 reb in 17 min (start)
Bishop 5 pts (2/5) & 1 reb in 15 in (start)
(her 2/5 included 1/4 3PA, which is ... odd)
Francis 11 pts (3/6) & 3 reb in 15 min (bench)
Madgen 0 pts (0/1), 1 reb, 1 ast in 10 min (bench)
Mitchell 2 pts (1/4), 5 ast in 19 min (bench)

Phoenix made 2 cuts after the game, but all the aussies survived them.

LA 64 @ Connecticut 57
Tolo 6 pts (3/5), 1 reb, 4 stl in 26 min (start)
Phillips 12 pts (4/7), 4 reb, 7 ast in 30 min (start)

I haven't watched either (preseason games aren't shown on WNBA LiveAccess) but the few reports I've read of her play have been positive.
It's hard to gauge much of anything from preseason games, but history says that if you're getting good minutes at this stage, it's a good sign. The fact that she seems to be fairly efficient scoring-wise is nice too. We already know she can hold her own on defence.

She is in a very good situation in NY. She's not a high first round draft pick, so there isn't that pressure of high expectations weighing on her. She's on a pretty mediocre team that's trying to get better, so there are also good opportunities for her to increase her role and her minutes if she can play at a high level.

Taurasi's situation is well documented.
Her contract with UMMC requires her to not play in the Russian off-season, so she has this summer off.
Conveniently, Penny is a free agent and out of contract atm, so she is able to do as she pleases.
I'm guessing she'll skip the entire season, though she has left the door open for a possible return in the second half of the season.

In today's pre-season action
Allen 11 pts (5/10) & 2 reb in 17 min off the bench
Phillips 11 pts (2/5), 8 ast & 3 stl in 31 min.
Tolo 3 pts (1/8) (ouch) & 4 reb in 19 min.
Both aussies started for LA.

Yesterday:
Bishop 2 pts (1/4) & 4 reb in 18 min (starter)
O'Hea 1 pt (0/4) & 2 ast in 14 min (starter)
Francis 8 pts (4/8) & 5 reb in 22 min (bench)
Madgen 5 pts (2/4) & 2 reb in 13 min (bench)
Mitchell DNP (ankle)

Phoenix play Seattle again tonight. Fingers crossed for Tess! She is in that pool of excess guards in Phoenix from which cuts will soon need to be made, but so far the signs are looking fairly promising for her.

First preseason game of the season and Bec Allen had a solid start. The undermanned NY lineup got hammered by Chicago but Bec played 23 min off the bench for 10 points (4/8 FG, 2/4 3P) and 3 boards.
Would have been quite a reality check guarding Delle Donne though, who piled on 16 & 8 in just 16 minutes.

Brief Cayla Francis interview video from Mercury camp:
http://mercury.wnba.com/video/the-annexus-practice-report-52215/

Jarry is always injured, it's ridiculous

Tess is still there. She was mentioned in this brief article about day 2 of camp:

http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/camp_150519.html

BA could learn a thing or two from Seattle about how to handle Abby's family situation too

https://twitter.com/seattlestorm/status/568838659148947456/photo/1

https://twitter.com/seattlestorm/status/568841943872094209/photo/1

Abby Bishop signing with Seattle Storm is now official. Multi year deal.

http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/storm_signs_bishop150220.html

Erin Phillips officially confirmed to the LA Sparks

Tolo signing with LA has been officially announced now

I'd have to think that LJ is highly unlikely now after the latest setback.

Talbot feels unlikely to me now too given that Phoenix has already loaded up their roster, and Penny won't be playing. It no longer feels like the right time for her to go over.

Not sure what Cambage's health situation is, but I'm still quietly holding out some hope that she will go over. 2015 Tulsa is a very different team to the one she last played for, and with her on board they get that bit better again.

Jarry is in for a fight to grab a spot on Minnesota's roster but hopefully she can stay healthy and achieve it.

Tolo already signed with another team.

Yeah, I have concerns there too.
The backcourt is obviously an issue, as you'd expect when suddenly you lose Taurasi & Phillips! Huge hole to fill, but I think they've done a *reasonable* job given what's available. But it's very much a case of throwing a bunch of ok players at the problem and hoping that it works itself out.

The 4 spot is my worry too. Bonner is very much a 3, who even played the 2 last season. Currie is on the 2 side of a 3. So Dupree is really the only true PF on the team. Francis is the next closest thing, since Mistie's game is more a close-to-the-basket style.
So it's a tremendous opportunity for Cayla to get herself some minutes if she plays well, but I'd feel better with another PF on the roster. I expect that's the spot they'll be aiming at with their draft pick.

I also expect that Murphy will stick. She's a capable and experienced backup.
Remember also that the roster size has increased to 12, so with all the cash freed up from Taurasi + Taylor + Phillips, I'd expect them to use all available spots (assuming of course that they're not over-paying for all those guards ... which history says is probably not a wise assumption). So there is room for all of the above plus a draft pick.

Erin could fit in just about anywhere IMO, but LA is one of the teams I think would suit her particularly well. Toliver is more like a SG in the body of a PG. A backcourt of her & Erin would work just fine IMO. Nice team to go to as they're potential title threats if they can get their backcourt right, and having Erin on board would be a good step in that direction.
Plus then there's be 2 aussies in LA ;)

I'd be very (pleasantly though) surprised if Erin & Penny played in Phoenix this season.

Tolo will be in the west, but not the Mercury unfortunately.
Not that Phoenix is short on aussies now anyway. Lost 2, but gained 2.5, so I can't complain!

Tess already under contract with Sandringham SEABL

Yeah I'm just assuming that Jenna is a lock to play, just as I'm assuming Erin is too (just don't know where, yet)

Tolo is in :D

I think we can probably rule out LJ, yeah :(
Vert much doubt we will see Penny either.

Jarry & Liz would be largely dependent on their health I guess.
Bishop & Tolo are the interesting ones to me. I'd love to see them both have a crack this season. While the aussie invasion is on, they might as well get on the bandwagon :)
I've always thought Tolo could hold down a spot over there. Bishop I'm not as certain about, but she's certainly a better player than the last time she played for Seattle so I think she cold stick too.

Kunek might be worth a camp spot for a team looking for a perimeter gunner. I think maybe I'm just being greedy now though. Might as well throw Steph Cumming into the mix as well ;) She's got WNBA physicality.

Tess Madgen! :D

Would depend on what she has at her home Level re training and game opportunities. C of E is not everything and certainly not education wise. For those who don't have opportunities at home it certainly can be useful, but if they have access to a good wnbl/SEABL program and good coaches they are just as well to stay at home in their junior years. College is the next step to get more experience and then open the doors to Europe if they are wanting to make basketball a career

Sounds like she's heading across this season.
She has been around that level for a while now so it's interesting that it's happening this year.
Being an odd numbered year always helps (no Olympics/Worlds) I guess.
Look forward to seeing how she goes against the best. She's got the skills for it.

I just heard something interesting regarding Cayla Francis

Sad but true.
This issue was always going to raise its head, and it's surprising to me that it has taken this long.

The top players earn the bulk of their money in Europe/China. It's a gruelling schedule playing year round with very little break between the two seasons. When a player needs a breather, it makes a lot of sense for the WNBA to be the league to skip, even if it is the higher standard and more prestigious league, and for the vast majority of elite players, their "home" league as well.

I haven't heard anything, no.
In Tolo's case I'm thinking the ball is mostly in her own court. If she wants to play WNBA I would guess there would be no shortage of interest in her. I have no idea what her ambitions are though.

NBA Mock Draft from 28/06/2008

After the 2008 NBA Draft, I visited Draft Express and took the liberty of copy-and-pasting what was then (June 28, 2008) their current 2009 NBA Mock Draft, and saved it with the intent of looking back at it at this time. I'll post it here, for those interested in seeing whose stock has risen and fallen since then:

1 - Ricky Rubio
2 - Blake Griffin
3 - Demar DeRozan
4 - B.J. Mullens
5 - Brandon Jennings
6 - Hasheem Thabeet
7 - Earl Clark
8 - Tyreke Evans
9 - Ty Lawson
10 - James Harden
11 - Darren Collison
12 - Andrew Ogilvy
13 - Gerald Henderson
14 - Chase Budinger
15 - Patrick Patterson
16 - Stephen Curry
17 - Omri Casspi
18 - Tyler Hansborough
19 - Nick Calathes
20 - Tyler Smith
21 - Sam Young
22 - Terrence Williams
23 - Jordan Hill
24 - Damion James
25 - Victor Claver
26 - Greivis Vasquez
27 - Lester Hudson
28 - James Johnson
29 - Nando De Colo
30 - Rodrigue Beaubois

31 - A.J. Price
32 - Eric Maynor
33 - Jeremy Pargo
34 - Henk Norel
35 - Robert Vaden
36 - Vitor Faverani
37 - Wayne Ellington
38 - DaJuan Summers
39 - Jeff Pendergraph
40 - Jerel McNeal
41 - Dominic James
42 - Josh Heytvelt
43 - Taj Gibson
44 - Milenko Tepic
45 - K.C. Rivers
46 - Joe Ingles
47 - Lee Cummard
48 - Giorgi Shermadini
49 - Antonio Anderson
50 - Danny Green
51 - Robert Dozier
52 - Connor Atchley
53 - Leo Lyons
54 - Ron Steele
55 - Slava Kravtsov
56 - Miroslav Raduljica
57 - Gasper Vidmar
58 - Curtis Jerrells
59 - Kevin Rogers
60 - Nemanja Alexandrov