When the legends of the Connecticut Huskies women's hoops program are talked about, the first names that come up are always the same: Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Swin Cash, Rebecca Lobo....well, I for one, have been saying that Asjha Jones needs to be included in that list.
On a team including Taurasi, Bird, and Cash, it was Jones that was the 2002 Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player. A 14 ppg scorer her senior year, Asjha was drafted #4 overall by the Washington Mystics. She never seemed to get it going in D.C., however, and in a three-team deal that netted the Mystics Tamicha Jackson (and the Phoenix Mercury the draft pick that became Chandi Jones), the Connecticut Sun brought Asjha back to the Nutmeg state, and thrilled this season ticket holder.
After a mostly forgettable 2004 season, it's been a rise to All-Star level. For the next several seasons, as the Sun were annual playoff contenders, Jones saw her stats rise. She went from averaging 6.9 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 2004 to 17 ppg and 6.1 rpg in 2008. From 20 minutes per game off the bench in 2004, by 2008 Asjha Jones was one of the elite power forwards in the league, averaging around 30 minutes per game and starting every game.
We are around 20% through the WNBA season, and it appears the playoff race in the Eastern conference is already taking shape. Four teams - Indiana, Connecticut, Chicago and New York - have already put some separation between themselves and the remaining two teams. However the jockeying amongst these teams is likely to go on throughout the season.
The Connecticut Sun face an important and potentially very difficult, stretch leading up to the All-Star game July 23rd. Beginning with tonight's game on ESPN2, the Sun play three straight against three of the top four Western Conference teams (Los Angeles, Seattle, and Minnesota), followed by home and away matchups against both Indiana and New York. Combined these teams are 23- 15, a .605 winning percentage. Can Coach Mike Thibault and the Connecticut Sun build on their early season success?
It begins tonight, and I am psyched! I have been going through major women's basketball withdrawal since the NCAA tournament and the draft. Sure, my daughter's lacrosse season was great, and the NBA is fine, but it isn't the same! Let's get it started with the infamous Dishin & Swishin preseason predictions.
It was so much easier last season! As I looked at the WNBA season at this time last year, the Seattle Storm jumped out at me as the clear cut team to beat for the WNBA title. There was just something about the mix that Coach Brian Agler had with that team; the stars, the role players, and he had dramatically improved the bench. Everything was in place, and they didn't disappoint.
Fast forward to today, and things are so much more cloudy heading into Year 15 of the WNBA, that it took up until today for me to come up with Dishin & Swishin's fearless predictions for the 2011 WNBA season. I put in research time...I talked to players, coaches, GMs, writers and fans...and I flipped a coin here and there. But anyway, since my last pick was Stanford to win the NCAA tournament, I've got to get back my rep. So read on (and listen, too, because there are some great clips from the Dishin & Swishin show), and let's kick off this year's WNBA predictions!
The Washington Mystics were one of the WNBA’s great stories in 2010. Despite not having star guard Alana Beard for the season, under Coach Julie Plank and General Manager Angela Taylor, the Mystics won the Eastern Conference regular title before falling to eventual Eastern Conference champion Atlanta. The arrival of Katie Smith brought some veteran leadership, and Crystal Langhorne, Monique Currie and Lindsey Harding blossomed, playing All-Star quality ball all season.
Cut to the off-season, though and turmoil seemed to take over the franchise. Taylor was let go, and when Plank didn’t want both the Coach and GM position, she also was not retained. Former Charlotte Sting coach Trudi Lacey was elevated to Coach and GM of the Mystics on November 25, 2010, and the changes began.
As her first season at the helm of the Mystics’ begins, I spoke to Coach Lacey about her team, it’s offseason and the changes that took place.
If you aren't Kansas State, Duke or Baylor, you haven't defeated Texas A&M this season.
The Aggies are one of the great stories of the women's basketball season. Playing in the shadows of Texas, they've put together a 28-5 record, finishing second in their conference to Baylor, and earning a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
They play aggressive defense, and an uptempo, attacking offense. Coach Gary Blair's teams have been the only teams other than Stanford and Connecticut to be a number 2 seed or higher in the last four tournaments. However, for some reason unknown to most rational people, the NCAA committee elected to put them as the number two seed in a bracket with top-seeded Baylor, setting up a possible 4th matchup between the two this season (Baylor leads the series 3-0).
You can call Coach Kelly Graves and Gonzaga a lot of things. You can call them a high octane offense. You can call them the best team in the Pacific Northwest. You can even call them an underdog going into their 2nd round game vs. UCLA. Just do NOT call them a mid-major. Gonzaga, along with programs like Xavier, Marist, and Green Bay, are part of a growing trend of non-BCS schools making big noise come NCAA tournament time, especially on the women's side.
They have the best point guard in the country in Frances Pomeroy Naismith award winner Courtney Vandersloot. They even have three players averaging more than 17 ppg this season (Vandersloot, Katelon Redmon, and Kayla Standish). They have home court advantage for the game. So can they continue to shed labels and prove that their close games vs. #1 seed Stanford and #2 seed Notre Dame were no flukes?
Underdog and Tennessee are two words that don't usually go together in women's basketball circles. Pat Summitt could be the most well known coach in basketball, men or women. The 8 National champions the Lady Vols have won is a testament to their program's success. Yet hear they sit, in the familiar position of a number seed in the NCAA tournament, but they are the "fourth" number one seed, and some are looking past them.
Perhaps it's the fact there is no Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw or Tamika Catchings this year. Perhaps it's the disappointment of recent tournament performances. Whatever the reason, those people that are looking past Tennessee and crowning another champion this year may be in for a surprise.
The 2010-11 edition of the Lady Vols is in fact, different from many prior Tennessee teams. There is no one "go to" person that you have to be concerned about at the end of the game. Many, including me in my pre-season predictions I admit, thought this would be their downfall. Things have changed though. It's not that there isn't a go to person, it's that there are now several.
Brian Giorgis of Marist Gives a Heartfelt Speech to the Crowd After Marist Won the MAAC title
He cares about his players. So much so, that he was in tears addressing the crowd at Harbor Yard Arena after the MAAC championship game.
He is in his 9th year coaching at a small school in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is not that tall, nor that slim, but his coaching ability - first at the high school level and then at the college level - has him inducted to the New York State Hall of Fame.
And, Brian Giorgis, the head women's basketball coach at Marist may just be the best womens basketball coach around today. Yes, I mean that statement.
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