Training Camp Thoughts.

Stormy Speculation. One Man's Thoughts on the Seattle Storm and the WNBA.
May 1, 2014.

I am writing this to help me get back into the practice of regular writing and to express my thoughts and opinions about a game and a league that I have the greatest respect for. I hope to educate folks about this very competitive collection of twelve teams fielding 144 women playing professional basketball across the USA and inspire folks to go out to a game when they have the chance.

I'm not a weather man but I've got some idea of where the wind blows when it comes to the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. When asked how I know this stuff I simply reply, "I pay attention."

The Storm started training camp last week in Seattle with a rooster of 17 players. Many of the veteran league players such as Sue Bird and were wrapping up their seasons overseas. It was the younger players without a guaranteed rooster spot for the 2014 season who are trying to impress the coaching staff to secure one of the five remaining positions before the season kicks off in mid-May.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players a team can have one more player on the rooster than under the previous contract. This change was made to address the problem of season ending injuries like those that affected the Liberty, Mercury, Storm and other teams in recent seasons.

The seven players with guaranteed contracts are; guards Sue Bird, Tanisha Wright, and Temeka Johnson, forwards Noelle Quinn, Camille Little, Shekinna Strickland and recently acquired center Cystal Langhorne.

Before I get into who is on the court vieing for those remaining spots let's talk about who is not there. The WNBA's all time leading scorer Tina Thomposn is not there as she retired after last season. Forward and fan favorite Ashley Robinson is not there, her contract from late last season not being renewed. Three time league MVP Lauren Jackson was injured while playing in China this year and will sit out the WNBA season while she recovers in Australia. She is expected back next season.

These realities were not unexpected. What was unexpected is that the first round draft picks from both 2013 (Tianna Hawkins, Maryland) and 2014 (Bria Hartley, UCONN) are not here in Seattle. During the WNBA college draft last month the Storm traded both these players to the Washington Mystics in exchange for much needed experience at the post in the form of Crystal Langhorne.

Another player absent from camp is forward Charde Houston whom the Storm acquired in March from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the rights to the Polish Pistol, Ewelina Kobryn who had last played for the Storm in the 2012 season when they boasted the most international lineup of any team in the league. The Storm released Houston prior to the start of training camp. They had six other tall forwards in camp with lower pay checks than the league veteran Houston would earn. I will keep an eye out for where Houston ends up this season. I had been looking forward to seeing her play for the Storm.

Of the guaranteed slots the only player with less than six years professional experience is Shekinna Strickland whom the Storm chose as the number two pick in the 2012 college draft. In order to secure that pick the Storm traded All-Star Swin Cash,  forward Le'coe Willingham and their second round pick that year to the Chicago Sky.

Ten players going for five positions.
In 2012 the Storm signed Middle Tennessee State University forward Alysha Clarke as a free agent. She had been drafted in the second round by San Antonio in the 2010 college draft.

Australian forward Jenna O'Hea, a three year veteran of the WNBA was acquired from the LA Sparks in exchange for the second round pick in the 2015 college draft.

Forward Jocyln Tinkle graduated Stanford in 2013 and played in seven games for Seattle at the tail end of last season. She averaged around 2 minutes in the one playoff and six regular season games, made some rebounds but contributed no scoring.

The other seven players are Rookies to the league.
The Storm signed 6'5" forward Angel Robinson prior to the draft. A graduate of Georgia she has professional experience overseas, playing with the Perfumerias in Spain for the past two seasons.

The Storm's 2nd and 3rd round picks this year are both from the PAC 12 Conference and are both at the training camp. Utah's Michelle Plouffe (6'4") and Stanford's Mikaela Ruff(6' 3") were added in the 2nd and 3rd round respectively. Both are standout forwards and are both taller than the seven core players.

Guards Jasmine Lister, a star at Vanderbilt, Valencia McFarland, a recent graduate of Mississippi, and Chelsea Douglas from Wake Forest University were all signed to training camp contracts. The camp is rounded out by forward Taylor Hall from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Who is going to be able to prove themselves and make the cut prior to the first pre-season game on Mother's Day or the season opener the following Friday? To me it looks like the battle of the bigs. Will Alysha Clarke maintain her spot on the roster? Will Angel Robinson be able to out perform the two draft picks to take a spot from one of them? What about Taylor Hall, could she out compete a taller woman and secure a bench spot for herself? What about the three guards invited to camp? Will one of them be given the 12th spot just in case Sue, Tanisha or Temeka has to sit out?

There are more questions than there are days to the start of the season. If last season is any indication we can be sure that Coach Brian Agler will choose a team that can play together against the odds and thrill the fans to no end.

May 6, 2014 Update. Before the first exhibition game against the Australian National Team, Jayco Opals the Storm reduced the roster to fourteen players. The three who were released were Taylor Hall, Chelsea Douglas and Jocyln Tinkle. The Storm won that game 71-57.
The next game is a closed scrimmage against the Chinese National Team on Thursday May 8.
My next post will follow the pre-season game against the LA Sparks on Sunday, May 11.
Brett Clubbe.