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Who is the Greatest WNBA Player of All Time? Tournament Bracket Challenge!

Greatest of All Time Player Bracket Challenge!
~ Aneela Khan ~ 3 Comments

Welcome to the Greatest WNBA Player of All Time Tournament Bracket Challenge presented by wbasketballblog.com!

The constant debates between who REALLY is the Greatest WNBA Player of All Time can be put to rest in this bracket challenge. There are so many different ideas of what makes a great player in terms of scoring the ball, defending, rebounding and what kind of impact they had in the game, etc.  We thought it would be a great idea to put it in the public’s hands once and for all to determine who is the Greatest WNBA Player of All Time.

The world is consumed of bad news everyday and since the NCAA Tournament was cancelled, why not throw our own tournament but still represent the WNBA and women’s basketball? So, we came up with this idea.

In order to undertake this challenge of putting the top 64 players, I reached out to ask individuals if they would like to participate. In turn, I received a lot of interest and we were able to quickly form a committee. The following committee members are: Kevin Brown, Glenn Starkey, Nathan Hiatt, Lamar Smith, Michael Olsen and myself (Aneela Khan).

As a committee, we decided that Diana Taurasi is the overall #1 seed and the four #1 seeds are Diana Taurasi, Lauren Jackson, Maya Moore and Lisa Leslie. The four regions are named W, N, B and A. Tomorrow, we will release the 64 players bios to give you an informed opinion on who to vote for.

Voting will begin at 10 am EST on Monday, March 30th and we will conduct the polls via Twitter. We will do one region each day. The winner will be announced some time in April.  Voting will be for 24 hours.

The G.O.A.T bracket is below. (We apologize for the size of the table and how small it is but it will make it easier for you to see.) Again, we deeply apologize for the size and the fact that there are no printed copies. Truly.

Listed below are the committee members bios who contributed to making this bracket happen. They are very diverse and come from different walks of life.

Aneela Khan – Twitter – @whoopsblogger

Aneela Khan is the owner of wbasketballblog.com. She became a fan of the WNBA in the year 2008 when Candace Parker entered the league. She was a fan of the San Antonio Stars before they were sold to Las Vegas. She started to blog and write about women’s college basketball, WNBA, Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team seriously in the year 2016.

Glenn Starkey  – Twitter – @Starkman55

Glenn Starkey has followed the WNBA since the year 2000. In 2004, he became a season ticket holder to the New York Liberty. He married a fellow New York Liberty fan, Rebecca in 2011. He has seen the New York Liberty go through many ups and downs throughout their tenure and has found a community with many other fellow Liberty fans. Glenn works in business insurance and also supports six women’s college basketball teams.

Kevin Brown – Twitter – @over_short

Kevin Brown has been a WNBA fan since the inaugural season. He preferred the WNBA over the ABL because of how dominant Sheryl Swoopes was. Kevin has tracked WNBA stats and trivia over at his personal website WNBA odds and ends in which he has kept records from old and new seasons. His site has been simply instrumental in keeping WNBA data when there was no other option.

Lamar Smith – Twitter – @inside380

Lamar Smith is a sports journalism Masters graduate at Arizona State University. He is an avid basketball fan and in the fall he will be publishing his first book.

Michael Olson – Twitter – @colombianmikey

Michael Olsen is a senior in high school. He is from Minnesota and is a Lynx fan and was able to witness the Lynx’s great dynasty. He really became supportive of the WNBA in 2016 and in his free time, he watches women’s college basketball, the WNBA and he also plays basketball. He also likes to study both the history of the league and historical players while still watching the young talent we see in the game today.

Nathan Hiatt – Twitter – @NATE_HIATT

Nathan Hiatt is a sports journalist who graduated from Oklahoma State University in May 2018. He currently attends Arizona State University as a graduate student and is set to graduate this coming May.

Canadian Senior Women National Team Olympic Qualifying Tournament Preview

nayo raincock-ekunkwe, new york liberty.
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team is set to face in the final Olympic qualifying tournament which tips off on Thursday afternoon in Ostend, Belgium. Canada will face Belgium, Sweden and Japan in this tournament.

In order to qualify for the Olympics, Canada must finish in the top 2 as Japan has already qualified for the tournament since they are the host nation.

Canada will be tested in this final Olympic qualifying tournament as Belgium, Sweden and Japan are worthy opponents.

Belgium, the host nation is ranked 9th in the world but have never qualified for the Summer Olympics before. They hope to change that led by Washington Mystics forward Emma Messeman who is apart of the reigning WNBA champions. Kim Mestdagh and Ann Wauters are also familiar names that will try to help Belgium make history. They will be a tough team to battle.

Japan, which does not need this tournament to qualify as they have already qualified due to the Olympic host nation, are ranked 10th in the world. They finished in 8th place at the 2016 Olympics. They will still be a tough team to face as they have nothing to lose and are using this tournament as a tune up for the Olympics.

Sweden, who is ranked 22nd in the world, has never qualified for the Olympics just like Belgium. They are led by New York Liberty forward/center Amanda Zahui B. Farhiya Abdi and Elin Eldebrink are familiar names that aim to make history.

Canada will be led by veteran forwards Kim Gaucher and Miranda Ayim and WNBA stars Kia Nurse and Natalie Achonwa. 5 players have played in the 2019 WNBA season (Achonwa, Nurse, Alexander, Carleton, Raincock-Ekunwe) and Jamie Scott has some WNBA experience. 2 players (Amihere and Pellington) are currently playing in college. Canada has tons of experience in this group and to view the final roster, please read the press release Canada Basketball put out today.

Canada faces Belgium on Thursday, February 6th at 2:35 pm EST/11:35 am PST on CBC Network and streaming online at cbc.ca. Canada faces Sweden on Saturday, February 8th at 2:35 pm EST/11:35 am PST on CBC Network and online at cbc.ca. Canada’s final game will be against Japan on Sunday, February 9th at 12:05 pm EST/9:05 am PST and that will also air on CBC Network and online at cbc.ca. To Americans, all three games are available to stream online on ESPN+.

Canada is ranked a program high of 4th place but it has bigger goals in mind as the team prepares for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. It will face tough opponents in this tourney but Canada now has plenty of veteran experience, youth and grittiness within the squad that will help them obtain a top 2 finish and all of Canada will be able to witness it as it is available through CBC.

The 2020 Summer Olympics games will tip off from July 24th to August 9 in Tokyo, Japan.

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 10

kathleen doyle, iowa
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

This past week was a pretty historic week as quite a handful of top ranked and ranked teams fell to non ranked teams. There were many great feats accomplished such as Arizona State (which was not a ranked team) who was able to upset both Oregon and Oregon State (the #2 and #3 teams in the nation last week) in one weekend! Not only that, Iowa was also able to defeat two ranked teams as well.  Baylor looked very good when they faced Connecticut (who was #1 last week).

There is no clear cut #1 team right now in women’s college basketball and I think that’s a great sign of parity. For YEARS, the #1 team in the country was above every other team. It was difficult to beat them. Now? Not so much. Because of the shakeup of what occurred this past week, it shook up the rankings this week. Many players who have made this list weekly are not in this week. This gives us a chance to spotlight those players who normally don’t get the shine due to the other strong players on top teams. In 4 years of writing and blogging these rankings, I have never seen so many top players miss out in these rankings.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Jan. 6th to Jan. 12th. If you have questions or this is your first time reading these rankings, please read the FAQ page first. Click here for the previous week’s rankings.

**I have done this in a previous rankings post, but I thought I would start this up again. If you would like to view last year’s Week 10 rankings, click here. If you would like to view 2018’s Week 10 rankings, click here. If you would like to view 2017’s Week 10 rankings, click here. *

SENIORS

  1. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  2. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  3. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  4. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  5. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  6. Tynice Martin – West Virginia
  7. Robbi Ryan – Arizona State
  8. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  9. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  10. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  11. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  12. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  13. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  14. Makenzie Meyer – Iowa
  15. Reili Richardson – Arizona State
  16. Francesca Pan – Georgia Tech
  17. Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
  18. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  19. Katherine Strong – Butler
  20. Borislava Hristova – Washington State
  21. Sabrina Haines – Kentucky
  22. Katie Campbell – Gonzaga
  23. Hailey Leidel – UMass
  24. Erica Ogwumike – Rice
  25. Davion Wingate – FGCU
  26. Alana Gilmer – Marist
  27. Mariah Leonard – Drexel
  28. Chanette Hicks – Norfolk State
  29. Ciani Cryor – Texas Southern
  30. Jasmin Samz – Ball State
  31. Stella Johnson – Rider
  32. McKenzie Johnston – Montana Grizzlies
  33. Le’Jzae Davidson – Furman
  34. Taylor Edwards – Old Dominion
  35. Cinia McCray – North Carolina A&T
  36. DJ Williams – Coastal Carolina

JUNIORS

  1. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  2. Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  3. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  4. Selena Lott – Marquette
  5. Dana Evans – Louisville
  6. Arella Guirantes – Rutgers
  7. Brice Calip – Missouri State
  8. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  9. Mia Davis – Temple
  10. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  11. Temi Carda – Creighton
  12. Hannah Sjerven – South Dakota
  13. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  14. Arsula Clark – Tulane
  15. Macee Williams – IUPUI
  16. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  17. Nadiria Evans – UNC Asheville
  18. Maddi Utti – Fresno State
  19. IImar’I Thomas – Cincinnati
  20. Vanessa Austin – CSU Bakersfield
  21. Jordan Brock – Tennessee Tech
  22. Aja Boyd – UNC Greensboro
  23. Olivia Noah – North Alabama
  24. Micaela Kelly – Central Michigan
  25. Taylor Turney – CSU Fullerton
  26. Erin Whalen – Dayton
  27. Kimberly Burton – Louisiana

SOPHOMORES

  1. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  2. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  3. Taylor Robertson – Oklahoma
  4. Sonya Morris – DePaul
  5. Paiton Burckhard – South Dakota State
  6. Madi Williams – Oklahoma
  7. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  8. Jasmine Franklin – Missouri State
  9. Sydni Harvey – South Florida
  10. Katie Douglas – Dartmouth
  11. Lasha Petree – Bradley
  12. Michaela Harrison – Mount St. Mary’s
  13. Megan Walker – Lehigh
  14. Amber Leggett – Sam Houston State
  15. Ayzhiana Basallo – San Jose State
  16. Stephanie Visscher – Stephen F. Austin
  17. Luana Serranho – Campbell
  18. Jonai Johnson – UMKC

FRESHMEN

  1. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  2. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  3. Haley Jones – Stanford
  4. Jordan Horston – Tennessee
  5. Kierstan Bell – Ohio State
  6. Adelaide Fuller – Davidson
  7. Ayoka Lee – Kansas State
  8. Charisma Osborne – UCLA
  9. Ashten Prechtel – Stanford

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 9

emily engstler syracuse
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

Conference play is now underway and we have already had some surprises early in the conference season. It shall get more interesting as the weeks go by and to truly measure just how good teams are. It has already started to affect these rankings as you will see this week that there were a lot more mid majors/smaller schools added this week because some Power 5 conference teams did not play well or lost this week. However, it could change again next week. We have some good match ups coming this week, so make sure you tune in to watch them!

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of December 30th to Jan. 5th. Click here for the previous week’s rankings list. Click here for the FAQ page.

*As stated above, there are A TON more mid majors/smaller schools this week which is a bit higher than usual.*

 

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  3. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  4. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  5. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  6. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  7. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  8. Becca Hittner – Drake
  9. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  10. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  11. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  12. Tynice Martin – West Virginia
  13. Alexa Willard – Missouri State
  14. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  15. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  16. Erica Ogwumike – Rice
  17. Sara Rhine – Drake
  18. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  19. Aislinn Konig – NC State
  20. Lexi Wallen – Illinois State
  21. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  22. Stella Johnson – Rider
  23. Tagyn Larson – South Dakota State
  24. Tytionia Adderly – FGCU
  25. Ellie Harmeyer – Belmont
  26. Michal Miller – Wright State
  27. Alana Gilmer – Marist
  28. Ellie Mack – Bucknell
  29. Dominique Golighty – Abilene Christian
  30. Deja Ford – Charleston
  31. Respect Leapheart – Southern Mississippi
  32. Ariona Gill – UTEP
  33. Jasmine Samz – Ball State
  34. Shakeela Fowler – Dayton
  35. Dayna Rouse – Longwood
  36. Nadine Soliman – UNCG

JUNIORS

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  3. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  4. Vivian Gray – Oklahoma State
  5. Lauren Heard – TCU
  6. Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  7. Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  8. Kristin Scott – Iowa State
  9. Natasha Mack – Oklahoma State
  10. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  11. Kate Cain – Nebraska
  12. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  13. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  14. Dana Evans – Louisville
  15. Brice Calip – Missouri State
  16. N’dea Jones – Texas A&M
  17. Ivana Raca – Wake Forest
  18. Bethy Mununga – South Florida
  19. Jaelynn Penn – Indiana
  20. Macee Williams – IUPUI
  21. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  22. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  23. Paige McCormick – UMass
  24. Valerie Higgins – Pacific
  25. Maddi Utti – Fresno State
  26. Jasmine Robinson – Troy
  27. Julia Fleecs – North Dakota

SOPHOMORES

  1. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  2. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  3. Emily Engstler – Syracuse
  4. Amy Dilk – Michigan
  5. Lexi Held – DePaul
  6. Ashley Joens – Iowa State
  7. Lasha Petree – Bradley
  8. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  9. Grace Berger – Indiana
  10. Brittney Smith – UCF
  11. Erica Johnson – Ohio
  12. Sam Simons – Saint Mary’s
  13. Emma Grothaus – Lehigh
  14. Krislyn Marsh – Howard
  15. Avery LaBarbera – Holy Cross
  16. Jordan Walker – Western Michigan
  17. Amber Leggett – Sam Houston State
  18. Sienna Durr – Columbia

FRESHMEN

  1. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  2. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  3. Rickea Jackson – Mississippi State
  4. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  5. Dyaisha Fair – Buffalo
  6. Haley Jones – Stanford
  7. Hanna Cavinder – Fresno State
  8. Elena Tsineka – South Florida
  9. Kayla Padilla – Pennsylvania

Women’s College Basketball Players Rankings – Class by Class! Week 3

jessika carter
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

This week was a “slow” week, meaning teams that were supposed to win did, and only a few lost to some unranked teams. A handful of teams only played one game this week. As a result, the rankings are not that much different from last week. Some teams that did not play well earlier in the season did so this week and therefore there are some new names but for the most part, a majority of the names are the same.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Nov. 18th to Nov. 24th. Have questions on these rankings? Read the FAQ page. Click here  for last week’s rankings.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Jaelyn Brown – California
  3. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  4. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  5. Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  6. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  7. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  8. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  9. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  10. Jaylyn Agnew – Creighton
  11. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  12. Becca Hittner – Drake
  13. Rachael Childress – UAB
  14. Taryn McCutcheon – Michigan State
  15. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  16. Destinee Walker – Notre Dame
  17. Brittany Brewer – Texas Tech
  18. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  19. Kiah Gillespie – Florida State
  20. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  21. Marie Benson – UT Arlington
  22. Rebekah Hand – Marist
  23. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  24. Abi Scheid – Northwestern
  25. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  26. Borislava Hristova – Washington State
  27. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  28. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  29. Mariane De Carvalho – Kansas
  30. Kendra Wilken – Saint Louis
  31. Rose Simon – Ressler – Northern Iowa
  32. Whitney Creech – Western Kentucky
  33. Lexy Ram – California Baptist
  34. Kai Moon – Binghamton
  35. Camryn Buhr – Lehigh
  36. Katie Campbell – Gonzaga

JUNIORS

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  3. Aarion McDonald – Arizona
  4. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  5. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  6. Bethy Mununga – South Florida
  7. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  8. Destiny Pitts – Minnesota
  9. Dana Evans – Louisville
  10. Trinity Baptiste – Virginia Tech
  11. Nicole Cardano – Hilary – George Mason
  12. Haley Gorecki – Duke
  13. Vivian Gray – Oklahoma State
  14. Emily Gartner – Missouri State
  15. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  16. Petra Holesinska – Illinois
  17. Natalie Chou – UCLA
  18. Lorela Cubaj – Georgia Tech
  19. Jordan Lewis – Alabama
  20. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  21. Marnelle Garraud – Boston College
  22. Amaya Scott – Bethune – Cookman
  23. Tiana England – St. John’s
  24. Gabi Haack – Bradley
  25. Genesis Parker – Butler
  26. Erica Johnson – Ohio
  27. Ellie Rice – Loyola Chicago

SOPHOMORES

  1. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  2. Lexie Hull – Stanford
  3. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  4. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi – Syracuse
  5. Ashley Joens – Iowa State
  6. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  7. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
  8. Cate Reese – Arizona
  9. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  10. Kayla Belles – Michigan State
  11. Nalyssa Smith – Baylor
  12. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  13. Grace Berger – Indiana
  14. Kaela Webb – Providence
  15. Kayana Traylor – Purdue
  16. Queen Egbo – Baylor
  17. Aja Blount – Coastal Carolina
  18. Jordyn Cambridge – Vanderbilt

FRESHMEN

  1. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  2. Ashten Prechtel – Stanford
  3. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  4. Jada Boyd – NC State
  5. Charlotte Whittaker – Colorado
  6. Haley Cavinder – Fresno State
  7. Malu Tshitenge – North Carolina
  8. Jordan Horston – Tennessee
  9. Brea Beal – South Carolina

After slow start, Canada rolls against Cuba in the second game of FIBA Women’s AmeriCup Tournament

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

It took a while for Team Canada to get going, but they were able to shake off Cuba to improve to 2-0 in group play. They started off slowly and only led by 1 point going into the second quarter. They only led by 8 at halftime. Canada only shot 37% in the first half and Cuba was efficient from the three point arc which led to a close game in the first half. Canada’s defense was poor in the first half.

The second half was a different story. In the third quarter, Canada was able to correct some of their mistakes and were able to pull away midway through the third quarter and never looked back as the final score was 87-51. Four players were in double figures in this game. Kayla Alexander continued her strong play and finished with her second double double with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Sami Hill also was a key component to help Canada when they were struggling through the first 3 1/2 quarters of the game. She was able to draw fouls and get to the FT line to help Canada’s offense when it was struggling. Four players finished in double figures. It was not pretty at the start but Canada finished strong.

They now face Puerto Rico tomorrow night at 8 pm EST. Canada looks to go 3-0 in Group A against the host country. It will not be an easy feat for Canada since this will be their third game in three days and the host country will not go down easily. The game will be available to watch on DAZN in Canada and on ESPN+ for America.

Canadian Senior Women’s National Team preview for FIBA AmeriCup Tournament

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team’s quest to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics starts tomorrow at the FIBA AmeriCup Tournament which is being held in Puerto Rico. This tournament is one of two qualifying tournaments that take place to qualify countries for the Olympics.

This tournament lasts for one week and a top 8 finish qualifies Canada for the next Olympic qualifying tournament which will take place in November. Canada is the defending champion in this tournament and will look to defend their title against fellow powerhouse United States. The US rarely plays in these qualifying tournaments but they are sending a team to compete. This tournament focuses on countries located in the Americas.

Canada is sending 12 players who have a variety of international experience, WNBA experience and several new players who are playing for Canada for the first time. They will need to integrate quickly in order for Canada to succeed. Canada’s first game is tomorrow against Mexico at 12:30 pm EST/9:30 pm PST. They then play Cuba on Monday, Puerto Rico on Tuesday and the Dominican Republic on Thursday. The semi finals and final take place on Sept 28th and Sept 29th.

Alot of the players that are currently playing in this tournament for Team Canada will have an opportunity to prove themselves and to make an impression so that they can be in consideration for other international tournaments as well as the FIBA World Cup/Olympics.

Canada is currently ranked 5th in the world and should do well in this tournament. Winning the title will be more difficult this time around but they should still finish among the top. The games will be available to watch on DAZN in Canada and ESPN+ in the US.