She didn't play at all. We're making some decisions on whether she'll be with us or not, that's the deal. We've still got some trades to try to deal with at this point.
Tulsa Shock head coach Nolan Richardson on the absence of Plenette Pierson in tonight's 116-84 loss to the Phoenix Mercury.
over 1 year ago
Jessica Lantz
13 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
Come on!!
Plenette Pierson was given away by Phoenix (where she played for Kerri Graf) for what some suggested was locker room problems, but she had a successful run with Bill Laimbeer. She plays hard (check), she is athletic (check), she is talented (check). So what is the problem Nolan Richardson? Seems to fit your system well. Are we talking about not giving effort in practice or giving lip back? What warrants sitting someone who is probably your best player?!?! In one of the games (Indiana or Minnesota) he referred to her as being dominant. You would think a male coach who has only coached males before, would be able to deal with and get the best out of any female player.
Even more disturbing is that Natasha Lacy had her minutes reduced in the last few games. Another talented, hard working, athletic player.
Coaching men is easier than coaching women
Mike Krzyzewski could never even imagine doing Geno Auriemma’s job even though Mike has three daughters and no sons. It’s harder to manage women if you’ve never done it before. With every passing game, Nolan gives stronger indications that he has no clue what he’s doing.
Plenette, I think, entered the Tulsa experience with her heart in the right place and is leaving with it ripped out of her chest. Unfortunate because she really believed in the team when many of her former teammates didn’t. Oh well—at least she gets a chance to go to a better situation.
As for Lacy, she’s been out of control the last few games (silly turnovers, getting swatted on bad shot attempts, etc.). 40 minutes of hell doesn’t mean 40 minutes of reckless offensive play, I suppose.
by just checkin on Jun 13, 2010 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm not close to
the Tulsa team and can’t say I’ve paid a ton of attention but overall, can’t say I am impressed so far
Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo
To be fair...
Richardson is right – he inherited a team that had lost Katie Smith, Deanna Nolan, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, and Cheryl Ford…that they’re even still reasonably in the playoff hunt is an accomplishment with the personnel left…
To the point that Pierson plays hard – yes, she does. She always does. But there are times when it seems as though she gets pulled — despite putting up numbers — because the team’s rhythm tends to shift when she comes in the game. When the team appears to be trying to play one way and Pierson is not quite playing within that system.
That’s neither to say that Pierson is a bad player nor that Richardson is a bad coach…but perhaps there is something we’re not seeing that is not working out. And for “an expansion team” — or I would say, a relatively cohesive unit of role players — they have to rely on execution to win.
Until someone can say that they expected this group of players to be sitting at 3-6 — much less 3-3, where they were before this road trip — I find it difficult to impossible to say that Richardson has no clue what he’s doing.
SwishAppeal.com, women's basketball...covered SBN-style... twitter: @qmccall3
Two of those wins were against the Lynx, though
Their record seemed more impressive back when we thought the Lynx might be decent and Tulsa were playing well enough to make them look bad. Now we’re pretty sure Minnesota are just generally terrible.
Pierson’s leading the league in scoring per minute, and doing it at a 54% clip (and 43% from 3). She leads Tulsa in both raw +/- and net +/-. Something’s going right when she’s on the floor. I don’t know what’s going on with this one, and I’m not sure we’ll ever really know, but I think Richardson’s screwing up another one.
The positive things he’s doing as a coach (putting in his system and getting it to work with limited talent, drawing the best out of players like Black, Holt etc.) seem to be constantly counteracted by the negative stuff he brings along as well (couldn’t work out how to fit Zellous in so gave her away, the Pierson mess, the distinctly possible Braxton mess that’ll follow etc.).
Pierson’s contract is going to make any trade far more complicated than the Zellous (or Black/Holt) move was. I’d be throwing all sorts of lowball junk at him if I was in charge of another team and had any cap room to work with.
"Something’s going right when she’s on the floor."
I like stats and though +/- is deceiving I do think it’s telling…
But given coach Richardson’s candor about Zellous and this situation, I’m sure we’ll find out that his problem with Pierson goes beyond an assessment of +/- and pts/minute numbers…
As for the team/Richardson: Part of the reason we’re saying the Lynx are “just generally terrible” is that Tulsa blew them out twice and most reasonable expectations had it that Tulsa was the worst team in the league (even Richardson seems to consider them an “expansion team”)… so to then turn around and say Tulsa isn’t that good because the Lynx are just bad is somewhat circular. What’s been set up among many fans is a situation where no matter what Tulsa does, there’s a reason to continue to say “they suck” – they lose, they meet expectations that they can’t win; they win and exceed expectations, and suddenly a win is no longer a win…
We can say they’re better than most anyone’s expectations and Richardson is thus doing a better job than most people are giving him credit for without meaning that they’re a great team or that Richardson is coach of the year…
SwishAppeal.com, women's basketball...covered SBN-style... twitter: @qmccall3
expansion team
When did he start using the “expansion team”. My impression is that it’s been recent, like after the Chicago loss. First he talked about them “not being an expansion team but…”, and now he says they are below an expansion team with a bunch of 2nd team players. I wonder if he felt he had such a good strategy/system, that he could win with whatever players he had and now he is realizing that isn’t so. Or has he been saying it since training camp opened?
On May 7th – WNBA teleconference (as seen on NewsOK.com)
"When you look at our basketball team, you’re looking at Detroit coming to Tulsa, most of the starters are no longer on that basketball team. I look at the team as a semi-expansion ballclub."
On May 12th – Urban Tulsa Weekly
"They bought a team (where) the five players who started for them are not in this gym," Richardson said. "So me and (assistant coach) Wayne (Stehlik) have called it a semi-expansion team."
by Jessica Lantz on Jun 14, 2010 2:31 AM EDT up reply actions
They’re absolutely better than expected. I was giving him plenty of credit, because I saw improvement, and a system that was looking like it could work in this league. I only brought up the Minnesota issue (and yeah, I know it’s kinda circular) because this road trip’s been ugly. They got stuffed by Chicago, losing by 12 flattered tham in San Antonio, and Phoenix destroyed them last night (losing by 32 probably flattered them again). It just made me start to wonder whether they actually are nearly as bad as we expected, and the Lynx are just really, really awful.
Still, yes, I think he’s doing a decent job with the players he likes and the system he likes. But this is the pros. At some point you’ve gotta do it with talent, and the basic fact is he’s already run off two of his most talented players (or will have soon). He’s not going to win any championships with that current roster unless he’s actually God, so at some point he’s probably going to have to learn to deal with talented, headstrong players.
Or is Maya Moore going to be on the trading block after five games next year if she doesn’t immediately 100% buy into his system?
"At some point he’s probably going to have to learn to deal with talented, headstrong players"
Definitely agree with you there – I remember my high school coach telling us my senior year (our most talented players were the 6 guards on the team) that we didn’t fit his “system” but that he had to figure out a system that worked for our particular talent because a coach should never try to force the talent he’s given into a system that won’t work for them. I ended up playing 1-4 (not bragging, my +/- at the 4 was probably terrible lol) we pressed and ran all game and won the city championship (no, this is not an example of Gladwell’s underdog argument).
Richardson is taking the opposite approach of trying to find talent for a system instead of a system for his talent. However again, I’m not sure we can blame him for that — even the most talented players that he’s moved — Zellous, Pierson, Walker!! — are not proven go-to players… so if they’re not buying into the system it’s not as big a loss as people are making it or Maya Moore. If he’s benching Pierson, he’s obviously decided to move her… but you figure taking the best available offer won’t be quite as much a loss as people might think…
The question that I think you’re rightly hitting on is whether ownership is behind him in this process, which could take a while… and given what he’s inherited they owe the person they hired more than a season to pass judgment…
SwishAppeal.com, women's basketball...covered SBN-style... twitter: @qmccall3
pierson possibly gone
i dont know what is going on in Tulsa but something has to give. i like Pierson as a player and she produces when she is on the court. maybe richardson is tired of her attitude and some may view her as a cancer on the team. maybe thats why he wants to get rid of her. i still dont know who he would be able to get for her. people are saying that she may got ny for tiffany jackson or to minny for charde houston. this is going to be very interesting to see where she goes. richardson is right though, they dont have a star. they need a true point guard. lacy is out of control at times but she is not a starting pg. they brought in keisha brown but she is slow and marion jones is just stealing a paycheck but i understand this is a business and they gotta sell tickets! pierson is a baller but i think she could tone it down with the attitude.
"people are saying that she may got ny for tiffany jackson or to minny for charde houston."
From what I’ve seen — and I haven’t watched her extensively — Houston doesn’t strike me as a defensive fit for the Shock…? Perhaps someone else can provide better insight…
I suppose Jackson might be a fit — in fact, she could thrive — but Hoopfeed.com reported that a NY trade was turned down by Pierson
…not sure who was included in that…
SwishAppeal.com, women's basketball...covered SBN-style... twitter: @qmccall3
"they need a true point guard"
The problem is, they didn’t want one and now that they find they need one, they can’t find anyone who fits the profile. They want someone about 5’10 or so who can run a team, but when you place restrictions like that on your search, you have to be satisfied with who you end up with.
If they had Deanna and Katie, there would be no need for a PG. But without those two, you just can’t get by without someone who can organize things on the court for you. Lacy, for all her talents, looks like a streetball player and Brown is a glacier with three bad knees. Maybe Latta made such a bad impression that Nolan won’t even consider anyone close to her height anymore (he made it seem as though she was a total gunner, which is not exactly any different than what other coaches have said about her play).
by just checkin on Jun 14, 2010 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Spike Lee texts to thank the coach that cut Jeremy Lin before seeing him play
- LeBron threatened to beat up a heckler. You gotta problem with that, tough guy?
- Jason Whitlock apologizes for his unfunny Jeremy Lin comment on Twitter
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
