More Notes from Seattle Storm Training Camp
Highlights, lowlights, and roster decisions are looming.
On Thursday, the Seattle Storm had their 4th official practice. It was the second one that I was able to attend. On Media Day this past Monday, we only did press conference-style interviews. Per team rules, media members are allowed to attend roughly the final 30 minutes of practice. Below are the main notes that I took from Thursday’s practice. Some of it is written in shorthand format.
I will add that my thoughts, analysis, and evaluations are based on what I actually see during the portions of practice that are open to the media. Some players may be making impressive contributions when the doors are closed that I haven’t witnessed.
When I sat down, they were working on Baseline and Sideline Out of Bounds Plays. During this, I saw Flau’jae Johnson pop open from a screen and knock down a jumper. Then I saw Elle Ladine knock down a couple of midrange jumpers, curling off a screen while the team ran their baseline out-of-bounds plays.
Next, they worked on some half-court sets. During this part, I saw Jalyn “Ice” Brown knock down a corner three. Mackenzie Holmes scored one or two times in the paint. In between drills, I saw Dominique Malonga dunk a couple of times without getting much of a running start. It’ll be interesting to see if she’s able to dunk in a game this season without having the wide-open lane.
After they finished working on their half-court offense, they got into their 5-on-5 scrimmages. On Sunday, I saw them run scrimmages against the male practice players and against each other (Storm roster). On Thursday, it was only against the men.
Turnovers and More Turnovers
There is one thing that stood out to me more than anything else during the live 5-on-5 scrimmages on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was the number of turnovers Seattle’s players committed.
Open Scrimmages: Players vs Male Practice Players
Game 1:
1st team out: Jade Melbourne, Lexie Brown, Zia Cooke, Stefanie Dolson, and Dominique Malonga.
Coach Raman corrected Jade after a turnover, telling her to slow down.
Dom Malonga hit a corner three, Men hit a corner three, Zia Cooke hit a three on the wing. Lexie Brown missed a corner three-pointer.
Malonga took multiple three-point attempts. She also grabbed a defensive rebound and brought the ball up the court. That is something we’ve seen Ezi Magbegor do, but Dom didn’t show that during her rookie season. Other players had previously mentioned Malonga was doing this, but it was the first time that I got to witness it.
First subs: Flau’jae Johnson and Grace VanSlooten
Second subs: Taina Mair (this happened just 1-2 plays after the first subs)
Men hit another corner 3
Grace with a turnover that led to a men’s transition layup.
Lexie Brown threw a turnover-worthy pass, but the Storm recovered it. Then Taina Mair turned the ball over on the same possession. This led to another transition layup for the men’s team.
The Storm had the ball go out of bounds, but kept the possession with just a few seconds left in the first scrimmage. Taina Mair caught a pass in the corner, took the shot, but it was badly missed. The men won this session 12-8.
After this game, the coaches spent a few extra minutes teaching.
I spoke with Coach Raman about those moments after practice had concluded and asked her about the importance to stop the scrimmage session and taking the time to teach.
“I think there’s a balance between letting them play a little bit in these live moments, but also if you let it go too far, you miss the moment. And they may not remember the next stoppage when I tell them something that happened three plays ago. So, trying to mix in some of those, obviously, we can be liberal with our timeouts because this is practice. And the fact that they were lengthy was intentional. We wanted it to go a little bit longer to feel a little bit more like what Saturday will feel like. So kind of letting that run a little bit, talking to our coaches, and then coming into the huddle just so that they can feel more of a full length and then some. A W(NBA), time out.” Coach Raman answered.
Game 2:
Lineup: Taina Mair, Flau’jae Johnson, Mackenzie Holmes, Rennia Davis, and Jalyn “Ice” Brown.
Men scored when the Storm players didn’t switch properly on defense, giving up an open layup.
Ice Brown hit a corner 3.
Taina Mair committed another turnover - this led to transition two for the men.
Storm Coaches called a timeout after the male practice players led 8-3.
Extended timeout for more teaching.
New lineup:
Beatrice Mompremier, Taina Mair, Rennia Davis, Elle Ladine, and Flau’jae Johnson
Elle turned it over, trying to pass through the gaps
Flau’jae found Rennia for the layup off the pick and roll. This got cheers from the players’ bench.
Men won Game 2, 11-5.
Players who didn’t scrimmage during the 5-on-5:
Natisha Hiedeman, Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Katie Lou Samuelson, or Jaelyn Brown. I didn’t specifically see Ezi or Katie Lou in the building, but they could have been getting treatment elsewhere in the facility. I didn’t realize Jaelyn Brown (not to be mistaken with Jalyn Brown) had arrived from overseas, but I saw her come out and be on the court shortly before the media were asked to leave. This was after practice, and all post-practice media interviews had been completed.
Overall, it was an ugly practice, but this is to be expected when it’s a team filled with rookies and younger players, with a brand new coaching staff, and during their first week of practice. We’ll have a better idea of what this team looks like this weekend when they face the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday, April 25th, at 5:30 PM.