Last Night's Game: Washington @ Atlanta

Thoughts on last night's Mystics-Dream game

* I had the chance to sit courtside last night, and let me tell you, it is worth it.  If you ever get a chance to get courtside seats, or even have to pay for courtside seats, do not pass it up.  You will not regret it.  Hearing all the little conversations, hearing the coaches yelling, the players talking, adds a new dimension to the game.

* I got to shake hands with WNBA referee Eric Brewton.  He must have thought I was someone important.

* About the Dream's woes.  One of the people (not a coach or a player, by the way) I spoke with thought that the Dream's problems stemmed from their lack of 3-point shooting.  The theory goes that the only player on the roster who can beat anyone off the dribble is Angel McCoughtry, and in order for McCoughtry to get rolling opponent defenses have to be spread.  But without anyone shooting threes, defenses can just pack the lane and kill any momentum that McCoughtry might get in a drive to the basket.

* I believe McCoughtry has four technical fouls now.  Shades of Taurasi a couple of years ago?

* Only seven players played last night for the Dream, and Burdick was among them.  The current roster looks like:

McCoughtry *
Lyttle *
de Souza *
Hodges *
Ajavon *
Wheeler *
Burdick *

Carter
Colhado
Logic
Milton-Jones
Schimmel

Tiffany Hayes and Aneika Henry will return to the roster.  So who goes?

Hodges will stay since she's a vet and was a significant free agent signing.
Ajavon will stay since she's healthy this season.
Wheeler will stay because a) Coach Cooper seems to like Wheeler, and b) she's from Rutgers, which gives Ajavon someone to chat with.
Burdick will stay because a) Coach Cooper wanted to draft Burdick, but she wasn't available, and b) according to Cooper, Burdick gives him the opportunity to try different things on the court.  He's played Burdick a lot, he likes her, and the fans like her.

So that leaves the bottom five players listed as targets for cuts.

My personal theory is that Carter is gone.  But who is the other player?

Colhado?  Nope.  Colhado can back up de Souza when Atlanta needs size.
Schimmel?  Nope, not unless we get something for her in a big trade.

That leaves Milton-Jones, who has been in the league since what, 1999, or Logic, a player who was probably in diapers when Milton-Jones was graduating high school.  Use your common sense.  Who do you think is going to go?

Angel's three-point shooting

On Twitter, someone asked if anyone shot 3-point shots in the WNBA with as little success as Angel McCoughtry in as many attempts?

Let's see.  From 2009 to 2015, McCoughtry had 550 3-point attempts.  She made 149 of those for a 27.0 percent success rate.

Out of all WNBA players who have 550 3-point attempts, only one has a lower success rate.  With 571 attempts, she hit 154 of those.  Do you remember Bridget Pettis?  Probably not.  She played with Phoenix from 1997 to 2001, spent a couple of years with the Fever from 2002-03, and then returned to Phoenix for 11 games in 2006.  She did have a career free-throw percentage of 80.8 percent, so she had that going for her. 

These days, Pettis is an assistant coach for the Tulsa Shock. 

The active player closest to McCoughtry is Lindsay Whalen of the Lynx.  Looking from 1997-2014 at all players with at least 550 3-point attempts, in order of lowest percentage you have Pettis, then McCoughtry, then Whalen at 27.9 percent.

The player with at least 550 3-point attempts with the best 3-point percentage is...Kristi Toliver.
Toliver is 292-for-723, shooting 3s with a 40.4 percent accuracy rate.

(Thanks to basketball-reference - which has now added player uniform numbers to their pages.  Take a look!)

McCoughtry, Erika, Iziane are The Stars at The Sun

The final rosters have been named for the USA Basketball vs. WNBA game that will take place on Saturday July 10 and which will be televised by ESPN at 3:30 pm ET.

Three Atlanta Dream players have made the various rosters.

Playing on the WNBA Team:

Jayne Appel San Antonio Silver Stars
Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx
Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars
Iziane Castro Marques Atlanta Dream
Katie Douglas Indiana Fever
Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm
Crystal Langhorne Washington Mystics
Sancho Lyttle Atlanta Dream
Michelle Snow San Antonio Silver Stars
Penny Taylor Phoenix Mercury
Sophia Young San Antonio Silver Stars

Playing on the USA Team:

Sue Bird Seattle Storm
Swin Cash Seattle Storm
Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
Tina Charles Connecticut Sun
Candice Dupree Phoenix Mercury
Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky
Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream
Maya Moore University of Connecticut
Renee Montgomery Connecticut Sun
Cappie Pondexter New York Liberty
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury

Marynell Meadors will also be serving as an assistant coach of the USA Team. I would have liked to see Erika somewhere on the team, but McCoughtry, Sancho Lyttle, and Iziane represent the Atlanta Dream just fine. I'll definitely be watching on Saturday.

Dream Lose 94-91 on Road in Indianapolis

Now we know what the "#20" on her jersey stands for.

Actually, it could have been worse. We only lost by three points, and the home field advantage in the WNBA is around 3.5 points, so on a neutral court we would have had a shot at winning this.

Sancho Lyttle had 20 points and 20 rebounds. This is only the eighth time in WNBA history that someone had 20 points and 20 rebounds, and the first time it's been done in almost four years. The complete list from P. D. Swanson:

20+ Points & 20+ Rebounds, Game
22 / 20 -- Natalie Williams, Utah at Sacramento, June 22, 2002
29 / 21 -- Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington at Sacramento, June 25, 2002 (2OT)
24 / 21 -- Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles vs. Orlando, July 22, 2002
22 / 24 -- Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington at Charlotte, May 23, 2003
23 / 20 -- Lauren Jackson, Seattle vs. Charlotte, July 31, 2003
21 / 22 -- Cheryl Ford, Detroit at San Antonio, May 22, 2004
21 / 23 -- Michelle Snow, Houston at Minnesota, August 4, 2006 (OT)
20 / 20 -- Sancho Lyttle, Atlanta at Indiana, June 19, 2010

You can find the box score here at the WNBA.com site.

Justin Albers reports for the Examiner.com.

Ted Schultz of the Indianapolis Star has his writeup.

The Associated Press reports here. They also have a gallery of photos.

So did I watch this one? No. I've officially given up on WNBA Live Access this year, so I went instead to the Atlanta Beat game, the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) game here in Atlanta. The Beat got their first franchise victory, beating the Chicago Red Stars 1-0. I'm one of the few people who was physically present during the Dream's first win and the Beat's first win.

Game thread from Swish Appeal is here.

I'll write more about this game later, very busy weekend for me.

Interesting: Sam James of Fever Week reported this juicy tidbit of gossip:

Someone on press row heard Dream coach yell Angel McCoughtry on the bench

Apparently, Angel did or has given up on the game. The coach was yelling at her:

“Get this through your head, we are never out of a game! We never quit!”

Ah, the placid calmness of the Atlanta Dream. Particularly, Atlanta Dream fandom where such issues are handled with a spirit of patience and tranquility.

Happy Campers

Angel McCoughtry visited Elite Hoops Basketball today. The link is here.

The picture is here. I didn't post it here because it's gigantic, but you can find her if you look hard enough.

It warms my heart to see players mingling with the Atlanta community and promoting their sport. I'm sure that McCoughtry's visit made the day a little bit brighter for those campers.

Linkfest 2010

Planting the seeds of victory?

All kinds of links to talk about.

First, the picture above of Iziane Castro Marques gardening comes from the Atlanta Dream Facebook page. Click the link and catch some pics of the Dream helping out the Atlanta community.

Next, the battle for the MVP might have taken place Tuesday night and the WNBA agrees. Angel McCoughtry and Lauren Jackson were just named Chasing the Title has an interesting post about the value of the various lineups. The most effective lineup during Seattle's game was that of K. Miller-Price-McCoughtry-Leuchanka-Bales. One of those names might spread terror to an opposing team, but probably not more than one.

Q McCall at Swish Appeal finds out why Marynell Meadors cut their first round draft pick in 2010, Chanel Mokango, before the season started:

I think her chances are really good in this league. I think she needs to get some experience and the only reason I cut her is because Allison Bales beat her out. But it was simply because she did not have any experience and she’s only been playing since she was 15 so she’s very young in her game but she’s gonna be pretty good.

Jayda Evans at the Seattle Times has a game thread of Storm-Dream.

Alexis Hornbuckle of the Tulsa Shock was suspended for two games for a DUI that took place last year in Detroit. How come it took so long for anyone to find out?

A brand new jersey sponsorship: the New York Liberty jerseys will be sponsored by the Foxwoods Resort Casino...a casino in Connecticut.

Each of the above links deserves a full post, but neither will get one, at least not right now.

T. Fitz Johnson of the Atlanta Beat and Kathy Betty of the Atlanta Dream form an ownership brain trust.


Finally, Jonathan Landrum Jr. of the Associated Press writes about the Dream's change from chumps to champs. Check it out.

Dream Fever Hits Atlanta and Other Places

With the Dream at 6-0 on the year and the Dream heading into Seattle against the best team in the Western Conference, everyone seems to have caught Dream Fever.

1. Mechelle Voepel's newest article for ESPN is called "It's a dream of a start in Atlanta." And it definitely is:

McCoughtry was last season's rookie of the year, an honor she was expected to contend for after being the league's No. 1 draft pick in 2009. McCoughtry was a can't-miss prospect and is living up to those expectations. She has started this season making a case for already being in the WNBA's elite despite being just 23.


...

I think of Lehning as like that person in an office whom you might overlook … until something goes wrong with the copier, and she's the only one who knows how to fix it. Or a file is misplaced, and she's the only one who can find it.

2. Kathy Betty showed up for a Dream of an interview on The Zone in Atlanta at 790 AM. You can listen to the entire interview on the Atlanta Dream Facebook page. I liked the interview, it's worth a listen.

3. Angel McCoughtry got named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second week in a row. (Someone named Candace Parker won the Western Conference Player of the Week award.)

4. SLAM magazine and Ben York tells us that "Angel McCoughtry Has Arrived". McCoughtry has arrived, her feet are up on the table, and she's watching television, and it's her house now.

Enjoy the Dream love...and enjoy the game. Tonight. 9:30 pm. ESPN2.

McCoughtry's Complaint: "No Cream Cheese"

Angel McCoughtry, Shalee Lehning, Brittainey Raven and Chanel Mokango all make appearances in the latest Atlanta Dream video. McCoughtry speaks about taking a leadership role and whipping the rookies into shape, while Lehning plays good cop to McCoughtry's tough cop.

The video link is right here.

The 2010 Atlanta Dream motto: "No cream cheese!"

Angel McCoughtry Among Eight Players to Attend USA Basketball Spring Camp

Before the first basketball is unwrapped in training camp on April 25th, Angel McCoughtry will be getting in some extra work in Storrs, Connecticut. (Storrs is becoming the center of the women's basketball universe.) The USA Women's National Team will be holding a spring training session between April 11th and April 18th.

The schedule, from the news release:

Led by University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma, available members of the USA National Team will begin training at 5:00 p.m. (all times EDT) on April 11 at the University of Connecticut’s Gampel Pavilion. The U.S. will return to Gampel Pavilion for 10:00 a.m. practices April 12-14. Following a day off, the USA will resume training on April 16 at 10:00 a.m. at Gampel Pavilion, and April 17 at 10:00 a.m. at the University of Hartford’s Chase Arena, with a 6:00 p.m. scrimmage scheduled both evenings at Chase Arena. The USA will close out its training camp on April 18 (location and time TBD).

No matter what, you can't say that Angel McCoughtry didn't get a good workout pre-camp.

McCoughtry's Time Up in Slovakia; Back Next Year?

It looks like McCoughtry is back in the United States because her contract has ran out. The Good Angels team is so overwhelming that they need neither her nor Candice Dupree to clean up in the Slovak Extraliga. Now that the Good Angels have been knocked out of the Euroleague Quarterfinals, McCoughtry and Dupree were dismissed at the end of February.

The article is here.

Daniel Jendrichovský, the general manager of the club, had this to say:

"For several years, it remains the preserve of our team to bring the new rising stars, who are four months with us much more demanding in Europe. Candice and Angel want to return here. I would be very happy if our city even higher territorial unit to help in this difficult time, because without them we have no chance. I would like us to Euroleague returned to Kosice in the next season, although it will be very difficult."

Will McCoughtry give Slovakia another try next year? We'll have to wait and see.

McCoughtry Back in Atlanta?

I have no news as to whether or not Angel McCoughtry has abandoned her club in Slovakia. Not that it would matter if she did. The team is undefeated in Slovakia, Euroleague is over and the Good Angels Kosice team won its opening playoff games by about 80 points. It's not exactly like they need her.

The picture above comes from the Atlanta Dream Facebook page.

Also according to Facebook - McCoughtry will be on Sportsnite at 6 pm ET on Friday Night. You can find that on the CSS Network.

Slovakia Extraliga Quarterfinals 2/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 106, Banská Bystrica 32

The Good Angels Kosice team moved on to the semifinals of the Slovakia Extralegia after wiping out Banská Bystrica on the road 106-32. Over the two games the Good Angels scored 221 points to Banská Bystrica's 59.

The closest thing to a box score is here. Printing it might be a war crime in Slovakia.

Once again, Candice Dupree and Angel McCoughtry did not play. Only 200 of Banská Bystrica's showed up for their home game. This game was a foregone conclusion.

Slovakia Extraliga Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Good Angels Kosice 115, Banská Bystrica 27

Yes, that score is correct. Angel McCoughtry's Good Angels Kosice team beat Banská Bystrica by 88 points. Part of the box score is here.

Let's look at the quarter-by-quarter score:

Quarter 1: 36-8
Quarter 2: 29-2
Quarter 3: 30-9
Quarter 4: 20-8

Erin Lawnless played and scored 11 points. Candice Dupree and Angel McCoughtry didn't play at all. Banská Bystrica knew they were in trouble when they saw McCoughtry in her bathrobe and shower cap and Dupree working on her taxes.

FIBA All-Star Game: Europe 93, Rest of the World 89

Angel McCoughtry looks rather pensive.

My understanding is that the FIBA All-Star Game was more a display of players than it was an actual game. With nothing at stake but having a good time and some bragging rights, Europe beat the "Rest of the World" team 93-89 in Gydnia, Poland in front of 4500 spectators.

The game report, box score, play-by-play and a small gallery are all here. In addition, one can find a highlight video here and if you want to see the entire game from start to finish, you can watch it here. (In either case, McCoughtry is #10 for the red team.)

Europe got a good start in the first but the Rest of the World went on a 15-2 run on the waya to a 25-20 first quarter lead. The Europeans answered with a 9-2 record in the second and took the lead again. It was a two-basket game for most of the second quarter, with Marta Fernandez scoring the final second quarter points to put Europe up 47-46 going into halftime.

The fight continued in the third quarter. The Rest of the World threatened to make a mini run, but an Anna Vadja jump shot with time expiring in the third closed Europe to three points, 75-72. Both teams traded baskets in the fourth, and with 1:15 left the Rest of the World closed to 90-89 with a jump shot by Angel McCoughtry. Candice Dupree got a steal but Rebekkah Brunson missed the jump shot for the non-Europeans. Sandine Gruda missed the shot for the Euorpleans, and Catherine Joens got the rebound with 30 seconds left.

Unfortunately, Clara Bermejo Moreno stole the ball from Erin Phillips with eight seconds left. Agnieszka Bibrzycka added a 3-pointer as time expired for the final score.

Agnieszka Bibrzycka was named as game Most Valuable Player, scoring 20 points in 23 minutes. Angel McCoughtry said:

"Biba played a great game and deserves to bring home the MVP trophy. I have never played in a game like this and I hope it was only the first with a lot more to come. Congratulations to the Europe team."

A high point - or maybe a low point - was when McCoughtry attempted a 360-degree layup in the third quarter - but it didn't happen.

Emmeline Ndongue added 12 points and five rebounds to the Europe tally. Laura Macchi scored 10 points and four rebounds.

For the Rest of the World team, Rebekkah Brunson was the lead scorer with 15 points and three rebounds. Candice Dupree added 11 points and nine rebounds. But the top performer for the non-Europeans was Angel McCoughtry:

13 points
5-for-12 shooting
7 rebounds
3 assists
24 minutes of play

McCoughtry Makes United States Women's National Team

It looks like Angel McCoughtry has impressed a few people. The WNBA. The Slovaks. The Euroleague. The NBA. And now, we can add USA Basketball, as McCoughtry has officially been added to the roster. Most likely, McCoughtry will play for the US in the FIBA World Championships in 2010 and she's also likely to play as an Olympian in 2012.

Here are the current players on the roster:

Sue Bird
Tamika Catchings
Diana Taurasi
Seimone Augustus
Sylvia Fowles
Kara Lawson
Candace Parker
Cappie Pondexter
Alana Beard
Swin Cash
Tina Charles (**)
Shameka Christon
Candice Dupree
Lindsey Harding
Asjha Jones
Angel McCoughtry
Renee Montgomery
Maya Moore (**)
Lindsay Whalen
Candice Wiggins

(**) - Player is currently a college senior.

Congratulations to Angel McCoughtry for all that she's accomplished.

Note: Kevin Pelton over at StormTracker noted that seven of the twenty players listed come from the same university - the University of Connecticut.

Other Games (Thursday-Saturday)

Good Angels Kosice 92, Ruzomberok 65. How crazy it is to play a possibly meaningless post season "Stage Two" game in Slovakia the day before what could be a decisive Game Two of Euroleague on Friday? However, both Angel McCoughtry and Candice Dupree took part in the Good Angels's ass-whooping of Ruzomberok. McCoughtry had 22 points and eight rebounds; Dupree added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Mersin 79, Botus 71. Mersin remains firmly in second place with a victory on the road against Botas. Ivory Latta lit up shooting with 26 points, hitting 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Erlana Larkins had 25 points and nine rebounds for Mersin. Chasity Melvinled the losers with an 18 point, 12 rebound double-double.

Friday's Euroleague Games

Ekaterinburg 65, Good Angels Kosice 60. Ekaterinburg wins the second game of the best-of-three series, knocking out Angel McCoughtry's Good Angels Kosice team.

According to Angel McCoughtry, ""It was a very good match. It was difficult, but I'm very proud of my teammates. We played well against a very tough opponent." The Good Angels were down by only one point after three quarters (42-41) and led 43-42 after a layup by McCoughtry, but after that the closest the Good Angels could get was two points. McCoughtry scored 16 points and had six rebounds in the loss.

Brno 87, Krakow 72. Brno's 87-72 win over Krakow in the Czech Republic forces a game three of the best-of three seres. Brno won every quarter and led by as many as 24 in the final ten minutes. Iziane Castro Marques led KRakwo with 19 points. Taj McWilliams had 20 points and nine rebounds for Brno.

Ros Casares 63, Perfumerias 57. Ros Casares sweeps the series 2-0, defeating Perfumerias on their home court. Tied at 57-57 with three minutes left, Perfumerias didn't score for the rest of the game.

Erika de Souza led Ros Casares with 21 points and eight rebounds. Her Atlanta Dream teammate, Sancho Lyttle had 17 points and 10 minutes.

Euroleague Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Ekaterinburg 81, Good Angels Kosice 56

Angel McCoughtry tries to stop Deanna Nolan.

Every team knew that Ekaterinburg would be tough, but some team would have to play them: that team was the Good Angels of Kosice. Unfortunately, they experienced exactly how tough Ekaterinburg was, as the Russians won at home 81-56 in front of 5,000 spectators.

The game report, box score, play by play and a small gallery are right here.

For the first three minutes, the Good Angels were in control and they marched to a 6-0 lead on Ekaterinburg's turf. Ekaterinburg caught up but only led by one, 17-16 after one quarter. In the second, Ekaterinburg managed to widen the lead out to ten points with a jump shot from Sandrine Gruda in the last minute: they led 47-39 going into halftime.

But the third quarter was a disaster for the Good Angels - they only scored five points in the quarter, and went 0-for-12 over their final twelve shots of the third. Ekaterinburg led 64-44 at the end of thirty minutes and there was no comeback from the Good Angels.

Candace Parker led all players with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and she hit 9 of 11 free throw shots. Sandrine Gruda scored 13 points for Ekaterinburg.

Candice Dupree led the Good Angels with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Ivaná Jalcová scored 12 poitns and had three rebounds and three assists.

For Angel McCoughtry, it was a poor shooting game - she got double digits, but took a lot of shots:

12 points
4-for-16 shooting
8 rebounds
4 steals

Angel McCoughtry's NBA Pix

McCoughtry's kicks.

Angel McCoughtry represented not just the Atlanta Dream, but the city of Atlanta and the WNBA during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Her Atlanta team didn't win the shootout challenge, but she participated in the NBA Celebrity Game.

There's a gallery of pictures right here. Jog by and give it a peek.

McCoughtry's Star On the Rise All Just About Everywhere

New article in the Baltimore Sun about Angel McCoughtry's multiple successes.

Rookie of the Year.
USA Women's Team Candidate.
Euroleague Sensation.
WNBA Rep at the NBA All-Star Game.
The Best Angel of the Good Angels in Kosice, Slovakia, which is her European team.

From Marynell Meadors:

"People recognize her, people relate to her," said Marynell Meadors, coach and general manager of the Dream. "Little kids love to watch her play. Angel is the star waiting to happen.

"I don't know how many second-year players get the opportunity to do what she's doing. Everybody in the league recognizes her potential and her strength. Down deep she's a shy person, but she's getting more extroverted every day."

There was also this little tantalizing nugget:

McCoughtry added the dunk to her game in Slovakia and has enjoyed playing in Europe.

Dunking? At 6'1"? If McCoughtry throws down during a WNBA game, Philips Arena will levitate.