We are back with the No Cap Space Hotline! Today in the newsletter we are taking three of the calls I answered on the Hotline and you can see the full responses in the YouTube video!
If you want to call in with your questions, hot takes, ethical hate, or anything in the world of women’s basketball, then make the call to (405) 355-9456 for a chance to be featured in the Friday episode!
Now let’s dive into the chosen topics for this week!
In Case You Missed It (& What’s On Tap)
Hotline in podcast form…
BALL UP TOP: A WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PODCAST
Best WNBA Lottery Result for JuJu Watkins, UConn Title Status + Worst Coaching Hires (NCS Hotline)
Best WNBA Lottery Result for JuJu Watkins?
The WNBA Draft Lottery is this weekend and Monifah called in to ask what the best landing spot for JuJu Watkins would be. I think this is a question that can be answered multiple ways.
The Comets (still weird!) and Toronto share the top odds for the #1 pick. Outside of of Leila Lecan, I don’t think that any player is safe for the long-haul to join JuJu Watkins long term in Houston. The Tempo have maybe the player I would be most excited to see Watkins pair with in Kiki Rice, but the fit in year one would be a bit odd with Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes.
The Mystics are third and would immediately leap in the rankings by adding Watkins. The fit is a little weird as Watkins might be asked to be more of a playmaker in Washington than in other place but ultimately Watkins reuniting with Kiki Iriafen and joining Sonia Citron and Shakira Austin would create one of the most exciting young cores the WNBA has ever seen.
The Storm are another team that if Watkins was to join it would become and even more exciting young core. There is a bit more flexibility on the roster for the Storm to build with Watkins around young cornerstone pieces in Dominique Malonga, Awa Fam and Flau’Jae Johnson. The Fire are the closest to the Comets in terms of having a blank slate to build with. The Sparks are still split in their timelines but did make moves that point towards a rebuild and winning the rights to draft Watkins would fully put them in that camp.
If the WNBA allowed me to freeze the ping-pong balls and pick where she went, I think I am most moved by the pairing with Kiki Rice in Toronto. Sign a player like Awak Kuier and all of a sudden you have an incredible young core for Sandy Brondello.
UConn Title Chances After Early Games
Our Ball-Knower Cory came in with some self-admitted ethical hate but did provide a question, do the early UConn games change the projection on UConn’s title chances?
For me? Expectations have ever so slightly gone down but they absolutely can still reign supreme as the champs at the end of the NCAA Tournament. Sarah Strong has taken further steps after the disappointing Michigan game and has fully asserted herself as, in my eyes, the best player in the nation. The lone problem she has really had is foul trouble.
The minutes when Strong has been out have been bad for UConn standards. There have been great individual performances. Popovic vs Michigan, Quinonez vs Iowa and Vukosa vs Ohio State all had their moments and the top-tier individual talent has been showcased.
My early worry, and emphasis on early, is that UConn hasn’t dominated a specific team category of a game. It has been individual brilliance but the team defense for example has been lower to the very high UConn standards that do exist.
Does DeMarco Fall Into Worst Hires in WBB History?
Last topic comes in from Anna, who as part of a larger question, asked if Chris DeMarco falls into the all-time list of worst hires in the WNBA. Short answer, yes.
There are two lanes to this as to why the answer is yes. On the court, you have Breanna Stewart and you ended as an 8-seed. That would largely be enough to at least consider a change at the helm. Then you add-in the divides in the locker room and the clear lack of trust between DeMarco and the stars of the Liberty team. THEN you have timeout-gate that sent shockwaves through the WNBA. So on the court, not great!
Off the court, you have the optics of this hire. Hiring a man from the NBA with limited head coaching experience, no experience coaching women and openly admits to reading books to learn about the WNBA in the pre-season. We don’t do sports betting here but if I had a parlay I wanted to bet on to have my coach under a slander spotlight this is the one I would bet on.
When a coach is fired after just one season it is fair to question if they were given enough time to create their standards and expectations…I think that question was answered pretty directly with DeMarco.
And be sure to subscribe to the newsletter (or have the Ball-Knower in your life subscribe) if you haven’t already!
