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tvb · Joined: 18 Jul 2002 Posts: 9

trying to bite my tongue and let the professionals ( sulka / sharp ) do their work.

after all, they get paid pretty well and they have experience so you would think they have somewhat of a clue as to what they are doing, but i am beginning to wonder ........ a lot lately !!

1) veal must still not be close to 100% healthy, otherwise there is no %#$^@#^# logical explanation for her not playing at least 30 minutes at point guard ??
2) signing a player who is cut by the worst team in the league ( detroit ) ??
3) putting a player ( bonfiglio ) on injured reserve, who says she is fine and is a great shooter ??
4) trying to bring back fallon for the last 10 games, so we can miss out on a high draft pick ??
5) losing by 41 points after being up 9 -2 ??
6) putting veal in the game against portland the last 2 minutes ??
7) etc. etc. etc.

i never was and will be a fan of cynthia cooper as a player and as a coach, but you have to admit that there is no way on earth she would take this #@%#& without kicking somebody's behind on the court !!

unfortunately i don't see anybody besides gillom stepping up and trying to stop this embarrassment.

what's the story with lisa "princess/coach-killer" harrison ?? was cooper the only one who could get her pissed off and motivated to work hard ? she seems to just be going thru the motions and taking all these losses without getting too upset about it.

and please stop those glowing comments about the "rookie" christensen. she runs up and down the court like nobody else but some basketball-smarts might be nice every once in a while ....... you don't have to be on the floor on every possession, this is not football.

the only game left to look forward to is the indiana game when bridget pettis comes back.
maybe she can stop by the mercury locker room and give a little inspirational talk about playing with passion, heart and determination ( and please harrison, williams, grubin, bobo listen carefully !! ).

for the rest of the season play veal, saunders, bonfiglio and let them earn their spot for next year ( or not ........ ).

at least jennifer gillom said that she does not want to end her mercury career like this, so i will be back to watch every home game again next year even if they trade everybody else !!!!!!!!!!!

bballprincess31 · Joined: 13 Jun 2002 Posts: 40

How can you say or imply that Lisa, Adrian, Grubin, and Bobo do not play with passion, heart and determination. And also say that Lisa doesn't care that they are losing. I don't think any of the people on the team are careless when thinking back on the losses. They all care, and all of them aren't pleased. Oh yeah, the "coach killer" comment....Cynthia Cooper never should have been the coach in the first place and I was more than happy seeing her go. Kayte shows all the traits that you discredited the above people and you still diss her. The Mercury aren't the only people who need to show consistency.

gia · Guest

Gone for 4 days and I see that our formerly mighty Mercury are still in a mess.

Trying to get Fallon back for 10 games is ridiculous....considering she'll need time to get in the flow. They have shooting guards... Grubin, Bonfiglio, and even Moises. Yet they play Reid at the 2 guard and try to bring back a player who's been MIA for 2/3 of the season. What's the logic in this?

They put Bonfiglio on IR to make room for a center that doesn't play although they are getting beat up in the paint (Portland) and hammered on the boards (Seattle). Veal's still getting garbage minutes but I've almost come to accept this as a fact of life. I really hope they make a deal that sends her to a team that wants her on the floor next season.

How depressing and frustrating this must be for Jen. :(

And no, I don't think Cooper would have made much of a difference other than there were be more yelling and even LESS chemistry. This is all in their heads and they have no clue how to shake it. They expect to lose and they do.

mb · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2002 5:53 pm Post subject:

Gia said:

Quote: How depressing and frustrating this must be for Jen.

And no, I don't think Cooper would have made much of a difference other than there were be more yelling and even LESS chemistry. This is all in their heads and they have no clue how to shake it. They expect to lose and they do.
Spot on!

Here is a copy of my most recent post to AZCentral.

Author: mb (mb)
Date: Tue., Jul. 23, '02 @ 5:41 pm

The facts are these:

Our team, when playing well, is the 4th or 5th best team in the west. Had we played to our abilities, we would have the fourth spot. LA, Houston, and either Portland or Utah are ahead of us.

Our season started soft, then came a very tough road trip.

The talent level between our starters and reserves varies little.

We are in dire need of a banging post and a healthy PG.

Cooper was a not-fit-to-coach tyrant. Sharp may be a bit too easy going.

Timms does not want to head coach, and was reluctant to assist. Perhaps down the road she will wish to head coach, yet not until gaining experience as an assistant. She wished to commentate this year. She is qualified to do both and is an asset to our organization in any capacity.

Seth gets blame for much beyond his control, and receives little credit for the good moves he makes.

Losing Stepanova and Fallon hurt. The Brandy Reed ordeal didn't help.

Our players, the organization, and most importantly the fans are some of the best people associated with the sport.

The last week of July will prove either incredibly uplifting or terribly tormentous.

The Mercury will always have mb's support.

The Mercury have extremely attractive players...attractive in many ways.

This post needs to wrap.

mb · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2002 2:26 pm Post subject:

Portland faces Houston, Washington, Utah, and us yet this season.

If they lose these games and perhaps another, Seattle goes 500, and we finish the season with all wins we could be in the playoffs.

How's that for optimism???

Gaucho_Don · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 223

The debate is raging on in my head about whether or not we should keep trying with this season (there is still a chance that if we really stepped it up, we could make the playoffs) or throw in the towel and start using this season as practice for next season, while simultaneously earning a very low draft pick.

I think the conclusion I'm coming to is that Friday is the last-chance, backs-against-the-wall, climb-the-mountain, leave-it-all-on-the-floor, start a winning streak game. We should give 110%(at least) to get the first of many road wins and go into the playoffs as a underdog on a hot streak...

And if we don't start Friday, we don't start at all... the season would be done and we should give our Jen a rest and give our youngsters a chance to excel!

SportsFan48 · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1133

tvb - you started this thread with a vengence that displayed a lot of the frustration that many of us feel. However, I would like to address some of your comments.

1.) I don't think any of us understand the Veal situation. I have stated my opinion on this in an other thread.
2.) My original thought on the Oksana signing was that it was motivated by the league because of her contract status. I have nothing to prove this, but it helps make the move more sensible to me.
3.) Bonofiglio does say she is fine. Many players will say that even when they are injured. She was getting a lot of injections to keep her going. Knees are the first to go and her knee was obivously weakened. I think she was put on IR as a precaution and prevention and it probably was a good move for her. I would have liked for her to be on the floor, but I would like it a lot less if she blew her knee out and possibly her career with it.
4.) I think bringing Fallon back has two purposes. It helps us know what she might be thinking as far as her future with the WNBA is concerned and it might be an attempt to satisfy the fan base that says "we are losing games and management needs to do something about it." The options for doing something about it are pretty slim. And just like our players, management doesn't want to give up either. My personal feeling is that we are better to leave things as they are. We have had so much change this season and have had trouble getting minutes for the players we have without adding to another to the mix.

Quote: what's the story with lisa "princess/coach-killer" harrison ?? was cooper the only one who could get her pissed off and motivated to work hard ? she seems to just be going thru the motions and taking all these losses without getting too upset about it.

You seem to forget that Lisa's best game came when Cooper was gone. What would you like Lisa to do: jump up and down, rant and rave, act like an ass like Cooper did? To imply that Lisa or anyone else on this team is not upset about our losses or motivated to turn things around is ludicrous and an insult to them. And you give Lisa way too much credit for Cooper's failure as a coach. Next, we will be hearing how Lisa is responsible for Brandy's failures because Lisa is prettier.

It is a mistake to equate "passion" with outrageous behavior. People display their passion in different ways. Personally, I think Lisa displays a lot of passion by showing up every night even when she knows she is going to be blamed for the problems of the world.

Your comments on Kayte were off base too. I agree that she makes some mistakes out there and, at times, has been a liability instead of an asset, but she is a rookie. She will make some mistakes. She has improved almost every game. And if the ball is on the floor, I am glad she goes for it. (I see that as passion.)

I like your optimism mb. The "winning them all" starts on Friday. But even if they don't win them all - they will have my continued support. My limited interaction with them has shown me that they are not only women with class but they are women with passion for the game.

kharris · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2002 7:09 am Post subject:

BRAVO SportsFan! I couldn't agree more with your comments on Lisa.

caune · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

You know, as much as we may complain (although I think we are pretty constructive here with our criticism 8) the majority of us are going to be and have been supporting this team, win or lose :!:

and as far as the who plays, who's injured who's traded, hired or fired....well speculation on the message boards is half the fun!

tvb · Guest Joined: 18 Jul 2002 Posts: 9

you ( sportsfan48 ) are absolutely 100 % correct, i am very frustrated with this whole season so far and since my comments are strictly my personal opinion, we can easily agree to disagree on certain things and still be great mercury fans.

and so here are my responses ........

1) i would understand the veal situation a lot better if there was a coach ( sharp ) or a general manager ( sulka ) who would come out and say WHY kristen is not getting the majority of minutes at point guard. if her knees are still a problem, SAY SO, if she is not in shape, SAY SO, if the coach prefers grubin or moises at that position, SAY SO ........ but it seems like it is a subject that is avoided, so the fans are left wondering and speculating.

2) in my opinion, if there is a player available from europe who is tall, sulka seems to like to take a chance on her. i just find it odd that if she cant crack the detroit line-up, why would she be in the mercury line-up ? and so far she has been on the bench ........

3) i see bonfiglio as a great shooter and i wish she was getting a chance and the minutes to prove it. go back to the last home victory against the comets, sharp kept her on the bench for the whole game until the last 5 minutes or so when the game was on the line and she was great !

4) fallon for next year would be a good idea, but doesnt it look like she has other priorities at the moment ? quite the opposite of veal, who made the mercury her number 1 priority !

5) you prove my opinion about harrison by pointing out that she had her absolute best game of the season ( 35 min / 22 pts / 10 rbs / 2 ast / 1 stl ) on the day that cooper left ! have you seen her play like that since then ? nope nope nope !! and she was the one who came out after that game with a grin on her face from ear to ear when the cooper situation was discussed and even though most of the fans loved it, i personally thought that she could have shown some more class.

6) i like christensen's hustle as well, especially early in the season, but somehow the coach doesnt have a lot of minutes for her either and again it would be so much easier to understand if we knew why ? my issue is with some of the fans who talk her up to be this great player. sure, she is a steal in the draft, but let's not get carried away just yet.

in my opinion the playoffs are out of reach, so we might even agree that veal and christensen and bonfiglio and saunders should get a lot minutes to prove if they are as good as we think they are.

the perfect scenario would be if we could keep the current roster and compete with the top teams, but i think we can all agree that is a fantasy.

minercon · Guest Joined: 19 Jul 2002 Posts: 8

I believe that Sulka invited Fallon back this year to see if she could possibly be interested in returning next year. If she had returned now she would be back next year. She will not return to the Merc ever.

mb · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2002 11:45 am Post subject:

Some great discussion occurring here. Kudos Sportsfan, tvb, and others.

Perhaps Caune said it best:

Quote: You know, as much as we may complain (although I think we are pretty constructive here with our criticism the majority of us are going to be and have been supporting this team, win or lose

and as far as the who plays, who's injured who's traded, hired or fired....well speculation on the message boards is half the fun!

Go Mercury and great job message board fans!

cbibat · Guest Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 232

Everyone gleefully points out that Harrision had her best game the day Cooper left.... frankly I don't think that says a lot about Harrison..... where has she been since then, she's dropped back to her typical stats, to her typical good defensive game but not strong offensive game. At the beginning of the season she said something to the effect that she'd scream if one more person told her she should shoot more.... well???

Where are more games closer to the best game she's played this year?

Look at her stats - she is having an average year for her when the Merc need her to have an above average year. Her ppg are up 1 pt, but the rest are 'normal' and basically in line with her other seasons.

I don't question her intensity, but her play hasn't improved. On the boards we keep talking about offense, well, itsn't Harrison's position one that is expected to produce points. If we have Veal at point, with the plan being to let her direct traffic, dish assists and shot enough to keep the defense honest, don't we need 4 other scorers on the floor? Where's Harrison's scoring? We've seen her do it, where has she hid it and when is she going to take it out again?

Dunkin' Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2002 7:11 pm Post subject:

Just to clear up the Trish Fallon thing.

It is my understanding that the reason she is not in Phoenix this season is the same as Jae Kingi - i.e. they were "encouraged" by Basketball Australia to stay in the country and prepare with the Opals for the upcoming world championships.
(This same thing happened before the 2000 olympics by the way)

If this is correct (I can't be 100% sure that there aren't other factors) then I would doubt that Trish will be over in Phoenix this season, since the Opals have a lot of warmup games organised between now & the tournament.

That being said, I see no reason why she wouldn't be back in Phoenix next season. There will be no pressure from BA to stay here - the decision will then be entirely hers.

caune · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

If it helps Gidget (trish;) come back next season, maybe they should offer her hot hubby Rodney the color commentary job on the radio with Kevin Ray (and put him on the TV broadcast too) I am sure Rodney would have no problem being colorful and I believe he could draw a few more fans in, he has that kind of appeal!

gia · Guest

Metcalfe's article this morning is stating that Vealy is FINALLY STARTING at PG and Grubin is at SG for tonight's game. Go figure. Guess if we bitch long and loud enough we'll eventually get what we want ;)

Quote: Basketball logic suggests Veal and Adriana Moises should be playing point guard; Grubin, Bonfiglio and Jaynetta Saunders at off guard; Lisa Harrison and Reid at small forward.

Injuries, matchups, production from incomplete guards, coaching preference and whatever other reasons produced Grubin, Reid and Harrison as starters. Sulka and coach Linda Sharp want to use the final 10 games to evaluate younger players including Veal, slowed in her development by off-season knee surgeries.

Reid is on IR, Bonfiglio is back. He also states that Fallon's reason for not coming back was the money (40K). And also addresses the failed Reid at SG experiment, comparing her numbers to past Merc SG's (Pettis, Campbell, Edwards, Fallon)

You can read the entire article here:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/mercury/0726mercury.html

Thanks again Jeff, for getting us the answers to the questions we keep asking :)

eaction83 · Guest Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 130 Location: Fremont, CA

tvb - I think you're overreacting just a little bit with that "fans talking Kayte up" comment. A lot of us who post here (GauchoDon, Ohio Gaucho, AJSpark, GirlGaucho, Fegenbush, myself, etc., etc., etc.) have been UCSB fans for years and watched her grow from Freshman with Potential into an All-American as a senior. Naturally, having seen the best of her for years, we tend to see the best of her now, even though the Kayte that "is" making a massive adjustment from the college game (and not even the elite level of the college game) to the pro game is not the Kayte that "was" for us, or "will be" for Phoenix in the future. You have to be patient with us, just like we have to be patient with her. :D

SportsFan48 · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1133

I agree that this a good discussion. It is interesting to see different points of view. There are several issues here that I am in full agreement on and others that I have differences with.

One of the things I have a difference with is the popular trend to make Lisa the scapegoat of our dismal season. The reason why I mentioned the fact that Lisa's best game came the night Cooper left was in response to the comment that Lisa could not be motivated unless it was by the ranting and ravings of Cooper. The fact that Lisa had her best game that night was coincidence and matchup. Lisa had her two best offensive nights against Seattle. The fact that Cooper choose that night to quit on her team had nothing, IMHO, to do with Lisa having a great game. It only seemed that way because of the publicity concerning their relationship.

tvb, you commented on Lisa's smiles and lack of "class" the night of Cooper's resignation. If you are referring to her interview with Kevin Ray, I saw it a different way. Every year Lisa has been here she has given Kevin a difficult time when she is interviewed by him. She does this by answering his questions with one or two word answers. Anyone that gives interviews will tell you that is VERY difficult to give an interview, much less one on live radio, when the interviewee answers in one or two words. Lisa, having the background she has in public relations and communications, knows this. She smiles and laughs when she does it because it is a joke she shares with him. When she was asked about the Cooper situation, Lisa didn't make light of it. She was focused on her appreciation of the fans and their support. Personally, I feel that Lisa had every right to be happy about Cooper's resignation, but I don't think she was disrespectful or lacking "class" in her response. In fact, it took a great deal of class under the circumstances, IMO, to respond as she did.

Lisa is a veteran player and has a lot of history. If you look at her stats, she doesn't have "average" seasons. She gives the same consistent play every year. The Mercury organization and we, as Mercury fans, should know what to expect from Lisa. And we get it game after game, night after night. To get an offensive night from her like we did against Seattle, is a bonus. If anything, Lisa has given this organization more than expected in her defensive play. And she has slightly improved her offensive game this season. I don't think she was expected to be a starter when she was drafted. And, it seems, she is never expected to be the starter at the beginning of each season, yet somehow she ends up in that position. She does it through consistent play and hard work. I have said it before and I will say it again: there are very few players who are strong defensive stoppers and high offensive production, night after night. Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffiths are two that come to mind, but after that the list narrows dramatically.

Looking realistically at this team, we are more of a middle of the pack team in the WNBA and especially in the West. I think our success earlier in WNBA history hurt us in two ways: 1. We didn't get the draft position that others got. 2. We didn't use our draft position as well as we might have if we had more of an urgency to improve. I think the organization was a little complacent in determining our needs and under estimated what our opponents were doing.

We can discuss "til the cows come home" about WHO in the Mercury organization is responsible for our situation (Sulka, Miller, Cooper, Sharp, etc.). To try and lay blame on the players, whether it be Lisa, GG, Tuvic, Adrian, etc., because they are not having "career high" or "above average" seasons is not a fair expectation on our part.

A big part of our situation is because we took a risk on Brandy Reed. If you figured Brandy (minus the attitude and problems) into our current situation, we would have a contending team. Look what happened to Sacramento without Griffiths. It will take us some time and some luck to get back what we lost with Brandy. And you can not blame anyone but Brandy for that one (unless you want to argue that management shouldn't have taken the chance on her after her negative history with the Lynx and just about everything else that required a responsible commitment on her part). We also were let down this year by Fallon and Maria not returning. All three of those players would have logged substantial minutes and can not be replaced in a season.

Again, who do we blame?? Don't make it the players who are out there spilling their guts night in and night out. If you do, I will defend them. Am I blind to their weaknesses? No. But I am realistic about their strengths.

caune · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

We can discuss "til the cows come home" about WHO in the Mercury organization is responsible for our situation

I say we blame the rest of the WNBA teams because not one had the balls to take Brandy Reed off our hands...its evil I say:twisted: A real conspiracy :roll: :!: :!:

Keegan · Guest Joined: 13 Jun 2002 Posts: 977

Alternatively we could've offered Brandy to Dee Brown for his 2003 1st round pick... I bet he would've done it!

gia · Guest

Here's my 1.5 cents.......it was almost 15 cents last week but with that stock market mess, it's dropping by the minute :?

As the saying goes, a fish rots from the head down and this one started rotting with Cooper's hiring which was quick to alienate players and a lot of fans.

Graf didn't stay because of Cooper. It was quiet clear to anyone with eyes that there was no love lost between them. They barely acknowledged each other on the bench.

Fallon didn't come back because Graf was gone. I'd bet my last dollar that Fallon would have returned if Graf was still with us. How much contact was there really during the off season with Mgmt and the players other than the ones who stayed in town? If there was, Mgmt would have had somewhat of an inkling that Fallon was not coming back this season instead of being "caught off guard".

The Brandy Experiment II fiasco lies squarely on the shoulders of Seth, who has the final say in everything. Does anyone really think the players were thrilled to have Brandy back? Did Mgmt really think she wasn't going to implode on them? They were hoping she wouldn't but it was just a matter of time and everyone knew it. Even as early as the Merc Kickoff Lunch they were expecting her to screw up by not showing up. If they had really done their homework on Brandy instead of letting her con them into thinking she had it all together, SOMEONE would have found those drug arrests lying out there in the public record.

Maybe I'm off base but that's my take.

eaction83 · Guest Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 130 Location: Fremont, CA

Okay, but if you're going to go with the "head down" argument, then you can make a case that it was Cheryl Miller who got the ball rolling, by working those NBA/TNT jobs in the winter and spring instead of being out there performing her GM duties and scouting the college talent to know what young players were available and who would fill the team's needs. But we need to face facts here. Spreading blame might make one or another of us feel justified in our antagonism towards a particular player or coach, but ultimately there's no point to it. We've beaten the problems to death, and the truth is that whoever or whatever caused it in the past, it's in the past and there's no way to change it. So it's time to get our minds off the problem and start focusing on the solutions instead. I will offer two solutions right now.

1) Get off the foreigners and veterans fetish, and start seriously working the college ranks from now on. The fact that after six drafts, Adrain at #21 is still the highest pick the team has ever used on a college senior is ridiculous. Every other team in the league has taken a college senior in the top ten at least once, and the only other teams in the league that don't have a home-grown top ten collegiate pick on the roster are LA and New York.

2) Get a coach who knows the game, who can motivate the team and mold them into a cohesive unit, instill some discipline, and do it without frightening the fans into thinking he or she is some kind of evil person.

mb · Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2002 3:43 pm Post subject:

Gosh, have I missed some great discussion here!!!

Excellent dialog complimented by strong reasoning.

Caune, offering "Rodney O" a job to help lure Trish back is an excellent idea. He has a sports show on TV currently, and is quite qualified. Hope the whole family is here next season. The one I wish to see the most is Tashia (Trish and Rodney's beautiful young daughter). Visiting Rodney in Australia at their lovely home should not be the last time I see him. He did a great job as courtside PA announcer for part of last season even if he wouldn't nickname his wife.

Sportsfan, we as usual, are in agreeance.

Gia, your 1.5 cents worth was priceless!!!

tcoop · Guest Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 3

i have been reading you all post. yall keep telling phx management what to do and they eventually do it and your'e still keep losing. i know no one here likes coop, and i don't like the way she scream at the players but i don't blame all the failure of the mercury on her. you all are blinded to just what you all what to see and that is all that matter. phx will never have a winninng season with the players they have, because you all don't want them to rebuild because of yall's princess. in the real basketball world she is a bench player. say what you want but these are my thoughts. i know you all want like them because it is not yall's way

tcoop :D

mb · Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2002 4:19 pm Post subject:

Perhaps we all would settle for getting a Katie Smith type player, or similar, for Lisa Harrison.

Honestly, at our best we are the 4th or 5th spot in the standings.

Maria's 11 ppg and Trish's 10 ppg are missed. We don't have the talent to compete with LA or Houston for an entire season, yet when at our best with all our players could make the playoffs and challenge them in a short series.

Our suggetsions may not put us above 500, yet they improve our play and give us hope and more for next season.

Perhaps "all ya'll" Coop worshippers should realize the outcome would have changed little if she had remained. Perhaps "all ya'll" should concentrate on your education...in many regards.

kr · Guest Joined: 23 Jun 2002 Posts: 63 Location: Denver

mb,

Quote: Perhaps "all ya'll" should concentrate on your education...in many regards.

I almost fell off my chair laughing!!!

gia · Guest

eaction83 wrote: Okay, but if you're going to go with the "head down" argument, then you can make a case that it was Cheryl Miller who got the ball rolling
No problem, I'll give you that one. Cheryl Miller had her hand in too many jars in more ways than one. Team chemistry was screwed her last season because of her personal agenda.

I have no problem with foreigners or veterans or space aliens on the team. What's important is that the chemistry works. This season we could have had Ragland or Yamasaki or if you're wanting a local player, Melody Johnson ASU for strength inside, but they opted for Tootie Shaw when their number was called.

For the Merc. history buffs ;) as far as drafts/college go, the Mercury past drafts included 4 foreigners - Stepanova & Kuklova in 1998, Veal & Korstine in 2001. The rest were college, ABL, etc

1997 Draft: (Elite 1 & 2nd round) #7 Bridget Pettis, #15 Nancy Lieberman-Cline - (Regular Draft) #8 Toni Foster, #9 Tia Jackson, #24 Umeki Webb, #25 Monique Ambers (now Sac. Asst Coach)

1998 Draft - #8 Maria Stepanova, #18 Andrea Kuklova , #28 Brandy Reed, #38 Karen Wilkens

1999 Draft: #10 Edna Campbell, #23 Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil (heading up San Antonio push for WNBA team), #34 Lisa Harrison

2000 Draft: #21 Adrain Williams, #37 Tauja Catchings, #53 Shantia Owens - (Catchings never even made it into a preseason game and Owens was traded to Miami on draft day for a 2001 fourth round pick Megan Franza)

2001 Draft: #13 Kristen Veal, #29 Ilone Korstine, #45 Tere Williams, #61 Megan Franza

2002 Draft: #25 Tootie Shaw, #40 Kayte Christensen. #56 Amba Kongolo