Holdsclaw: "It was a personal thing"

Chamique Holdsclaw gives an interview to the Silver Stars web site where she talks briefly about leaving Atlanta and the circumstances behind her departure.

"In my situation, I had a great team last year and I loved the players on my team. It was a personal thing between me and the coach. It had nothing to do with my teammates, it wasn't about basketball. You know, all my teams that I've played on in the past, everybody'll tell you I'm great in the locker room, we have a lot of fun and you know, early on it was because of my situation off the court, it was a personal reason which I could not control.

But, you know, this [inaudible] situation in Atlanta was something I didn't expect to happen. I mean I have a house there, you know, I lived there before the team was there and that's where I want to retire. But you know, you don't get everything you want so you can move on and you know, you welcome the new experience."

My translation: we don't know why Holdsclaw left, and we'll never know. "Personal thing" covers a hell of a lot of ground.

UPDATE: Holdsclaw talks to the Associated Press rep in San Antonio.

But Holdsclaw said she asked for a trade before training camp this year because of a dispute with coach-general manager Marynell Meadors.

Holdsclaw would not elaborate, only saying that it wasn’t about basketball and that it “was a thing of principle.”

“It was a lose-lose situation for me,” Holdsclaw said.

Okay, enough of the cryptic crap. Either say the reason, or stop hinting that there was one but that you won't tell anyone what it is. And you decide to throw all of this stuff only after you've landed safely in San Antonio?

Exit The Claw

It's official now: Chamique Holdsclaw has been waived by the Atlanta Dream. I don't know if her salary counts against the Dream or not, but according to the press release, "The team actively pursued a trade per Holdsclaw’s request but was unsuccessful."

Yelena Leuchanka is finally with the team. She will make her debut against the Sun at Friday night at Philips Arena. It looks like Leuchanka will take the roster spot vacated by Holdsclaw.

(So what do we call Leuchanka? The Bear Claw?)

Dream Roster Finalized - Holdsclaw In, Mokango Out

The Dream were coming down to the wire - at 3 pm ET today, the Atlanta Dream would have to finalize its roster. Marynell Meadors made her list, checked it twice, and sent it in to the league office.

Here are the members of the Atlanta Dream as of this writing:

#0 - Brittainey Raven, guard. Raven most likely will be playing small forward, replacing Chamique Holdsclaw in camp. Raven was a third-round draft pick for the Dream in the 2010 WNBA Draft. She spent her senior year from the University of Texas. Raven will be the fifth youngest player on a roster in the WNBA this season, at 21.79 metric years.

#1 - Chamique Holdsclaw, forward. Holdsclaw did not appear in training camp, requesting a trade three days before camp started. It appears that Chamique Holdsclaw will remain on the Dream's roster until she's either suspended/released or until another team acquires her.

#2 - Kelly Miller, guard. The identical twin sister of Coco Miller. Kelly Miller played for the Minnesota Lynx last year and was acquired as a free agent. This will be Kelly Miller's first season with the Dream and the first time that both Kelly Miller and Coco Miller have played on the same WNBA team.

#5 - Shalee Lehning, guard. This is Lehning's second year with the Dream and her second year in the WNBA.

#8 - Iziane Castro Marques, forward-guard. This is Iziane's third year with the Dream.

#9 - Coco Miller, guard. The identical twin sister of Kelly Miler. This is Coco Miller's second season with the Dream.

#14 - Erika de Souza, center. This is Erika's third year with the Dream. She and Iziane are both native Brazilians. Furthermore, they are the only active Brazilian players in the WNBA.

#20 - Sancho Lyttle, forward. Lyttle was acquired through the Houston Comets dispersal draft and played with the Dream during the 2009 season, her first in Atlanta.

#22 - Armintie Price, guard-forward. Price was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Chicago Sky in 2009. This will be the first time that Price has been on the Dream's opening day roster.

#33 - Alison Bales, center. Bales came back to Dream training camp after an extended absence. She played the back half of the 2008 season and was there when the Dream won its very first game. She was let go in 2009 and hooked up with Phoenix, but was cut during training camp. She started taking med school classes at Wright State but was hoping to be picked up by some WNBA team, and without Leuchanka in camp the Dream needed another post. I suspect that Bales will depart when Yelena Leuchanka arrives next week.

At 6'7", Bales is the tallest woman currently on a WNBA roster.

#35 - Angel McCoughtry, forward. McCoughtry was the #1 pick in the WNBA Draft in 2009. She was the WNBA's Rookie of the Year that same year. This is McCoughtry's second year with the Dream.

Team captains have not been named.

What's more interesting is who isn't on the roster. Next week Yelena Leuchanka, a center from Belarus who attended West Virginia, will arrive in Atlanta. Someone up on that above list will probably be booted, so don't laminate your roster just yet.

The most surprising news...today...is that Chanel Mokango did not make the roster - she failed to make the team. Mokango was the team's first round draft pick and the #9 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. If this is the end of Chanel Mokango's career, then Mokango will become the highest-drafted player never to make a WNBA team. The record was formerly held by Molly Creamer, drafted #10 overall by the New York Liberty in 2003. If Mokango catches on with a team, the record will revert back to Creamer.

Despite the fact that the Dream have the highest ranking person in the 2010 Draft that didn't make the team, they have the lowest ranking pick in the 2010 Draft that did make the team. Brittainey Raven was the #33 pick, and when Holdsclaw failed to show up for camp, Raven was asked to play Holdsclaw's position. Raven apparently managed well enough to earn herself a spot. Raven must be the Hardest Working Player in Show Business, and I'm sure that she must be walking on air right now.

As for former Dream players, it looks like both Ivory Latta and Jennifer Lacy were cut by Tulsa and Washington respectively. With both players having at least three years in the WNBA and not catching on with a tame this season, it's likely that we won't see either of them on a WNBA team until 2011...if ever again.

Tomorrow, the Dream's ten players (Holdsclaw ain't coming) will travel to San Antonio to take on the Silver Stars in their first regular season game. But don't worry - on Sunday the Dream return to Atlanta for their home opener at Philips Arena. More on that later.

Dream Tendered Offer to Lacy Earlier This Year

One of the most perplexing events of the 2009-10 offseason was the fact that Jennifer Lacy remained an unsigned free agent almost until the beginning of Training Camp. She was released by the Dream on April 26 and four days later the Washington Mystics signed her for training camp.

Given that one of Holdsclaw's motivations in signing for the Dream was to play alongside Lacy, the question was why the Dream failed to re-sign Lacy. Today, I communicated with someone...well, let's just say that it was very high up in the DFO, someone who would know exactly what was going on.

According to my DFO contact, the Dream tendered an offer to Lacy...and they heard...nothing. No answer from Lacy. So if Lacy wanted to stay with the Dream, she would have simply signed the offer and nothing would have changed.

Frankly, if I was in the WNBA and had a PER of 7.87 lifetime...if some front office tendered me a contract I'd sign it and risk a wrist injury by giving myself a high-five.

The End of the Holdsclaw Era

The following message was sent by Dream COO Toby Wyman to the season-ticket holders of the Atlanta Dream on May 11, 2010:

As we continue to build this franchise on and off the floor, we are at times faced with making tough decisions. We are currently challenged with one of the most difficult decisions this organization has encountered. Unfortunately, Chamique Holdsclaw recently expressed a desire to be traded. Chamique was an integral part of our success last year and we had every intention of keeping her and having her continue to play a key role with the Dream. We are actively pursuing a resolution to grant her request and we appreciate all that Chamique has done to help our young franchise.

So now, it's out in the open. The question isn't if there will be trade, the question is "when". After tons of smoke, we finally have fire.

Chamique Holdsclaw's tenure with the Atlanta Dream began on December 17, 2008 when they swapped the #13 pick to the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2009 WNBA Draft - the Dream already had the #1 pick - for the rights to Holdsclaw. (The Sparks would pick up Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton out of Purdue with the pick they acquired.) There were high hopes because Chamique Holdsclaw was probably one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time. (*) Even though Holdsclaw had her detractors - Holdsclaw's battles with depression were well documented and her walking away from the Sparks during the 2007 season let many fans down - The Claw was certainly a big-name acquisition for Atlanta.

At the time, the two biggest names on the Dream were Betty Lennox and Ivory Latta. Lennox had battled with coach Marynell Meadors and the only question among Dream observers was how Lennox would leave, not if. With Latta cut at the end of the 2009 training camp in favor of Shalee Lehning, this made Holdsclaw the biggest name on the team. Sancho Lyttle and Erika de Souza had yet to surprise the Dream with their great 2009 seasons. McCoughtry was the #1 pick in the WNBA Draft but she was still a rookie and some suggested that there would be other players in the draft at least as good as McCoughtry.

Holdsclaw could return to a leadership role in more ways than one in Atlanta . But it seemed that injuries plagued Holdsclaw before she even put on the Powder Blue uniform of the Dream. Playing for the Wisla Can-Pack Krakow team in Poland , a knee injury sent Holdsclaw home in mid-season. Holdsclaw was only able to play 11 games for the Poles in 2008-09. Even so, the goal was for Holdsclaw to have her knee rehabbed in the interim and to return to the Dream for the start of the 2009 WNBA season.

When Holdsclaw returned to the Dream, there was still some gasoline left in the tank. Holdsclaw exploded for 28 points in a Dream game against the Shock, and three weeks later scored another 28 against the Lynx in Minnesota . The Dream were 18-16 in 2008 and 14 of those 18 wins came with Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw's ability to move the ball for the Dream offense was outstanding - she could either burst by a defender or stop-and-start, throwing off the defender's timing and leaving her helpless.

As the season progressed Holdsclaw's knees caught up with her. She would only play in 25 games of the 2009 season. Her Player Efficiency Rating was 14.85 - the equivalent of an average player and not a superstar. In terms of PER, it was Holdsclaw's worst season. (For a player at Holdsclaw's level, "average" is bad.) Like a car's overheated engine, Holdsclaw's knees finally conked out and she missed the final nine games of the regular season. She returned for one game of the playoffs against the Detroit Shock but was a non-factor, scoring 3 points in 13 minutes of play. Holdsclaw did not return for the second game, watching from the bench, and the Dream were eliminated.

Even so, Holdsclaw was one of the parts of a successful 2009 season and many hoped that a (healthy) Holdsclaw would be back in 2010. Holdclaw's health problems persisted. She signed with the Good Angels Kosice team for the 2009-10 European season and after a couple of games, the Slovaks sent Holdsclaw right back home. The impression given by the Slovaks was that she had failed her physical, and Holdsclaw confirmed it in a Twitter post:

When I didn’t pass my physical in October with the team in Slovakia , I was disappointed. I felt this way because as an athlete, all you want to do is compete, and for a short time I was unable to do so. This whole experience has been really humbling.

To replace Holdsclaw the Slovaks got...Angel McCoughtry, who did extremely well under the same circumstances - even dunking in a game against a weaker Slovak club. McCoughtry and Candice Dupree took the Good Angels Kosice team deep into Euroleague. Holdsclaw ended up with K. V. Imperial in Cyprus - a good team and perennial Eurocup contender, but not exactly a top rank European team - the kind of team where average WNBA players might play. (**)

Holdsclaw returned to Atlanta at the end of the Cypriot season. One clue that things might have changed for Holdsclaw in Atlanta was that Jennifer Lacy was still unsigned by the Dream. Holdsclaw is a close friend of Lacy's and part of the draw in playing in Atlanta was that they'd be on the same team. Lacy would be entering the fourth year of her WNBA career and would be due a significant salary raise. If Atlanta signed Lacy, the Dream would be stuck with Lacy's dismal production under Meadors; if the Dream didn't they took the risk of losing Holdsclaw who might bolt. (***)

Before camp, the Dream declined to sign Lacy and Lacy became a free agent. Lacy ended up at the Washington Mystics camp, Chamique Holdsclaw's former stamping grounds. Holdsclaw was definitely in Atlanta - she was sighted at a shoe promotion - but there were no pictures of her in camp. There was no promotional material highlighting Holdsclaw in camp, but Holdsclaw and Lacy had made appearances for the Dream (for example, at Georgia Tech in an attempt to promote the club) in the early part of 2010.

With Thursday, May 13th - Media Day - looming ahead, with Friday being the day where all WNBA rosters are finalized and with Saturday being the first game of the 2010 WNBA regular season with the Dream traveling to San Antonio , something had to give. It gave yesterday evening. Someone posted on the Dream Facebook page that Holdsclaw might be leaving and the season-ticket holders revealed the contents of their e-mails.

(* * *)

The question now is what the Dream will do with Holdsclaw. They can trade Holdsclaw, but the question is "does any other team want Holdsclaw?" Holdsclaw's on-court production depends on her shaky health and Holdsclaw's salary requirements would be high - The Claw has been in the league since 1999. Meadors would probably take any trade she could get if there were no other options...past trades by Meadors of Dream players indicate that for particular unnamed players that have left Atlanta , Meadors would have taken two used basketballs (one patched) in trade.

Another option is that the Dream could flat-out release Holdsclaw. This leaves any other team free to pick her up. The downside is that the Dream gave up a first-round draft pick for one year of an underperforming Holdsclaw. A final option would be to suspend Holdsclaw for not showing up to camp, and I don't know how suspension affects a player.

The two big questions are:

1) Is the Dream good enough to make the playoffs this year even without Holdsclaw? My answer is "yes". Lyttle, de Souza and McCoughtry make the Dream a contender.

2) Who will take over Holdsclaw's role on the Dream? Holdsclaw brought two advantages to the Dream. She was personable, and she was a team leader.

What little I've seen of Angel McCoughtry suggests that McCoughtry could step into a team leader position even as a second year player. McCoughtry has the drive and the will to win; she simply has to avoid trying to do everything for the Dream. Can McCoughtry make her teammates better, the test of a true leader? If she can, then McCoughtry becomes the Field General. Everything from last year and Euroleague suggests that McCoughtry is The One.

Whether McCoughtry has the charisma of Holdsclaw is hard to say. McCoughtry has made appearances for the Dream on television, but does she want to get out there and mingle with the fans at minor functions and turn on the charm even when she doesn't want to? If McCoughtry wanted to be the Dream's ambassador, I believe she could do it - McCoughtry is the kind of person who could do almost anything she set her mind to through sheer determination.

Even though the Holdsclaw Era is over, the Dream lives on. It's just a rule of being a fan - your players don't stay with you forever. Definitely true for the Dream - the only players left from the 2008 squad are Erika de Souza and Iziane Castro Marques. With the Atlanta Dream, change is a fact of life, not a choice.

_____



(*) - My Hall of Fame Metric has Holdsclaw as the xxth greatest of the modern era, with a 94 percent chance of going into a hypothetical WNBA Hall of Fame.

(**) - Although I hear that it's beautiful in Cyprus .

(***) - If you buy the "Meadors is master manipulator" theory, one could conclude that Meadors let Lacy go in the hopes that Holdsclaw would soon depart afterwards. If so, the master plan failed because Holdsclaw's late trade request leaves the Dream scrambling.

Facebook Rumors

A random comment by Monique Hall on Facebook:

Monique Hall OMG!!!!!!!!! What is really going on???????? Just got an email that Chamique wants to be traded. I am speechless.

You know, there's nothing to this other than a random post on Facebook. But since nothing has been seen of Holdsclaw in training camp, the Dream front office needs to address this before speculation runs wild. Speculation expands to fill the vacuum left by absent knowledge.

Meanwhile in Cyprus....

We've heard very little about how Chamique Holdsclaw has been doing, and Eurobasket gives us some hint as to what's going on with her K. V. Imperial team after they lost in the Euroleague quarterfinals.

They are playing against Etha in the semifinals of the Cyprus post-season. I don't know how many games a semifinals last, but K. V. Imperial beat Etha (which finished fifth in the regular season) 104-46 in Game 1 and 76-40 in Game 2 on March 3.

Looks like every one on the Atlanta Dream is going to go into the post-season with their European clubs....

Problem Solved in Cyprus

Chamique Holdsclaw sent a few tweets earlier about K. V. Imperial's (aborted) trip to Russia when two players on the team refused to get on the plane to Russia. Looks like that problem was solved:

@chold1 We bout to start this trip to Russia again. Those two girls that fcuked up our trip on Sunday got kicked off the team. They really did a # on us bc we had great chemistry now we will play w/o our 2 and 3 scorers who were vets.

I wish Chamique Holdsclaw and K. V. Imperial the best of luck.

The Circus at K. V. Imperial

Chamique Holdsclaw Twitters about an incident at her club K. V. Imperial in Cyprus:

At airport headed to Russia and 2 players decide they don't wanna fly. Next thing I know the president and coach talk tells us we not taking the flight. Come on now the other 8 players r pissed as hell

Man I'm so pissed and so are the other players. Coaches are even pissed this is just SELFISH. Man I wanna go up aside their heads for this stunt.

Man I just don't understand now we waiting for baggage and they at the crib. Wowzers. You know me so u know how I feel right now

Man right now I don't wanna hear no shit about no one is bigger than the team. Its obvious from actions that its not true or else we wud be on that plane.

head back home to my flat catch some zzz's and figure out with these folks gonna do.

Man this situation is crazy

Eurocup Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Orenburg 71, K. V. Imperial 64

It can be understood that you might lose a best-of-two series on the road - you can always make up any deficits when you meet again at home. Unforunately for K. V. Imperial, they had home advantage playing in Cyprus - and lost to Russian team Orenburg 71-64. The two teams will meet again on Thursday, and this time the Russians will have home court advantage.

The game report, box score, and play-by-play are all here. Unfortunately, there is no photo gallery.

After struggling through an almost even first quarter, Orenburg continued an 11-0 run through the second that put them up 29-19 at one point. K. V. Imperial fought back in front of the crowd of 400 spectators and with two minutes left before halftime, took the lead again. K. V. Imperial led by one basket, 38-36, at halftime.

With just three minutes to go in the third, K. V. Imperial still led 45-41. However, the Russians tied a couple of times and scored the final layup of the third quarter, giving Orenburg a 52-50 lead with ten minutes to go. They managed to keep this lead with K. V. Imperial hot on their trail. A basket by Daliborka Vilipic with 1:53 to go in the game closed K. V. Imperial to three points, 67-64. Unfortunately, K. V. Imperial would miss their next two shots. Down 69-64 with 1:05 to go, Chamique Holdsclaw would turn over the ball and Orenburg would hang on for victory.

Tatiana Burik led all Orenburg players with 20 points and five rebounds. Superplayer Anastasia Veremeenko would contribute six points, seven rebounds and eight assists for Orenburg.

Daliborka Vilipic scored 11 points for K. V. Imperial and Sherill Baker added 21 points. Chamique Holdsclaw had a great game, but also had six turnovers:

25 points
11-for-17 shooting
8 rebounds
2 assists
6 turnovers

Now Up at Dream Diary: Chamique Holdsclaw

Chamique Holdsclaw, enjoying life in Cyprus.

Chamique Holdsclaw has a nice long post about what she's been doing in the off-season at Dream Diary, the official blog of the Atlanta Dream.

We get some hints of what happened in Slovakia and why the Good Angels Kosice team might have let Chamique Holdsclaw go so quickly:

When I didn’t pass my physical in October with the team in Slovakia, I was disappointed. I felt this way because as an athlete, all you want to do is compete, and for a short time I was unable to do so. This whole experience has been really humbling.

Holdsclaw decided to stay home and work on her health. She worked with Dorian Lee, her trainer, who was happy with her training and told her:

“If the doctor said you are fine and you and I know the progress you are making every day, Mique go ahead and take advantage of the opportunity.”

From there, Holdsclaw went to Cyprus where Sherill Baker is on her K. V. Imperial team.

Out of all the countries and places I have been, I like this one the most and could see myself living here. The weather is beautiful, it’s filled with people of several nationalities, and everyone speaks English. With all of that said, it makes things a lot easier when I am trying to find my way around. We work hard, but we also really enjoy life off the court too. It’s close to being home in the U.S.A.

Holdsclaw also provided a gallery of pictures. She's looking happy and healthy. If you're a fan of Chamique Holdsclaw, you have some reading to do.

Late Results

In the Slovakia Extraliga, the Good Angels Kosice have played Presov. How that game went is anyone's guess. Of course, you could also ask @angel_35 (Angel McCoughtry) how the game went, but I suspect that the Good Angels won - they're undefeated in Slovakia play this year.

And finally, some word from Chamique Holdsclaw's team over in Cyprus. K. V. Imperial coasted to a 6-50 win over Anagennises to finish at 9-1 at the end of the regular season. At some point, the Cypriot teams will play their semifinals. Holdsclaw also will be playing in the quarterfinals of Eurocup - there's likely to be more information about that than any Cyprus game.

Eurocup 8th Finals 2/2009 - Montpellier 58, K. V. Imperial 51

Gaelle Skrella and Chamique Holdsclaw tussle for the ball.

The box score, play-by-play and a small gallery are all here.

When you have to overcome a 20-point deficit from last week's game, you'd better try harder. Despite the presence of 800 spectators, Montpellier found themselves down 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and both teams came to a halt in the second quarter. (Montpellier scored 11 points...K. V. Imperial scored six.) Neither team broke 40 percent shooting in the game, and Montpellier just wasn't going to build enough points to stop K. V. Imperial.

The box score looks awful. Montpellier had 25 turnovers, K. V. Imperial had 22 turnovers. K. V. Imperial only had five assists.

Paulin Krawczyk socred 21 points and seven rebounds for Montpellier. Mandisa Stevenson had six points and 11 rebounds in Montpellier's final game in Eurocup.

As for K. V. Imperial, only two players scored more than 10 points. Biljana Pesovic scored 11 points but had six turnovers...and then, there was....

...the Claw. Chamique Holdsclaw was clearly the player of the game.

18 points
7-for-18 shooting
10 rebounds
3 assists
36 minutes

A Few Atlanta Dream Questions Answered

I have a new fan post on Swish Appeal. Those interested in such questions as "which of the three assistant coaches becomes the official assistant coach?" or "how's Chamique Holdsclaw's knee doing?" can be found at the link.

Eurocup 16th Finals 2/2009 - Ruse 77, K. V. Imperial 75

Despite the 77-75 victory in Ruse, Bulgaria over visiting K. V. Imperial, K.. V. Imperial advances to the 8th Finals of Eurocup. K. V. Imperial crushed Ruse 93-65 in the first game of the two-game series and the team advances on aggregate points, 168-142.

On Twitter, Chamique Holdsclaw had some sharp words for the Bulgarian fans.

@Chold1 Jus played n da most hostile gym ever. Omg cats was spitting throwing receipt rolls. I was about to get my Ron Artest on fuk dat.


@Chold1 I've been playing in Europe for 8years and never experienced anything like this. Like I was waiting for spit to connect.

A box score of the game can be found here. It's odd that the FIBA Europe site doesn't even have a play-by-play.

Holdsclaw did not take part in this game, probably because she joined the team mid-season. I've still not been able to find out any information about the game between K. V. Imperial and AEK Larnaca on January 10th. If I learn anything, I'll let you know.

Chamique Holdsclaw Signed by K. V. Imperial of Cyprus

No pictures of Holdsclaw, so we'll have to settle for Sherill Baker.

It looks like Chamique Holdsclaw will be returning back to international basketball. She played for the Good Angels of Slovakia before being unexpectedly cut, undoubtedly because the Good Angels wanted Holdsclaw to shoulder the blame for their poor start.

Holdsclaw will be playing for K. V. Imperial of Cyprus. K. V. Imperial, also known as AEL, now stands at 6-0 in the six-team Women's Cypriot A1 League.

Holdsclaw played yesterday in the 16th finals of Eurocup. Her AEL team won 93-65 against Dunav Econt Ruse in the city of Limassol in Cyprus.

Holdsclaw's Line:

17 points on 8-for-11 shooting
9 rebounds
4 assists

A box score, play-by-play score and a photo gallery can all be found right here.

Also signed by AEL was Sherill Baker. Baker has played four years in the WNBA, but only played one game in 2009, with Detroit. Cyprus League ball picks up again on Saturday with a game against AEK Larnaca.

Ten Best Dream Games from Individual Players in 2009

The Angel or the Beast?

10. Michelle Snow: In Game 18 of the regular season - a 98-95 overtime victory in Detroit - Angel McCoughtry and Ivory Latta combined to score 42 points. However, the only player with an honest-to-goodness double double was Michelle Snow, who scored 16 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 5-for-9 from the field, and with the game tied 87-87, a hook shot from Snow at the buzzer appeared to win the game. However, the video showed that the shot came just after time expired. Snow would pick up 1 point and 2 rebounds in the overtime period. Detroit almost sent the game into a second overtime, but Katie Smith's 3-pointer missed at the buzzer in overtime.

9. Erika de Souza: The Beast from Brazil would have two games in 2009 where she had 17 rebounds. Game 13 against Connecticut at home was one of them, a 72-67 win at Philips where she scored 12 points and 17 rebounds. De Souza also added four steals. Despite a 19 point halftime lead, Connecticut almost crawled back into the game, when Tan White closed the game to two points with 9 seconds left, 69-67. However, the next four scoring opportunities - all free throws - belonged to the Dream, where they hit three of four.

8. Sancho Lyttle: Lyttle was another explosive force, and she scored 20 points and eight rebounds in an 88-79 win over Seattle in Game 24 during a Philips Arena homestand. In the last minute of the game, Seattle's Sue Bird found Swin Cash to close the gap to 83-79, but Lyttle hit one of two following free throws, and with McCoughtry missing a pair of free throws after a loose ball foul, there was a scramble under the boards. Erika de Souza rebounded and missed, but Lyttle got the next rebound for a putback layup and her 20th point of the game, putting the Dream up by 7 points with half-a minute. Sue Bird missed a 3-pointer, and Lyttle got the follow-up rebound again, essentially sealing the game for the Dream.

Trivia: This was the game where Lauren Jackson scored her 5,000th career point.

7. Chamique Holdsclaw: Game 15 was a breakout game for Holdsclaw, and was truly the best of the year for her - a shame it had to happen in Minnesota. Holdsclaw looked like the old Holdsclaw, with 28 points, 7 rebounds and shooting 11-for-16 from the field in a 91-77 win over the Lynx. The Dream started the game with a 13-2 run and never looked back. Minnesota got to within one point in the fourth...and then The Claw scored eight more points. This was the second game where Holdsclaw scored 28 points this year, and it was the best one.

6. Angel McCoughtry: In Game 33, the Dream needed a win against visting Connecticut in the final regular season home game. The Dream got off to a hot start, scoring 30 points in the first quarter, and leading 53-36 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter the lead was 21 points.

Instrumental in the win was McCoughtry, who had 18 poipnts, 6 rebounds...and six steals, a defensive force that stymied the Sun. The win not only put the Dream in the playoffs, but would prove to be enough to secure second place in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Dream, it would be the very last win of the 2009 season as the Dream lost their final game against Washington and were swept by the Shock.

5. Erika de Souza (and 3. Angel McCoughtry): In Game 31, the Dream had to travel to Sacramento the night before playing Phoenix on the road - a team itching for revenge after losing 106-76 at Philips. If the Dream lost the first game of the back to back against the Monarchs, they likely wouldn't win the following game against the Mercury.

The Monarchs took a 54-51 lead into halftime, but the Dream pulled away with the road win, 98-90. (In Phoenix, the Dream wouldn't be so lucky.) Atlanta finished strong in the end. Angel McCoughtry had 26 points and 10 assists and Erika de Souza had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Combine those two performances and the Monarchs were doomed. Atlanta finished strong in the fourth quarter, and Sacramento faded away.

Let's look at each "line":

McCoughtry: 11-for-15, +12 plus/minus, 5 rebounds, 10 assists. (And only one personal foul!)
de Souza: 13-for-19, +18 plus/minus, 13 rebounds.

Unfortunately for Sacramento, there would be no hope of a 2010 rematch. The win was the final game played between the Dream and the Monarchs, as Sacramento folded during the off-season.

4. Angel McCoughtry: It seems that the Sky had Atlanta's number in 2009, and during Game 7, the Dream would take the Sky to overtime at Philips Arena. Angel McCoughtry was still earning the right to start, and she managed to put on a show for the Dream fans. With 15 seconds left and the Dream down 87-85, McCoughtry hit a pair of free thorws to tie the game at 87-87. Steven Key would put the ball in the hands of Jia Perkins, but her jump shot missed sending the game into overtime.

Unfortunately in the overtime, McCoughtry went 1-for-2 and picked up a personal foul. Down 99-96 in the overtime, McCoughtry's 3-pointer with 6 seconds left missed. Jennifer Lacy tried a three and missed as well, and Sancho Lyttle made a meaningless putback layup as time expired as the Dream lost 99-98.

McCoughty, however, had 26 points coming off the bench. She shot 9-for-16 and she had eight assists for the Dream that night. It was the first time in McCoughtry's career that she scored more than 20 points in a game - a feat she would match six other times in 2009.

3. See #5.

2. Angel McCoughtry: Remember that thing about Angel McCoughtry having several 20 point games this year? Well, we hadn't seen anything yet. As Atlanta was getting ready to finish a six-game homestand, Game 25 against the Silver Stars showed that even off the bench, McCoughtry would be an explosive force that put other teams in danger.

She would score 34 points against San Antonio in a 93-87 victory. She scored 10 points at the free throw line - and if she had hit her other seven free throw attempts, she would have had a 40+ point game. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.

Believe it or not, Marynell Meadors still wasn't quite ready to start her, Meadors saying that she liked the energy McCoughtry brought off the bench. Total time played by McCoughtry? TWenty eight minutes, 51 seconds. If she had started and not had foul trouble - McCoughtry finished with five fouls - who knows what McCoughtry might have accomplished?

1. Erika de Souza: Game 16 against the Indiana Fever in Indiana would end with Dream loss, but the Dream almost pulled off the win. The Dream were down 43-31 at halftime, but closed to 64-55 by the end of the third quarter.

Unforunately, the Dream could never get closer than five points in the fourth, and the Fever won 84-79. It was the Fever's 11th straight win after two opening losses. However, Erika de Souza did all she could do to break the Fever's winning streak, scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds - five of those rebounds taking place in the final quarter. Out of her 14 rebounds, seven were off the offensive glass. She shot 10-for-15 for the game.

If the Dream had beaten the Fever, two of Indiana's hypothetical three losses would have come aginst Atlanta. The Beast From Brazil's 23 points were a career high. One week later, de Souza played in her very first WNBA All-Star Game.

Top Atlanta Dream Moments of 2009

Women Talk Sports has asked its members to come up with the “Best of ‘09”, the best moments in women’s sports in 2009. I’ve had some difficulty in completing this example for two reasons:

1) Real life. Normally, real life isn’t something to be condemned. We all want as much of a real life as possible, the alternative being several orders of magnitude worse. However, this month might be the month when Real Life (all caps) has made the most demands on my time. I don’t believe that I’ve ever abandoned the blog for 10 days before, and trust me, it wasn’t because I was somewhere on a Caribbean shore drinking a glass of orange juice on a sandy beach. November and December have been months of encroachment – good encroachment and bad encroachment combined.

2) A “Dream centric” approach. The problem is that even though I religiously follow the WNBA, I have not only barely kept up with anything going on in women’s sports, I have neglected the entire realm of sports outside of the WNBA and possibly Georgia Tech women’s basketball. If you were to ask me the “Best of ‘09” in women’s sports, I would be at a loss. I don’t know who is leading the LPGA. I don’t know who won women’s singles at Wimbleton. Did North Carolina win another NCAA women’s soccer championship?

You got me, sister. Only so many hours in the day.

On the other hand – I know about the Atlanta Dream. You might have heard of them, you know, that organization where thousands of people meet on weekday nights that completely escapes the eyes of the Atlanta sports media. And I think that I can tell you what the best moments for the Atlanta Dream were in 2009.

1. The acquisition of Chamique Holdsclaw. In their inaugural 2008 season, the Atlanta Dream finished with a 4-30 record, after starting out with 17 straight losses. Undoubtedly, the hope for 2009 was simply not to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Those WNBA fans in it for the long haul thought that the Dream might contend in about five years.

However, the Dream were about to make a bold move. In December of 2008, the Dream traded the 13th draft pick in the 2009 draft to the Sparks for the rights to Holdsclaw. Would she even play? She returned from Poland in February with a bad knee and for many Dream fans, they would believe that The Claw was back when they saw it.

Well, they saw it. And how. Holdsclaw only averaged about 14 points a game, about four points off her career average. She only played in 25 regular season games and injuries limited her effectiveness. However, Dream fans saw flashes of the old Holdsclaw, who might be one of the best players in the WNBA in moving the ball. Rumor has it that Holdsclaw’s presence returned stabilitiy to the locker room after a contentious 2008 season that saw two players (Camille Little and Stacey Lovelace) essentially jump ship.

2. The drafting of Angel McCoughtry. In 2009 it was, “in with the old (Holdsclaw) and in with the new (McCoughtry).” Despite their 4-30 finish, the Dream could at least look forward to securing the #1 draft pick in the 2009 draft. There was much discussion regarding that choice, which would have an immediate impact on 2009.

Should it be Renee Montgomery? Or Marissa Coleman? Or Courtney Paris? No, it would be Angel McCoughtry out of Louisville. McCoughtry managed to lead her Cardinals to the NCAA title game in her senior year, and this got the attention of Dream head coach Marynell Meadors, who was impressed with McCoughtry putting the team on her back. Perhaps McCoughtry could do the same for the Dream.

In Meadors’s universe, rookies – even super-rookies – don’t start. Dream fans were treated to McCoughtry coming off the bench, and when she came on the floor the game of the entire team picked up. The hard part for McCoughtry was to learn not to do too much by herself – not just yet, anyway.

It became obvious that despite any perceived deficiencies in Meadors’s coaching, Meadors knows how to evaluate talent. McCoughtry scored 12.8 points a season and was the only high point of a playoff sweep by the Detroit Shock, averaging 19 points a game over both losses. The question was whether or not McCoughtry would finish in front of DeWanna Bonner. McCoughtry triumphed with a Rookie of the Year Award, was named to the United States Women’s Basketball Team in the off-season and last I heard she was tearing it up in Europe.

The frightening thing? McCoughtry will be better this year than she was last year. I don’t want to put the “game-changer” label on McCoughtry just yet; that might have to wait until 2010.

3. The surprise of Shalee Lehning. Over the course of the off-season, the Dream stocked up. They picked up Carol Ross, formerly head coach at Mississippi, to join the coaching staff. They picked up big time free agents in Sancho Lyttle and Michelle Snow. And of course, they added Holdsclaw and McCoughtry as well.

When Shalee Lehning of Kansas State was drafted in the second round, the fan reaction was “nod pleasantly”. Lehning wasn’t considered a top rank point guard, although she did score high on the Senior Prospects Metric. There was certainly no buzz about Lehning, no hint that she was overlooked – second round seemed a correct assessment. She’d most likely either get cut at training camp, or, if she was lucky, she’d ride the bench.

Then the bombshell went off in June when Meadors announced that popular point guard Ivory Latta failed to make the cut – and Lehning was going to be the point guard behind Nikki Teasley. The sound heard in Kansas was the sound of swear words from Latta fans across Atlanta. Lehning? The Dream’s starter? Realllly?

Oh yes, really. And even though her role seemed limited to pushing the ball into the post, Lehning would become the dream’s starting point guard. Lehning had a devoted following from Kansas State, each of whom became long distance Dream fans. Lehning supporters in and out of Kansas attributed to Lehning the qualities of an athlete out of a story book – soft spoken, saying “yes m’aam” and without any flash, the prototypical Selfless Athlete.

Latta returned when Teasley was dealt to the Shock – but Lehning stayed, and kept her starting role. A severe shoulder separation denied her the chance to go to the playoffs, but she was with the team to the bitter end. 2010 will reveal if Lehning has more surprises for us.

4. The Twin Towers. It seems that if you put two post players together that are each taller than 6’2”, you can call them the “Twin Towers”. I always thought of Ruth Riley and Ann Wauters being San Antonio’s version of the Towers; but Sancho Lyttle and Erika de Souza deserved that name.

Lyttle came to the Dream from the Houston dispersal draft. For Lyttle, who grew up overseas and learned basketball late in life, it seemed that she was following the quick trajectory of a person who was making quantum leaps in her acquisition of basketball knowledge.

As for Erika de Souza, Dream fans were denied seeing much of de Souza in 2009, due to injuries. What they saw surprised them. De Souza, who had come off a grueling season in the Spanish League, and who had the added burden of Euroleague games with Ros Casares, seemed to play with fresh legs every night. Meadors said something to the effect that “she is a beast”, and the Beast from Brazil was born.

The combination of Lyttle and de Souza in the post added two things that the Dream didn’t have in 2008. The first was height – with Michelle Snow as a back-up post, the Dream were the tallest team in the league. The second was toughness. In 2008, Dream opponents could waltz into a combination of Mattera and Lacy and come up with two points; in 2009 opposing teams ended up terrorized.

Lyttle and de Souza made it to the 2009 All-Star Game, their first seasons as All-Stars. Lyttle and de Souza were exactly as important to the Dream’s playoff season as Holdsclaw or McCoughtry were; all of the pieces needed to be there for it to happen.

5. Dream 106, Mercury 76. The Dream were already having a much better season, but there was still talk of the awful 2008 season. The old joke was that one person would say, “last night, the Dream were up 15 points in the fourth quarter” and the response would be “wow! Did they win?”

The Dream’s 106-76 demolishment of the Phoenix Mercury killed the ghost. There would be no asterisk next to this win – it wasn’t as if Diana Taurasi was in jail or Cappie Pondexter was recovering from a bad perm. The Dream blew out the Mercury in the first three quarters, had a 40-point lead late in the game, and near the end the Dream were trying impossible shots just to see if they would go in.

It was the first time that the Dream had not merely beaten a quality opponent – but whipped them. Granted the Dream had beaten opponents before – they beat the Sparks late in the 2008 season while on the road – but sometimes, you can stumble into a win. There was no “yes, butting” the 106-76 victory. One game doesn’t normally prove a season, but this game did. It meant that the rest of the league could no longer count on the Dream being an easy win.

6. Playoff glory. Near the end of the 2009 season, the Dream were managing to hang on to second place – barely – behind the Indiana Fever. Behind the Dream was a pack of barking dogs – the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock, the Chicago Sky, the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun. (Only the Liberty had played themselves out of contention.)

Near the end of the season one needed a calculator to determine who went where in the post season with what combination of wins and losses. In the 33rd game of the season – just before the final season game – the Dream beat the Connecticut Sun 88-64 to clinch second place and home field advantage in the playoffs.

Then it all fell apart. Shalee Lehning separated her shoulder in a meaningless final game in Washington. The Detroit Shock won easily in Detroit. The Atlanta Dream was bumped out of its home court second game by Sesame Street, of all things. At Gwinnett Arena, Deanna Nolan came back on fire from a first-game injury. The Dream played listlessly, and proved that playoff glory can be fleeting.

Dream fans took the good with the bad. Bad to lose the playoffs – but worse not to even go.

7. Coach of the Year. Head coach Marynell Meadors has been called a lot of things – even by Dream fans – but she’s never been considered Coach of the Year material.

The argument, however, could be made that we’ve never seen Meadors with a good team. Meadors was one of the eight original coaches of the WNBA, and only got two years with the Charlotte Sting before being fired in the middle of the third season. After that, she served at the college and WNBA levels in supporting coaching roles until Ron Terwilliger hired Meadors for another building project in 2008.

Meadors’s 2009 Atlanta Dream won 14 more games than the previous model, and made the playoffs. Even if Meadors were not a good coach, she was a great GM. Perhaps the feeling around the league was that she deserved it more than (relatively) new coach Lin Dunn. Meadors was given the honor of Coach of the Year in 2009, which sets the bar even higher for 2010.

8. The Dream survive. With a bad economy, a disastrous previous season and the Atlanta media treating the Dream as if it were a contagious case of cancer, the Dream’s attendance and gate suffered. Ron Terwilliger, who made his money in real estate, could now longer afford the Dream when the real estate market plunged in the off-season.

The big question was if Terwillger would find a buyer. If he didn’t, the Dream would be dispersed after just two years, the shortest life span of any WNBA team. There was also the threat that the Dream would leave Atlanta and end up in Oklahoma, as Tulsa investors were searching for a team.

The Dream, however, would be rescued. Kathy Betty, the widow of the CEO of Earthlink and a successful businesswoman in her own right, purchased the Dream, guaranteeing the survival of the team to at least the 2010 season. With the Detroit Shock ending up in Tulsa and the Sacramento Monarchs outright folding, the Dream’s survival was a close call.


So from the Pleasant Dreams blog, here's wishing all WNBA fans and Atlanta Dream fans a Happy New Year. "Next year is trophy year!"

Dream Season Ticket Holder Event at Georgia Tech

Holdsclaw and Orender at tonight's game. From @chold1 on Twitter.

There was a STH event at tonight's Georgia Tech-Oregon game. A lot of WNBA connections there. Paul Westhead was coaching the Oregon Ducks - you might remember him as the coach of the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury if you don't follow men's basketball.

Also at the event were WNBA President Donna Orender, the new Dream owner Kathy Betty, and Chamique Holdsclaw. Since I've had the chance to meet both President Orender and The Claw, I wanted to track down Betty - but she was always where I wasn't. Dang.

Betty gave a speech at halftime. The first advice I'd give the owner is to hold the microphone closer to your mouth - coliseum acoustics don't pick up soft-spoken sound that well.

As you can guess, I was at the game. I'm exhausted. This will probably be the last blog post tonight.

When Chamique Ruled The World

A long time ago, some thought that Chamique Holdsclaw would be "the next Michael Jordan" - whatever that meant. SLAM Magazine has put the article "Chamique Shall Inherit The Earth" up on its website. The article was written between 1998 and 1999, during the NBA Lockout.

Some excerpts:

The future and its opportunities are mind-boggling. The fat contract and shoe deal are the easy parts. Her talent, success and grace make her a perfect candidate for the same kind of high-profile endorsements Jordan secured when he entered the league. Apple pie. Ice cream. Fresh air. Hell, she could be a one-woman Fourth of July parade. “The team understands what’s ahead for her,” Jolly says. “Sometimes, she’ll say, ‘That player has a nice shoe contract.’ We look at her like she’s crazy and tell her, ‘You’ll have a contact twice as big as that.’” It’s true. Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo may have dabbled in the world of big basketball business, but Holdsclaw will break the bank.

That’s why last January’s meeting with Michael Jordan had significance. The Lady Vols were in Chicago to play DePaul, and a visit to MJ’s restaurant was arranged. “She was very shy at first,” Summitt says. “It took her a few minutes to relax. She was quiet, had a soft smile and a little giggle. That’s Chamique.” The meeting didn’t last too long, maybe 15 minutes, and as it ended, Jordan, ever the good company wonk, told the Lady Vols they had to go, because “he couldn’t stand looking at all the Adidas gear,” Holdsclaw says, laughing.

Of course, a year from now, those could be replaced by The Claw, or whatever other clever name a shoe company can concoct for Holdsclaw’s signature shoe. In 10 years, some hot young player might be ushered into ’Mique’s office for an audience and come away with the same sense of wonder. It’s all there, waiting. The fame and fortune. The championships. The adoring fans. The headaches. Trying to compare Chamique Holdsclaw to any woman who came before her is fruitless. She is the future of women’s basketball. She is the groundbreaker.