Stacey Dales-Schuman debut!

[swok34]

wow! what a debut, I think she was playing the 2/3 most of the night and not playing from the PG position, not positive.

23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers.
5/9 FG - 2/2 were 3 pointers, 11 of 12 FT's.
in 31 minutes of play.

Washington won 93-82, Stacey was the high scorer, led by Holdsclaw (who I didn't think was going to play) with a double double of 19 points/14 boards.

[35TangoTango]

Pretty Impressive! She played more minutes than anyone except Holdsclaw. She started at small forward and apparently played that position most of the game. Judging from the number of free throws, her moves and quickness at that position paid off.

Annie Burgess (a veteran from Austrailia) played point guard, spelled by Coco Miller. They still talk about playing Stacey at point, but I think they've decided to let her get comfortable with the game first. Burgess is a good distributor, but not a scorer.

Still 4 turnovers - mostly throwing passes that people aren't catching yet.

All in all, quite an opening night!

[swok34]

soonerman.........I read an article that says that Stacey will be played primarily at the 2 and the 3 and very rarely at the PG position.

Have come to believe what many of you have been saying, Stacey, while an awesome college PG, may not have the quickness to play a WNBA point....and I say that in comparison to Debbie Black, Shannon Johnson...they are truly little balls of fire. Now if Detroit coach would wake up and realize that Edwina is also NOT a point guard.

I think Caufield had a pretty good night also......played 10 minutes, had 8 points on 2/4 FG...50% from 3 point land and 2/2 FT. Her compadrie, Marieeeeeeee wasn't hitting shots..

[35TangoTango]

This is a May 22 Press Conference with Coach Stanley:

Q: Where does Stacey Dales-Schuman fit in and what does her future look like?

Stanley: I think the biggest thing she brings to the table is her versatility and her skills. Stacey’s a very skilled player, and I’m trying not to pigeonhole her into any one particular thing, and to just utilize her skill in lots of different places. She needs to play some point guard for us, and she’s doing that nicely, but that’s not the only thing I’m expecting from her. I’m trying to, again, give her a framework within which to play and then just play the game. She’s a player who plays hard, she’s smart, she has good skills and you can always use her in virtually any situation, so again, I’m trying to have players get a comfort level, to just play the game and execute plays and not worry about fitting into a system.

I think they envision some situations where a big point guard (think Magic Johnson) could create some mismatches. Besides, Burgess is not a scorer, and Stacey is certainly as capable at the point as Coco Miller.

[metromaniac]

Last year, due to injuries among posts, Stacey had to play 1,2,3,4 or 5 at various times in most games. She did it magnificently and totally expanded her confidence in many spots on the floor and situations during a game. The coaches quote clearly indicates her awareness of this trait.

Many NBA and WNBA games end up in "match-up" offensive sets or plays at critical times. Stacey succeeded at crunch time at various positions all year. This new expansion of her game and the lessons she learned will make her Rookie of the year, barring injury.

Also, she is a better point than Black, Witherspon, Miller or anybody on their team. She is just more valuable,due to her flexibility and skills, to play just that position.

Would love to hear from the numerous posters, after the draft, that seemed to be overly questioning of her skills and ability to succeed in the Pro's. It is early. Just wanted to be the first to start the Rookie of the Year talk in the WNBA.

[Jennifer]

Here's a fan's perspective from the boneyard.
http://the-boneyard.com/wbb.pl/read/66927

Dales-Shuman is becoming a fan favorite! That's no surprise to me.

I'd love to see her get ROY--but w/ Bird as the media darling, plus Catchings being a rookie, she'll have her work cut out for her.
Who votes/decides on this award anyway?

[Press]

I'm happy she's doing so well and it's easy to understand why she's a fan favorite and raises the level for those that play with her.

[swok34]

Soonerman, here's a more recent quote for you on Stacey from Stanley:

At draft time, we thought that Stacey would play more point for us," Stanley said. "At this stage, I'd say she'd play less point for us and more" off-guard and small forward.

Here's the rest of the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41899-2002May31.html


As big a fan of Stacey's as I am, I think the award is Catchings to lose, she posted a double-double 1st night out....
though Jackie didn't post double-double's; I think she averaged
about 15 points a game. Though with Catchings out the entire season and Abrosimova coming in very late...and I don't think Lauren Jackson averaged a double-double.

The way the ROY Award is going, I say keep it far, far away from Washington.....

2000 Betty Lennox, spent 2001 hurt and has yet to get her game back on track.

2001 Jackie Stiles, if anyone watched yesterday's game, the look on her face said it all. I watched another game last week, and Jackie's not got her groove this year. I think it's really sad and almost painful watching her struggle. I'm betting Coach Hargrove doesn't last the year in Portland.

[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 06-03-2002).]

[Jennifer]

Catchings got the first WNBA Player of the Week honor.

Catchings averaged a league-best 25.0 points in two games for the Fever while shooting 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the floor, 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from the three-point line and a perfect 100 percent (14-of-14) from the free throw line.

Other nominees included:
Other candidates for WNBA Player of the Week were Charlotte’s Kelly Miller, Detroit’s Deanna Nolan, Houston’s Tina Thompson, Los Angeles’ Lisa Leslie, Minnesota’s Katie Smith, New York’s Crystal Robinson, Orlando’s Shannon Johnson, Phoenix’s Gordana Grubin, Portland’s Sylvia Crawley, Utah’s Adrienne Goodson and Washington’s Stacey Dales-Schuman.

I didn't think Katie Smith played this week because of injury?

[swok34]

Smith ended up just missing one game, Jennifer....if players are put on the "official" IR, I think they have to be held out of either 2 or 3 games. Smith was never on the IR.

I saw the Washington/Phoenix game last night; it's really hard to adapt my viewing from Stacey playing in this new system. Washington did really good for their *key* player not playing in Holdsclaw. Close game and a really good game; and it's obvious that Washington is a completely new team and seems to have found the right coach in Stanley. They are definitely not the team of yesteryears, which I defined as the most schizo team in the league. Stacey did a really good job, and won accolades from Michelle Timms, Phoenix broadcaster/retired Australian PG for Phoenix. Asha Jones stepped it up big last night, good to see her get on track after suffering foul trouble in the opening game. Their inexperience as a team together seemed to get them into trouble late in the game, as they had 2/3 offensive miscues and Stanley called 2 timeouts late to reset the offense.

and look at Laneisha, giving out the Oklahoma secrets http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

"I'm not surprised by her success at all," Caufield said. "I haven't talked to her since the season started, but I'll always have a love for that team. No matter where we are or what we do, that will always be something we shared."
Still, all those fuzzy feelings didn't stop Caufield from sharing some insight about how to stop Dales-Schuman.
"You have to keep her out of the paint, because she's deadly there," she said. "She sees everything on the floor. When I was playing with her, I always knew she was going to find me, no matter where I was."
http://www2.sltrib.com/starzz/main/index.asp

Can't see this one, but I'll be following along on the live ticker.....


[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 06-04-2002).]