PER and the Triple Trade

The biggest thing in WNBA news is a three-team trade centered around the Phoenix Mercury's Cappie Pondexter. With Phoenix struggling with cap space, they send Pondexter and Kelly Mazzante to the New York Liberty. The Libs send Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld to the Chicago Sky, and the Sky's Candice Dupree finds herself in a Mercury uniform.

I decided to look at the weighted Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) of all parties involved in the trade. The parenthesis indicate the minutes played by the given player - the resulting career PER is weighted by minutes.

Weighted Career PER

Dupree: 19.85
Pondexter/Mazzante: 21.63 (4110)/12.24(2852) : 17.78
Christon/Kraayeveld: 15.19 (5382)/13.24(3915) : 14.37

It look like at least in the short term, the winners are going to be the New York Liberty. If they can figure out a way to not play Kelly Mazzante - the weakest player involved in the trade - it's an even bigger win, but I suspect that the Libs need all the players they can get. Pondexter is entering the peak years of her career and as they say, "Pondexter can move product" - she's popular and fun. New York seems to have an affinity for players that have names that others find hard to spell, but I think that Pondexter is less likely to be misspelled than Cathrine Kraayeveld.

In the long term, the winner might be the Phoenix Mercury. Dupree isn't as good as Pondexter, but she's two years younger and there's more upside. Dupree is already a three-time All-Star and playing for a WNBA champion can't hurt her pedigree.

I suspect the losers are going to be the Chicago Sky. They lose their franchise player and Christon is two years away from the red light going off in her palm. However, Christon's last two years have been better than the previous years. Kraayeveld will just be glad to play.

This Week's Games

The only games that I know of are on Saturday. The Spanish League finishes up its regular season. In Turkey, Yelena Leuchanka and Ivory Latta meet in a regular season game.

Saturday

LFB: Estudiantes (6-19) vs. Ros Casares (24-1)
LFB: Perfumerias (22-3) vs. Mariana (12-13)
LFB2: Burgos (21-3) vs. Carmelitas (3-21)
TBBL: Galatasaray (15-4) vs. Mersin (17-2)

Russia Superleague A Quarterfinals 2/2009 - Spartak Moscow 100, Vologda 62

For Spartak Moscow, the Russian quarterfinals are over - they win the first two games decisively in the best-of-three opening round, winning 100-62 yesterday over eighth-placed Volgoda. Spartak Moscow will play Dynamo Kursk on April 15th and 18th in the semifinals.

The box score is here.

Vologda actually played the tougher Spartak Moscow team closely on their home ground in the first quarter, only down by 22-20. The problem was that they had to play three more quarters of basketball, and Spartak Moscow won each quarter by at least ten points. It could be why only 650 Vologda fans bothered to show up.

Olga Yakovleva led Vologda with 17 points and five rebounds. (Vologda was out-rebounded 46-21.) Anastasia Pimenova scored 16 points and added four assists in the losing effort.

For Spartak Moscoe, Anete Jekabsone-Zogoto led with 18 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes played. Diana Taurasi added 18 points and Sue Bird scored seven points and seven assists.

Kelly Miller played 14 minutes...and made virtually no impact.

0 points
0 shots taken
2 rebounds
3 assists
14 minutes played

Chicago Sky Seals Cable TV Deal with Comcast

Chicago WNBA fans that have Comcast cable will be very happy campers, as almost all of the Sky's 2010 games will be broadcast on channel CN 100:

From the press release:

The Sky and CN100 have reached a groundbreaking agreement in which CN100 will carry 28 out of 34 Chicago Sky basketball games, including 15 Sky home games at Allstate Arena and 13 road games. Plus, the Sky will provide unique content, including extensive game-highlight videos and feature stories that will be available to Comcast customers via On Demand.

"Our fans deserve the best," said Margaret Stender, President and CEO of the Chicago Sky. "To that end, we are thrilled to be aligning with Comcast the market leader, and together providing comprehensive coverage of world class WNBA action and athleticism. It is a great growth statement for our fans and our franchise."

Add the two ESPN2 games and that's 30 out of 34 games televised this year - an increase of 600 percent over the previous year. Hey, maybe the Dream can swing a deal like that with Comcast Atlanta.....

(Tip provided by an anonymous commenter.)

Anne Donovan to Seton Hall; Libs Screwed (Again)?

According to the good people at RebKell, it looks like Anne Donovan - the head coach of the New York Liberty after Pat Coyle was fired in mid-season - is going to take the job at Seton Hall University. It would be her first college coaching job.

From NorthJersey.com:

Seton Hall went 9-21 overall and 1-15 in the Big East this past season, the worst of (Phyllis) Mangina’s tenure.

Fan comments on RebKell sum it up:

If Seton Hall- a team that laid SUCH an egg against UConn that Geno damn near called out the administration for negligence, lost to Morgan State, got bitchslapped by Colorado, and was absolutely shredded by one of its alumnae- is a better gig than the Liberty, then what does that say about the Liberty?

Coaching in college is 100 times harder then the W!
You don't leave your W job, which is pretty damn well paid, for a job with a pathetic program that will take you 80-120 hours a week, every week, for the next I don't know how many years, for a college job even if it pays more unless you really hate where you are!

The Liberty are a franchise in crisis. I suppose the management is happy with being the Chicago Cubs of the WNBA. The season ticket holders, however, might have another opition.

UPDATE: It might be Patty Coyle instead of Anne Donovan:

Seton Hall, which accepted the resignation of Phyllis Mangina shortly after the Big East tournament, is said to be seriously considering former New York Liberty coach Pat Coyle....

It wouldn't be the first time a dead tree sports reporter didn't know anything about the WNBA and got the most elementary facts wrong.

UPDATE II: It's Donovan going to Seton Hall. She will be going after the 2010 Liberty season. (Link is here.)

New Post at Swish Appeal

I've posted a new fan post called Twenty Minutes of Hell at the Swish Appeal website. It's about a college team that could have given Nolan Richardson something to think about.

Galatasaray Wins Turkish Cup With Help of Leuchanka

Yelena Leuchanka and Sophia Young celebrate.

I knew that the Turkish teams weren't playing in the regular season this week, but I didn't know why. Of course, in order to find out why you had to be able to do the kind of navigation of international basketball that P. D. Swanson does over at Rebkell. Apparently, there was a Turkish Cup in the women's league over the weekend, which resulted in the regular season taking a week off.

The 18th Women's Cup involved eight teams: Besitkas, Ceyhan, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Istanbul University, Kayseri, Mersin, and Samsun. Play started on Friday with a single-elimination quarterfinals, the semifinals took place on Saturday and the final match took place today.

Galtasaray - Yelena Leuchanka's team - got off to a good start with a 84-59 whalloping of Ceyhan. No stats from that game, other than those Swanny was able to provide: Leuchanka only scored two points in a game marked by Tamika Catchings scoring 16 and Sophia Young scoring 15 in the victory.

The next day - Saturday - Galatasaray faced Mersin in the semifinals. You might remember Mersin as the home of ex-Dream player Ivory Latta. Galatasaray won the game 74-64 despite Latta pouring in 21 points for Mersin. Katie Douglas scored 19 points and six rebounds for Galatasaray, and Catchings and Young each scored 13.

Leuchanka woke up for this game. She scored nine points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Galatasaray moved on to face Turkish women's basketball power Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup final.

In the finals, Galatasaray got a close win against Fenerbahce, 57-55 to win the Turkish Cup. The game started out very close, with Fenerbahce edging out to a 20-17 lead after the first ten minutes. The second quarter was a real slog, with Fenerbahce scoring only seven points...and Galatasaray only scoring six. Fenerbahce took a 27-23 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Galatasaray began their comeback. It took all of the third quarter for Galatasaray to overcome the deficit, scoring the final points of the quarter to lead 45-43 at the end of the thirty minutes and insuring a fourth-quarter battle.

Galatasaray took a 53-48 point lead at one point in the final quarter but a Penny Taylor 3-pointer scored the score to 53-51. Leuchanka would be the next scorer for Galatasaray, and Galatasaray's defense would hold as they got the surprising cup victory.

Yelena Leuchanka was named the Most Valuable Player of the cup - once Leuchanka got warmed up, she was hard to stop. She scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting and picked up four rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. Her 14 points led all players in the final match.

Plenette Pierson Is Simply Misunderstood

Tulsa Shock player Plenette Pierson wants the world to know that she's simply misunderstood in her blog. Hey, it's even in her header:

"I'm known as a WNBA player, WNBA two-time champion, WNBA's inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year, but I'm perceived to be a thug and the Queen of the Detroit's 'Bad Girl' persona. Most people have no idea; simply stated: I'm misunderstood."

In her latest blog entry, Pierson writes about the troubles in getting from America from Israel:

On Thursday, March 18th I was given permission to leave Israel and go home (jumps up and down excited)! Here's where all the problems start, I call US Airways to change my flight they inform me that if I want to leave on Friday, March 19th the change fee would be $800(difference in the price of the ticket) plus $250(change fee), I had to sit back and think how bad did I really want to leave Israel! I decided that I would check out my other options, well my other options were slim pickings because the next time that I could fly on that airlines was on March 27th and I had to pay $400(difference in the price of the ticket) plus $250(change fee), decisions decisions! I opted out out of both those options and just decided to purchase a whole new ticket and leave when I wanted. So when all my plans were finalized, my roommates threw me a going away party at our apartment and quite a few people showed up! It was the nicest thing that has happened to me by my teammates overseas. I had a blast and was sad to leave those guys! We will meet again soon!!

I hope that Pierson blogs as frequently as she's able. If there's any doubt that Pierson would go to Tulsa, it seems to be dispelled in her blog.

LFB2 24/2009 - Burgos 71, Cajacanarias 66

In the second division of the Spanish League, Burgos remains on top with a 71-66 win on the road over Cajacanarias.

No reporting on this game, just keeping a tab on Demetress Adams, who plays for Burgos. Adams had a great game today: a lot better than her usual sub-par performance.

15 points
7-for-10 shooting
9 rebounds

LFB 25/2009 - Perfumerias 64, Hondarribia 59

There's not much for Perfumerias to fight about. With a 22-3 record after their road win against Hondarribia, they've clinched second place in the Liga Feminina. The 64-59 win is closer than expected against a 7-18 team, but a win is a win is a win.

The box score is here.

Perfumerias was fairly confident of winning, according to the FEB website. Both teams found it hard to score in the first quarter, and Perfumerias barely led 12-11 after the first ten minutes. Sancho Lyttle kept Perfumerias ahead on the scoreboard and only a last-second shot by Anna Deforge of Hondarribia kept Perfumerias's lead within a couple of baskets, 32-27 at halftime.

Perfumerias kept the lead until Hondarribia made a 10-0 third quarter run, leading 55-49 at one time. This forced Perfumerias to clamp down on defense, and Perfumerias fought their way back to a 57-57 tie with 4:40 left. Le'Coe Willingham stepped up for Perfumerias in the last few minutes and helped the visiting team get the victory.

Anna Deforge scored 23 points and four rebounds for Hondarribia. Deforge played seven games for the Detroit Shock last season in the WNBA. The only other player scoring in double-figures for the home team was Maria Sanchez-Aguilera was 11 points. Neither team was effective on the boards, but Perfumerias won that battle 33-23.

Le'Coe Willingham scored 14 points and five rebounds for Perfumerias, and Anke de Mondt also scored 10 points for Perfumeria, but the player of the game - and possibly the player of Spain - is Sancho Lyttle, with another amazing game. Lyttle is averaging over 10 rebounds a game in Spain.

18 points
8-for-13 shooting
14 rebounds
3 assists
5 steals
36 minutes played

LFB 25/2009 - Ros Casares 105, Real Canoe 61

El Ros has run away with the regular season crown.

Ros Casares has already sealed the top spot in the Spanish postseason, and they only have one more game to play after the one they played against Real Canoe today. It wasn't much of a competition as Ros Casares advanced their regular season record to 24-1 with a 105-61 win against Real Canoe.

The box score is here.

There's not much to say about this one - it was a rout, with El Ros starting out 7-0 and forcing Real Canoe coach John Diniz to ask for a time out. Ros Casares was leading 25-9 after the first quarter and 48-20 at halftime. Ros Casares won every quarter by at least seven points, shooting 60 percent from the field and holding Real Canoe to 15 total rebounds.

Laura Garcia Salinero lead Real Canow with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Cela Maria Menendez Anatoli was the only other Real Canoe player to break double figures with 17 points.

As for Ros Casares, it was an easy victory with five players in double figures, including Delisha Milton-Jones with 18 points and 7-for-10 shooting, and Belinda Snell with 15 points and five steals. (The crowd at Valencia - this was Ros Casares's final regular season home game - was shouting "MVP! MVP!" for Milton-Jones.) Erika de Souza was the informal player of the game, racking up a lot of points in a very short time:

17 points
8-for-11 shooting
9 rebounds
2 steals
22 minutes of play

PLKK Quarterfinals 3/2009 - Polkowice 75, Krakow 66

For Iziane Castro Marques's team, there's still the Euroleague semifinals to take care of on April 9th. However, in Poland...Krakow's season is over. With a 75-66 loss in Polkowice, Krakow has been eliminated from the Polish league post-season.

The box score is here.

One fan joked: "Wisla Can-Pack Krakow - fourth best team in Europe...and fifth best team in Poland". Krakow got off to a great start in the first quarter, leading 19-13 after the first quarter. Unfortunately, Krakow was held to just 12 second quarter points and trailed 38-31 at halftime. After that, Polkowice needed to hold out during the second half, and it appears that Krakow always trailed behind in the second half, never really making a serious push to overcome Polkowice.

The player that put Polkowice over the top was Amisha Carter, a Louisiana Tech graduate who led Polkowice with 20 points and 14 rebounds, fouling out in the fourth quarter after 35 minutes. Natalija Trofimowa scored 22 points and eight rebounds, and Shannon Bobbitt only score two points but had six assists.

As for Krakow, only five players scored. Ewelina Kobryn led with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Janell Burse scored 14 points and nine rebounds. But the rest of the team! Liren Cohen has zero points and three assists in 19 minutes of play. And Iziane Castro Marques had a horrible game for Krakow:

10 points
4-for-18 shooting
4 rebounds
1 assist
33 minutes of play

And You Too Can Be in the WNBA

The Tulsa Shock is holding open tryouts for a possible roster spot. The full article is here.

The tryouts will be at 9 a.m. April 21 at Oral Roberts University. The Shock's first camp opens April 25.

Coach Nolan Richardson will oversee the tryout camp, which is open for women 22 and older who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility.

...


Registration for the tryout costs $120 and includes two lower level tickets to the Shock's home opener May 15 against the Minnesota Lynx. The tryout is open for fans.



All right. You want to play for the WNBA. Here's your chance. Since there are some Shock players that we still don't know if they're going to show up or not, you too can enjoy the thrill of being on Candace Parker's "Dunk" poster.

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.

Russia Superleague A Quarterfinals 1/2009 - Spartak Moscow 109, Vologda 74

You might be wondering, "hey, Michelle Snow's no longer on the Dream, so why write about Russian basketball?" The answer is that as we lose one Dream player who plays for the Russians, we pick up another Dream player who plays for the Russians, this time in the form of Kelly Miller. Kelly Miller plays for one of the two best teams in Russia. And make that "the two best teams in Europe". Spartak Moscow is in top form both in the Russia Superleague and in Euroleague, and they get their first win by a score of 109-74 in the best-of-three series.

The box score is here.

Players suchs as Irina Osipova and Sylvia Fowles worked the boards while Miller and Sue Bird worked the perimeter. Spartak Moscow led by 29-10 after the first quarter and by 60-30 at halftime.

According to a write-up about the game, "even inaccurate throws became productive attacks" at the hands of Spartak Moscow. At one point, Spartak Moscow led 90-49.

Anastasia Pimenov scored 18 points for Vologda. Olga Yakovleva led the team in rebounds with six rebound and eight points, but Vologda was out-rebounded 47-19.

Seven players scored in double figures for Spartak Moscow. Ilona Korstin had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Irina Osipova had 10 rebounds and 10 rebounds.

Kelly Miller had a good game:

11 points
5-for-10 shooting
4 rebounds
no assists
20 minutes played

So how has Kelly Miller been doing this season in the Russia Superleague?

6.5 ppg
3.2 rpg
2.4 apg
22 minutes per game

I suspect those will be her numbers in the W this year as well.

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.

PLKK Quarterfinals 2/2009 - Krakow 83, Polkowice 61

In the best-of-three series, Krakow went back home to play #4 seed Polkowice needing a win to avoid elimination. It was very tight for the first thirty minutes but Krakow pulled out an 83-61 win in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. The series heads back to Polkowice on Saturday for its deciding game.

The box score is here.

The first half of the game was virtually a dead heat, with Krakow leading 35-34 at the end of the second quarter. The game began to tilt in Krakow's direction with Krakow leading 62-56 at the end of the third, but that wasn't enough to ensure a win. What did ensure the victory was Krakow holding Polkowice to just five fourth-quarter points. Polkowice's coach complained about the officiating, but all Polkowice could do was helplessly watch Krakow seal the Game Two victory.

Nadia Parker of Polkowice was injured in a third-quarter collision with Dorota Gburczyk. I believe she was hauled off the court around 2:13 of the video above. Odds are, she might not be available for Game Three in Polkowice.

Amisha Carter led Polkowice with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Shannon Bobbitt followed with 13 points and four assists.

The player of the game was Janell Burse who had 22 points and eight rebounds for Krakow. Ewelina Kobryn added 20 points and Agnieszka Majewska scored 16.

Iziane Castro Marques had an good game:

14 points
6-for-13 shooting
6 rebounds
6 assists
33 minutes played

2010 Atlanta Dream Shaping Up, Part III

Here's the current shape of the Atlanta Dream as of this writing:

C Yelena Leuchanka
F-C Erika de Souza

F Chamique Holdsclaw
F Jennifer Lacy (*)
F Sancho Lyttle
F Angel McCoughtry
F Demetress Adams

F-G Iziane Castro Marques
G-F Armintie Price
G Shalee Lehning
G Erica White
G Coco Miller
G Kelly Miller

(*) - Unsigned free agent.

Unlucky thirteen. And after the draft, make that 14-16.

Ivory Latta Released by Dream

The Ivory Latta era is over...again. Today, Ivory Latta was released by the Atlanta Dream for the second time in her career.

The news release is here.

Quoteth the coach:

"On behalf of our entire organization, I would like to thank Ivory for her contributions on and off the court," said Dream General Manager & Head Coach Marynell Meadors. "Ivory has been an important part of this franchise since our inaugural season and we wish her the best in the future."

My immediate thoughts:

1. With the Ivory Latta Depature v. 2, this leaves only three players who have played for the Dream the entirety of its existence: Erika de Souza, Jennifer Lacy, and Iziane Castro Marques.

2. It doesn't guarantee that this is Latta's last departure. Last year, Latta was the final cut of the Dream training camp...but when Nikki Teasley bailed out the Dream needed someone who could throw the three...so Latta came back.

3. If Demetress Adams makes the team this frees her up to wear #12. However, she wore #24 at South Carolina, she's wearing #12 in international ball.

4. It is my hope that this finally ends the battle over Latta vs. Lehning.

This battle has consumed the psychic energy of Atlanta Dream fandom. All of last year this battle was fought in comment threads and message boards. It got very ugly, generating a lot of ill will between fans with charges that Marynell Meadors was racist for letting Latta go in favor of the white point guard. As long as both players (and Meadors) were on the team, the fight was always going to be there.

Hopefully, it's over now. For better or for worst (hopefully for better), it looks like either Shalee Lehning or Kelly Miller will be the Atlanta Dream point guard. A lot of Ivory Latta fans are going to be seriously bummed out. Some will abandon the Dream as Latta goes. The rest of us will just have to carry on.

I was very lucky to talk to Ivory Latta several times, particularly during the 2008-09 season. Nothing personal, just game post-mortem. She was always extremely polite and could always address the losses - she was one of the bright points in a horrible 2008 season. I don't know why she can't stay with a team, but one-on-one she's a charming person. I wish her the very best of luck and I hope that she catches on with someone else. (Preferably in the Western Conference!)

This Week's Schedule

No basketball in Turkey next week for some reason, save for a late game on Monday. Slovakia and Poland have moved into the post-season, and if Krakow doesn't win the next two games then Iziane Castro Marques won't play again until the Euroleague semifinals in April.

Incidentally, the Cyprus season is over with Chamique Holdsclaw's K. V. Imperial winning the championship. That was on March 3rd. I think it took the news that long to get out of Cyprus.

Monday

TBBL: Mersin (16-2) vs. Canyaka (3-15)

Wednesday

PLKK Quarterfinals: Krakow vs. Polkowice, Game 2

Thursday

Slovakia Extraliga Semifinals: Good Angels Kosice vs. Poprad, Game 1

Saturday

PLKK Quarterfinals: Polkowice vs. Krakow, Game 3 (if necessary)
LFB: Hondarribia (7-17) vs. Perfumerias (21-3)
LFB: Ros Casares (23-1) vs. Real Canoe (8-16)
LFB2: Cajacanarias (18-6) vs. Burgos (20-3)

Sunday

Slovakia Extraliga Semifinals: Poprad vs. Good Angels Kosice, Game 2