2014 Offseason: Who is Where?

Ever wonder where your favorite WNBA players go during the offseason? The answer, for many of them, is that they go and play internationally.

As you can see by the list below, WNBA players are scattered around the world during the offseason. Between Asia, Australia, the EuroCup and the EuroLeague, players from all 12 teams are competing in over a dozen countries around the world.

Washington Mystics

Kia Vaughn	Czech Republic	USK Praha
Bria Hartley	Hungary	Sopron
Stefanie Dolson	Russia	Spartak Vidnoe
Jelena Milovanovic	Russia	Dynamo Kursk
Emma Meesseman	Russia	Spartak Vidnoe
Monique Currie	Korea	Samsung Life Bichumi
Tianna Hawkins	China	Henan Yichuan

Tulsa Shock Overseas

Jordan Hooper	Turkey	Besiktas
Tiffany Jackson-Jones	Israel	Maccabi Ashdod
Vicki Baugh	Korea	KB Stars
Courtney Paris	Turkey	Istanbul Universitesi
Odyssey Sims	Korea	KEB Hanabank
Glory Johnson	Russia	Orenburg
Roneeka Hodges	Korea	Guri KDB Life Winnus

Seattle Storm Overseas

Shekinna Stricklen	Korea	KB Stars
Alysha Clark	Israel	Maccabi Ashdod
Jenna O’Hea	Montpellier	France
Angel Robinson	Perfumerias	Spain
Tanisha Wright	Kayseri	Turkey
Waltiea Rolle	DSK Karlin	Czech Republic

San Antonio Stars Overseas

Danielle Robinson	Czech Republic	USK Praha
Danielle Adams	France	Bourges
Kayla Alexander	Russia	Chekavata
Astou Ndour	Turkey	Fenerbahce
Kayla McBride	Hungary	Sopron
Shenise Johnson	Turkey	Istanbul University

Phoenix Mercury Overseas

Mistie Bass	France	Lattes Montpellier
Tiffany Bias	Hungary	Aluinvet DVTK Miskolc
Candice Dupree	China	Zheijang
Brittney Griner	China	Beijing
Anete Jekabsone	Russia	Dynamo Kursk
Ewelina Kobryn	Russia	Ekaterinburg
DeWanna Bonner	Russia	Orenburg
Erin Phillips	Slovakia	Kosice
Diana Taurasi	Russia	Ekaterinburg
Penny Taylor	Australia	Dandenong
Shay Murphy	Spain	Salamanca

New York Liberty Overseas

Tina Charles	Turkey	Fenerbahce
Alex Montgomery	Brazil	San Jose
Anna Cruz	Russia	Nadezhda
Shanece McKinney	Brazil	Maranhao
Natasha Lacy	Turkey	Mersin
Cappie Pondexter	Australia	Dandenong Rangers
Essence Carson	Israel	Bnot Hertziliya
Avery Warley-Talbert	Turkey	Oduspor
Charde Houston	Korea	Woori Bank Hansae
Plenette Pierson	Italy	Ragusa

Minnesota Lynx Overseas

Asia Taylor	Italy	CUS Cagliari
Damiris Dantas	Brazil	Americana
Tricia Liston	Italy	CUS Cagliari
Nadirah McKenith	Israel	H.R. Le Zion
Maya Moore	China	Shanxi
Janel McCarville	China	Liaoning

Los Angles Sparks Overseas

Jantel Lavendar	Poland	Wisla Can-Pack
Sandrine Gruda	Russia	Ekaterinburg
Candace Parker	Russia	Ekaterinburg
Kristi Toliver	Russia	Ekaterinburg
Farhiya Abdi	Poland	Wisla Can-Pack
Nneka Ogwumike	Russia	Dynamo Kursk

Indiana Fever Overseas

Erlana Larkins	Turkey	Adana
Briann January	Turkey	Adana
Natasha Howard	Israel	Ramla
Maggie Lucas	France	Arras
Krystal Thomas	Turkey	Ankara
Lynetta Kizer	Turkey	Hatay Buyuksehir
Marissa Coleman	Turkey	Edirne
Karima Christmas	South Korea	Shinhan Bank S-Birds.

Connecticut Sun Overseas

Kelsey Bone	Turkey	Galatasaray
Kelsey Griffin	Australia	Bendigo Spirit
Alex Bentley	France	Tarbes
Kelly Faris	Australia	Adelaide Lightning
Allison Hightower	Israel	Maccabi Ashdod
Ebony Hoffman	Israel	Bnot Hertziliya
Danielle McCray	Israel	Ramla
Kayla Pedersen	Italy	Gesam Gas Lucca
Alyssa Thomas	Korea	KEB Hanabank
Chiney Ogwumike	Italy	Schio
Renee Montgomery	Russia	Chekavata

Chicago Sky Overseas

Courtney Vandersloot	Poland	Wisla Can-Pack
Allie Quigley	Poland	Wisla Can-Pack
Courtney Clements	Israel	Holon
Jamierra Faulkner	Hungary	PINKK Pesci 424
Sylvia Fowles	China	Shanghai
Markeisha Gatling	Brazil
Jessica Breland	Korea	Shinhan Bank S-Birds
Epiphanny Prince	Russia	Dynamo Kursk
Sasha Goodlett	Korea	Woori Bank Hansae
Tamera Young	Brazil	Recife

Atlanta Dream Overseas

Matee Ajavon	Brazil	Maranhao
Nadia Colhado	Brazil	Recife
Erika De Souza	Brazil	Recife
Celine Dumerc	France	Bourges
Aneika Henry	China
Sancho Lyttle	Turkey	Galatasaray
Amanda Thompson	Israel	A.S.A. Jerusalem
Angel McCoughtry	Turkey	Fenerbahce
Jasmine Thomas	Turkey	Ankara
Tiffany Hayes	Brazil	Recife
Aneika Henry	China	Guangdong

Candace Parker College

Check out Tennessee alum and current member of the Sparks Candace Parker as she calls for the ball in the post against Essence Carson, now of the New York Liberty. 

Ogwumike sisters College

Before they each won Rookie of the Year honors, the Ogwumike sisters -- Nneka (left) and Chiney -- were a dynamic duo for Stanford. 

Tamika Catchings College

This is all-time great Tamika Catchings playing her trademark aggressive defense in 1998 while at Tennessee against none other than her current coach - Stephanie White.

Maya Moore College

UConn product Maya Moore had one of the most decorated college careers in history. Here, she is getting a shot off against her current Minnesota Lynx teammate, Devereaux Peters (right).

Brittney Griner College

Baylor product and current member of the defending champion Phoenix Mercury Brittney Griner dominated the paint in college. She made it tough for all opponents, even those the caliber of Stanford's Nneka Ogwumike.

Skylar Diggins College

UConn vs. Notre Dame has emerged as potentially the premier rivalry in all of women's college basketball. This is a photo of Tulsa's Skylar Diggins (right) defending Washington's Bria Hartley in the 2013 Women's Final Four.

Sylvia Fowles College

Chicago's Sylvia Fowles was the No. 2 pick out of LSU in the 2008 WNBA Draft behind Candace Parker. Here, Fowles is shown taking a shot over Kia Vaughn, now a member of the Washington Mystics, in 2007.

Tina Charles College

New York's Tina Charles, then a standout for UConn, looking to pass while Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry (right), then playing for the University of Louisville, defends in the 2009 Final Four.

Joyner Holmes

Holmes, a forward at Cedar Hill (Texas), is the No. 2 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2016 class. She also helped the U.S. win a gold medal this past summer at the FIBA U17 World Championship in the Czech Republic. Although she is undeclared when it comes to what school she wants to attend, the school she decides will benefit from this star player.

 

Kayla Irwin UCONN commit

Kyla Irwin, Junior Forward at State College (Pennsylvania), joined Crystal Dangerfield in Connecticut's 2016 class when she gave a verbal commit to the huskies on Tuesday. The 6'2 star has continued to develop into a consistent prospect. She's strong and physical in the block and can use either hand to finish around the rim. She's a strong player and will do great under the UCONN program. 

Dedicated Athlete

Hannah Stewart, a 6'2 senior forward for Bishop Ryan (Minot, North Dakota), and her family drove to Minneapolis almost every weekend for four months in the spring and summer so she could play AAU basketball for the first time. Those drives took eight hours and 500 miles each way. She shows characteristics of a dedicated athlete and makes me appreciate how fortunate I am to have a handful of travel teams to choose from in my area. 

UCONN Commit

Crystal Dangerfueld, a 5-foot-6 point guard and the No. 3 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2016 class, has given a verbal commitment to Uconn. She is the first Connericut commit from the class of 2016. This kid has the skill and potential to make it far with her basketball career. 

7th grade Texas Longhorn

Deja Kelly is a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Luna Middle School in San Antonio, Texas. She is part of the Class of 2020. Ever since she was little, she wanted to follow her dad's footsteps and play for the University of Texas. She is only in 7th grade and she made a verbal commitment to the University this past weekend. 

Brittany Griner

6 foot 8 inch basketball star Brittney Griner scored an outstanding 117 points in the WNBA playoffs. Accompanied by Diana Turausi, they led the Phoenix Mercury to a 4th championship. She averaged 16.7 points per game in the playoffs, compared to the 15.6 she averaged during the regular season. I think it's safe to say Brittney Griner has what it takes to compete in championship situations. 

One last game

Lauren Hill, 19, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor about 3 months ago. She knows she hasn’t got much time left to live, but she's hoping there's enough for her to reach her goal of playing on her college’s basketball team. In what may be a first, the NCAA is trying to help Lauren's wish come true, allowing Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati to move up the date of the season opener to Sunday, Nov. 2. I couldn't imagine life without the game of basketball and wish her the best. 

Lady Patriots Basketball

The American Patriots girls basketball team held tryouts yesterday after school. After a surprising turnout, they narrowed it down to a handful of skillful players. Ending the work out with a 4 on 4 basketball game, the freshman who came out to tryout surprisingly excelled over some of the upper class men. 

Tamika Catchings

Indiana Fever star player Tamika Catchings organized a press conference that acknowledged her intention to retire following the 2016 WNBA season. The three-time Olympic gold medalist and recurring WNBA All-Star has contributed to the Women's basketball association in many ways and will be dearly missed by the association and fans. 

New York Liberty

The WNBA has anounced today that they have not renewed the contract of Bill Laimbeer, the team's general manager and head coach. Laimbeer was the best thing to happen to their program since they won their last championship. He will be missed. 

USA Basketball

The USA Basketball Women's National Team program had a perfect 40-0 record overall in 2014. Winning gold medals at the FIBA World Championship 6-0, FIBA U17 World Championship 7-0, FIBA Americas U18 Championship (5-0), FIBA 3x3 World Championship (9-0) and Youth Olympic Games (13-0).

Additionally, USA Basketball claimed gold in all of its five-on-five competitions in 2014, including the FIBA World Championship (women), FIBA Basketball World Cup (men), FIBA U17 World Championship (men and women) and FIBA Americas U18 Championship (men and women). 

Gold Medal Game

The 2014 USA Basketball Women’s World Championship Team went into the 2014 FIBA World Championship undefeated and claimed a second-straight gold medal at the event with a dominating 77-64 win over Spain on Sunday night at Fenerbahce Arena in Istanbul, Turkey For the tournament, three players averaged double-digit scoring, including Maya Moore-15.3 points per game, Brittney Griner-12.3 points per game, and Tina Charles-10.7 points per game. Tina Charles also led the USA in rebounding with 8.3 rebounds per game. 

 

Road To Gold

After an 82-70 victory over Australia on Saturday night, the USA Basketball World Championship Team is back in the gold medal game.This will be the 10th time in FIBA World Championship history, and the womens team is looking to capture their ninth gold medal at this event.

Tina Charles On the game against Australia:"We knew it was going to be tough. We haven’t taken anything for granted since the start of this tournament. Australia played aggressive, especially without Elizabeth Cambage, who is really their centerpiece. We just answered, we just responded really well."

Saturday Basketball

On Saturday, October 4th, the lady patriots basketball team will be hosting a fall league for local teams to compete. Mater Academy goes up against Nova, which in my opinion, Nova is the more dominant team and likely to win. American plays krop which has always been a good match up. Defending state champions Miami Country Day play Flanagan who will be a tough match but I think Country Day will come out with the win. 

UCONN Basketball Coach

The NCAA has determined that UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma committed a secondary rules violation when he made a phone call congratulating Little League pitching star Mo'ne Davis last month, the school announced Thursday. In my opinion, the call was a congratulatory gesture and no one should be penalized because he wasn't trying to recruit her. 

Diana Turausi

Diana Turausi, the #1 Shooting guard in the league has achieved many accomplishments over the years. Winning the 2014 Championship makes this her third WNBA title, to go along with her three Olympic Gold Medals and three NCAA championships at UConn.

WNBA Champions

The Phoenix Mercury are the 2014 WNBA champions. Lead by star Center, Brittany Griner, they defeated the Chicago Sky in an 3 round sweep. With Game 3 of the WNBA Finals tied at 82 and the Mercury a win away from a title, Taurasi drove right and hit a clutch jumper over Chicago's Courtney Vandersloot with 14.3 seconds left in the game. She also got fouled and hit the free throw to seal the lead. 

Team USA

The United States Women's Basketball team went up against a competitive and aggressive Serbian team this Sunday. WNBA star Diana Turausi had an amazing 20 point game, following with 3 rebounds and 3 assist. Maya Moore led the team with 12 rebounds, 17 points and 6 assist.

Stars Under The Sun Exposure Camp

Following the team showdown, the Miami Suns also hosted an individual work out called Stars Under The Sun. The players registered online, or in person and were drafted onto a team based on random selection. Once you get drafted, you play at least 3 games against opponents who have to same goal as you, which is to stand out in front of college coaches.

Miami Suns Team Showdown

With over 30 college coaches in the building, the energy was high in the gym Saturday Afternoon. The Miami Suns hosted their annual team showdown at Palm Beach State College. Colleges such as North Carolina, University of Miami, and Baylor just to name a few were in the building to watch AAU teams compete and showcase their talents.

Blanche Ely

This Saturday we faced a very competitive and upbeat basketball team. Falling short of the win, we still managed to compete throughout the whole game. The aggressive girls from Blanche Ely were both aggressive and active on defense. Considering the fact that we haven't practiced in the gym since the summer, and don't have a set offense, I think we did pretty good. 

State Champions

Two state champions went head to head on Saturday afternoon. Miami high with only 4 returning players, went against the just as strong, if not stronger, Miami Country day. While Miami high was missing their star center, they managed to stay within 10 points until Miami country day came back strong to seal the lead and show everyone they are the best team in Dade county. 

Basketball Practice

I have basketball practice today and it's not even the fun kind of practice where you get to play. I have to run. Why are they making me run in basketball practice???