According to a blog entry by Rich Elliott of the Connecticut Post, UConn guard Caroline Doty will have surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Aug. 31 at the UConn Medical Center in Farmington.
Doty suffered the season-ending knee injury on July 22 and will sit out the upcoming season. She will have two years of eligibility remaining if she applies for a fifth year as she said she plans to do. She won't need to do that until late in the 2011-12 season.
Switching gears, here are my thoughts on the recent addition of Jayne Appel, Rebekkah Brunson, Ebony Hoffman and Kia Vaughn to the player pool for the U.S. senior national team.
First, anybody who witnessed the U.S./Australia scrimmage at Mohegan Sun Arena on July 11 would understand why Ebony Hoffman was added to the player pool. She was one of the more impressive U.S. players in the scrimmage and one of the few players eager to mix it up inside with the Aussies. Second, while Jayne Appel and Kia Vaughn haven't exactly been lighting it up in the WNBA, USA Basketball tends to reward loyalty so the fact that Hoffman, Appel and Vaughn were on hand for the July training camp set the stage for them to be added to the U.S. player pool.
Brunson's addition was one of need as the injury to Candace Parker has left the U.S. rather shorthanded in terms of legit power forwards. Could Crystal Langhorne, who is a major reason why Washington is vying for the top spot in the Eastern Conference despite the loss to perennial all-star guard Alana Beard for the season, be in the player pool? Yes. Should she be in the player pool? Yes. Does the U.S. have enough undersized post players in the player pool already? Yes. Will any of the four new players make the squad playing in the world championships? Probably not.
In my opinion, this outrage regarding Langhorne's omission becomes a moot point if Asjha Jones is healthy. Maybe I'm biased having watched Jones play in college and for much of her WNBA career, but on the teleconference announcing the addition of Appel, Brunson, Hoffman and Vaughn earlier this week, UConn and U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said there was a need for a power forward who can not only defend but can score in the post. That's pretty much Jones' job description. When healthy, she is one of the most effective and consistent two-way forwards in the pro game. Not only can she score in the post and from the perimeter, but she is a standout defensive player. She has squared off with Australia's Lauren Jackson more than a few times during her time playing in Russia as Jones' Ekaterinburg squad is annually butting heads with Jackson's Spartak team for the Russian title as well in the EuroLeague playoffs. Having played in Russia, she is also well schooled on the way Russia, another formidable opponent, goes about its basketball business.
The only question was whether Jones was healthy enough to be relied on in the world championships? Jones missed the first four games of the WNBA season after undergoing surgery to clean up the area around her Achilles tendon. She started slowly, averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in her first 11 games back. However, Jones has scored in double figures in her last seven games and 14 of her last 18 games so obviously she is healthy.
There's been a lot made of Langhorne's WNBA stats in comparison to those of the four new additions to the player pool. Well how about these stats: 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 2007, 17.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 2008 and 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 2009. Those happen to be Jones' stats for her first three seasons as a full-time starter while healthy. Oh yeah, she averaged 2.5, 2.5 and 2.4 assists per game. Jones also happens to have a positive assist/turnover ratio in each of the last three seasons. The four new additions, said to be added to compete for a spot as a post presence, have yet to accomplish that feat even once during their WNBA careers. Of course that was never brought up on the call. One reporter appeared to be on the verge of tears making a case for Langhorne being in the U.S. player pool which I thought was a bit over the top but that's just me. Let me ask this question, if the U.S. is protecting a one-point lead in the final minute of the gold medal game against Australia, who would you rather have guarding Lauren Jackson? Crystal Langhorne or Asjha Jones? So spare me the unprofessional "she was robbed" sobfest I witnessed a few days ago. If Asjha Jones doesn't make this team then it would be a perfect time to second guess what the heck USA Basketball is doing but the chances of the U.S. winning the world championship are not helped or hindered by the curious decision not to include Langhorne in the player pool.
Why I am making this a Jones vs. Langhorne/Brunson/Appel/Hoffman/Vaughn argument? Well, because Jones has the exact skill set the U.S. team needs and there simply aren't a heck of a lot of open roster spots on the U.S. team.
I would consider Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles and Cappie Pondexter to be locks to make the world championship squad. Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Angel McCoughtry and Seimone Augustus aren't far behind. That leaves three spots. One will be a reserve point guard, one a forward and the aforementioned power forward. My picks would be Kara Lawson over Renee Montgomery and Lindsey Harding at guard and Candice Dupree beating out Swin Cash for the other available forward position. Add in Jones and that looks like the team to beat in the Czech Republic.
Labels: Angel McCoughtry, Ashja Jones, Caroline Doty, Diana Taurasi, Geno Auriemma, Kara Lawson, Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles
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