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'Safsal' 04/05 Season Awards
Lior Klinger
,03/25/2005 |
The 04/05 season in the women’s league is over, four teams are left to battle in the semi finals and finals. Before the upper playoffs, we said we plan to wait with the season awards but now it is finally time. Ladies and gentlemen, 'Safsal' is proud to present this season’s MVP, First Team, Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and a few unconventional awards. If we may say so ourselves, the ‘Safsal’ women’s basketball crew has seen, been to and covered more games this year than any other media outlet so check out our selections, and quotes from the winners.
In addition, we conducted a coaches survey and found out they don’t really agree with us. Who’s right? You be the judge.
Most Valuable Player
This was definitely the easiest choice out of all the categories. Chasity Melvin returned to Israel after 3 years in Italy and Poland and became the most dominant player in the league. Her numbers are great, 18.5 pts & 9.1 boards per game, but stats don’t tell the whole story here. Melvin was a few levels above the competition in several games this year, simply unstoppable and she made it look so easy.
In an interview following her MVP selection Melvin talked about being back in Israel: “I came back to Israel cause I knew that if I came to this team then I was gonna be a big part of the team, I knew Orna & Rachel really wanted me to come and really believed in me, I didn’t feel like going to play in the EuroLeague and be like the 3rd option. I wanted to get myself back to where I’m the 1st option, when I get double and tripled team cause I think that’s gonna help me in D.C, just to get my confidence back up cause I didn’t get to play a lot last summer. I’m a player that likes to get touches and in D.C it was very hard, they don’t really have an inside-outside game but this season hopefully it’ll change. I played well going into the playoffs, I stepped up my game so hopefully they’ll see that.”
Why do you think you were so dominant? Even the coaches named you the unanimous pick for MVP
“I’m just happy with the way the team improved from the beginning of the season. I have great shooters, 2 great point guards, whenever I come to Israel I always play with a good point guard. We have some WNBA players over here but they’re young players. Teams here play different defenses and it makes me work on that aspect of my game, if they double and triple me then I gotta kick it out to my shooters. I’m a team player so it’s helping my game in a way but the girls are just young. If they were a little bit older they would be better, cause they’re very talented so of course they’ll be better when they get older. I’m older now, I’m a little bit smarter so I think that’s the main difference.”
The First Team
Chasity Melvin of course, and…
We didn’t have any arguments about the league’s best point guard. Laine Selwyn made ‘Safsal’s 2nd team last season with the surprising Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin but this season the 23-year-old PG moved to a bigger caliber team. Selwyn is Ramat Hasharon’s floor general, and one of the main reasons for the team’s success this season. Selwyn leads the in assists per game with 4.9, ranks 2nd in assists to turnover ratio with two assists per turnover, grabs 4.9 rebounds per game (4th among guards) and scores 10.2 points per game on good shooting (46.6% from 2, 38.1% from 3 – 10th in the league). Selwyn also recorded the league’s first documented triple double this year with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists vs. Ashdod.
What was it like to play for a big caliber team, with high expectations and a lot of talent? It wasn’t like that for you in Motzkin last year or even in college
“I’m privileged to play on a team like this, I’m blessed, I was really looking forward to it since I knew we were gonna have a good team, good players surrounding me. Last year when I came to Israel no one knew what to expect from me so to have a good showing last year and then to be able to come to a bigger team, one of the best teams in Israel, it’s a really big success for me personally, as an individual goal.”
Did you have to make any adjustments to your game, as far as becoming more of a passer, taking less shots?
“Of course, if you look at this year compared to last year there’s a huge difference. There was a lot more on my shoulders last year, now I’m surrounded by great players. I mean, I was surrounded by good players last year but this year, like you said better caliber team and we’re having a really successful season.”
We know many people don’t agree with us here, including eight coaches, but so what.
Robinson said it best, and we’ll get to that in a minute. Some see 14.4 points per game from a 7-year WNBA starter and rather put Robinson on the all-disappointing team and not the 1st team. The problem with that attitude is that you can’t measure Robinson on paper. Robinson is the key for Ramla, an incredible defender, shoots high percentages and the truth is we had a whole speech prepared but Robinson just said it all herself.
How would you sum of your season? Was it like what you excepted?
“The season was… interesting. I think it was like what I expected, I don’t think it was what anyone else expected. First of all, everyone in Israel thinks I’m a superstar. I’ve never even been a WNBA All-Star, I’m not a superstar by any means. I’ve always been the kind of players that helps teams win, I’m kinda the glue to the team, I do all the little things, I’m a defensive player, I do all the things no one else wants to do. I don’t think a lot of people understand that about me so a lot of people may be disappointed in me but I don’t ever try to do anything that I can’t do, and I never try to please anyone. I’m gonna do what I do best, there are gonna be a 1,000 people who love me and a 1,000 people who hate me, I’m just gonna focus on the ones who love me and keep on going.”
Shameka Christon, the 5th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA draft- the best draft the league has ever seen – is without a doubt one of the most talented and athletic players to ever set foot in Israel. Christon, only 22-years-old, is not a star in the WNBA yet and this was her first season outside of the U.S. “I didn’t know what to expect from my first time overseas, I expected to just be really homesick but as far as the basketball side, I really didn’t know what to expect. It’s been a pretty great season, I mean coming from the WNBA to here I think I’ve definitely gotten my confidence back of the way I play so overall it’s been a great season.”
Anyone who followed Ramla this season could see how Christon improved from game to game. She is used to playing the 3 on the perimeter in college and New York, but she adjusted to playing the 4 in Ramla and upped her rebounding numbers for 5.5 per game in the first 5 games to 9 per game in the final 17. Christon talked about her transition to the post: “I had to learn of course, I don’t play the 4 in the States. It’s still something I’m not comfortable with completely, but I’m a lot better than I was at the beginning. I think that definitely it was to my advantage to play the 4 here but I don’t know, we’ll see as far as how it goes back in the States. Like I said I’m not comfortable with it but at the same time you gotta do what your team needs. My team needed me to play the 4 so that’s what I did.”
Christon’s improvement through out the season reflects not only on the boards. Her tough time to get adjusted to Ramla showed in her free throws and 3-point percentage. Christon, a gifted shooter, spent a good part of the season as the league’s worst free throw shooter. She shot just 46.7% from the line in the first seven games, but since then she’s been hitting 79.4%. Threes? Same story. 28.6% from three in the first seven games turned to 48.7% from beyond the arc since. Her season numbers are 17.7 pts & 8 boards per game, she is the 4th best 3-point shooter with 43.4%. Christon also scored more than 25 points in a game a league-high five times (tied with Chanel Wright-Greene).
Reid signed with Ramla in the summer but until she got there a lot changed, and she was released 3 games into the season when Ramla decided to bring in two European players. Reid put up nice numbers in her short period with Ramla, and at the same time Ramat Hen was a total mess. Reid didn’t wait too long for that phone call and signed with Ramat Hen in place of Plenette Pierson, who “led” Ramat Hen to a 1-3 record.
“It was a big change, a great change for me too. I fit in with this team pretty good. I played with Limor before and we won the cup. We’re fast and not big and I love to run so it’s a perfect fit. I would’ve left Israel if Ramat Hen didn’t offer to sign me,” said Reid.
Reid is one of two players in the league to average a double double with 18.8 points (6th in league) and 10.2 boards per game (2nd in the league). Reid leads Ramat Hen in both categories and in minutes per game, she is the team’s emotional leader, hustles for the ball, plays with a lot of heart and always leaves it all out on the floor.
Coach Of The Year - Shiki Falach, Bnei Yehuda
Shiki Falach led Bnei Yehuda to the Israeli Cup semi finals and a 4th place finish in the league with a budget much smaller than Ramat Hasharon’s, Ramla’s and Ramat Hen’s. Bnei Yehuda was the surprise of the year right from the start of the season with Le’Coe Willingham and young Israelis contributing over 25 points per game. Bnei Yehuda played smart team basketball, and Falach relied on his Israelis (Bnei Yehuda along with Raanana Herzeliya are the only teams in the upper playoffs with 3 foreigners and not 4).
They ranked 2nd in the league after 9 games, but lost Willingham after the Christmas break. Falach incorporated Davalyn Cunningham and Bnei Yehuda won all the big games to secure the 4th and final semi finals spot with a 14-9 record.
Newcomer Of The Year - Chen Nussel, Maccabi Ramat Hen
This award is given to the best young Israeli player. Chen Nussel, who will celebrate her 19th birthday this Sunday, had a great season for Ramat Hen. She joined her first pro team after many accomplishments in Even Yehuda’s youth division and a 9th place finish with the U-18 National Team. Nussel is a shooter and that’s what she contributed to Ramat Hen. She only played 15.2 minutes per game but became a starter midway through the season to boost her confidence, which shows her importance to the team. Nussel proved to be a legit offensive option in the league and scored 6.2 points per game on good shooting. Nussel is the 3rd best 3-point shooter in the league with 44.1%, 1st among Israelis. The only Israeli players who scored in double figures in more games this year than Nussel are Sarit Arbel, Tamar Maoz, Limor Mizrachi & Laine Selwyn.
“There’s always room for improvement and I could have done more, but at the same time I could have done less”, said Nussel who heads Ramat Hen’s bench conception – only U-18 NT members. Mizrachi is the only veteran on the team, the bench’s average age is 18.5. Somebody had to break out, and we hope more will follow. “They really did give young players a chance here, and I’m glad I took advantage.”
The 2nd Team
Tamar Maoz, Raanana Herzeliya - Since the 98/99 season, when she played for ASA Jerusalem, Maoz didn’t finish a season with a double-digit point average. In Raanana Herzeliya she nearly doubled her point total from last year with Ramat Hasharon, with 11.3 ppg (41.7% from 3, 5th in the league) and 3.1 apg.
Tamara Moore, Raanana Herzeliya - A versatile player and excellent rebounder for her size who leads all guards in scoring and value (check out the rankings here). 16.7 points, 7 boards and 3.8 assists for Moore this season.
Dominique Canty, Bnei Yehuda - Canty at 28-years-old is one of the veterans in the league, and her experience definitely shows on the court especially with a young team like Bnei Yehuda. Canty finished the season with a 16.6 point average on 48% from 2-point range and 3.6 assists per game.
DeTrina White, Raanana Herzeliya - The league’s undisputed rebounding leader with 12.2 boards per game, also scored 17.1 points per game. White is one of the most consistent players in the league, tough defender, had 16 double doubles this year including in all 5 upper playoffs games.
Gwen Jackson, Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin - The league’s top scorer with 23.4 ppg also gets 7.7 boards per game and shoots 59.7% from the field, that makes her the most efficient player in the league.
Defensive Player Of The Year- Crystal Robinson, Elizur Ramla
Robinson’s game may be a bit controversial, but when it comes to defense there aren’t many players in the world that are better than her. Robinson is a defensive minded player, always draws the opponent’s best perimeter player and does a great job with a lot of smarts and personal ability.
The ‘Safsal’ award – Shiri Sharon, Anda Ramat Hasharon
The 1st annual ‘Safsal’ award, given to the league’s best bench player, goes to Shiri Sharon – Ramat Hasharon’s back up point guard. Sharon returned to Israel after a great career with Duquesne, got nearly 20 minutes per game and ended the season as the best passer off the bench with 2.6 assists per game.
The Underrated Player Of The Year – Alexandra Music, Ramat Hen
She is 2nd in the league in 2PT FG% with 60.7% despite having no plays, she plays over 30 minutes per game but doesn’t mind starting the game on the bench with the kids, she is Ramat Hen’s best back-court defender and you’ll almost never hear anyone talking about her.
The Steal Of The Year – Candace Futrell, Anda Ramat Hasharon
In the past, when Ramat Hasharon signed a foreign 2-guard, they brought in big names like Vickie Johnson and Mwadi Mabika. When people first heard about Futrell signing the common reaction was ‘who?’. Now as the season ends we can surely say Ramat Hasharon should be very pleased with their decision. Futrell, who was one of the best scorers in the NCAAs, brought her deadly shooting hand to Ramat Hasharon and adjusted to not being the 1st option anymore. She is only 22 years old and had her ups and downs this season, but overall Ramat Hasharon is getting a terrific year from their shooting guard who definitely exceeded all expectations. On the house, we’ll throw in the best hairstyle award too.
Best Roster Change – Rada Vidovic in place of Tanja Cirov
Tanja Criov, a relatively unknown player, signed with Ramat Hen before the season and really couldn’t find her rhythm. She seemed hesitant and lacked confidence in her shot, Ramat Hen released her four games into the season. Rada Vidovic who was supposed to play in Ramla and ended up on Ramat Hasharon’s European roster, asked to be released so she could join Ramat Hen for the rest of the year. Ramat Hasharon did not stand in her way and the rest is history. Ramat Hen got a great player, Vidovic is the 2nd best 3pt shooter in the league with 41.6% and the best FT shooter with 92.3% and is scoring 13.9 points per game.
Disappointment of the year- Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin
Motzkin wanted to build on last year’s success but the city hall didn’t cooperate, and Selwyn & Lynn Pride left for the big bucks in Ramat Hasharon & France. Despite the budget cut, Motzkin decided to go with 4 foreigners instead of 3 and also brought in Aluma Goren from Ramat Hasharon. Goren didn’t fit in up north and the Brit Rosely Mason fit in even less, coming off the bench for limited minutes. The Goren-Mustafina back-court was awful, and six games into the season Goren left. Svetlana Boiko was the team’s 4th bosman player to arrive, and Gwen Jackson replaced Shaun Gortman. Without a true PG, Motzkin became the league leader in turnovers and it doesn’t help to have 3 great posts if they can’t get the ball. We can only wonder what would have happened had Motzkin decided to let Lori Nero go and keep Gortman simply because as a 2/3 she fits the team better. Nothing seemed to go right for Motzkin this season, here’s hoping for a much better season next year.
Surprise Of The Season – Aluma Goren
Aluma Goren signed in Ramla, anyone who ever saw that coming please stand up.
Best Player You Didn’t Get To See – K.B Sharp, Hapoel Tel Aviv
Sharp arrived in Tel Aviv after the holiday break, but the team forgot to sign a center so Sharp’s good season was kind of for not. Sharp, a N.Y Liberty player in the past 2 years, is an athletic PG who thinks pass first. Even on a team like Hapoel after Marianna Raguz left, it was rare to see Sharp take a bad shot and common to see her pass up a good one to make one more pass. Ten games with Hapoel were enough for her to get a comfortable seat at the top of the assist to turnover ratio rankings with 2.7 assists per turnover. She also added 14.9 points per game on 60.3% from 2 (3rd best in the league) and 36% from 3. Sharp said she’ll be back next year and we certainly hope so,
04/05 Statistical Leaders
This is the 1st season ‘Safsal’ had all the statistical rankings through out the season, so please welcome the final stat leaders of the season:
Scoring leader- Gwen Jackson, 23.4 ppg
Rebounding leader – DeTrina White, 12.2 rpg
Assists leader – Laine Selwyn, 4.9 apg
Assist/turnover ratio leader – K.B Sharp, 2.7
Steals leader – Tai Dillard, 3.1 spg
Turnover leader – Tamara Moore, 4.4 topg
2PT FG% leader – Le’Coe Willingham, 63.6%
3PT FG% leader – Joanna Curpys, 53.8%
FT% leader – Rada Vidovic, 92.3%
Blocks leader – Ayana Walker, 2.2 bpg
Minutes leader – K.B Sharp, 38.8 mpg
Fouls leader – Sivan Ballalis, 3.9 pfpg
All 1st-team Team
In each and every game day this season, we selected the round MVP and first team. No less than 47 different players were named to the 1st team at least once this year, and we had 19 different round MVPs. These are the players who spent the most time on ‘Safsal’s round 1st team:
Chasity Melvin (7), Shameka Christon (7), Laine Selwyn (6), DeTrina White (6), Tracy Reid (6)
Photos by Motti Klinger
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