Tina 1st team WNBA

[NCorBust]

Tina 1st team WNBA

 

[caravaggio]

I disagree with Whalen over Bird. Obviously I'm biased but I feel as if Sue did more for her team than Whalen. Moreover with the offensive power that Minn has (and the need for Sue to shoulder a greater scoring burden), Whalen should have a higher assist average.

However, I can understand why voters could select Whalen over Bird (still disagree though!)

CONGRATS TO DT & TINA!

 

[boontonbomber]

tina , taurasi and bird are the best players in their positions in the league. congrats to uconn and geno.

 

[EricLA]

UCONN had 3 players represented on the first and 2nd teams. LSU was the only other program to put 2 players on the "top 10" list with Augustus and Fowles making the 2nd team... congrats as boon said!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

UCONN had 3 players represented on the first and 2nd teams. LSU was the only other program to put 2 players on the "top 10" list with Augustus and Fowles making the 2nd team... congrats as boon said!!

Only 2 college teams have made 5 straight Final Fours: UConn with Diana and Sue and LSU with Seimone and Sylvia.

I agree that Tina, Diana, and Sue are the best in the league--and probably world--at their positions. I would have taken Sue over Lindsay, but folks recognized the Lynx's outstanding 27-7 mark.

Look for Tina's little sister in Minnesota to challenge for 1st team soon.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Tina 1st team WNBA

Uh, Diana is as well.

 

[doggydaddy]

Uh, Diana is as well.

Ho Hum.......

 

[NCorBust]

Uh, Diana is as well.

Diana also made first team temper tantrum and whining.

 

[Kibitzer]

Diana also made first team temper tantrum and whining.

Next thing you'll accuse her of occasional cussing.

I think she caused more epithets than she ever uttered.

 

[UConn990411]

I still can't believe Tina didn't win MVP. What an absolute joke.

 

[PacoSwede]

Diana also made first team temper tantrum and whining.

She's a basketball player, not the headmistress of a girls finishing school.

 

[EricLA]

I still can't believe Tina didn't win MVP. What an absolute joke.

i agree with you that it was a rather big surprise, but in a way, i think it will be like when Glenn Close finally wins an Oscar - she may not be the best actress in the year she finally wins, but she has had so many Oscar worthy performances and was nominated so many times that the final win is more an accumulation of her past work rather than being completely all about the year she finally wins.

Catch did take her team farther in the playoffs than Tina did, but it's supposed to be about the regular season and i really don't think anyone was more valuable to her team than Tina was.

 

[UConn990411]

Perfectly said, eric.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

In analyzing a player's performance/value (in terms of determining honors and accolades), I always look to the player efficiency ratings. Not counting Candace Parker (insufficient number of games played), Charles was second and Catchings was fourth (Fowles was first, with Penny Taylor third). Catchings led her team in points, rebounds, and steals. She also shot 43.8 percent from the floor, the second best shooting year of her career (one of the knocks on Catchings against her MVP candidacy in previous years was her shooting). She was the only player in the WNBA in the top 15 in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Her team did finish first in the Eastern Conference.

Ironically, Catchings' numbers were better last year when she did not win the award. But Seattle won 28 games, and Lauren Jackson put up very good numbers.

In this case, however, there definitely is a "career achievement" feel to the award. Catchings was one of the best five players in the WNBA this year. But there was also a perfect storm. Both Lauren Jackson and Candace Parker (two previous MVP winners) missed too many games to be considered for the MVP award. Minnesota had the best record in the WNBA, but had tremendous balance with Whalen, Augustus, and Brunson taking turns as the best player on the team in a given month. So there was not a clear leader, in terms of a previous winner or a "best player on the best team" perspective. And like I said, Catchings was a worthy candidate, as was Tina Charles (and others).

And, when push comes to shove with other things being equal, Tina will have more opportunities to win an MVP award than Catchings, as she is nine years younger.

But it all depends on how you define the award. If someone were to define the award as "the player most valuable to her team," then you have to look at the player who did the most for her team and whose team was lost without her, coupled with putting up near-historic numbers that have yet to be achieved in the WNBA (15-5-5 and 50/40/90). Based on that definition, my vote would have gone to Penny Taylor.