Finals discussion (moved from STH appreciation day thread)

[Purple Reign]

Ticha P. was very quiet. I thanked her for trying to knock down those shots & for shooting. My friend Carolyn tried to take her picture towards the end & she asked Ticha to smile...Ticha put her head down, her eyes got misty & she left the court. Pam left to go check on her & Krista witnessed the event.
It was tough to see her so down.
All's I can say is that we Win & Lose as a team...no one player is to blame.

You see, this is where I differ with most Monarchs fans. I understand we win and lose as a group, but it was very clear that Sacramento's biggest weakness was "the" key why the Monarchs lost. At the point guard position Ticha was completely overmatched particularly on offense. And if that does not get dealt with, the results could be the same next year.

She knows it, the team knows it, Whisnant definately knows it because the only two names he seemed to mention during his press conferences was Ticha and Kristen. This was one of those situations that the coaching staff rode it out as long as they could (some four years now), and now it is time to deal with the issue, if you want to win. And why play the game, if you don't want to win.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

That said PR...they still should have won games 2, 4 & 5 regardless. A few of us chatted with coach Whiz after the official party ended and that's what he kept going back to, for all their offensive woes (and let's not kid ourselves and say that game 4's pathetic offensive output in the 2nd half falls only on the lap of one player or one key weakness 'cause that player barely saw floor time in game 4's fatefully pathetic offensively 2nd half) they had chances in all 3 of those games to close the door. Whiz ALSO will very openly tell you why it is Haynie was not a choice he wanted to make defensively (and that's where he thought they got killed) but he was forced into it when he needed some offense 'cause they weren't getting any. In the conversating I did with Whiz did he say he has a NUMBER of things going through his head re: why they did not win this series. Ticha/Haynie is not the glaring key to him.

He seemed to be second guessing himself on starting Lawson at the SG slot and putting her on Smith because he wanted to have more size and athletic ability on her to push her out more and keep her from getting the ball to Tweety where Tweety liked to catch it. I can't remember if I actually asked him or if I was going to ask him but didn't, but I thought I'd asked him if he'd rather have put Ticha on Smith, because he was concerned that they weren't effective setting up the strengths of the white line with where Smith was able to be with the ball. I remember writing that in the Keys Thread for this series that I would have wanted length and athleticism on Smith and would consider starting someone else. He had a laundry list and its still very hard for him to rehash what he could have done differently.

Ticha is not the reason this team came home with out a trophy, she wasn't the reason they left here without grabbing it Wednesday night either. She is the one the white hot spotlight was on and she apparently is the one who is taking it the hardest.

I tellya what, my frustrations with TP have been well documented over the 9 years I've been posting here on KFs and correspondingly over the same number of years Ticha has been in this league. They haven't changed. But what also is clear, that for those things that have frustrated us, she also has delivered for this team and we don't get where we got without her. I don't know about anybody else...(actually I do know about a few others) but it hurts to see the place Ticha's in right now. She's squaring the bullseye on herself, and that's not fair. It ripped my heart out listening to her after they were bounced in the WCF when she could barely emotionally get through the interview she did on Monarchs Talk. This is a hundred times tougher watching unfold because this is much more personal and to some great extent unfairly so.

Capping on Ticha won't fix the offensive problems this team STILL has when she's not on the floor. Also won't put the 2006 trophy in our hands. Collectively, this team did not get things done they had done in the previous wins in the post season.

Ticha was overmatched at the PG spot by a SG...she's NEVER EVER going to outscore a shooting guard. That's not her job, Haynie's not going to either. Lawson might, but its the same deal, we're pigeon-holing a SG into a PG slot and losing some playmaking. That's why I had a hard time understanding why anyone in the media was making that comparison. If we didn't get beat there offensively Katie Smith should have given her salary back and retired on the spot. Both our PGs outplayed Elaine Powell.

 

[Den-Den]

originally posted by PurpleReign:
You see, this is where I differ with most Monarchs fans. I understand we win and lose as a group, but it was very clear that Sacramento's biggest weakness was "the" key why the Monarchs lost. At the point guard position Ticha was completely overmatched particularly on offense. And if that does not get dealt with, the results could be the same next year.



Always enjoy reading your perspective on the games and the team PR. However, I disagree with your analysis of the biggest weakness on the team-- we won the championship last year with the same point guard. To lay the blame on Ticha, to say she is the "key" to why the Monarchs lost, is completely unfair. Many players did not have the games that most of us were used to. In two seperate games, Yo shot 3 for 10 and 3 for 11. Those stats are equally disappointing. DeMya struggled with consistency throughout the series, and K-Law was scoreless in one of the games. Yet no-one is singling them out. Why is that? They are the offense--the shooters, the scorers--for the team. Don't get me wrong, I do NOT think that any of them are "to blame" either. Ticha did struggle in the final series, as did many other players, and the team as a whole. Whiz used combinations and made changes that raised more than a few eyebrows.

The difference between our winning and our loosing, I believe, is that we were outplayed by a better team. The Shock play hard defense (okay, sometimes questionable defense) AND they are a powerhouse team on offense. The Monarchs spend a greater portion of their practice time on defense than any other team in the league. Perhaps they need to spend more time on offense. Many, many,many times during the finals, fans in the stands--myself included--were yelling at the team to move. It is pretty difficult for a point guard to run the offense if everyone is standing still, no one is making any cuts, no movement is occurring. It is a testament to how really talented these Monarchs are that they made it to Game 5 of the Finals by letting the offense just happen...

I hope that Wiz finds a way within the salary cap to bring back Yo, Ticha, Erin and Tanty. Kara, I'm sure, is staying...I really want to see Yo and Ticha's retirement jerseys hanging one day in Arco Arena--no other place would be right.

 

[Purple Reign]

I do agree that many of the players struggled, but it seemed that Ticha's struggles was a trickle down affect.

Once it was established that Ticha was not going to hit a shot throughout the series, Detroit played ruthless 5 on 4 defense, clogging the middle (making it difficult for Yolanda to be effective) and having one more guard concentrating on rebounding. Let me give some numbers to put things into perspective. In the three games that the Monarchs lost they were outscored:

25-9 in the 4th Quarter of Game 2
16-2 in the 4th Quarter of Game 4
22-9 in the 3rd Quarter of game 5

In those three quarters which basically won the series for Detroit, Ticha was a combined 0-6 from the field, 0-2 from the line in the limted minutes she played in those quarters. Had she been effective and a threat and on the floor, IMHO, The Monarchs would be walking around with back to back T shirts on.

But because the Shock did not respect her, and she did not play them out of that sagging defense in the paint, to me it was the key strategy that won the series for the Shock. The Monarchs won 12 quarters to Detroit's 6 with 2 tied, and 3 of those six the Monarchs were outscored 63-20 .

I know that Ticha is not solely responsible, that is not fair. But her ineffectiveness changed the way Detroit played which turned the series around.

 

[Luv13fan]

Hey this is an interesting topic...
And something that really needs to be discussed at some point. But this really is about the STH party at Arco. Not about the Finals.

Can we kinda that that discussion somewhere else. Perhaps another thread?

Thanx

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Hey this is an interesting topic...
And something that really needs to be discussed at some point. But this really is about the STH party at Arco. Not about the Finals.

Can we kinda that that discussion somewhere else. Perhaps another thread?

Thanx

Sounds like a plan to me. I'm sure that if someone has a problem with me moving this, I'll hear about it, but there's no sense in letting the other thread get sidetracked, and I was here, so I might as well do it.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Ok, let's look at that 4th quarter of game 4...Ticha played only the final 3 minutes of that after it pretty much had gotten out of control. Why did the Monarchs only score 2 points in that quarter with purportedly improved offensive output?

And if Ticha had such a dramatic effect on how Detroit played...why did we win game 3? Detroit had already figured out they weren't going to guard her in game 2. Why did we have a lead at the half in game 5? I just don't think there are easy answers to what happened, if there were the Monarchs would have made adjustments and won games 4 or 5. Whiz I think believes the defense broke down (generally and because Detroit found a soft underbelly) and that was the end of that. He was quoted at some point I think during or after the series ended as saying something to the effect the Monarchs were seduced into believing they were an offensive team by the way they had scored coming into the Finals. Based on what he said on Monday, he puts himself at the top of the list of seductees. The reason that he seems to be continuing to kick himself is that for all the stats and charts and whatnot people toss around, and Ticha this and ripple effect that...they should have won game 5.

 

[1kingzfan]

All the fans here coming to Ticha's rescue is a great thing to see, and Ticha has hands down been my fav Monarch over the years, but I stand by my earlier stated position and agree with Purple Reign:

The difference in this Finals series was how Nolan carried Detroit to higher heights and Ticha had the opposite effect on Sacramento.

Both players caused momentum swings with their play.

I'm sure there will be lots of post-series discussion here, like what happened to Nicole in the last 2 games, what happened or Becky for an even longer period, this is a team sport and everyone had room for improvement, and on and on. But in the end, it will boil down to Nolan and Ticha. This was all about them and their impacts on their teams' fortunes.

It's most definitely a TEAM sport, and a TEAM wins or loses. However, Ticha's lack of confidence/unwillingness to take/inability to make wide open 15 to 18-footers (sometimes 10-footers) killed us.

It CHANGED the game and allowed Detroit to play differently against us defensively. It made Detroit a better team than they really were. And THAT may have had more to do with our front line players not having the kind of O-games we expected of them in all 5 encounters. It was really a 4-on-5 affair on O most of the time with Ticha in there. They gave her no respect, and Laimbeer made the right coaching decision in pushing that strategy, as it turned out.

Ticha shot 3-24, and only racked up 6 assists and 5 boards in the 3 losses in the Finals. When teams are sagging off her, she can't get the assists (extra lady guarding possible pass recipients), and thus is not effective. Ticha's defense is what kept her on the floor around the same minutes that Haynie played. She passes the ball better than Haynie and moves the ball around on O better than Haynie, but that "extra lady" guarding out there prevented her from exhibiting her strengths.

You can point to our 2 wins and/or stretches of bad play when Ticha was not in there and/or stats of the Monarchs that were less than stellar in the series, but in the end, with Ticha on the floor, Detroit was able to play D much differently and it disrupted us big time. It created momentum for Detroit at key junctures, extending to after Ticha left the game.

It was unarguably an incredibly important factor affecting the outcome of the series and, IMHO, it was THE most important factor...

...along with Nolan going insane-o out there.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

How can you separate out the wins and the points when she was not on the floor? I don't see how you do that and advance the argument that she "caused" this series loss. The stretches of bad play when she wasn't in there was pivotal. They were down by 6 at the end of 3 and I seemed to recall that Haynie ended that quarter on the floor. The lead ballooned in the 4th while Ticha sat. Was the defense still sagging or did we have no offense like we've had no offense generally during stretches of the game during the regular season?

I'm not saying she had a great series, because she didn't. But c'mon now.

 

[1kingzfan]

I'm not saying she had a great series, because she didn't. But c'mon now.

It's one of those "basketball is a funny sport" thing-y's.

Momentum is a funny thing in this sport. Obviously, it's hard to lay blame on someone who is sitting on the bench for an opposing team's run, but the fact remains that momentum is what it is. It has a seed and then grows on its own. In the midst of momentum, teams play at a heightened level (good momentum) or a less-than-their ability level (bad momentum).

Coaches try to shift lineups to change undesired momentum. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, once it starts, it cannot be changed. We saw exactly that in this series.

My opinion is that Nolan and Ticha were often, not always, on opposite ends of the momentum-causing spectrum. For Ticha, the most blatant example was the start of the 3rd quarter in Game 5. That started the ball rolling in the wrong direction for SACTown.

And as you agreed, Tich played poorly (or had a bad series) when ON the floor.

You have not made any remark about the mega-sag-off Ticha by her defenders into the paint. So, c'mon now, we can argue semantics about THE biggest problem is this or that, or this is a team game and total team loss and it's unfair to single out individuals, but you have to admit that Detroit's being able to NOT defend Ticha changed the entire game play and made it way, way more difficult for Yo, DeMya, and Becky to do their things.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I haven't made a remark about it because even with that defensive strategy, the Monarchs still pushed out to a lead in game 5 with her on the floor. Still won game 3 with her on the floor - did Detroit forget to sag off her that game? If so, why? She shot moderately better in that game, but that's relative.

Were they still sagging off Haynie in game 4 after the Monarchs made their run and cut that deficit? Cause they sure as hell only scored 2 pts with her running the team and being more of an offensive threat.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Bekkah's game was off this series too...and her role is different from that of Yo and DeMya, her lack of offensive production should be a concern as well if we're going to be concerned about lack of offensive production. She took almost as many shots as Ticha, a lot of those from closer range than Ticha and still couldn't shoot above 30% from the floor.

 

[1kingzfan]

Hey, MBF, ALL of your points are quite valid (as usual), but I have to stand by what I observed over the course of the series, although I missed Game 1.

I love Ticha and always have and always will. She has thrilled me with her poise, adept passing, hard-nosed D, and overall handling of her team over the years. I feel that she should have been more than an also-ran for the 10-year All-WNBA Team. Ticha will probably always be my fav Monarch of all time, and I hope she returns with us next season.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I'm very cool with agreeing to disagree...

 

[Peja3point]

If it were a 3 game series like it used to be, the Monarchs would be the champions again. I think the gals just collectively ran out of steam, and the younger Shock got a second wind. May sound simplistic, but that is how it looked.

 

[Luv13fan]

Kinda a moot point really....

I have had time to mull over the Finals.

My thought fall somewhat in the middle.

While I do believe that we could have and should have won Game 4, Ticha's collapse is very hard to overlook.

I am trying to be very objective about the issues and not make a snap judgment, but my thoughts lean closer towards PR's assessment.

Was Ticha the point Guard on the WNBA Championship Team?
Yes.
But what we do forget is that during most of the play-offs she was slowed down by the ankle injury and Kristen and Kara handled most of the point duties. Why this is important? Because Houston and Conn had to prepare for a Point that could score and could not sag.

Was Ticha effective in the first 2 rounds of the 2006 play-offs?
Yes...
Which makes her disappearance in the Finals even more puzzling.

Should one bad series taint Ticha's legacy and get her shipped off?
No...
But it is not that simple. First of all it was not one bad series. Less we forget the 2004 Box and 1 fiasco. The Series that prompted the Tangie for Nicole trade. Now are we better? Absolutely, but we really didn't solve our issue. It is not Nicole's responsibility to score so Ticha doesn't have to. Nor is it Kara's.
I think there is a difference between a player who defers to a better scoring opportunity, than a player who won't shot even when they are the best/only scoring option.
This is not an isolated incidence.

The Detroit Series magnified something that has always been a problem.

And it happened in front of the entire WNBA basketball world.

I have heard that Ticha can score, and she does it in Europe. But her confidence is broken and she can't seem to do it now. So how long do we wait? She isn't getting younger or better for that matter.

Do I think Haynie is the answer to all of our Point Guard Ills?
No...

But I like her, and I like Kara. And I think we could afford to part with Ticha with these two available.

And there is the most important Question.

Can Ticha bounce back from this?
I don't know?
How can you? She was totally exposed on a national stage. I was never much of a Ticha Fan to begin with, but I respected the fact that the team followed her lead. However; I was not particularly please with her behavior at the STH event. I understand she was disappointed in herself, feeling like she let the team down. I totally understand that. But it is times like that when the team needs its leaders to lead. I didn't expect her to be doing back flips. But did expect to see some resiliency. Something that showed me that yeah I fell down but I will get back up. Not some Woe is me crap.
She sets the tone for this team... and the tone she set concerned me. STH's aren't the general public... We are fans. Hell we are family. And if you can't face us, or lean on us when times get tough then that is a bad sign.
I do feel bad for Ticha, in a sense. Nobody wants to get embarrassed on a national stage. But in the same token... She has been playing way to long to look that bad during the WNBA finals.

With that being said if it were up to me, I would give her the option of retiring or picking the team where she wanted to go. I would ask her to choose early as to not make a conflict.
But it is not up to me...

Reality is Sacramento will be up in arms if Ticha is not re-signed or is traded. So she isn't going anywhere. I am just wondering who we will have to part with to get another scorer...Personally I would love to see us trade for Tan White.

Time will tell.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I do think the issue is more complex than that. Whiz doesn't strike me as Mr. Sentinmentality. He traded Tangela and released Ruthie, and declined to offer contracts to Lady and Edna. Not only did he release Ruthie, he never offered her a contract other than a camp invite. He had Yo on the trading block for much of the offseason leading up to the 2005 season. If there was any kinda uproar from the fan faithful its already happened and he's demonstrated he could care less about the implications of fan backlash when he's dealing with a tempermental player or needing to retool his team and deal with a hard salary cap.

My sense of Whiz' thinking is, based on the brief conversation @ the STH thing and his musings on the final Monarchs Talk is that defensively he needs and wants Ticha here. He's not enamored entirely with the offensive beneficial gains he gets with kara or kristen running point in the sense of the offensive output from them. He still contends seemingly that the lapses this team had defensively in the series caused them to lose games 2 and 5. Ticha didn't just become an offensive liability, she always has been and likely always will be. The shot she hit against LA to tie game 1 late, y'all remember she was in a different zipcode the other 9 players on the floor when she took that shot, everybody was on the weak side. Ticha is rarely guarded by anybody and hadn't been for the entire playoff run. What happened to expose Ticha is that she sucked offensively when she did shoot in the Finals. Will it happen again, probably because it happens to everybody. (See: Rebekkah Brunson's numbers or anybody's numbers who sucked in any sport in the post season) is it devastating to her career. Doubt it. Is there life after Ticha here in Sacramento? Certainly, it will have to be as there will be life after Yo.

Whiz is a little more thoughtful than he sometimes gets credit for being. And I don't doubt that he will make a decision that is right for this team and its bottom line in the near and long term.

 

[Purple Reign]

This is not an isolated incidence.

The Detroit Series magnified something that has always been a problem.

And it happened in front of the entire WNBA basketball world.

I have heard that Ticha can score, and she does it in Europe. But her confidence is broken and she can't seem to do it now. So how long do we wait? She isn't getting younger or better for that matter.

Do I think Haynie is the answer to all of our Point Guard Ills?
No...

But I like her, and I like Kara. And I think we could afford to part with Ticha with these two available.

And there is the most important Question.

Can Ticha bounce back from this?
I don't know?
How can you? She was totally exposed on a national stage. I was never much of a Ticha Fan to begin with, but I respected the fact that the team followed her lead.

My sentiments exactly. But forcing a choice to retire or be traded to me is not realistic. It is obvious based on Whisnant and Griffith's post series comments that Ticha will be back, and I have to live with that.

I would love to try again with another point guard. Don't get me wrong, Ticha in my mind is and should have formally been on the WNBA Tenth Anniversary Team (not honorable mention). She is fine player that has meant more to this franchise than anybody else. But the same inconsistant offensive problems she had in 1998 she will have going into 2007. Every year we are told that it will change and it has not. How long as a franchise do you wait for that to change. And if we are family as Luv 13 fan has said, then we may have to live with this issue and hope for the best.

Because Sacramento is not going to trade her.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE STH EVENT?

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

They aren't waiting for it to change because if it hasn't by now it won't. Whiz' motivation is defense, and Ticha is presently his best back court defender.

Maybe I'm the only one who hears something differently. I hear hard salary cap, and "the money has to be right" in the same sentence. And the fact that we have 5 free agents. I look at it as if she is back, its not long term. Haynie will need to make significant improvement on both sides of the ball before the reigns get turned over to her. I'd take Ticha back for a year...if the money works. If Chelsea Newton were still here, methinks Whiz makes his decision a little differently this offseason. He definitely thinks he'da won this series if he had her.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... If Chelsea Newton were still here, methinks Whiz makes his decision a little differently this offseason. He definitely thinks he'da won this series if he had her.

And so do I. Perhaps the single-most overlooked impact that Chelsea Newton had on the Monarchs is that it gave Whisenant the luxury of sitting Penicheiro to bring in Lawson, and still have a good backcourt defender. I felt all season long that the problems that we've had this year were more about the defense than the offense. I'd had high expectations for Brunson after 2005, but she was a tremendous letdown defensively, not bringing anything resembling the same energy that she did last year. And, of course, Dorrell was asked to fill Newton's shoes and, while she did well for a rookie, she (unfortunately for us) fell short of the task.

I'm not comfortable with any idea that involves getting rid of Penicheiro in favor of Lawson and Haynie, at least not yet. Lawson is a great offensive player, she's got a great mind for the game, and she seems like a natural choice to lead the team when Yo Griffith and Penicheiro hang it up... but she's not half the defender that Penicheiro or Newton are, and she doesn't have the court vision that Penicheiro does. I don't hold that last one against her as much, simply because nobody has the court vision that Penicheiro does, but the point is that Lawson is a finisher rather than a playmaker, and not a long-term solution at PG.

Haynie is not ready. She showed flashes of potential this season, and had a couple of strong runs on the court during the Finals, but she's not ready to run the offense on a long-term basis. She's definitely a more confident shooter than Penicheiro, and more of a threat from the perimeter but, aside from that, she's not in Ticha's league. Not as good a defender, not as good a leader... her playmaking isn't even in the same zip code. And maybe I'm the only one, but I'm extremely concerned about Haynie's health and conditioning in the long term; I mean, with as much calories that she has to consume on a daily basis just to be able to play, you have to expect fatigue to become a factor for her, sooner than later. Right now she's young, so she can eat all that and not have to worry about it, but sooner or later, she's going to have to cut back on that caloric intake, and then her stamina is going to go through the floor, even if it's through no fault of her own.

For all of the contempt that I expressed (and still feel, to some extent) towards Whisenant earlier in the season, I still feel that his system can win championships, with the right personnel. And, if Griffith comes back next year, we're going to need Penicheiro back, too. Neither Haynie nor Lawson can run the team effectively enough for us to succeed with Whisenant's system. The benefit that we'd gain on the offensive end with stretching the defense would be neutralized by their not being able to find open teammates as effectively, and utterly nullified on the other end of the court.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

Ditto much of what Slim said...emphatic ditto on Haynie. Haynie needs at least another year. You can afford to keep Penicheiro for two years if Yo does retire after 2007 season. Lawson at the point weakens us at the SG spot.

 

[Shorty_Balla14]

Whiz should make every effort in retaining our 5 free agents and the rest of our team for that matter! (and yes that includes ticha, even if im not a fan of her, she is a vital part of the team w/ her defense and assists) Personally i think the monarchs have all the right pieces for many more championship runs, the monarchs' problem doesnt have anything to do with individual players, instead it lies in the mechanics of theteam's overall game. Although i am a fan of motion offense, when it is blatantly clear that its not effective (i.e. game 4 and most of game 5). then a switch has to be made. I think that wat the monarchs need to really work hard on is creating scoring oppurtunities for themselves. That is how detroit ended up with the wins. Katie and Deanna found and created their own offense. They had us chasing them around which is what we desperately needed to do to throw their defense off balance. Anyway, if sac can hold onto Lawson, Haynie, Brunson, EB, and especially Powell, then i'd have to say that I really like the monarchs' future.

 

[Luv13fan]

Well Okay..


The ability to create shots will be critical to our future success.

Glad that was brought up...

I want to make it clear that I don't think that Ticha Lost us the Championship.
I repeat I do not think Ticha lost us the championship...

I wish I felt the same way about her that ya'll do. I don't have the same faith. But then again... I don't think she factors one way or the other to our success or failure at this point, She will give us what she gives us. So I am done talking about her.

I think there are a few things that will need to happen with this team.

Letting the Chelsea Clause Go... Yes she was an outstanding defender, and we miss her. But This team still should have been an upgrade from the 2005 team. While I think she would have given us a better defender, I am not convinced the outcome would have been different.

Necessities for the Class of 2004

Nicole Powell- She will have to Take her game into 4th Gear. She has shown great moments, she will now have to show great moments on a regular basis. Since we are conceding the lack of production from the point, she will have to be 1 1/2 players on offense. Strangely enough I think she is capable of doing that. Will she remains to be seen.

Bekkah Brunson- Lots of Defensive thrills, lots of Defensive Lapses. But she is a sight to behold. She will have to assume the Role as the Heir Apparent. It is all there for her...

There really is no reason why either of these 2 should not be All-Stars next year if they play up to 1/2 of their potential.

Post Vets...

Yolanda- Rest… Rest… Rest that Knee. I would rather have an out of shape Yo than an Injured Knee Yo.

DeMya- Need the Diva from 2005. I have no doubt that she will be back with a vengance. She is my favorite anyway.

Erin Buescher- Combat Barbie… Our life saver this year. Where would we have been without Erin? Glad we have team players able to step up. Drastic improvement from 2005 to 2006. A move or two more and she may be down right dangerous.

On the wings...

Hamchetou Maiga-Ba- You know I was actually please with her development. Would love to see more, but she had a little jumper, and learned she could drive without fouling. Well at least I didn't cringe when she shot.

Kara Lawson- Please just come into next season healthy so we can have you for a Full Season. She has a tremendous basketball IQ, so I like where she is at.

Sholanda Dorrell *CHEW*- Now this is the Slim special. I think this kid can be very special on Defense and offense. And we know the Slim Man Loves the Defense.

Kristen Haynie- I think she is more skilled than she is getting credit for. She did have an off year, but I am Dying to see what a Year overseas w/ Katie Douglas will do for her game. She will have to bring 2005 Haynie, plus some to the 2007 campaign. Let hope she won't want to apply for Lithuanian Citizenship.

Kim Smith, Brittany Wilkins, Shameka Scott-- The rookies are gonna have to show some improvements. Smith was a little disappointing but she is a nice kid. I love Brit and Scotty. Hope they are being very productive with their off-season.

Like I said before... I have been mulling this over. So Let hope all this comes to pass.
It was an amazing season... Here's to many more.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

...I wish I felt the same way about her that ya'll do. I don't have the same faith. But then again... I don't think she factors one way or the other to our success or failure at this point, She will give us what she gives us...

In my case, it's not necessarily an overwhelming faith in Penicheiro nearly so much as it's an overwhelming lack of faith in Haynie. For some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I just don't think that she's the "one" to replace #21.


And, apropos of nothing... you do know that you only have to use the [COLOR] tags once per post, unless you're actually changing colors, right? I mean, you don't have to reapply them for every single line of text; that just makes your posts a chore to quote.

 

[alivia]

In my case, it's not necessarily an overwhelming faith in Penicheiro nearly so much as it's an overwhelming lack of faith in Haynie. For some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I just don't think that she's the "one" to replace #21.


And, apropos of nothing... you do know that you only have to use the [COLOR] tags once per post, unless you're actually changing colors, right? I mean, you don't have to reapply them for every single line of text; that just makes your posts a chore to quote.

I definitely agree that Ticha did not loose the final series for the Monarchs. It was a combination of reasons.
Just curious....What back up point guard in the league would you choose to be the "one" to replace Ticha? Most players need more than 10 minutes (3 minutes here, 4 minutes there etc.) to get going in the game. Nicole, for example would have had a much more productive rookie year in Charlotte if they would have just played her. I believe Kristin is the best back up point in the league.

All in all....there are probably 12 other teams in the league that would have loved to be runner up.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I'm not saying Haynie's not talented...I've seen her talent. Just didn't see her talent consistently this past season. She had a fantastic Finals for the most part...which I'm sure most will recall followed her being pulled from games (read: benched) for parts of preceedings games during the regular season and playoffs. Whiz had her on a very short leash down the stretch, and he had her on one for a reason specific to his system and what she was or wasn't doing in it.

I love her game and think she has a bright future in the league, but she took a step back when I look at the totality of her season. Same is when I look at the season Ticha had.

 

[Luv13fan]

In my case, it's not necessarily an overwhelming faith in Penicheiro nearly so much as it's an overwhelming lack of faith in Haynie. For some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I just don't think that she's the "one" to replace #21.


And, apropos of nothing... you do know that you only have to use the [COLOR] tags once per post, unless you're actually changing colors, right? I mean, you don't have to reapply them for every single line of text; that just makes your posts a chore to quote.

Actually I think there is a problem with the laptop. I do only use it one time but when I go in to edit I see the UnGodly amount of text tags.
Have No Idea why it is doing that.

You must not know me that well.

I am way too lazy to reapply anything more than one. But because I know you and RD love to quote me I will try to get it fixed soon or use the other Computer.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I definitely agree that Ticha did not loose the final series for the Monarchs. It was a combination of reasons.
Just curious....What back up point guard in the league would you choose to be the "one" to replace Ticha? Most players need more than 10 minutes (3 minutes here, 4 minutes there etc.) to get going in the game. Nicole, for example would have had a much more productive rookie year in Charlotte if they would have just played her. I believe Kristin is the best back up point in the league.

All in all....there are probably 12 other teams in the league that would have loved to be runner up.

Well, if I had to choose from a backup guard, I'd probably rather have Erin Phillips; don't ask me why. But, I'd also probably rather try to work out a trade before I settled for a backup to replace arguably the most important position on the court.