I was all set to rant. The New York Liberty had traded away its only marquee player, Becky Hammon, on WNBA draft day in favor of a player who had been shut down by Marist in the NCAA Tournament.
The Liberty had traded its leading scorer, the popular and perky spark plug who played her way onto the squad from Colorado State in 1999. This came a season after the Liberty had let its other two consistent scorers and team veterans, guard Vickie Johnson and forward Crystal Robinson, leave the team as free agents. I was ready to rant.
Then I thought about it. Hammon had carried the team the past few seasons. She’d come up big when her team needed her to. But as guards are getting quicker and bigger and stronger, the 5-6 guard who just turned 30 and has suffered some significant injuries is not someone the Liberty should be building a team around.
So, finally, the Liberty, a team that has lacked true star power since Rebecca Lobo blew out her knee in 1999, has made a much-needed bold move.
The results won’t be evident immediately, but it’s a start.
By trading Hammon to San Antonio, where she’ll join Johnson, one of six original WNBA players still in the 11-year-old league, the Liberty got No. 2 draft pick 6-5 center Jessica Davenport of Ohio State. She’ll join No. 5 pick Tiffany Jackson, a 6-3 forward from the University of Texas, as part of the Liberty renaissance.
Once the oldest team in the league, the Liberty now is among the youngest. Long lacking in the rebounding department and without a true banger in the paint since Kym Hampton retired in 200x, the Liberty has added size and strength with true inside players, not those European types with inside size but outside games (Elena Baranova and Ann Wauters).
Jackson averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds, and added 177 blocked shots, over 121 games in four seasons at the University of Texas. She was named to the First Team All-Big 12 in 2005 and 2006, after being selected ESPN.com National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2004.
Davenport averaged 17.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.95 blocks over 130 career games at Ohio State. A two-time finalist for the Wade Trophy and Wooden Awards, Davenport was Big Ten Player of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She was named a Kodak All-American and was selected for the USA Basketball Senior Women’s National Team.
These are a couple of blue-ribbon players. And, while the team is likely to miss the playoffs for the second season in a row – a first – it could be in excellent position to reap the benefits of a loaded draft next year. For this young and completely remade team to come together, guard/forward Shameka Christon is going to have to step up. She averaged 12.4 points last season, second to Hammon’s 14.7, and has improved her game in each of her three seasons.
Evidence that GM Carol Blazejowski didn’t get a complete draft-day lobotomy, she went to her old habit of drafting a couple of dark horses with local connections. The Liberty also picked up guard Shay Doron of the University of Maryland and Christ the King High School in the second round and 6-5 Iona forward Martina Weber in the third. Doron, an Israeli who moved to Great Neck to play ball at Christ the King, will have to compete with lightening quick Sherill Baker and proven point guard Loree Moore for a roster spot. Weber, of Germany, was 2007 MAAC Player of the Year, but will have to elbow Jackson, Cathrine Kraayeveld, defensive stopper Ashley Battle and pre-season pickup Janel McCarville out of the way to have a chance.
The Liberty’s future, however, looks bright.
“We are committed to developing the Liberty into a consistent competitor for the WNBA Championship by focusing on youth, speed and size,” Blazejowski said. “We’re looking forward to training camp and to providing our fans with the kind of fast-paced, energetic basketball they deserve.”
The new – and improved – Liberty can be seen at the Garden starting with a preseason game May 12 against the Houston Comets.