Some factoids about the 2012 opening day rosters
I decided to take a look at the an often-overlooked statistic: "games started". Instead of looking at which players in WNBA history have started the most games, I decided to look at start percentage.
Were there players who have started every game they have played? To me, this was an interesting stat because the mythical lifespan of players moves from rookie working her way off the bench to starter to returning to the bench in old age. This magical graph of start percentage per season would look like a parabola, or a hill. I was more interested in players whose graph was a plateau - players who started at the top of the hill and stayed there.
A number of WNBA teams finalized their rosters yesterday and with that we updated our previous training camp rosters to the best of our ability last night.
The following are links to updated rosters for each team by playing style.
2012 Eastern Conference WNBA rosters (as of midnight PST May 18, 2012)
2012 Western Conference WNBA rosters (as of 7:30 p.m. PST May 17, 2012)
That's right ladies and gents. 83% of the GM's (or 10 of 12 after figuring out the math) believe the Lynx will make it two in a row for this year. In addition, all but one GM believes that Minny will also win the Western Conference. For the East, 5 GM's thought Indy will win it; 3 thought Connecticut will, and every other team had 1 GM. Yes, the Mystics got a vote in as Eastern Champs and I bet that same GM was the one who voted the Mystics as a team that would be in the playoffs. I wonder who that is.
Among players, three each thought Sparks forward Candace Parker and Lynx guard Seimone Augustus will be the 2012 MVP. Seattle guard Sue Bird won the most superlatives in this survey though, being named the best point guard, best passer, best leader, best IQ , best at making her teammates better, and best future head coach of a hoops team someday. She was tied for 2nd as the first franchise player to build around too. I think some of these same GM's just forgot to make her MVP and best three point shooter when it counts.
Among rookies, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike is the GM's presason rookie of the year. No surprise.
To add to more Mystics homerism, Crystal Langhorne was tied for the most underrated player in the league, and was second for best post moves (behind Connecticut center Tina Charles) so I'm glad she is getting some respect league-wide.
These are fun reads and allow some homerism and friendly trash talk. Enjoy reading the survey.
After tying the mark for all-time women's professional basketball coaching wins after a win against the Chicago Sky on September 11, 2011, Seattle Storm coach and GM Brian Agler offered brief insight related to what it takes to build a winning team.
"When we first got this opportunity I thought Sue and Lauren could be the best at their positions in the world, so what kind of people and players are going to be a good match with those guys?" Agler said. "Obviously, they're both quality people but they also are finesse players so you need to put toughness and tenacity and physical play and people to do the dirty around them. That's what we have and everybody plays and accepts their role. The longer we've played the tighter we've gotten."
Although building around Bird and (a healthy) Jackson might sound relatively simple formula for success to many, Agler was confronted with a more difficult team building challenge this WNBA off-season.
WNBA fans will have to pay $4.99 for access to games not otherwise shown on national television for the 2012 season, a price increase of infinity percent - since previously, WNBA Live Access was free. More at the link, above.
If you show up to the WNBA site on May 18th expecting to see one of your favorite games, you'll need either a debit card, credit card, or PayPal account. (Either that, or a friend at the game who can shout very, very loudly.)
The Tulsa Shock have released a pair of five-year league veterans in Amber Holt and Shanna Zolman, announced today.
Last season Holt was a staple in the starting lineup, starting in 24 of the 26 games in which she played. She averaged 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in Tulsa's trying season. Holt's came to Tulsa in a 2010 Draft Day trade with the Connecticut Sun.
Shanna Zolman (formerly Crossley) was a face on many a Shock broadcast last year as she took her position behind the mic after sustaining a season-ending knee injury. Zolman's contribution to the offense ranked her third on the team in points per game (9.7) in 2010. She sunk an easy 42.2 percent of her 3-point attempts as she put her nickname "Layup" on display.
It's been a long and busy winter for me, one which has taken me away from women's basketball and towards the dubious goal of "career advancement". (Oh, the things you'll do for money.) With a temporary respite in chasing the mighty dollar, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things, despite the fact that a good six months or so has been eaten from my basketball knowledge. (*)
