Loved the way Hiedeman held you accountable, Jeff. That was great, and asking for your opinion is the ultimate sign of respect. Kudos. I also liked Flau’jae’s self-awareness, and the subtle (and humorous) ways it’s revealed. Bodes well for her. Now, if she can finish those left side lane drives with her left hand…
I just watched the post-game press conference. It was so informative and so relaxed. Kudos to all the people covering the Storm. The questions have been great and the players give such good answers because they trust you all to be fair. Natisha putting you on the spot, Jeff, was priceless, but you rose to the occasion.
Jeff, as a former sports writer/editor myself, I recognize how much work you put in to keep us well informed. By all means, seek help as needed and don't burn yourself out. Sometimes a little less can be enough, IMHO. And y'all gotta sleep some time!
Lots of good things about this particular game. I too am enjoying watching the youngsters evolve (add the 3 together & I still have about half-a-generation on 'em). And yes, adding another like them next time around can make for even more fun! Go Storm, take the Valks tonite!
I appreciate that, Gordon! I'm sure I put more pressure on myself to deliver extended content, but I do believe most subscribers have a similar mindset to you. That they appreciate the work I do, but understand sometimes things come up, or understand that I may not be able to write 3,000-5,000 words for every single game when the team is playing every other day, like they are right now. Thank you for the words of encouragement!
The more I see her play, the more I’m becoming impressed with Cameron Brink and what she contributes to the Sparks. I didn’t think she was going to be as good as she is. Once again - I was wrong. The LA vs. Seattle matchup looks to be a fun one going forward.
I've always been high on Cameron Brink. I thought it was the right call to select her 2nd overall after Caitlin Clark. Her ceiling is very high and comparable to players like Ezi, Dom, and Awa. She just has to get her fouling a little more under control. Just like Ezi, as the team's primary rim protector, fouls are going to come because they're put in a position where they often have to stop not just their player but some of their teammates' assignments. I remember last season, Gabby Williams talking about how much Ezi does defensively that people don't even realize, and how much she erases mistakes by Gabby.
Here is another fun hypothetical that I've thought of in the past. For that draft, the Storm ended up with the 4th overall pick, which meant they were probably going to end up with Rickea Jackson, Kamila Cardoso, Angel Reese, or Aaliyah Edwards had they kept the pick. At 4, there was zero chance of drafting Caitlin Clark, and I thought there was probably zero chance that Cameron Brink fell past 3. Noelle Quinn later told me that Rickea Jackson would have been the pick if they stayed at 4. However, they ended up trading the pick to LA so that they could free up cap space to sign Nneka Ogwumike. Luckily, in that part of the trade, Seattle ended up with the Sparks 2026 lottery pick, and that's how Seattle ended up with Awa Fam.
But back to my hypothetical. I wonder if the Storm would still make that trade if they had the 2nd overall pick in the lottery and had a chance to draft Cameron Brink. I can safely say that if Seattle won the lottery and had the chance to draft Caitlin Clark, they would not have traded away the pick. But what about if they landed on pick #2? What do you think?
well, Jackson looked really good for ChiTown until the unfortunate injury. I gotta see Brink clean up the fouls and be more consistent, but she was pretty impressive this game, and yes still coming back from the injury herself. I like Awa!
Interesting question, Jeff. My appreciation of Brink grew as her time at Stanford wound down. By draft day, I was a relatively big fan (but I can’t say that aloud in my household). I think I still might have made said trade. A big part of Brink’s emergence was the ability to knock down baseline threes pretty consistently, which came later in her development. That’s a plus. The fouling has improved, but I’m still convinced she believes she gets paid by the foul. She’s good, but I’m not sure I’d rewrite history. I think the Storm ended up with the bigs that are best for them. No regrets.
(Unrelated side note: I was disappointed that Laura Ziegler didn’t dress for LAS. It’s a Louisville thing.)
Excited for new content Jeff! Can't wait to read it! As for the game, I only watched the 4th quarter, but I would like to see awa get more shots and more offense run for her
Loved the way Hiedeman held you accountable, Jeff. That was great, and asking for your opinion is the ultimate sign of respect. Kudos. I also liked Flau’jae’s self-awareness, and the subtle (and humorous) ways it’s revealed. Bodes well for her. Now, if she can finish those left side lane drives with her left hand…
I just watched the post-game press conference. It was so informative and so relaxed. Kudos to all the people covering the Storm. The questions have been great and the players give such good answers because they trust you all to be fair. Natisha putting you on the spot, Jeff, was priceless, but you rose to the occasion.
Jeff, as a former sports writer/editor myself, I recognize how much work you put in to keep us well informed. By all means, seek help as needed and don't burn yourself out. Sometimes a little less can be enough, IMHO. And y'all gotta sleep some time!
Lots of good things about this particular game. I too am enjoying watching the youngsters evolve (add the 3 together & I still have about half-a-generation on 'em). And yes, adding another like them next time around can make for even more fun! Go Storm, take the Valks tonite!
I appreciate that, Gordon! I'm sure I put more pressure on myself to deliver extended content, but I do believe most subscribers have a similar mindset to you. That they appreciate the work I do, but understand sometimes things come up, or understand that I may not be able to write 3,000-5,000 words for every single game when the team is playing every other day, like they are right now. Thank you for the words of encouragement!
The more I see her play, the more I’m becoming impressed with Cameron Brink and what she contributes to the Sparks. I didn’t think she was going to be as good as she is. Once again - I was wrong. The LA vs. Seattle matchup looks to be a fun one going forward.
I've always been high on Cameron Brink. I thought it was the right call to select her 2nd overall after Caitlin Clark. Her ceiling is very high and comparable to players like Ezi, Dom, and Awa. She just has to get her fouling a little more under control. Just like Ezi, as the team's primary rim protector, fouls are going to come because they're put in a position where they often have to stop not just their player but some of their teammates' assignments. I remember last season, Gabby Williams talking about how much Ezi does defensively that people don't even realize, and how much she erases mistakes by Gabby.
Here is another fun hypothetical that I've thought of in the past. For that draft, the Storm ended up with the 4th overall pick, which meant they were probably going to end up with Rickea Jackson, Kamila Cardoso, Angel Reese, or Aaliyah Edwards had they kept the pick. At 4, there was zero chance of drafting Caitlin Clark, and I thought there was probably zero chance that Cameron Brink fell past 3. Noelle Quinn later told me that Rickea Jackson would have been the pick if they stayed at 4. However, they ended up trading the pick to LA so that they could free up cap space to sign Nneka Ogwumike. Luckily, in that part of the trade, Seattle ended up with the Sparks 2026 lottery pick, and that's how Seattle ended up with Awa Fam.
But back to my hypothetical. I wonder if the Storm would still make that trade if they had the 2nd overall pick in the lottery and had a chance to draft Cameron Brink. I can safely say that if Seattle won the lottery and had the chance to draft Caitlin Clark, they would not have traded away the pick. But what about if they landed on pick #2? What do you think?
well, Jackson looked really good for ChiTown until the unfortunate injury. I gotta see Brink clean up the fouls and be more consistent, but she was pretty impressive this game, and yes still coming back from the injury herself. I like Awa!
Interesting question, Jeff. My appreciation of Brink grew as her time at Stanford wound down. By draft day, I was a relatively big fan (but I can’t say that aloud in my household). I think I still might have made said trade. A big part of Brink’s emergence was the ability to knock down baseline threes pretty consistently, which came later in her development. That’s a plus. The fouling has improved, but I’m still convinced she believes she gets paid by the foul. She’s good, but I’m not sure I’d rewrite history. I think the Storm ended up with the bigs that are best for them. No regrets.
(Unrelated side note: I was disappointed that Laura Ziegler didn’t dress for LAS. It’s a Louisville thing.)
Excited for new content Jeff! Can't wait to read it! As for the game, I only watched the 4th quarter, but I would like to see awa get more shots and more offense run for her