Rantings of an Insane Platypus - 23rd April 2004

Friday 23 April 2004

More tales of the undrafted (and a blast from the past)

All roads for undrafted players really *do* lead to L.A!

It's a good haul for L.A. I think Coker and Turner could turn out to be solid backups and Helm is worth a look. I was surprised those two and Helm (6'4" centre) were not picked up in the draft. Butler out of Sac? Well they have way too many posts already and Butler is definitely the weakest out of the lot.

I think Charlotte have picked up a nice bunch of players to look at. Ciocan should battle with Brumfield for the backup point guard position. They're both different types of players - Brumfield the more traditional point guard with solid defence while Ciocan is a 6-foot point guard who can pass and shoot but is streaky and turnover-prone. Ciocan could also play a bit of 2 and it's possible that both Ciocan and Brumfield make the roster with Ciocan used as a combo guard. Davis is a strong defender but Lewis' versatility should win out. Williams has some talent but needs some discipline to complement it.

Tasha Pointer was a real surprise of the 2001 draft - in a not so good way. Projected as a late first/early second rounder, she plummeted to the 4th round and was cut in camp by the Portland Fire. She's been quiet for a couple of years but played in the NWBL in this past season and has been signed by the Libs. It's not a bad situation for her to be in as the Libs do need depth at the point but what may hurt her is the fact that Hammon is viewed as a (starting) solution for the point guard problem. Would the Libs carry three point guards? Possibly if Hammon is viewed as a combo but that's no guarantee. Could Pointer beat out Sharp? Not likely - Sharp has a size advantage and a year of WNBA experience.

This Is Who I Am

Uninspiring is a succinct way to sum it up. The marketing gurus should remember what the WNBA is - a basketball league. I give them credit for portraying the players more as athletes in this year's ad. However, more actual basketball footage needs to be shown as this is what people will be coming to games for. I don't mind the fact they show the players as beautiful women but there definitely has to be more ball in the ads. The WNBA should go for something more daring and edgy (yes I'm aware they can be meaningless catch words) as attendances have stagnated in the "This Is Who I Am" era. Something humourous wouldn't go astray and the ad has to be MEMORABLE. You have to create a buzz to entice fans to come along and this ad is well... bleh.

Anyways go here if you want to take a look.

Penny Taylor

Poor Penny - always overshadowed wherever she goes and unjustly so. In Australia, it was the LJ juggernaut and in Cleveland, it was Dan Hughes' system (which improved her D but didn't do her O much good). Now in Phoenix, she's been forgotten in the DT hype train and apparently she's nothing while DT is going to lead the Merc to all sorts of accolades.

However Penny, there are people out there who appreciate you and I am definitely one of them. For those who don't know, Penny Taylor is a superb all-round player who can take you off the dribble, nail the jumper and even has a post move or two from her days at the 4. She's a good rebounder and passer for a wing and her defence is much improved over the last couple of years. She has superb defensive instincts and will get a lot of deflections and steals. Penny always puts in maximum effort and you can count on her in the crunch. While DT gets the hype, Penny will be just as important (if not more important) with regards to the Mercury's performance this season. Penny has several years of experience on a reasonably successful team and is a former WNBA All-Star. She will be required to be one of the leaders of this young Mercury team and her offensive versatility will probably make her first offensive option. It will be a role which she has never been in before in the WNBA but it is one I think she will relish. Penny is also a key member of the Opals and if Jan could coach, the whole Opals squad would be focused around LJ *and* Penny instead of just LJ. Like Tom Maher, Jan views Penny as some sort of (talented) afterthought which is just wrong. We're talking about the second/third best player in Australian history and these three are way ahead of the rest of the pack (surely you know who the third player is).

Go Penny!