- Created on 12 April 2013
'3 To See' Headline List Of Top College Prospects of WNBA Draft - ESPN2 to Telecast First Round Live in Primetime
The "3 to See" – Elena Delle Donne of Delaware, Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame, and Baylor's Brittney Griner – headline a list of 12 prospects invited to attend the 2013 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, which will be held on Monday, April 15 at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.
Rounding out the list are guards Alex Bentley (Penn State), Layshia Clarendon (California), Kelly Faris (Connecticut), Tayler Hill (Ohio State), Lindsey Moore (Nebraska) and Sugar Rodgers (Georgetown); forwards Tianna Hawkins (Maryland) and Toni Young (Oklahoma State); and center Kelsey Bone (Texas A&M).
A 6-8 native of Houston, Griner finished her collegiate career ranked first all-time in Women's NCAA Division I history in blocks (748) and dunks (18), and second in points (3,283) and double-figure scoring games (146-of-148). Her blocks total actually paces both women and men – topping the 564 of Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado – while her 18 dunks account for 54.5 percent of the 33 total dunks by college women.
Diggins, a four-time All-America and two-time Big East "Player of the Year," led the Fighting Irish to three consecutive Final Four berths, and finished her career as Notre Dame's career leader in points and steals, and also ranks second in assists. The 5-9 guard also became one of the most popular players in collegiate sports and a social media celebrity; her Twitter account (@SkyDigg4) has grown to over 300,000 followers.
A 6-5 guard/forward, Donne led the nation in scoring as a junior and finished second as a senior. The Wilmington, Del., native's 33 points in the school's first Sweet 16 game ever (vs. Kentucky) moved her past Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Maya Moore into fifth place in NCAA history in career points (3,039).
Bentley earned All-Big Ten First Team honors three times and was twice a member of the conference's All-Defensive Team. Clarendon led the 2012-13 Golden Bears to their first 30-win season and first NCAA Final Four berth. Faris helped UConn reach the Final Four in each of her four seasons, and led the Huskies to their eighth national championship earlier this week.
Hill, the No. 5 scorer in Ohio State annals, capped her career as the Big Ten's scoring leader this past season. Moore was a two-time finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top point guard in women's Division I basketball. Rodgers, the most decorated player in Georgetown women's basketball history and the program's all-time leading scorer, earned a spot on the All-Big East First Team in each of her four campaigns.
Hawkins, the ACC's third-leading scorer and No. 2 rebounder this season, is only the third Terrapins player with 1,000 career boards. As a senior, Bone ranked first, second, and third in the SEC, respectively, in field goal percentage, rebounding, and scoring en route to All-America Third Team honors. Young, who didn't begin playing basketball or high-jumping until her second year of high school, has vaulted to prominence both as a top WNBA prospect and as a participant in last year's U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track & field.
Where the Teams Stand
And Where To Tune In
The Phoenix Mercury holds the top pick in the WNBA Draft for the third time in franchise history. In 2004, the Mercury used the No. 1 pick to select Diana Taurasi from the University of Connecticut and in the 2007 Draft they chose Duke's Lindsey Harding. Rounding out this year's top five picks are the Chicago Sky (second), Tulsa Shock (third), Washington Mystics (fourth), and the New York Liberty (fifth).
The 2013 WNBA Draft will make history as it will be televised on Prime Time television for the first time in the league's 17-year history. ESPN2 will provide coverage and analysis of the first round beginning at 8 p.m. ET from ESPN in Bristol, Conn. ESPNU will air the second and third rounds beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The telecast will also be available online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. Host Kevin Negandhi, analysts Rebecca Lobo and Carolyn Peck, along with reporters Holly Rowe and LaChina Robinson, will handle draft coverage duties throughout the night.
WNBA.com, in addition to providing comprehensive draft-day coverage, will serve as the web destination for fans who want to track top prospects throughout the Draft.
The players invited to attend the 2013 WNBA Draft telecast from ESPN are:
Name College/University Position Height
Alex Bentley Penn State Guard 5'7"
Kelsey Bone Texas A&M Center 6'4"
Layshia Clarendon California Guard 5'9"
Elena Delle Donne Delaware Guard/Forward 6'5"
Skylar Diggins Notre Dame Guard 5'9"
Kelly Faris Connecticut Guard 5'11"
Brittney Griner Baylor Center 6'8"
Tianna Hawkins Maryland Forward 6'3"
Tayler Hill Ohio State Guard 6'0"
Lindsey Moore Nebraska Guard 5'9"
Sugar Rodgers Georgetown Guard 5'11"
Toni Young Oklahoma State Forward 6'2"
- Created on 12 April 2013
Atlanta Hawks Know Their Identity, They Just Can't Seem to Find It
After playing two completely different games against one team in six days, the Hawks game tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks could easily set the tone for how the team will play through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Wednesday night's 23 point victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Philly showed the team the Hawks can be, but so did the team's 101-90 loss to those same Sixers a week ago.
"Somewhere along the line we've forgotten who we need to be," said Hawks coach Larry Drew after the loss at home. "Within these last couple weeks we've lost that. We're not grinding, we're not starting the game with energy. This is familiar."
It's very familiar. The inconsistency has been there all season and as the playoffs loom the Hawks will need to play more like the team they were Wednesday night and less like the team that lost three straight games just before.
Josh Smith led the team against the 76ers Wednesday with 28 points and 12 rebounds, dishing out four assists as well. It was the ninth time in his career he had put up those numbers. Smith is third in Hawks history when it comes to getting those stats in multiple games. Dominique Wilkins did it 15 times and Walt Bellamy had 10 such performances.
The good Josh Smith seems to go along with the good Hawks team. In the embarrassing home loss to the 76ers, Smith had a deceptive 19 points and only six rebounds. The moment that typified the night came with 7:26 remaining in the first quarter when the forward couldn't be bothered to pick a loose ball up from the ground and it rolled out of bounds for a turnover.
But it's not just Smith whose play has been hard to comprehend from game to game. The team hasn't put together more than two wins in a row since mid March and those three victories came on the heels of three straight losses.
Just as the team has had some memorable wins, the Hawks have found new and interesting ways to lose this season. After previously struggling to finish games in the fourth quarter and then giving away halftime leads in the third early in the season, Atlanta ceded 40 points to the 76ers in the first quarter of the April 5 game and never recovered.
"I'm very concerned we're not coming out with urgency," Drew said. "The intensity and urgency is not where it should be. My concern is the mentality of our team."
The players seemed less worried about their identity crisis than their coach, though.
"It's too late in the season to still try and find our identity," Smith said. "We've got to know and play it to the 'T'."
Point guard Jeff Teague echoed that sentiment.
"We know who we are," said Teague. "We're an up-tempo, tough defensive team. When we're playing like that we're tough to beat."
Tough defense and quick pace are two things that have helped the Hawks win all season, but on certain nights both are conspicuously absent without explanation.
The playoff-bound Bucks are in need of a win after dropping two in a row, four of their last five and nine of their last 12 games. They're a team the good Hawks should beat, but guards Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, along with big man Larry Sanders, will take advantage if the bad Hawks take the floor.
With just three games remaining in the regular season and a chance to move up in the playoff standings still a real possibility, the Hawks need the blue collar, tough defensive, up-tempo team to show up at Philips Arena tonight and for the remainder of the season. Whether or not they do will likely determine how long that season is.
- Created on 11 April 2013
Clark Atlanta's Autumn Williams Named SIAC Tennis Coach of the Year
After guiding her team to a second place finish in the regular season with a 10-1 conference record, Clark Atlanta University Head Coach Autumn Williams was named the 2013 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Women's Tennis Coach of the Year announced today.
"I am truly humbled to receive this honor as it was really unexpected," said Williams. "I am proud of my team's accomplishments thus far, but we still have work to do in our quest for another championship which is one of our team goals this year."
This is the second time in her young coaching career that Williams has received this honor which she also won as a first-year coach in 2011 the same year the Lady Panthers won the conference title. She will look to repeat that feat as CAU (13-9 overall record) opens SIAC championship tournament play TODAY (Thurs., April 11th) with a first round match against LeMoyne Owen College at 11 a.m., at the McGhee Tennis Center located at 820 Beecher Street in Atlanta.
Leading individual superlatives for CAU was junior Brionne Bachus who earned first team All-Conference honors in singles at the No. 3 position with a 9-1 conference record and the No. 1 doubles spot with teammate freshman Vonnick Boyogueno as the tandem finished 8-1 in conference play this season.
Clark Atlanta junior Asia Boyd (6-1) and Vanessa Jean-Baptist (3-3) also received second team honors at the No. 4 and No. 2 singles spots, respectivley, while Boyd and junior Ivory Conley, who finished with an 8-2 conference record, earned All-Conference honors in the No. 2 doubles position.
- Created on 11 April 2013
2013 SIAC Tennis All-Conference and All-Academic Team Announced
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference released its 2013 SIAC Men's and Women's Tennis All-Conference Team as voted by the SIAC Tennis Coaches Association.
Stillman College junior Janguen Lee, who was voted as SIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year, leads the men's team. Lee, a native of Soul, South Korea, dominated opponents during the regular season finishing with a conference best 12-1 record overall and a perfect 6-0 in SIAC matches in the No. 1 singles spot for the Tigers.. Lee also went perfect in the conference with his teammate David Torres in doubles at 6-0 during the regular season. The tandem were named to the All-SIAC First Team Doubles team as well.
Joining Lee on the All-SIAC First Team is another Stillman player, Luis Mendoza, followed by 2012 SIAC Player and Freshman of the Year Zibusiso Ndimande of Benedict College, Shane Latchman, also from Benedict, Morehouse College's Noah Terry and Fort Valley State University's James Nick Hernandez.
Joining the tandem of Lee and Torrez for All-SIAC First Team Doubles honors are Ndimande and Latchman of Benedict and Hernandez and Joshua Turner from Fort Valley State.
Freshman of the Year was awarded to Stillman's Vladyslav Zhyrov, who went 8-3 overall and 5-0 in SIAC matches in his first season as the team's No. 3 singles player, while Tigers head coach William Riley was awarded SIAC Men's Coach of the Year after leading Stillman to a 19-2 overall and 12-0 record in the conference.
Headlining the list for the women's team is SIAC Women's Player of the Year Litia Godinet, also from Stillman College. A native of American
Samoa, Godinet finished the season 23-1 and 12-0 in the conference in route to claiming the top honors in the women's division. As the team's top singles player, she was the cornerstone of Stillman's 23-1 team record this season. She also was named to the All-SIAC First Team Doubles Team, along with her teammate Veronika Kalugina.
Also selected to the women's All-SIAC First team was Godinet's teammate Nair Tolomeo, Glory Zhou of Benedict, Chloe Jean-Charles, also from Benedict, Brionne Bachus from Clark Atlanta University, and Gabriella Louis from Fort Valley State University.
Kim Bowen of Tuskegee was voted Freshman of the Year after a 6-5 overall record as the team's top singles player for the Tigerettes,
while SIAC Women's Coach of the Year was awarded to Clark Atlanta's Autumn Williams, who led the Lady Panthers to a 10-1 record this season in the SIAC.
2013 SIAC Men's Tennis All-Conference Team
Name Class Institution
Zibusiso Ndimade Sophomore Benedict College
Shane Latchman Sophomore Benedict College
Janguen Lee Junior Stillman College
Luis Mendoza Freshman Stillman College
Noah Terry Junior Morehouse College
James Nick Hernandez Junior Fort Valley State University
First Team Doubles
Names Institution
Zibusiso Ndimande & Shane Latchman Benedict College
Janguen Lee & David Torrez Stillman College
James Nick Hernandez & Joshua Turner Fort Valley State University
Second Team Singles
Name Class Institution
Giovanni Platter Junior Benedict College
Vladyslav Zhyrov Freshman Stillman College
Chris Hawthorne Junior Morehouse College
Kahai Hall Junior Morehouse College
Gabriel Byrd Senior Tuskegee University
Andrew Knight Sophomore Tuskegee University
Second Team Doubles
Names Institution
Kahai Hall & Jabez Beazer Morehouse College
Noah Terry & Chris Hawthorne Morehouse College
Gabriel Byrd & Andrew Knight Tuskegee University
Player of the Year: Janguen Lee, Stillman College
Freshman of the Year: Vladyslav Zhyrow, Stillman College
Coach of the Year: William Riley, Stillman College
2013 SIAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Team
First Team Singles
Name Class Institution
Litia Godinet Junior Stillman College
Nair Tolomeo Freshman Stillman College
Chloe Jean-Charles Senior Benedict College
Glory Zhou Sophomore Benedict College
Brionne Bachus Junior Clark Atlanta
Gabriella Louis Sophomore Fort Valley State
First Team Doubles
Names Institution
Jessica Carswell & Belinda Camacho Benedict College
Litia Godinet & Veronika Kalugina Stillman College
Vonnica Boyogueno & Brionne Bachus Clark Atlanta University
Second Team Singles
Name Class Institution
Jessica Carswell Senior Benedict College
Asia Boyd Junior Clark Atlanta University
Vanessa Jean-Baptist Sophomore Clark Atlanta University
Reanah Kellogg Senior Albany State University
Yonelle Aromin Junior Fort Valley State University
Angela Corredor Freshman Stillman College
Second Team Doubles
Names Institution
Asia Boyd & Ivory Conley Clark Atlanta University
Vanessa Bolar & Naima Simpkins Fort Valley State University
Nair Tolomeo & Angela Corredor Stillman College
SIAC Women's Player of the Year: Litia Godinet, Stillman College
SIAC Freshman of the Year: Kim Brown, Tuskegee University
SIAC Coach of the Year: Autumn Williams, Clark Atlanta University
SIAC Men's All-Academic Team
Name Class Major GPA Institution
Felipe Farias Senior Business 4.0 Stillman College
Shane Latchman Sophomore Computer Engineering 3.95 Benedict College
Santiago Robles Sophomore Business 3.93 Stillman College
Alexander Zobec Senior Business 3.90 Stillman College
Jelffrey Farias Junior Business 3.85 Stillman College
Zibusiso Ndimande Sophomore Computer Engineering 3.77 Benedict College
SIAC Men's Tennis All-Academic Team Champion: Stillman College
SIAC Women's All-Academic Team
Name Class Major GPA Institution
Morgan Moore Sophomore Biology 4.0 Lane College
Akili Smith-Washington Sophomore 4.0 Tuskegee University
Glory Zhou Junior Environmental Health Science 3.95 Benedict College
Christian Patterson Junior 3.95 Tuskegee University
Maria Saddler Senior Tuskegee 3.92 Tuskegee University
Jessica Carswell Senior Biology 3.91 Benedict College
SIAC Women's Tennis All-Academic Team Champion: Benedict College
- Created on 10 April 2013
Georgia Tech Alumni to Compete at The Masters
Three Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar and Larry Mize, will be competing for the opportunity to put on the 'green jacket' in the 77th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Stewart Cink, a six time winner on the PGA Tour, finished third in Augusta back in2008 while Matt Kuchar finished third in last year's Masters. The two have a combined 21 Masters appearances.
Larry Mize, a native of Augusta, will be playing in his 30th Masters. Currently competing on the Champions Tour, Mize hit one of the most memorable shots in Masters' history when he chipped a shot 140 feet on the second playoff hole to triumph over Greg Norman for the 1987 Masters title.
The prestigious tournament will begin Thursday with television coverage of the first two rounds broadcasting on ESPN and the weekend rounds on CBS.
