Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Storm in the Media/Practice Report

Busy night tonight for the Storm's stars. Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson will be in studio at KJR with the Gasman tonight at 6:20 p.m.

Betty Lennox will be interviewed on FSN Live prior to tonight's Mariners game at about 5:20 p.m.

Wrapping up the evening, LJ will be New York Vinnie's guest on tonight's installment of "Storm Warning." Same bat time (8:35 p.m.), same bat station (710 KIRO AM).

Not a whole lot of major news from today's practice. Ashley Robinson sat out the portion the media watched to rest an Achilles that has been sore recently. Everyone else practiced.

Coach Donovan was asked about her rotation and said she's not sure yet. Her claim is that she prefers an eight-player rotation, though I've got to say I can't remember ever getting to that point with the Storm. This year's group will probably have at least nine in the rotation.

I'm not sure how I see this shaking out. I think Tye'sha Fluker is behind Wendy Palmer and Ashley Robinson for backup post minutes, but both reserve guards (Katie Gearlds and Tanisha Wright) as well as the winner of the Shyra Ely/Barbara Turner competition could be in the rotation. That might mean 10 in the early going. We'll see.

1 comment:

Online ZenDoc said...

It's fun to speculate about the rotation. I think Wendy is the most valuable player on the bench and the likely "6th man", playing either the 4 or 5. Most likely Tanisha will be the first guard off the bench due to her experience, ability to play the 1 or the 2, and her defensive prowess. Depending on how Katie does, she may get more minutes than T, but I doubt that she will in the early going. Anne may also want to bring the rookie along slowly. I'm not sure what her philosophy is on rookies. In Katie's favor is the fact that she plays the 2 or the 3 and can play some 1 and maybe even some 4(?). I think Ashley has definitely earned a spot in the rotation with her inspired play - which certainly inspires confidence in her ability. She could get significant minutes if JB's shoulder acts up again. That would be my 9-player rotation, but I could see Anne giving minutes to Shyra ahead of Katie because she's a veteran and can fill in at the 4 better than Katie, but I doubt that she's going to play the 3 as well as Katie. If Katie plays well, Shyra may not be in the regular rotation, but I really can't see Katie not being in the rotation. So, if Shyra's in it, too, that would give us a 10-player rotation, which could be a little unwieldy. I don't see Tye being in the rotation at all, but she's great insurance to have around. Shyra may be mostly insurance, also. I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on that rotation scenario and Alan's and, of course, any other readers.
- Zen Doc