Since we are approaching #1 (haha, fooled you, we are not doing #1 today), let's look back at some quality teams that didn't quite make the cut in my top 10.
-Maryland: 2006 NCAA Champions, 2009 ACC Tournament Champions, 3 All-Americans (Kristi Toliver, Crystal Langhorne, Marissa Coleman)
-Ohio State: 4 Big 10 Regular Season Champs (or co-Champs), 1 three time All-American (Jessica Davenport, 2005-2007), NCAA Tornament 2003-2008 (#1 seed in 2006), Sweet 16 in 2005.
-Michigan State: NCAA Championship game berth (2005), 2 Honorable Mention All-Americans (Kristin Hayne, Lindsay Bowen, Liz Shimek), 2005 Big 10 Regular Season and Tournament Champs, 6 times in the NCAA tournament
Some nice teams but not quite good enough to hit the top 10, maybe they'll make the next decade countdown!
Central Michigan Chippewas
Small school (be it Division I) so this may have been passed over by some people. Last week a Michigan judge dismissed a case against Head Coach, Sue Guevara. The case: a player felt that she was discriminated against because she was not a lesbian. According to the article on CBS Sports.com, Brooke Heike lost her scholarship because of her poor attitude and unwillingness to work hard. The case was thrown out of court because the coach and other officials at Central Michigan are immune from such legal claims. So the player's lawyer will try another type of lawsuit. The best is, Heike is still attending the University. Interesting, no? I know that if I felt I was discriminated against by a company, person or school I would high tail it out of there. Wouldn't you? Makes me wonder if perhaps she thought she was a better player then she really was. You can read the entire article here.
WNBA
The Sparks clinched a playoff spot with their nice win over the San Antonio Silver Stars. With the Silver Stars loss, the Lynx pulled to within 1/2 game of the final coveted 4th spot. Silver Stars have 2 games remaining: @ Sacramento and home against Seattle Storm. Silver Stars are 1-2 against the Monarchs and 1-2 against the Seattle Storm. As for the Minnesota Lynx: Detroit tonight, @ Los Angeles and @ Sacramento. 0-1 against Detroit (losing when Detroit was mediocre), 1-2 against LA, 2-1 against Sacramento. Should be some interesting games in the West!
Indiana Fever (with the win last night over the New York Liberty) are tied with the Phoenix Mercury for the best record in the WNBA at 22-10. Indiana is having a hard time playing well on the road. Should prove to be interesting since their last 2 remaining games are on the road (@ Chicago and @ Connecticut)
Congrats to Deanna Nolan and Vickie "VJ" Johnson for being named WNBA players of the week. This is Nolan's fifth of her career and the second in as many weeks (winning last week with Sue Bird). Averages: 20.7 points, 51.1% from the floor, 4.3 boards, and 3.3 assists. She helped the Shock go 3-0 last week.
VJ wins her first "Player of the Week" award in her career. Nice way to end her career, no? She averaged 22 points, 76.0% from the floor (league leading), 3.5 assists, 3.5 boards, and 1.5 steals. She helped the Silver Stars to 2 wins over the past week. She is one of only 4 players still playing from the inaugural WNBA draft, one of two players to have 4,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career (with her teammate Becky Hammon) and is the WNBA all-time leader in games played.
Rookie Watch
Rookie report time (Last three games)
DeWanna Bonner:
41 points, 12 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 4 steals
Team record: 2-1
Angel McCoughtry:
39 points, 10 boards, 12 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals (double-double on 9/4: 26 points, 10 assists)
Team Record: 2-1
Shavonte Zellous:
44 points, 10 boards, 9 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Team Record: 3-0
Tough call this week! Shavonte played great this week and is my rookie of the week. She really helped her team climb back into the playoffs! It's not just how she does as an individual but also how she helps her team.
Tonight's Game:
Detroit Shock @ Minnesota Lynx (8:00 pm)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
And then there were 2!
With the Holiday and travelling, I missed a day of posting. Lots happened over they weekend with the WNBA but I'll get to that after my number 2 selection for top 10 almost-a-decade women's basketball teams (in comparison to Jake Curtis).
Jake-Tennessee
Jenn-Tennessee
Jake-Tennessee
Jenn-Tennessee
2 National Titles, 6 Final Fours, 4 National Title game Berths, 8 Top 10 finishes (none at #1 interestingly enough) and Pat Summitt. Oh wait, and 4 All Americans: Tamika Catchings (2001), Kara Lawson (2003), Shyra Ely (2004), Candace Parker (2006, 2007, 2008). 2007 Wade Trophy National Player of the Year winner: Candace Parker. And I would argue Tamika Catchings deserved the honor in 2001 (Jackie Stiles rocked the party boat that year but Tamika was just amazing). Tennessee plays in one of the top 3 toughest conferences in the nation: SEC. Even though they lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament this season and finished a super low #18 in the Final rankings, they are still one of the best teams EVER. Pick a decade: Tennessee was there.
A neat Tennessee note: 13 former Lady Vols are currently in the WNBA...the most of any school!
WNBA
Phoenix Mercury clinched the West with their 100-82 win on Saturday. The Minnesota Lynx defeated the Seattle Storm 76-68 to help the Mercury clinch earlier then this week. With Indiana Fever losing on the road to Detroit Shock, the Fever are really starting to fall flat. Could it be the season wear and tear? The fact that they have had minimal injuries so their players are more tired then others? Remember the tear Minnesota made in the NCAA a few years ago (okay, probably 5 years ago but that is a few for me) when their star player was hurt? Maybe injuries during the season help a team. As long as the team gels together and the player can fit into her role, why not?
Standings right now:
East
Indiana (clinched)
Atlanta Dream -4.5
Detroit Shock -5.0 (yes, DETROIT)
Chicago Sky -6.5
Washington Mystics, Connecticut Sun -6.5
New York Liberty (eliminated from playoffs)
West
Phoenix (clinched)
Seattle Storm -3.0
Los Angeles Spark -6.5
San Antonio Silver Stars -7.5
Minnesota Lynx -8.5
Sacramento Monarchs (eliminated from playoffs)
Games Tonight!
Indiana Fever @ New York Liberty (7:30 pm)
San Antonio Silver Stars @ Los Angeles Sparks (10:30 pm, NBA TV)
Big game on the West Coast!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Terrific #3 and other news
My number 3 team is......
Jake: Duke
Jenn: Duke
Jake: Duke
Jenn: Duke
Now, how much slack will I get for this one? No National Titles and a team that should have won in 2006 but failed to do so, losing to that upstart team from their conference...you know the one, Maryland. Ready? Here we go:
-Finished in the Top 10 in all nine seasons in review
-Finished #1 in 2004, #2 in two of the seasons
-Three Final Fours, 1 National Title berth
-2 additional NCAA Quarterfinal berths
-4 ACC Tournament Titles
-5 (yes, five) All Americans: (Georgia Schwitzer, 2001; Iciss Tillis (2003); Alana Beard (2002, 2003, 2004); Monique Currie (2005, 2006); Lindsey Harding (2007)
-National Player of the Year (Wade Trophy) Alana Beard, 2004
That's enough for me to put them at #3.
WNBA News
The Washington Mystics proved they want to be in the playoffs by beating the visiting Seattle Storm. The Storm had 24 turnovers which helped the Mystics run the floor a bit (18 fast break points). Looks like the Mystics mean business and maybe not having Jackson in the lineup hurts the Storm more then I think. Guess it's tough to replace one of the best players in the game.
This moves Washington into 3rd with a .5 game lead over the Detroit Shock.
Games tonight:
New York Liberty @ Connecticut Sun (7:00 pm, NBA TV)
Indiana Fever @ Detroit Shock (7:30 pm)
Washington Mystics @ Chicago Sky (8:30 pm)
Atlanta Dream @ Sacramento Monarchs (10:00 pm)
Vickie JohnsonLast night the San Antonio Silver Stars honored one of the original players of the WNBA. Johnson graduated as a two-time All American from Louisiana Tech (1996) and one of the original members of the WNBA being drafted #12 in the second round by the New York Liberty. Turns out that #12 pick was a steal for the talent VJ brought to the table. Two-time WNBA All-Star and the first New York Liberty player to reach 2,000 points. June 2005 she hit a bucket for 3,000 points in the WNBA. And an even bigger honor, the owner of the world famous Carnegie Deli in Manhattan created the "VJ Classic Sandwich". It's a 3,000 calorie sandwich (oh my!).
In 2006, VJ moved onto San Antonio where she continued (and continues) to help her Silver Stars team stay in the playoff hunt. I know that I will miss seeing her play, she was always one of my favorites in the WNBA. A true teammate and a real role model. Best of luck to VJ, maybe we'll see you on the sidelines with Spoon at La Tech! Nice article on VJ on the Silver Stars website, check it out.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Former LaTech Coach happy with Assistant position
Leon Barmore, who can forget him? Who can forget what his teams did for the face of women's basketball? Coach Barmore was an Assistant to Sonja Hogg when the Lady Techsters won the first NCAA women's basketball title in 1982.
Barmore took over the full coaching reigns in 1985 after serving for three years as the co-head coach. He led the Lady Techsters to 20 straight winning seasons, 13 of those season were 30 wins or more (6 straight at one point), 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances, nine Final Fours and oh yes, five National title game berths. They won it all in 1988 (with Spoon leading the charge). Coach Barmore led Louisiana Tech to 13 regular season conference Championships in 15 years, coached 12 All-Americans and 14 of his players went onto play in the WNBA. He coached now Louisiana Tech's Head Coach, Teresa 'Spoon' Weatherspoon (Olympian, All-American, star player of the WNBA, Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2010). 2003 Naismith Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, he amassed an incredible record of 576-87 (.869 winning percentage). I would think any coach would like to have that kind of resume.
One of those players that he coached was Kim Mulkey. Kim Mulkey played for Barmore from 1980-1984 and became an Assistant at the school after her playing days. She learned the trade under Barmore. Coach Mulkey went onto accept the Head Coaching position at Baylor University in 2000. Baylor won it all in 2005. In 2008, Coach Barmore joined her staff as an Assistant coach. At the end of the 2008-2009 season he contemplated retiring but decided to come back for another whirl at being an Assistant. There is a nice article on why he is returning to Baylor this season. Check it out.
Barmore took over the full coaching reigns in 1985 after serving for three years as the co-head coach. He led the Lady Techsters to 20 straight winning seasons, 13 of those season were 30 wins or more (6 straight at one point), 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances, nine Final Fours and oh yes, five National title game berths. They won it all in 1988 (with Spoon leading the charge). Coach Barmore led Louisiana Tech to 13 regular season conference Championships in 15 years, coached 12 All-Americans and 14 of his players went onto play in the WNBA. He coached now Louisiana Tech's Head Coach, Teresa 'Spoon' Weatherspoon (Olympian, All-American, star player of the WNBA, Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2010). 2003 Naismith Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, he amassed an incredible record of 576-87 (.869 winning percentage). I would think any coach would like to have that kind of resume.
One of those players that he coached was Kim Mulkey. Kim Mulkey played for Barmore from 1980-1984 and became an Assistant at the school after her playing days. She learned the trade under Barmore. Coach Mulkey went onto accept the Head Coaching position at Baylor University in 2000. Baylor won it all in 2005. In 2008, Coach Barmore joined her staff as an Assistant coach. At the end of the 2008-2009 season he contemplated retiring but decided to come back for another whirl at being an Assistant. There is a nice article on why he is returning to Baylor this season. Check it out.
Feelin' it at #4 and WNBA News
The #4 team from 2001-2009 is...........
Jake: Stanford
Jenn: LSU
Jake: Stanford
Jenn: LSU
Seimone Augusts, Sylvia Fowles....enough said.
Okay, I guess I should give you some numbers and why I put them ahead of Stanford. LSU plays in the SEC against teams like Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. The SEC is one of the top 3 toughest conferences to play in every year. One could argue that they weren't tops of their game at the beginning of the nearly-a-decade but I beg to differ. Five straight Final Fours 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 (only team to accomplish this feat in this almost-a-decade) isn't enough to put them in the Top 5? Are you serious? Regular season SEC Champions in 2005, 2006 and 2008 (again, remember who plays in this conference) and Tournament Champions in 2003. SEC Tournament Runner-Ups five times during the span.
They were ranked in the Final Top Ten 4 times, advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament each year and made it to 1 additional Quarterfinal berth (not including the other 5 where they won and made it to the big dance). They were their regions #1 seed 3 of the 9 years they were in the NCAA tournament. LSU also had 3 All-Americans: Marie Ferdinand (2001), Seimone Augustus and Sylvia "Big Syl" Fowles (2007, 2008). Augustus was an All American from 2004-2006 (and I would argue deserved a 4 time nod but I guess the committee didn't see it that way). Augustus was also a two-time National Player of the Year-Wade Trophy winner (2005 & 2006). The great Nancy Lieberman is the only other player to win this award twice (Old Dominion University-1979 & 1980). That is some nice company. Top 5? I think so.
Tulsa Next WNBA Team?
Well it should be decided by the end of the month if Tulsa, Oklahoma will be the next team in the WNBA. This is the first time I've seen any mention on whether this will be a new team or a relocated team..hmmmm. Will Courtney Paris ask to be traded to Tulsa to play in front of the fans that loved her for 4 years? Will they be called the Tulsa Tornadoes? The Tulsa Tarmacs (since I sat on the tarmac for 2 hours on a flight back from New Mexico)? Hmmm, all questions to be answered as the drive for the expansion team continues!
WNBA
The Phoenix Mercury were on FIRE last night against the Indiana Fever. They shot 59% from the floor (to Fever's respectable 42%), 56% from the land-beyond-the-arc (to 22% for Fever) and 86% from the line. Fever were without Katie Douglas (injured ankle) but even if they had her in the lineup, Cappie Pondexter (Go RU!) was lights out. Pondexter dropped in 25 points, 3 boards, 4 assists and only 2 turnovers. Mercury led from the beginning and the Fever were able to get it close a few times but the Mercury went up big (by 22 points) and the Fever just couldn't chip away at it. Cappie had a nice under the basket inbounds play last night-bouncing it off of the back side of her old RU teammate, Tammy Sutton-Brown, grabbed the ball, put it up, scored and was fouled. Risky move but we are talking about Cappie here people!
Games Tonight
One game tonight: Seattle Storm @ Washington Mystics (7:00 pm)
Storm need the win since the Mercury jumped .5 game up on them. Storm are on the road for 2 games (Mystics then Lynx on Saturday) then they come home and play the Mercury next Thursday. It will be interesting to see if and when Jackson will be back this regular season. If I were them, with a playoff spot clinched, I might rest her until the playoffs start. Besides, the Storm are playing well even without her. Big game for the Mystics too as they try to separate themselves from the hot Detroit Shock.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Fine at Five
#5
We are cracking the Top 5 now of the top women's basketball teams of the nearly-a-decade (2001-2009).
Jake-LSU
Jenn-Stanford
LSU and Stanford were tight for 4 & 5 and even #3 but in the end, I have Stanford just shy of LSU in the #5 spot. I can see where Jake is coming from putting LSU at 5 but tomorrow I'll review why I put them ahead of Stanford. (hint: they are #4). Let's look at what the Cardinal women did over the nearly-a-decade.
Ranked in Top 13 all eight years, 7 Top 10 finishes, Top 5 for five of those years including the #1 ranking in 2005. What hurts them was their post season play. They fixed that in the last few years but the first half of the decade was Stanford-No Show and that hurts them in my rankings. If you are going to rank the best teams, then it has to be start to finish with the finish line as April, not early March. Don't get me wrong, Stanford is awesome and one of my Top 3 teams that I love to watch. Coach Tara Vanderveer is a master of the game. I consider her the Bobby Fischer of women's basketball. Stanford rocked the Pac-10, winning 9 regular season titles (only team in the Top 10 to do that), but fell short in the NCAA tournament until recent years. The Pac-10 has gotten considerably better since the beginning of this decade and it certainly shows that Stanford is consistent but it's still not as deep as SEC, Big East or ACC.
They were in 2 NCAA Final Fours (2008, 2009) including the 2008 Championship game. They were also in 2 additional NCAA Quarterfinal games. Not bad stats at all. But to me this is staggering and a true testament to the quality of players Stanford produces: Stanford had an All-American player in 8 of the 9 years we are talking about here. The list is: Nicole Powell (2002-2004), Candice Wiggins (2005-2008, Wade Trophy winner 2008) and Jayne Appel (2009). Scary.
Where is Stacey Dales?
The NFL Network snagged her up and offered her a spot on the Sunday morning pre-game show "NFL GameDay". She will be a co-host with Michael Irvin on the four hour kickoff show. You can read the article here. Good luck Stacey! I'll miss you come Tourney time!
Who can forget the hit she took a few years back as a sideline reporter?!
WNBA
Seattle, Detroit, San Antonio, Sacramento and Atlanta were all winners last night. Talk about anything can happen on any given day! Phoenix, who just saw their Western Conference lead cut to 1 game, lost to Detroit 101-99 as Cheryl Ford played her best game of the season (22 points & 11 boards). That moves Detroit into 4th place in the East. Oh yeah, and Detroit did this without Katie Smith (back injury, second game missed). Could my prediction of Phoenix dropping to second and Seattle taking first happen? Anything can happen at this time of the year.
Standings now:
East
Indiana Fever (clinched Eastern Conference Championship)
Atlanta Dream -5.0
Washington Mystics -6.5
Detroit Shock -6.5
Chicago Sky -7.0
Connecticut Sun -7.5
New York Liberty -9.0
West
Phoenix Mercury
Seattle Storm -1.0
Los Angeles Sparks -5.0
San Antonio Silver Stars (big win last night put some distance between them and 5th place) -7.0
Minnesota Lynx -8.0
Sacramento Monarchs -9.5
Tonight's Game
Preview of the WNBA Final:
Phoenix Mercury vs Indiana Fever (7:00 pm, NBA TV)
We are cracking the Top 5 now of the top women's basketball teams of the nearly-a-decade (2001-2009).
Jake-LSU
Jenn-Stanford
LSU and Stanford were tight for 4 & 5 and even #3 but in the end, I have Stanford just shy of LSU in the #5 spot. I can see where Jake is coming from putting LSU at 5 but tomorrow I'll review why I put them ahead of Stanford. (hint: they are #4). Let's look at what the Cardinal women did over the nearly-a-decade.
Ranked in Top 13 all eight years, 7 Top 10 finishes, Top 5 for five of those years including the #1 ranking in 2005. What hurts them was their post season play. They fixed that in the last few years but the first half of the decade was Stanford-No Show and that hurts them in my rankings. If you are going to rank the best teams, then it has to be start to finish with the finish line as April, not early March. Don't get me wrong, Stanford is awesome and one of my Top 3 teams that I love to watch. Coach Tara Vanderveer is a master of the game. I consider her the Bobby Fischer of women's basketball. Stanford rocked the Pac-10, winning 9 regular season titles (only team in the Top 10 to do that), but fell short in the NCAA tournament until recent years. The Pac-10 has gotten considerably better since the beginning of this decade and it certainly shows that Stanford is consistent but it's still not as deep as SEC, Big East or ACC.
They were in 2 NCAA Final Fours (2008, 2009) including the 2008 Championship game. They were also in 2 additional NCAA Quarterfinal games. Not bad stats at all. But to me this is staggering and a true testament to the quality of players Stanford produces: Stanford had an All-American player in 8 of the 9 years we are talking about here. The list is: Nicole Powell (2002-2004), Candice Wiggins (2005-2008, Wade Trophy winner 2008) and Jayne Appel (2009). Scary.
Where is Stacey Dales?
The NFL Network snagged her up and offered her a spot on the Sunday morning pre-game show "NFL GameDay". She will be a co-host with Michael Irvin on the four hour kickoff show. You can read the article here. Good luck Stacey! I'll miss you come Tourney time!
Who can forget the hit she took a few years back as a sideline reporter?!
WNBA
Seattle, Detroit, San Antonio, Sacramento and Atlanta were all winners last night. Talk about anything can happen on any given day! Phoenix, who just saw their Western Conference lead cut to 1 game, lost to Detroit 101-99 as Cheryl Ford played her best game of the season (22 points & 11 boards). That moves Detroit into 4th place in the East. Oh yeah, and Detroit did this without Katie Smith (back injury, second game missed). Could my prediction of Phoenix dropping to second and Seattle taking first happen? Anything can happen at this time of the year.
Standings now:
East
Indiana Fever (clinched Eastern Conference Championship)
Atlanta Dream -5.0
Washington Mystics -6.5
Detroit Shock -6.5
Chicago Sky -7.0
Connecticut Sun -7.5
New York Liberty -9.0
West
Phoenix Mercury
Seattle Storm -1.0
Los Angeles Sparks -5.0
San Antonio Silver Stars (big win last night put some distance between them and 5th place) -7.0
Minnesota Lynx -8.0
Sacramento Monarchs -9.5
Tonight's Game
Preview of the WNBA Final:
Phoenix Mercury vs Indiana Fever (7:00 pm, NBA TV)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Kay Yow
FIBA Hall of Fame
Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) announced that Coach Kay Yow will be one of the eleven amateur basketball figures inducted into their Hall of Fame on September 20, 2009 in Poland (at the Finals of the 2009 EuroBasket) and on September 22, 2009 @ the FIBA Hall of Fame in Madrid, Spain. According to the FIBA website, "key criterion for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame is outstanding achievement, at the international level, to the development and status of the sport of basketball." Coach Yow clearly fits the criteria for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Soon the biographical information of all 11 inductees will be available on the FIBA Hall of Fame site.
Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) announced that Coach Kay Yow will be one of the eleven amateur basketball figures inducted into their Hall of Fame on September 20, 2009 in Poland (at the Finals of the 2009 EuroBasket) and on September 22, 2009 @ the FIBA Hall of Fame in Madrid, Spain. According to the FIBA website, "key criterion for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame is outstanding achievement, at the international level, to the development and status of the sport of basketball." Coach Yow clearly fits the criteria for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Soon the biographical information of all 11 inductees will be available on the FIBA Hall of Fame site.
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