2011 WNBA All-Star Reserves: Who Were The Biggest Snubs?

by Nate Parham on Jul 20, 2011 12:29 AM EDT in WNBA All-Star Game 2011

The WNBA announced its 2011 All-Star starters last week and today they have announced their reserves, listed as follows:

Eastern Conference	MEV	PER	+/-	Western Conference	MEV	PER	+/-
Essence Carson	12.31	23.24	-3.9	Penny Taylor	21.66*	25.98	+16.9
Crystal Langhorne	15.21	19.93	+3.1	Danielle Adams	12.92	25.86	+19.0
Sylvia Fowles	19.41**	25.61**	+0.4	Rebekkah Brunson	16.37	21.86	+15.2
Renee Montgomery	14.39	19.62	+4.3	Becky Hammon	16.35	19.36	+23.7*
Epiphanny Prince	15.25	19.01	-2.0	Lindsay Whalen	17.73	22.06	+10.2
Courtney Vandersloot	9.40	11.63	3.7	Seimone Augustus	12.29	18.44	-1.2

* = Best in league
** = Best in conference

So who were the biggest snubs?

Eastern Conference Selections

Sylvia Fowles was a lock at center, Langhorne has been a top 10 player in the East this season, Carson's improved shooting to go along with her defense makes her a strong candidate. At guard, Montgomery and Prince make sense.

But Courtney Vandersloot could be the subject of some debate in the Eastern Conference selections, but the argument for adding her is simple: there isn't much question that she's among the top two point guards in the conference and if you believe that point guards deserve unique consideration for one of the guard spots, then she was a lock.

If Vandersloot is considered as the player occupying that sixth "wild card" spot that coaches were allowed, there were certainly players ahead of her that could've been in that spot (of those not selected):

EC Players	MEV	PER	+/-
Kia Vaughn	13.05	17.77	-2.1
Jessica Davenport	11.61	23.25	+14.9
Erika de Souza	11.52	16.42	-6.7
Kara Lawson	11.46	16.28	+1.0
Plenette Pierson	11.46	19.01	+2.2
Nicky Anosike	11.09	15.48	+13.0
Matee Ajavon	10.96	16.61	+9.8
Asjha Jones	10.58	16.00	+6.0
Michelle Snow	10.50	13.66	+6.9
Angel McCoughtry	9.77	17.93	-7.1
Courtney Vandersloot	9.40	11.63	+3.7

This list is not to say that Vandersloot should not have made the team - more than anything it's more proof that what a point guard does for a team is not easily quantified. And perhaps that McCoughtry's selection as a starter at forward is a bit more questionable.

Western Conference Selections:

The most obvious snub in this whole list is Candice Dupree.

Adams and Augustus are certainly having strong seasons, but Dupree is quietly having a MVP-caliber season.

The other player who had a pretty strong case to make it is Sophia Young.

The president's replacement pick for the injured Candace Parker almost certainly has to be Dupree though, who is playing far too well not to be in the game. The following is the list of non All-Star starters that were available in the Western Conference.

WC Players	MEV	PER	+/-
Penny Taylor	21.66	25.98	+16.9
Lindsay Whalen	17.73	22.06	+10.2
Candice Dupree	17.35	21.67	+17.1
Rebekkah Brunson	16.37	21.86	+15.2
Becky Hammon	16.35	19.36	+23.7
Sophia Young	15.90	20.46	+14.7
Kristi Toliver	13.10	20.79	+4.2
Danielle Adams	12.92	25.86	+19.0
Maya Moore	12.64	18.19	+17.2
Seimone Augustus	12.29	18.44	-1.2
Kayla Pedersen	11.86	14.43	+11.8

Statistics are not everything in deciding these matters. But there are probably at least two players who have a legitimate gripe about being left out of this game on this end.

2011 WNBA All-Star Reserves: Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot Selected As Eastern Conference Reserve

2011 WNBA All-Star Starters Announced: Who Are The Top Candidates For Reserves?

Description of MEV

Glossary with descriptions of plus/minus and PER

Poll

Who was the biggest All-Star snub?

Jessica Davenport

5 votes

Candice Dupree

79 votes

Asjha Jones

20 votes

Plenette Pierson

6 votes

Sophia Young

29 votes

Other

9 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

WNBA All-Star Reserves

Hooray, Danielle Adams made it. My 3000 write-in votes counted for someting. Just kidding. I only voted once per day as per the rules and I probably missed the first few days of voting. I still don’t agree with Maya Moore. I suspect if I could find the locations of her votes they would be clusteredaround UCONN. It wouldn’t be that hard for a computer geek to program every computrer tied into the UCONN network to automatically vote for Maya Moore every day. Actually, I think UCONN, Minnesota, and name recognition got her voted in as a starter.

by lkg on Jul 20, 2011 9:45 PM EDT reply actions

I think Adams needs some work before she can be looked at as a viable option for the All-Stars. She has some good skills but flopping should not encouraged. Until she realizes that flopping is just bad form, she shouldn’t be allowed.
Also Maya Moore has shown some great skills on the court and has been a great addition to the Lynx. She’s a solid choice for the All-Star team.

by Greenfairy on Jul 21, 2011 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

ADAMS vs. MOORE

You’ve got to be kidding, right?? Look at the stats. Look at any objective measure of performance. Scoring, among all players Adams is 13th averaging 15.7, Moore is 20th averaging 14.2. And Moore averages 6.2 more minutes. So, look at scoring per minute, Adams comes out even higher, Adams at 0.66, Moore at 0.49. Scoring % Adams overall 47, Moore overall 42.5, 3-point shooting Adams 38, Moore, 31. Rebounds, among all players Adams is 24th averaging 5.0, Moore is 29th averaging 4.8. And again Moore has more minutes per game making Adams even better if you calculate rebounds per minute. MEV per game Adams 12.55, Moore 11.95. Win Score per game Adams 5.92, Moore 3.54. Efficiency per game Adams Adams 14.8, Moore 13.9. Again, on a per minute bassis the spread widens in Moore’s favor. Adams is the leading rookie in all of these categories and ratings. Wait till next year when Adams no longer has the Rookie stigma and will get the benefit of the doubt in too-close-to call offensive fouls vs. flops. Gee, maybe the Coaches really did as good job of evaluating potential reserves.

by lkg on Jul 21, 2011 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions

ADAMS vs. MOORE Correction

You’ve got to be kidding, right?? Look at the stats. Look at any objective measure of performance. Scoring, among all players Adams is 13th averaging 15.7, Moore is 20th averaging 14.2. And Moore averages 6.2 more minutes. So, look at scoring per minute, Adams comes out even higher, Adams at 0.66, Moore at 0.49. Scoring % Adams overall 47, Moore overall 42.5, 3-point shooting Adams 38, Moore, 31. Rebounds, among all players Adams is 24th averaging 5.0, Moore is 29th averaging 4.8. And again Moore has more minutes per game making Adams even better if you calculate rebounds per minute. MEV per game Adams 12.55, Moore 11.95. Win Score per game Adams 5.92, Moore 3.54. Efficiency per game Adams 14.8, Moore 13.9. Again, on a per minute bassis the spread widens in ADAMS favor. Adams is the leading rookie in all of these categories and ratings. Wait till next year when Adams no longer has the Rookie stigma and will get the benefit of the doubt in too-close-to call offensive fouls vs. flops. Gee, maybe the Coaches really did a good job of evaluating potential reserves.

by lkg on Jul 21, 2011 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions

WNBA All-Star Reserves

I don’t agree with Cambage (President’s pick). I think Candace Dupree was a better choice. I voted for Adams, Hammon, Fowles, and Carson so I think they were locks. I think Sophia Young was more deserving than Augustus. Vandersloot was a bit of a surprise, but; looking at the above numbers the East is pretty weak at reserves. In fact, If you just look at the numbers above, the West reserves should destroy the East reserves.

by lkg on Jul 20, 2011 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

I'm good with Cambage

I believe that Parker was rightly replaced with another center. While I agree that some good players were left off, like Dupree and Young, I don’t see how you can argue with the choice of Cambage at center. She’s got a great touch around the basket and can knock down her free throws. She’s perfect for an all star environment where you need someone who can finish in the paint. Plus she’s the only player from Tulsa, and I think they like to have as many teams as possible represented.

After Cambage, I think Kara Braxton was the best available center left in the west. Kara is also having a pretty decent year, yet nobody is even talking about her.

by OVJ on Jul 24, 2011 3:13 PM EDT reply actions