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It is good to be back after a little bit of a break. Here at the Wizards and Mystics, we are preparing to turn the page on April and welcome May, which promises to be an exciting month. To start, the Wizards will unveil the team’s new look on Tuesday May 10 during a press conference at Verizon Center. During this special event, the organization will introduce new team uniforms and several new logos featuring a red, white and blue color scheme. There will be a few very special guests in attendance and a couple of surprises during the presentation. Be sure to watch it all unfold live on WashingtonWizards.com.
Just five days later, on Sunday, May 15, the Mystics open training camp. Led by General Manager and Head Coach Trudi Lacey, the Mystics will welcome back Alana Beard and say hello to a host of new players. This list includes WNBA All-Star Nicky Anosike and 2011 first round draft picks Ta’Shia Phillips and Victoria Dunlap.
Two days into Mystics camp, on May 17, the focus swings back to the Wizards as the team participates in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery. During this event, Washington will find out where the team will pick in the upcoming 2012 NBA Draft, scheduled for June 23. The Wizards could win the lottery and pick first, or pick as low as seventh. Will history repeat itself from last year when the lottery gods smiled on DC and John Wall headed to town, or will our luck run out? We will have to wait and see.
Finally, on Thursday, May 26, the Mystics will host the team’s lone home pre-season game when the Chicago Sky comes to town. Tip-off for the annual School Day Game, presented by Inova Health System, is 11:30am. For tickets, give us a call at 1-877-DCHOOP1, or visit WashingtonMystics.com.
May promises to be fun. Be sure to follow us all month long on Facebook and Twitter.
A New Look
Speaking of our web properties, both the Wizards and Mystics sites will have new looks in the next month or so. The Wizards site will re-launch with a brand new look in conjunction with the May 10 unveiling mentioned above. The Mystics re-design is more structural in nature and will occur sometime in late May or early June, in advance of the June 4 season opener at Connecticut. Both launches will feature online enhancements for our fans.
A Fun Time of Year
With Mystics training camp just days away, the returning vets are starting to log some time on the Verizon Center practice court. Check out pictures of Alana and Marissa Coleman getting in a workout with assistant coach Laurie Byrd here.
Stat of the Week
Former Bullet great Elvin Hayes ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time rebounding list. “The Big E” grabbed 16,279 boards during his Hall of Fame career.
Let’s Go Caps!
Congrats to the Washington Capitals for advancing to the second round of the NHL Playoffs. Good luck against the Tampa Bay Lighting.
Smile for the Camera
Want to take a stroll down memory lane? Check out these pictures from John Wall’s rookie campaign. It was quite the year for a special player. Enjoy.
Rolling at the White House
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Tara and I were fortunate enough to take Adelyn and Caden to the White House Egg Roll on Monday. The kids had a blast rolling eggs, visiting the Easter bunny, running through the obstacle course and listening to the music. What a great event. It’s just another reason why living in Washington, D.C. is such a privilege.
Quote of the Week
“People support what they create.”
Five Final (and sometimes random) Thoughts
· Thoughts and prayers to all of the folks who have been impacted by the recent severe weather.
· Happy Birthday to Josh Howard who celebrated his special day on April 28. Birthday wishes to Mystic’s assistant coach Marianne Stanley as well who celebrated a birthday on April 29
· Is it me, or are the NBA Playoffs at a new level of excitement and intrigue this season?
· How good of a job has the NFL done in turning the League’s draft into a year-round initiative? Amazing.
· Have you renewed your Mystics season tickets yet?
Until next time,
Go Wizards and Mystics!
The B-List is off visiting the Easter Bunny. We’ll see you next week. Happy Easter!
There’s an old saying that the only constant in life is change. I think that thought fits perfectly with what has gone down with the Mystics over the past week. Last Saturday, the team announced the acquisition of all-star Nicky Anosike from the Minnesota Lynx. That important deal turned out to be just the beginning of one of the busiest stretches in terms of roster turnover in recent memory. When the dust had settled on the 2011 WNBA Draft last Monday night, the Mystics had a brand new look (player-wise) to go along with their brand new look (uniforms).
Kudos to Mystics General Manager and Head Coach Trudi Lacey who worked the phones diligently leading up to the draft and whose hard work netted the team a new identity and high hopes for the upcoming season. With three picks spanning the three rounds of the WNBA Draft, Lacey addressed the team’s need for post players by making the following moves:
With the team’s first round pick (11th overall), Lacey drafted University of Kentucky forward Victoria Dunlap. The SEC Player of the Year averaged 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while also garnering SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors this season. She leaves Kentucky as the school’s only female player to record 100 assists, 100 blocks and 300 steals.
In the second round (23rd pick overall), Lacey selected Duke’s Karima Christmas. The 6-0 forward was named to the 2011 All-ACC Tournament First Team, capping a career in Durham that produced 7.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per contest.
Lacey then picked Sara Krnijic with the team’s third round selection (35th overall). The native of Serbia is currently playing for Pecs in the Euroleauge. The 6-4 center is averaging 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per outing.
Not a bad day by any stretch, but Lacey was just getting started. Shortly after the draft had concluded, the Mystics skipper finalized a deal with the Atlanta Dream that sent guard Lindsey Harding and the Mystics second round pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft to Atlanta in exchange for guard Kelly Miller, the eighth overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, Ta’Shia Phillips, and Atlanta’s first round pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft.
Phillips ranked among the top five prospects on many experts draft boards after a stellar career at Xavier University. While there, the 6-6 center averaged a double-double for her career with 14.9 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per outing. She was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was a first team all-conference selection following her senior season. Phillips finished the 2010-11 season ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 60% on the campaign.
Miller, the twin sister of former Mystics guard Coco Miller, comes to Washington as a 10-year WNBA veteran and the owner of WNBA Championship ring she picked up while playing for the Phoenix Mercury in 2007. The 2004 WNBA Most Improved Player, Miller has posted 7.2 points and 2.6 assists per game during her stellar career.
While the Mystics now look a whole lot different than the team did a week ago, the optimism surrounding the squad has not waned. The new additions, and the return of Alana Beard, promises to deliver exciting basketball to Verizon Center this summer.
Three’s a Charm…Four is Better
Last month, I made a big deal, and deserving so, about John Wall becoming the first Wizards player ever to win the T-Mobile NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award for three consecutive months. It was a pretty cool feat to-say-the-least, but this is better…Wall is now the first ever Wizards to win the award for four consecutive months! The former University of Kentucky standout grabbed the honor for games played through April after leading all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (19.4 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg). He also led all NBA players in steals during this timeframe with three per outing. Wall’s play helped lead the Wizards to a 5-3 record during the team’s final eight games of the season. Not a bad end to a pretty darn good rookie campaign.
A Good Sport
Wizards/Tulsa 66ers forward Larry Owens has been honored as the NBA Development League’s 2010-11 Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award winner. The award is voted on by the 16 NBA D-League head coaches and honors the player who best represents the ideals of character and conduct on and off the court. In five games with the Wizards, Owens averaged 6.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per outing. The former Oral Roberts star also saw seven games of NBA action with the San Antonio Spurs during January of this year. In 43 D-League games with Tulsa, Owens averaged 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.
Thank You
Thank you to the Wizards fans for an outstanding season. The team enjoyed an increase in ticket sales, merchandise sales and web traffic this year as a direct result of some of the best fans in the NBA. We appreciate you sticking with us. Good times ahead.
Mystics School Day
The 3rd Annual Mystics School Day, presented by Inova Health System, is quickly approaching. This year’s game, which combines the fun and excitement of a WNBA game with a host of educational messages and learning elements, is scheduled for Thursday, May 26. Tip-off vs. the New York Liberty is at the special School Day time of 11:30am. Tickets start at just $12, so tell your school to get in the game. Give us a call at 1-877-DCHOOP1 to learn more.
Stat of the Week
NBA.com drew more than 1.94 billion video views during the 2010-11 regular season, up more than 140% from 2009-10. Nearly 5.9 billion page views were generated on the site during the season, up 35% (Eric Fisher, Sports Business Journal).
Quote of the Week
“Enthusiasm finds the opportunities, and energy makes the most of them.”
Five Final (and sometimes random) Thoughts
· The Wizards perfect 4-0 record at Verizon Center during April was the team’s first undefeated month at home since a 7-0 run during February of 2006.
· Let’s Go Caps…keep it going in the playoffs!
· Congratulations to Wizards/Mystics Director of Corporate Communications Ketsia Colimon who celebrated her 8th anniversary with the organization this past week. Ketsia ranks as the longest tenured employee on the Mystics side of the organization.
· NBA television ratings are up a big way this season according to Sports Business Daily…30% on ABC, 45% on TNT and 25% on ESPN. Wow.
· Have you renewed your Mystics season tickets yet?
Until next time,
Go Wizards and Mystics!
It has been quite the week for the Washington Mystics. On Thursday, we announced a marquee partnership with Inova Health System that is the largest, most comprehensive deal in team history. With Inova, we will work together to record victories, on and off the court. We will proudly wear the Inova name on our jersey and we will diligently work with their 16,000-employee base to tackle childhood obesity, address women’s health issues and push the envelope in terms of preventative medicine. I’m excited about what we will be able to do together and I’m extremely grateful to the Inova leadership for sharing our vision. I truly believe Thursday marked the start of something special.
While we were busy making this announcement on Thursday, Mystics GM and Head Coach Trudi Lacey was hard at work, moving the team towards big announcement #2. That deal and announcement came on Saturday as the Mystics acquired Minnesota Lynx forward and WNBA All-Star Nicky Anosike in exchange for the Mystics first round pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft. A former standout at the University of Tennessee, Anosike has averaged 9.2 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per contest in her first two WNBA campaigns. The 25-year old was an All-SEC and All-American honoree while at Tennessee and was the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year. The 16th pick in the 2008 WBNA Draft, Anosike will bolster the Mystics front court and will give Lacey another offensive option. There is no doubt about it…our team got a whole lot better on Saturday.
In other team news, the Mystics also announced this week that the club had added Megan Frazee and Bernice Mosby to the training camp roster. Frazee was taken with the 14th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. She averaged five points and 2.9 rebounds per game during her rookie season. After sitting out the 2010 WNBA season with a knee injury, she has averaged 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per outing while playing in Turkey this off-season.
A 2007 first round draft pick of the Mystics, Mosby returns to Washington after most recently playing in Poland. While there the former Baylor standout averaged 13.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. Mosby and Frazee add depth and talent to the training camp roster and move us closer to our goal of having the most competitive Mystics camp in recent memory.
It is truly hard to believe, but the start of training camp is just over a month away. I hope you are as excited as I am. I think it will be a great year for the Mystics.
Wrapping It Up
On the Wizards side of things, I find myself asking where the season has gone? The Wizards have just one home game remaining and two contests overall before dropping the curtain on the 2010-11 season. Tickets still remain for the team’s home finale on Monday night vs. the Boston Celtics. To grab seats for the final home game of the campaign, give us a call at 202-661-5050. I hope to see you at Verizon Center one last time this season.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Inova/Wizards Blood Drive on Saturday. Your support for this important initiative is very much appreciated.
Get Well, Book
As you know Trevor Booker’s rookie season has come to an early end due to a broken right foot. Looking back, it was pretty solid freshman season for the former Clemson Tiger. Booker averaged 5.3 points and 3.9 rebound per game while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. Book’s shooting percentage is second among all rookies this year and his energy and work ethic add are just two more reasons to be excited about the Wizards future.
Tough Loss
Thank you to everyone who voted for the Wizards Girls during the NBA Dance Team Contest. After a great run to the Elite Eight, Washington fell to the Knicks City Dancers this past week. Congratulations to the ladies on a great effort.
Mystics School Day
The 3rd Annual Mystics School Day, presented by Inova Health System, is quickly approaching. This year’s game, which combines the fun and excitement of a WNBA game with a host of educational messages and learning elements, is scheduled for Thursday, May 26. Tip-off vs. the New York Liberty is at the special School Day time of 11:30am. Tickets start at just $12, so tell your school to get in the game. Give us a call at 1-877-DCHOOP1 to learn more.
Daddy’s Big Day Out
I say it all the time and I got to experience it again on Saturday…my daughter is growing up way too fast. On Saturday morning, Adelyn participated in her first fashion show. This was a bit surreal for yours truly. For starters, Tara and I are the farthest thing from “pageant parents” you will ever find, but Adelyn was invited to the show and had repeatedly asked to take part. Thus, we agreed to give it a shot. The added wrinkle in this adventure is that Tara stayed at home with Caden until nearly show time. That placed me directly on the front lines, getting Addy ready for the show with all of the other moms. To be in that environment, backstage, before the show was a new experience for me to-say-the-least. Let’s just say it was a learning opportunity for dear old Dad. In the end, though, all was good. Adelyn did a great job, and most importantly, she had lots of fun. For me, I can now check off another “first” in my Dad’s book.
Quote of the Week
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”
Five Final (and sometimes random) Thoughts
· Proving once again that a season is a marathon and not a sprint the Capitals claim the top spot in the NHL Eastern Conference. Now on to the playoffs. Go Caps!
· How about those Aggies! Congrats to Texas A&M on claiming the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship during a thrilling Women’s Final Four.
· Congrats are also in order for the UCONN men for winning the men’s NCAA Basketball Championship with a remarkable run through the Big East and NCAA tournaments.
· Hopefully Capitol Hill figures things out in the next few days. Too many people stand to be negatively affected without a compromise.
· Have you renewed your Mystics season tickets yet?
Until next time,
Go Wizards and Mystics!
Today was a beautiful day for the Washington Mystics as we unveiled our new uniforms and our marquee partnership with Inova Health System. The new uniform design featuring red, white and blue colors are part of a League-wide uniform evolution spearheaded by Adidas, the League’s uniform partner. I think our new threads are very sharp and I know the players like them as a result of the new material, which is lighter and breathers easier than the old gear.
In terms of our partnership with Inova, we could not be happier. We have been searching for the ideal marquee partner for some time. We were looking not only for a willing partner, but the right one as well. We had opportunities to do similar deals with other organizations, but I’m happy we waited to secure this type of relationship…a relationship that will be good for the team and fans, good for Inova, and good for our community.
This partnership allows us to develop and implement community-focused programs in a way that has not been possible before. We will be able to do more, and do it in a deeper and more frequent manner. Together the Mystics and Inova will focus on children’s health, women’s issues and preventative medicine.
With these thoughts in mind, Inova felt it was important to make our announcement at one of the health system’s leading facilities, the Loudoun Hospital. We were happy to make the trip and connect with a part of our footprint that we don’t get to see as often.
For those who watched the press conference online, thank you. We look forward to a great 2011 with Inova, our other corporate partners, and most importantly, our fans.
Go Mystics!
It’s Saturday night and I’m writing this blog with the Wizards having won two of the team’s last three outings with the one loss being a very game effort against the Miami Heat. That defeat was sandwiched by an impressive win at Utah on Monday evening and a solid triumph over Cleveland at Verizon Center on Friday night.
You have to be impressed with the fight in the undermanned Wiz as of late. With Rashard Lewis, Trevor Booker, Nick Young, Josh Howard, and on Friday night, John Wall all in street clothes, Washington has played exciting, energized and winning basketball. Jordan Crawford is quickly convincing us the trade with Atlanta that brought him, along with the leadership of Maurice Evans and a first round pick to DC, was a steal. JaVale McGee has raised his game and the recently re-signed Othyus Jeffers is playing like there is no tomorrow.
Friday’s win over the Cavaliers is a perfect example of how much the Wizards have changed in the past few weeks. Andray Blatche tied a career high with 36 points and set a franchise record with 16 offensive rebounds. Crawford registered his first career triple-double and McGee dropped 25. Win or lose as of late, the Wizards are fun to watch and the future suddenly seems inviting. With seven games left in the season, Washington is not playing for a playoff berth or post-season positioning, but remains entertaining as we all wonder how this young group of guys will continue to gel and what kind of glimpse into the future they will deliver.
There’s just three home games left in the 2010-11 campaign…Tuesday vs. Detroit, Saturday vs. Atlanta and next Monday, April 11 vs. the Boston Celtics. Give us a call and come catch a game before the curtain drops on the season. You can find us at 202-661-5050.
Wall Does It Again
For the third consecutive month, John Wall has been named the NBA T-Mobile Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. Wall led all Eastern Conference rookies in assists (8.6 apg) and steals (1.7 spg) while ranking second in scoring at 18.1 ppg. By getting the nod for March, Wall becomes the first player in Wizards history to garner the honor for three straight months. By the way, the only Eastern Conference rookie to have a better scoring average in March was his teammate Jordan Crawford, who was a tick better at 18.2 points per outing. As noted above, the future looks good.
Blood Drive
April 9 brings another chance for you to get something good for doing something good. The Wizards and Inova Blood Services will be teaming up for the second annual Inova/Wizards Blood Drive. Those who donate will receive two tickets to Saturday night’s Wizards vs. Hawks game at Verizon Center, plus a JaVale McGee t-shirt. For more information, and to learn how to register for the blood drive, click here.
Check Us Out
On Thursday, the Mystics will be unveiling a whole new look and we want to show you. Log onto www.washingtonmystics.com at 11am to watch a very special live stream of a very important press conference. It will be a very big day for the organization and I hope you can join us.
Mystics School Day
The 3rd Annual Mystics School Day is quickly approaching. This year’s game, which combines the fun and excitement of a WNBA game with a host of educational messages and learning elements, is scheduled for Thursday, May 26. Tip-off vs. the New York Liberty is at the special School Day time of 11:30am. Tickets start at just $12, so tell your school to get in the game. Give us a call at 1-877-DCHOOP1 to learn more.
Mystics Add Two
Washington Mystics Head coach and General Manager Trudi Lacey announced on Monday that the team had added guard/forward Sequoia Holmes and forward Angel Robinson to the roster. The 6-1 Holmes played at the University of Las Vegas while the 6-5 Robinson played her college ball at the University of Georgia. Holmes has had WNBA stops in Detroit, Houston and Phoenix while Robinson was a 2009 draft pick of the Los Angeles Sparks. Both women will compete in the upcoming Mystics training camp for a spot on the team’s 2011 opening day roster.
Moving On
The Wizards Girls have done it again…they have advanced to the third round of the NBA Dance Team Contest. Our home town team will now face the Knicks City Dancers on Tuesday, April 5. Be sure to cast your vote here to help the ladies advance to the Final Four!
Mother Nature
I grew up in the county hills of Pennsylvania, so while I think the Washington DC area is an awesome place to live and raise a family, I do get a bit worried that our children aren’t getting as much exposure to the great outdoors as they should. So, on Saturday mornings Addy and I head to the Gulf Branch Nature Center in Arlington to learn more about our natural surroundings. Today’s session covered different types of bird calls, the transformation of tad poles to frogs and how snakes are born. We also went for a nature walk and hunted for frog eggs. Quite a fun morning in the great outdoors…even if we stopped at the Dunkin Donuts down the street on the way home. I guess you can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl.
Quote of the Week
“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not common.”
Five Final (and sometimes random) Thoughts
· Congrats to UCONN and Butler on advancing to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game.
· Looking forward to what should be a very good Women’s Final Four.
· Could the temperature actually hit 70-degrees this week…I can’t wait!
· The WNBA Draft is April 11. The Mystics own the 11th pick. Stay tuned.
· Have you renewed your Mystics season tickets yet?
Until next time,
Go Wizards and Mystics!
