It’s only December, and the 2009 WNBA season is still several months away. But don’t tell that to head coach Marynell Meadors and the Atlanta Dream. For them, the work is only beginning. That work continued this week when Atlanta selected former Houston Comet forward Sancho Lyttle with the first pick of the WNBA Dispersal Draft, and also won the No. 1 pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft via Monday’s lottery drawing. I had the chance to speak with Coach Meadors on Tuesday about those issues and more. Here is a little of what she had to say, and what to expect from the organization over the coming months.
PICKING FIRST
A 4-30 record wasn’t exactly what the Dream had in mind for their inaugural season. But in the end, their poor performance did pay some dividends, as the Dream had the highest chance to garner the No. 1 pick on Monday. And the ping pong balls went their way. Atlanta will have the first pick in the 2009 draft.
“I think that everybody in this office was high five-ing,” said Meadors. “It was a big emotional lift for the organization.”
Now that Meadors knows she’ll have her pick of the litter come April, it’s time to get to work.
Meadors sounded excited about picking first. Here’s a little of what she had to say about a few of the players she’s looking at.
On Courtney Paris: “She’s definitely an impact player. She can rebound and score. She just brings a physical body to the table. I think the challenge in front of her is conditioning. She’ll have to work hard because it’s a fast-moving game.”
On Angel McCoughtry: “She can score in a variety of ways. She can pull up and shoot, she can drive and penetrate, and she can take it all the way to the rim and finish.”
On Kristi Tolliver: “I think that Kristi is an excellent point guard with range on her shot. She looks to score. She’s a lot like Ivory Latta except bigger. She plays hard and she’s a tough competitor.”
One player who is also listed highly on the draft boards is small forward Marissa Coleman, a teammate of Tolliver’s at Maryland. But with forward Iziane Castro Marques receiving an extension in the offseason, and 2009 first-round draft pick Tamera Young also expected to play a larger role this year, there is already a logjam at the small forward position, so don’t expect her name to come up on draft day.
LYTTLE TO ATLANTA
The Dream are hoping that the selection of Lyttle will help improve their play in the paint, an area where they struggled mightily last season. It didn’t take long at all for Atlanta to make the decision regarding who they would select.
“It was absolutely a no-brainer for me,” Meadors said.
Lyttle registered 8.2 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game last season while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line, and was one of the most improved players in the league.
“She’s a 6-4 frame that can run the floor,” said Meadors. “She has the capability of rebounding like Erika [Desouza] did last season.”
But the four-year pro will have to step up her game this year. Lyttle was a role player last year in Houston, but expect her to become a primary option for her new team. When asked about whether she plans to utilize Lyttle more than the Comets did, Meadors didn’t hesitate to answer.
“There’s no question about it,” she said. “My expectations of her are very, very high.”
While the head coach and GM was excited about the addition, she knew it would still take some adjusting.
“She’s very shy and very humble when it comes to doing the things she’s getting ready to do here,” said Meadors. “The only city she’s really spent some time in is Houston.”
Meadors isn’t lying. Lyttle has indeed spent the vast majority of her basketball career in H-Town. She was born on the small island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean before playing college ball at the University of Houston.
GOODBYE HOUSTON
The demise of the Houston Comets helped Atlanta in the personnel department, as they were able to snag Lyttle. But the Dream weren’t at all happy to see one of the WNBA’s best franchises fold.
“It’s really sad,” said Meadors. “The Comets have been in the league since the very beginning. To have them fold and not be a part of anything is really sad to me. They’ve been around so long you almost just assume they’re going to be there. I think what we’re seeing right now is growing pains in the WNBA.”
Meadors knows what it’s like to be a part of a franchise that went under. She was the director of scouting for the Miami Sol when they folded in 2002.
“We felt like we’d lost a lot,” she said of the situation. “We put so much into what we were doing and all of a sudden no one has a job and the organization doesn’t exist.”
OFFSEASON NOTES
Dream players are currently all around the world fine-tuning their games. Meadors has stayed in touch with most of her players, a few of whom she believes are ready to take their games to the next level.
“If I had to choose [players who have raised their games] I would say Ivory and also Tamera,” said Meadors. “They both work extremely hard and I look for them to jump their statistics up from a year ago.”
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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