WNBA Draft, & Coaches out in Seattle Recruiting Mess

#1 posting 4.8.2006

Today I take a closer look at the top 10 picks in the WNBA draft. I normally don't track the college players, but I have spent some time crunching the numbers. Here are the results. These numbers are raw and unfiltered.
#, Player college pro team rating
1 Simone Augustus LSU Minnesota G 121.58
2 Cappie Pondexter Rutgers Phoenix G 113.47
3 Monique Curry Duke Charlotte G 88.40
4 Sophia Young Baylor San Antonio F 110.84
5 Lisa Willis UCLA Los Angeles G 83.81
6 Candice Dupree Temple Chicago F 83.77
7 Shona Thorburn Utah Minnesota G 69.69
8 Tamara James Miami FL Washington G 90.33
9 La'Tangela Atkinson North Carolina Indiana F 50.31
10 Tye'sha Fluker Tennessee Charlotte C 46.18
Looking at the draft three players and their numbers stand out. I feel these players will make an impact right away. Fluker is 6-5 and I am assuming was drafted for her defense. These numbers measure offense more than anything. Defense is factored in, but scoring does count for quite a bit. If I had to categorize these players:
Franchise Player: Augustus (rookie of the year)
Potential All Stars: Pondexter, Young
Early Contributors: James, Curry
Eventual Starter in career: Willis, Dupree
Quality Backup: Thorburn
Deep Bench: Atkinson, Fluker
I may delve more into the WNBA as the summer goes on. I will also retrofit grades on the other player drafted this year.

POINT PARADE
HAWAII
Vicky Tagalicod, Hilo 26 vs Hawaii Prep 50-27
Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Punahou 23 vs Sacred Hearts 74-23
Mana Hopkins, Konawaena 21 vs Ka'u 59-10

COLLEGE COACHING NEWS
OH
Kelly Kennedy resigned as coach at Akron after four years. Angie Hutchinson of Mpls North and Krissy Marco of Middleton WI just finished their senior years there. Allison Schoff of Bloomington Kennedy (frosh) and Mandy Holzer of Jordan (soph) also play there. Here is the Akron Zip story http://gozips.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/040306aaa.html Here is Akron Beacon Journal story http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/sports/colleges/14258271.htm

HS COACHING NEWS
WASH
A few weeks ago I pointed out that Seattle was investigating a recruiting situation involving Chief Stealth HS. That investigation is wrapping up and it appears the coaches will be out. Seattle will fire the coaches involved. Read about how a school district handles recruiting players from neighboring schools. Here is the Seattle Times story with more links on the whole mess on that site. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002918503_sealth08.html Here is the other Seattle paper, the Post Intelligencer http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/preps/266030_sealth08.html Will other states take notice?
WI
Mark Olejniczak resigned from Green Bay Notre Dame. His 2001 team won the D2 state championship. Here is the account by the Green Bay Press-Gazette http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/GPG0205/604080521/1238/GPGsports
Two more coaches are retiring
John Pollock of Durand who coached 27 years with a 482-134 record including 2 state championships and
Arnie Skrukrud, Fall Creek who coached 25 years with a 465-123 record and 4 state championships. Jason Martzke will replace Skrukrud. Martzke coached Gilmanton to a state title in 2001.

SIGNINGS
MN
Casey Gifford, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton to Northern State
Chelsie Kurtenbach, Dawson-Boyd to St. Catherine's
Jessica Tykwinski, Lincoln HI to Valley City State
WI
Elle Bailey, Chetek to UW Eau Claire
Jodi Lindner, Neillsville to UW Eau Claire
Rachel Lubeck, Durand to UW Eau Claire
Krystal Parr, Bloomer to UW Stout
Kim Stokke, Menomonie to UW Stout
Karen Ellwanger, Flambeau to Milwaukee School of Enginering

Next up: Tomorrow about who is left. It will be by number, so get your books ready.