Karleen Thompson Talks Draft
TAMPA BAY -- The WNBA Pre-Draft Camp concluded yesterday; and Houston Comets Head Coach / General Manager Karleen Thompson sat down and spoke with The HRR and gave her thoughts on the upcoming WNBA Draft (April 9) and the Comets off-season moves.
HRR: Give me a general sense of the overall talent you've seen Friday and Saturday (at the pre-draft camp).
KT: I've seen a lot of great role players. Players that will come in and, not necessarily, be the superstar but will do what they do best and play within themselves. Hustle. Scrap. Be good teammates. Overall, just a good chemistry.
HRR: Do you think it's a big deal that the star senior players (Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, and Candice Wiggins) are not here at the Camp?
KT: I think so because it gives the lesser known players the opportunity to shine and show what they can do.
HRR: Let's focus on the Comets. What does the team need as you go into the 2008 WNBA season?
KT: The one thing we wanted to focus on is to get some veteran players that may have a year or so left (in their careers) but can help us to make that transition with the younger players toward the future. I think we have a good balance now. I definitely think we need a shooter -- a pure shooter. We need a lot of different things. We need a point guard. A young point guard that can learn behind Shannon (Shannon "Pee Wee" Johnson). We also need a post player -- a back up post.
HRR: I'll try to pin you down here. You have the fifth overall pick in the first round. Are you going to stay at the fifth spot. Is that your preference? Would you like to move up, move down, get more picks? What would you like to do?
KT: We've been trying to give ourselves a chance to move up; but, it's pretty tough to get up high in this Draft. We're very confident we're going to get a great player at five that will come in right at the beginning and have a tremendous impact on the team.
HRR: Since you mentioned the team needs a shooter and a post player, with the fifth pick will you try fit one of those needs or go for the best available athlete?
KT: It depends on who drops there at five. We have in mind the player that we would want. Will she drop there? I seriously doubt it; but, at that point, we may go with the best player available. We're going to wait it out and see what happens. Anything can happen in the Draft.
HRR: One last thing. Tell me, in your opinion, how the Comets' off-season has gone so far.
KT: I think we, as a coaching staff, are very excited. It's been a lot of work trying to get some of these free agents. I think we lucked up on a couple in getting Shannon Johnson and Mwadi Mabika. We have Tamecka Dixon at the beginning of the year. That says a lot. To sign Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow back gives us a great chance. We're just excited about it. I think the off-season went well; and, we'll go from there.
HRR: Give me a general sense of the overall talent you've seen Friday and Saturday (at the pre-draft camp).
KT: I've seen a lot of great role players. Players that will come in and, not necessarily, be the superstar but will do what they do best and play within themselves. Hustle. Scrap. Be good teammates. Overall, just a good chemistry.
HRR: Do you think it's a big deal that the star senior players (Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, and Candice Wiggins) are not here at the Camp?
KT: I think so because it gives the lesser known players the opportunity to shine and show what they can do.
HRR: Let's focus on the Comets. What does the team need as you go into the 2008 WNBA season?
KT: The one thing we wanted to focus on is to get some veteran players that may have a year or so left (in their careers) but can help us to make that transition with the younger players toward the future. I think we have a good balance now. I definitely think we need a shooter -- a pure shooter. We need a lot of different things. We need a point guard. A young point guard that can learn behind Shannon (Shannon "Pee Wee" Johnson). We also need a post player -- a back up post.
HRR: I'll try to pin you down here. You have the fifth overall pick in the first round. Are you going to stay at the fifth spot. Is that your preference? Would you like to move up, move down, get more picks? What would you like to do?
KT: We've been trying to give ourselves a chance to move up; but, it's pretty tough to get up high in this Draft. We're very confident we're going to get a great player at five that will come in right at the beginning and have a tremendous impact on the team.
HRR: Since you mentioned the team needs a shooter and a post player, with the fifth pick will you try fit one of those needs or go for the best available athlete?
KT: It depends on who drops there at five. We have in mind the player that we would want. Will she drop there? I seriously doubt it; but, at that point, we may go with the best player available. We're going to wait it out and see what happens. Anything can happen in the Draft.
HRR: One last thing. Tell me, in your opinion, how the Comets' off-season has gone so far.
KT: I think we, as a coaching staff, are very excited. It's been a lot of work trying to get some of these free agents. I think we lucked up on a couple in getting Shannon Johnson and Mwadi Mabika. We have Tamecka Dixon at the beginning of the year. That says a lot. To sign Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow back gives us a great chance. We're just excited about it. I think the off-season went well; and, we'll go from there.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 12:54 PM
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