Former Zag Vandersloot Named WNBA All-Star

[seacatfan]

Wow, heartbreak. Game kept going back and forth. Sky was up 2 w/ the ball in the closing seconds. Sloot was playing keep away, avoiding the defender so they couldn't foul and trying to run out the clock. Then she threw a long pass that was intercepted at halfcourt. The Aces player had no idea how much time was left (about 6 seconds) so she launched about a 40 footer. It went in. Chicago got to inbound at halfcourt w/ 4.8 seconds left but airballed a 3. Should have won this game but they didn't. I'm not sure if the Sky were in the bonus yet but in retrospect maybe Sloot should've just let them foul her.

edit--Sloot ended up w/ 12 assists, 7 points on 3-10 shooting. Team was 9-32 behind the arc. Quigley had a rough game going 2-11 from the floor.

[upan8th]

A career altering, exquisitely bad-beat for Sloot & the Sky. One of those games that will go down in WNBA lore (or infamy). Absolutely no reason for Courtney to throw that last pass. It was just an epic brain freeze. She could have: 1)Kept dribbling in the back court & be fouled. 2) Picked up her dribble & be fouled. 3) Called time out if she thought there was a problem with a back court violation. 4) Kept her feet before throwing any pass. The reason I say it's career altering is that Sloot had just turned the corner & was rolling down Elite avenue with her first-team all-WNBA selection, was leading her young, but talented, Sky team to a potentially deep playoff run, and, poof, it all disappeared. The indefensible, mind boggling, bad decision, regardless of how far she blows past the league assist record, is probably the lasting thing she'll be remembered for. Akin to Adam Morrison's tearful collapse after the UCLA debacle.

Hope she and partner Allie forgo European Bball at least for some months. They both need a chance to recover their bearings. Allie, BTW, picked a bad time to play one of her poorest games of the year. Lots of tears, I imagine, in the Vanderquigly household last night.

[ZagDad84]

A career altering, exquisitely bad-beat for Sloot & the Sky. One of those games that will go down in WNBA lore (or infamy). Absolutely no reason for Courtney to throw that last pass. It was just an epic brain freeze. She could have: 1)Kept dribbling in the back court & be fouled. 2) Picked up her dribble & be fouled. 3) Called time out if she thought there was a problem with a back court violation. 4) Kept her feet before throwing any pass. The reason I say it's career altering is that Sloot had just turned the corner & was rolling down Elite avenue with her first-team all-WNBA selection, was leading her young, but talented, Sky team to a potentially deep playoff run, and, poof, it all disappeared. The indefensible, mind boggling, bad decision, regardless of how far she blows past the league assist record, is probably the lasting thing she'll be remembered for. Akin to Adam Morrison's tearful collapse after the UCLA debacle.

Hope she and partner Allie forgo European Bball at least for some months. They both need a chance to recover their bearings. Allie, BTW, picked a bad time to play one of her poorest games of the year. Lots of tears, I imagine, in the Vanderquigly household last night.

Wow.

Without a doubt a poor decision by Sloot and it is very obvious when watched by the overhead camera. However, when watched at the player level camera where you see what Sloot saw, the player Sloot was passing to appears to be wide open as the Ace defender moved to double team Sloot. You do not see the 2nd Ace player rotating over to cover the Sky player leaving Dolson wide open. Bad decision and nobody knows it more than Sloot, but from the player level, when the defender moved to cover Sloot, her teammate was wide open.

Career altering, not even close. Why do I say that, numerous reasons. First, this was a second round play-off game, not a semi-final or final round game. How many people, even WNBA fans even watched (remember the CV has lead the Sky to the WNBA championship in a past year). Second, watch the official WNBA highlight recap of the game and the Sloot pass is not even included on the highlights. Finally, the CV turnover was not even the worst Sky turnover of the game. After an Ace basket with 1.9 seconds left in the half, Cheyenne Parker (for the Sky) passes the throw-in directly to an Ace player standing under the basket for a lay-up reducing the Sky lead by 2 at the half. The video of this pass is included in the official WNBA highlights of the game.

While Sloot will definitely stew on the pass until at least next year, but it hardly will be career altering. Allie Quigley did not only went 2-11 overall for the game, but for the player who made more 3 point shots this year than any other (I think AQ finished 3rd in the league in 3 pt shooting percentage) in the WNBA , she went 0-6 from 3 point range in this game and the Sky shot just over 28% for the game while the Aces shot 46.2%.

Unfortunately it is my understanding that Sloot, AQ and Coach Wade are already under contract to go to Russia (UMMC Ekaterinburg) where Coach Wade has been an assistant coach for years and CV took over for Diana Taurasi last year to lead UMMC Ekaterinburg to the championship. AQ is joining them this year for her first year in Russia.

ZagDad

[seacatfan]

Yeah, I think the play will be remembered more for Hamby's miracle shot than Sloot's errant pass. There is some controversy that Hamby's foot might've crossed the out of bounds line, which would've thus negated her shot. Refs never reviewed it.

So that led to claims of instant karma from some Sky players/fans when Game 1 of Mystics-Aces endied on Plum getting bumped from behind by EDD on the potentially game tying shot as time was expiring, with no whistle. Also Coach Laimbeer insists he was calling for a timeout continuously from about the 6 second mark, with a ref right next to him, and no TO was granted. So I guess what goes around comes around, or something like that.

[upan8th]

Wow.

Without a doubt a poor decision by Sloot and it is very obvious when watched by the overhead camera. However, when watched at the player level camera where you see what Sloot saw, the player Sloot was passing to appears to be wide open as the Ace defender moved to double team Sloot. You do not see the 2nd Ace player rotating over to cover the Sky player leaving Dolson wide open. Bad decision and nobody knows it more than Sloot, but from the player level, when the defender moved to cover Sloot, her teammate was wide open.

Career altering, not even close. Why do I say that, numerous reasons. First, this was a second round play-off game, not a semi-final or final round game. How many people, even WNBA fans even watched (remember the CV has lead the Sky to the WNBA championship in a past year). Second, watch the official WNBA highlight recap of the game and the Sloot pass is not even included on the highlights. Finally, the CV turnover was not even the worst Sky turnover of the game. After an Ace basket with 1.9 seconds left in the half, Cheyenne Parker (for the Sky) passes the throw-in directly to an Ace player standing under the basket for a lay-up reducing the Sky lead by 2 at the half. The video of this pass is included in the official WNBA highlights of the game.

While Sloot will definitely stew on the pass until at least next year, but it hardly will be career altering. Allie Quigley did not only went 2-11 overall for the game, but for the player who made more 3 point shots this year than any other (I think AQ finished 3rd in the league in 3 pt shooting percentage) in the WNBA , she went 0-6 from 3 point range in this game and the Sky shot just over 28% for the game while the Aces shot 46.2%.

Unfortunately it is my understanding that Sloot, AQ and Coach Wade are already under contract to go to Russia (UMMC Ekaterinburg) where Coach Wade has been an assistant coach for years and CV took over for Diana Taurasi last year to lead UMMC Ekaterinburg to the championship. AQ is joining them this year for her first year in Russia.

ZagDad

Really would rather let this thread go, but . . . as you said, ZD, a lot of things won't be remembered. Such as Sloot's clever, from-behind poke that caused Hamby to lose the ball off her knee and gave the Sky the ball for what should have been the last 14 seconds of the game. Allie's bad game won't be remembered. Parker's turnover & the ensuing Ace basket before halftime won't be, but the whole sequence of Sloot's fatal error will live forever on the Web, accessible under the ever-popular search topic: Epic Fails.

Worse though, will be the long-term affects on her clear leadership role with the team. It's been evident watching this season's games how her teammates have deferred to her, especially with the game on the line, as they did against the Ace's, only to be left staring in disbelief at the result. Imagine Michael Jordan or John Stockton turning it over instead of leading their teams to the W with a game-ending play. If Courtney keeps her feet, she sees a wide open Dolson, makes the pass (even the announcer shouted: "A dangerous pass!") she knows how to make, Dolson scores, game over, and Sloot's legacy to be the greatest point guard in WNBA history keeps on rolling.

Winning back her Sky teammates' confidence in her, of course, is paramount. Way more important than Sloot's growing, already substantial resume. But that may be the hardest thing still left to win.

[ZagDad84]

My thoughts:

...but the whole sequence of Sloot's fatal error will live forever on the Web, accessible under the ever-popular search topic: Epic Fails.

No doubt. But I will bet you a beer at your favorite establishment that at the beginning of the WNBA season next year, the video of Hamby's shot has 50% more views than the video of Sloot's bad pass. For no other reason than Las Vegas averages 50% more fans than Chicago. I still stand by my opinion that Sloot's pass will never measure up to the Michael Jordan shot over Craig Ehlo for the win. The play is not remembered for any fault of Ehlo, but for the brilliance of Mr. Jordan. I think this play, on a much smaller scale, will be remembered much the same way, the Sloot pass as secondary to the shot by Hamby. Time will tell.

Winning back her Sky teammates' confidence in her, of course, is paramount. Way more important than Sloot's growing, already substantial resume. But that may be the hardest thing still left to win.

In listening to interview after interview with her teammates and coaches during the season, they feel they have in Sloot, the best point guard in the WNBA and I doubt that a bad pass that cost them a playoff game will undermine that mentality. IMO, it is far more likely that each player is wondering what they could have done to avoid putting Sloot in that position at the end of the game. We will see next spring what if any impact this has on the Sky as a team.

No matter what Sloot's numbers eventually end up being, to be overwhelmingly identified as the best point guard of all time will require winning one or more WNBA championships. Rightfully or wrongfully, there is always that group in society that defines success as wining championships and no other measurement matters. Even though basketball is obviously a team sport and even the best players, by themselves, cannot carry a team to a championship. To those in the all that matters is championships group, it does not matter if you are John Stockton, Dan Marino, etc., you can't be the best because you did not lead your team to any championships. LeBron can never be as good as Michael Jordan, no matter his numbers or even trips to the championships as Jordan has six rings and is undefeated in championships and LeBron (who has been to 8 championships) only has 3 rings and has a losing record in championship series. No right or wrong, opinion, just a matter of fact.

If I remember correctly, Sloot and AQ only signed 1-year contracts, so as of the end of this season, I don't think they are official members of the Sky. In addition, I think the WNBA players voted to end the CBA as of the end of this year, so a new CBA will have to be agreed to before the beginning of the next WNBA season. Maybe some big changes coming to the women's league for next year.

ZagDad

[upan8th]

And, as the bonny Scots are wont to say, "Ther's an end on it!"

[ZagDad84]

And, as the bonny Scots are wont to say, "Ther's an end on it!"

Not Quite.

CV finished up the 2019 WNBA season by being named to the first team, 2019 All-WNBA team.

Delle Donne was the only player named to the First Team on all 43 ballots in voting by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The 6-5 forward-guard becomes the only 2018 All-WNBA First Team selection to repeat as a First Team honoree in 2019.

Joining Delle Donne (215 points) on the 2019 All-WNBA First Team are Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot (197), Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (191), Los Angeles Sparks guard Chelsea Gray (175) and Seattle Storm forward Natasha Howard (158). This marks the first All-WNBA nod for Howard and the first selection to the First Team for Gray and Vandersloot.

Courtney Vandersloot, Sky: This marks the third All-WNBA selection for Vandersloot, a Second Team member in 2015 and 2018. Vandersloot broke her own WNBA records for assist average (9.1 apg) and total assists (300), winning her third consecutive assist title and fourth overall (she also led the league in 2015).

Entire Article Link from the WNBA: https://www.wnba.com/news/mvp-delle-...ba-first-team/

A very well-earned honor. Congrats Courtney.

ZagDad

[sittingon50]

Nice goin' CV.

[ZagDad84]

Nice to see that CV got the second most ballot points, only Elena Delle Donne got more points from the 43 sportswriters and broadcasters.

Maybe CV's skillset is finally getting some well deserved recognition amongst the pundits.

Zagdad

[ZagDad84]

If anybody is interested, here is a link to the CV's overseas page tracking how she is doing in Russia. This link also contains links to the CV's Russian team's website as well as the general EuroBasket website.

Link: https://sky.wnba.com/2019-2020-overs...y-vandersloot/

ZagDad