Jeff- It seems pretty clear that the wheels have come off at this point and we should be safely in the lottery. Usually, if anything can be salvaged in such situations, assistant coaches play a pivotal role. What roles are they playing (if any) in trying to restore some level of functioning? I would think Pokey would be really important, given her extensive HC experience.
Kudos to you for giving such good, consistent effort covering the hamster wheel...
I'll see if I can do some digging on the Assistant Coaches. It's interesting to me because Noelle was talking about how she was specifically responsible for the Offense as an Assistant under Dan Hughes. I know Coach Kloppenburg was in charge of the defense. And Ryan Webb was the Player Development coach. When I got to interview Ebony Hoffman early last year I asked if she was in charge of a specific area (Defense, Development, etc.) and she told me that all the coaches help out with everything and not one specific area.
I wonder if that's a different approach due to old school versus new younger minds in the game. Where Coach Dan Hughes was in his 60's while coaching the Storm and Noelle took over the team in her mid-30's. We also see that change in how players are being developed now versus the 80's to early 2000's. Where back in the day, players had specific positions. You are a point guard and you run the offense. You are a Center and your job is to defend the paint and rebound, etc. Even Coach Jenny Boucek was looking to develop position less basketball when she was coaching the team in 2015-2017 when she was in her early 40's. Quinn has continued with that type of mindset. And that's why we see players like Gabby Williams who can play at least Positions 1-3 if not 1-4. And where Jordan Horston has had to play at the PF spot a lot this year despite her being a guard at the college game.
It was a pretty disgusting effort by almost every player on the team. I couldn't believe our lack of rebounding and boxing out which seemed to be non-existent. I hope they're going to be working on that in practices. We still have way too many turnovers and very poor interior defense which gives up tons of layups to our opponents every game. As far as our off-season acquisitions, Sami was a great one and Kia Nurse has mostly been very disappointing. Mercedes Russell really hasn't played well enough to earn more playing time. That's her fault not Coach Quinn's fault. The owners made a big mistake giving her a 3-year contract worth $540,000. I said it was a bad move at the time and it looks worse now. She has never been a dominant post player and usually plays very lackluster. I really like all 4 of the rookies and think they all have excellent potential but it's going to take some time for them to develop.
It's really disturbing to hear that the players may no longer respect Noey. I can understand the body language bec of losing so much despite great effort and promise -- which, however, I didn't see Saturday. It's got to get you down. The whole game was so tepid and blah, with tiny flashes of brilliance, only rarely. I wondered about the constant lineup changes during the game. How can you find out who plays well together if they only play together a short time and then get changed? I've been there since the beginning and seen losing seasons, so it's not that I expected winning. But that game stood out as one of the worse. What gives?
There was an article in the Seattle Times a few weeks back about how it was hard to cheer for the Mariners because they're so unlikeable. That's how I feel about the Storm right now. Saturday's game felt like a new low. It wasn't fun to watch in person. There were a few exciting moments (Sami's two threes before halftime) but they looked lackluster out there. At halftime, Alanna Smith had 14 rebounds and the Storm had 10. Minimal disrespect intended, but Alanna Smith is hardly the next Sylvia Fowles.
I've been mostly bearish on Noelle Quinn and it seems to me that she's lost team right now and it's on her to turn things around. Even if a coaching change was possible, I don't know if there's a proven coach they could bring in (Gary Kloppenburg? Brian Agler?) and bringing in another inexperienced coach could lead to another Vanessa Nygaard situation. I wish Dan Hughes would've gotten a little more fanfare when he was replaced and don't understand why the change couldn't have been made at the end of 2021 season but that didn't happen and here we are.
I also can't help but wonder if a lot of these problems are because the front office isn't making good decisions. They didn't seem to have a plan for Stewie leaving and they chose to re-sign Mercedes instead of Jordin Canada, who was drafted to be the heir apparent at PG in the post-Bird era. They brought in a backup PG who retired at the same time as Sue Bird. Small forward was the one position where they signed a quality veteran in the off season so I'm not sure how necessary it was to bring Gabby Williams back midseason, as much as I enjoy watching her play. Now Jewell is going to be an UFA who can't be cored and I would be extremely surprised if she comes back next year.
Totally agree with your assessment about the decision to hire Quinn and the front office malfeasance. They didn't core Stewie, and she left and they got nothing in return. Their justification is that Stewie said she was staying. Give me a break. This is a business. Due your due diligence and don't blame Stewie! Jewell will probably leave too and they will also get nothing in return. They have been reactive with no planning for the future success of the franchise. It amazes me how the front office and the young inexperienced GM have not be held more accountable for their glaring mistakes. I agree that they really messed up not finding a promising PG for Sue to mentor. I also don't think star players want to play for Quinn. She is too inexperienced and is lacking leadership. She was a bench player who got little minutes just a year before she became head coach. I actually feel badly for her, because she is in way over her head. She would be a great assistant coach. I sit right behind the bench and the players tune her out. At Sunday's game when the team made no attempt to rebound and defend, Quinn called a quick time out, but nothing changed. I was thinking that Brian Agler would have blown a gasket and been yelling at them to get their sh*t together. I understand we are tanking, but this is so ugly.
Excellent points about the front office. Because of the nature of the WNBA, and the hard salary cap, it's imperative that front offices make great personnel decisions, which - rookies aside - have been in short supply here. If this were baseball, the non-performing assets could be cut before they could shower. With the hard cap, though, teams have to get it right, because it's almost impossible to bury their mistakes and move forward to bring in players who can actually help. So, we're left with tinkering around the extreme margins of the roster. Another year of watching Russell get pushed around, offering no resistance, and watching Nurse clank jumpshots is nothing to get excited about. But that's where we are...
To be fair this team has been terrible at rebounding for years and rarely boxes out. They rebound on talent and the belief they'll out jump everyone. I watched last year the same lack of basic fundamentals of boxing out. The only players Ive seen box out this year are Jordan Horston and Dulcy. So it doesn't surprise me teams know they can crash the boards and have a strong possibility of gaining offensive rebounds against the Storm. Coaches ALWAYS complain about their team not rebounding. Well do you spend time on it in practice? Do you do box out drills including the guards? The guards this year haven't boxed out once! They leak out for fast break buckets while the player they were guarding crashes for the board. This has been an issue in all levels of hoops including AAU. Coaches don't spend time on it but always pretend to be mystified why their team can't rebound. Starts with the coach! Maybe spend less time on half court shots and more on box out drills.
As I watched the substitutions and struggles, I had to wonder about the coaching. I know Quinn is trying to find the right match ups, but taking so early so time out because you don't like what's happening just interrupts the momentum. I have been patient and rooting for the rookies - but we're half way through the season and nothing seems to have changed. Noelle needs to make up her mind and give the kids a chance!
I know my experience isn't comparable as an AAU basketball coach working with middle school-aged players but I will say this. When Seattle gave up seven offensive rebounds in the first two minutes of the game, I turned to Kevin Pelton and said "Noey has to take a timeout here." To be blunt, that is inexcusable to give up that many offensive rebounds on just a couple of possessions. When Coach Quinn called that timeout, the Storm had literally given up 6 shot attempts and 5 offensive rebounds on a single possession. And the play ended with an Elizabeth Williams layup.
As Coach Quinn talked about, rebounding is all about hustle, effort, and want-to. If you're giving up that many offensive rebounds then you know the players aren't giving their best effort at all. As a coach, you have to call a timeout there and address the issue because it's not acceptable.
Totally agree. However, I was right behind the bench and the coach was so passive when she should have been fired up about their terrible effort and play . They all just tuned her out and the rebounding effort and post defense didn't really improve at all throughout the game.
I was at the game last night right behind the bench. The body language is so bad. It seems like none of the players respect the coach or are motivated by her. The only player that showed effort and energy was Sammy. I know we are in tank mode, but the chemistry on this team is terrible. The lack of any rotation and just throwing players in and pulling them out in frustration proves how bad things are. It was really tough to watch. And the rookie Jordan subbing in and throwing the ball and then getting an immediate technical is proof of how the coach has no control over her squad. I don't expect them to win with this roster, but last night their play and the coaching was a huge embarrassment. Now Jewell has padded her stats and will probably leave in free agency and the Storm will get nothing back for her. Such mismanagement with Stewie leaving and getting nothing back for her. But that is a whole other topic.
The bad body language is concerning to hear. As media, we're very far away from the Storm's bench. So that's something we have a hard time picking up on. In one regard, it's not surprising to hear the players are starting to have bad body language and not give 100% effort because losing is tough on everyone. None more than the players that are trying and continue to end up on the losing end. That is a very dangerous situation to be in as a coach. If too many players start tuning you out and you lose the locker room, it's hard to recover from that.
Very true. At a previous game, I watched Mercedes be subbed out and when Quinn reached her hand out for a high five, Mercedes completely ignored her and walked past. It’s not good. I feel badly for Quinn. She was promoted too soon and is in over her head. Reminds me of Joe Mazzula, the Celtics coach. And with Sue gone, it’s really obvious.
I am also confused with the line up changes game to game or even within a game. A player starts a few games and plays 20+ minutes each game and then DNPs the next few games. Makes no sense. It has to impact the confidence of the players. I am starting to think Quinn doesn’t have a coherent game or longer term strategy.
Why I does she call time outs with less than two minutes to go and down by double digits. Two time outs last night and one with less than a minute to go Thursday night. Why?
I think should start playing the rookies a lot - see what they can do. JH obviously has a ton of talent. Let her and the others develop.
While we didn't specifically ask on the timeouts at the very end of the game, I can confidently say she was using those to set up a play for the young players. You have the timeouts, so take them and the young players can go out there and try to execute a last-second play as if they were only down two points or the game was tied. I really liked that she did that.
Jeff- It seems pretty clear that the wheels have come off at this point and we should be safely in the lottery. Usually, if anything can be salvaged in such situations, assistant coaches play a pivotal role. What roles are they playing (if any) in trying to restore some level of functioning? I would think Pokey would be really important, given her extensive HC experience.
Kudos to you for giving such good, consistent effort covering the hamster wheel...
I'll see if I can do some digging on the Assistant Coaches. It's interesting to me because Noelle was talking about how she was specifically responsible for the Offense as an Assistant under Dan Hughes. I know Coach Kloppenburg was in charge of the defense. And Ryan Webb was the Player Development coach. When I got to interview Ebony Hoffman early last year I asked if she was in charge of a specific area (Defense, Development, etc.) and she told me that all the coaches help out with everything and not one specific area.
I wonder if that's a different approach due to old school versus new younger minds in the game. Where Coach Dan Hughes was in his 60's while coaching the Storm and Noelle took over the team in her mid-30's. We also see that change in how players are being developed now versus the 80's to early 2000's. Where back in the day, players had specific positions. You are a point guard and you run the offense. You are a Center and your job is to defend the paint and rebound, etc. Even Coach Jenny Boucek was looking to develop position less basketball when she was coaching the team in 2015-2017 when she was in her early 40's. Quinn has continued with that type of mindset. And that's why we see players like Gabby Williams who can play at least Positions 1-3 if not 1-4. And where Jordan Horston has had to play at the PF spot a lot this year despite her being a guard at the college game.
The amount of comments you all left is amazing! Thanks for the support and interactions!
It was a pretty disgusting effort by almost every player on the team. I couldn't believe our lack of rebounding and boxing out which seemed to be non-existent. I hope they're going to be working on that in practices. We still have way too many turnovers and very poor interior defense which gives up tons of layups to our opponents every game. As far as our off-season acquisitions, Sami was a great one and Kia Nurse has mostly been very disappointing. Mercedes Russell really hasn't played well enough to earn more playing time. That's her fault not Coach Quinn's fault. The owners made a big mistake giving her a 3-year contract worth $540,000. I said it was a bad move at the time and it looks worse now. She has never been a dominant post player and usually plays very lackluster. I really like all 4 of the rookies and think they all have excellent potential but it's going to take some time for them to develop.
Yup.
It's really disturbing to hear that the players may no longer respect Noey. I can understand the body language bec of losing so much despite great effort and promise -- which, however, I didn't see Saturday. It's got to get you down. The whole game was so tepid and blah, with tiny flashes of brilliance, only rarely. I wondered about the constant lineup changes during the game. How can you find out who plays well together if they only play together a short time and then get changed? I've been there since the beginning and seen losing seasons, so it's not that I expected winning. But that game stood out as one of the worse. What gives?
There was an article in the Seattle Times a few weeks back about how it was hard to cheer for the Mariners because they're so unlikeable. That's how I feel about the Storm right now. Saturday's game felt like a new low. It wasn't fun to watch in person. There were a few exciting moments (Sami's two threes before halftime) but they looked lackluster out there. At halftime, Alanna Smith had 14 rebounds and the Storm had 10. Minimal disrespect intended, but Alanna Smith is hardly the next Sylvia Fowles.
I've been mostly bearish on Noelle Quinn and it seems to me that she's lost team right now and it's on her to turn things around. Even if a coaching change was possible, I don't know if there's a proven coach they could bring in (Gary Kloppenburg? Brian Agler?) and bringing in another inexperienced coach could lead to another Vanessa Nygaard situation. I wish Dan Hughes would've gotten a little more fanfare when he was replaced and don't understand why the change couldn't have been made at the end of 2021 season but that didn't happen and here we are.
I also can't help but wonder if a lot of these problems are because the front office isn't making good decisions. They didn't seem to have a plan for Stewie leaving and they chose to re-sign Mercedes instead of Jordin Canada, who was drafted to be the heir apparent at PG in the post-Bird era. They brought in a backup PG who retired at the same time as Sue Bird. Small forward was the one position where they signed a quality veteran in the off season so I'm not sure how necessary it was to bring Gabby Williams back midseason, as much as I enjoy watching her play. Now Jewell is going to be an UFA who can't be cored and I would be extremely surprised if she comes back next year.
Totally agree with your assessment about the decision to hire Quinn and the front office malfeasance. They didn't core Stewie, and she left and they got nothing in return. Their justification is that Stewie said she was staying. Give me a break. This is a business. Due your due diligence and don't blame Stewie! Jewell will probably leave too and they will also get nothing in return. They have been reactive with no planning for the future success of the franchise. It amazes me how the front office and the young inexperienced GM have not be held more accountable for their glaring mistakes. I agree that they really messed up not finding a promising PG for Sue to mentor. I also don't think star players want to play for Quinn. She is too inexperienced and is lacking leadership. She was a bench player who got little minutes just a year before she became head coach. I actually feel badly for her, because she is in way over her head. She would be a great assistant coach. I sit right behind the bench and the players tune her out. At Sunday's game when the team made no attempt to rebound and defend, Quinn called a quick time out, but nothing changed. I was thinking that Brian Agler would have blown a gasket and been yelling at them to get their sh*t together. I understand we are tanking, but this is so ugly.
Excellent points about the front office. Because of the nature of the WNBA, and the hard salary cap, it's imperative that front offices make great personnel decisions, which - rookies aside - have been in short supply here. If this were baseball, the non-performing assets could be cut before they could shower. With the hard cap, though, teams have to get it right, because it's almost impossible to bury their mistakes and move forward to bring in players who can actually help. So, we're left with tinkering around the extreme margins of the roster. Another year of watching Russell get pushed around, offering no resistance, and watching Nurse clank jumpshots is nothing to get excited about. But that's where we are...
To be fair this team has been terrible at rebounding for years and rarely boxes out. They rebound on talent and the belief they'll out jump everyone. I watched last year the same lack of basic fundamentals of boxing out. The only players Ive seen box out this year are Jordan Horston and Dulcy. So it doesn't surprise me teams know they can crash the boards and have a strong possibility of gaining offensive rebounds against the Storm. Coaches ALWAYS complain about their team not rebounding. Well do you spend time on it in practice? Do you do box out drills including the guards? The guards this year haven't boxed out once! They leak out for fast break buckets while the player they were guarding crashes for the board. This has been an issue in all levels of hoops including AAU. Coaches don't spend time on it but always pretend to be mystified why their team can't rebound. Starts with the coach! Maybe spend less time on half court shots and more on box out drills.
As I watched the substitutions and struggles, I had to wonder about the coaching. I know Quinn is trying to find the right match ups, but taking so early so time out because you don't like what's happening just interrupts the momentum. I have been patient and rooting for the rookies - but we're half way through the season and nothing seems to have changed. Noelle needs to make up her mind and give the kids a chance!
I know my experience isn't comparable as an AAU basketball coach working with middle school-aged players but I will say this. When Seattle gave up seven offensive rebounds in the first two minutes of the game, I turned to Kevin Pelton and said "Noey has to take a timeout here." To be blunt, that is inexcusable to give up that many offensive rebounds on just a couple of possessions. When Coach Quinn called that timeout, the Storm had literally given up 6 shot attempts and 5 offensive rebounds on a single possession. And the play ended with an Elizabeth Williams layup.
As Coach Quinn talked about, rebounding is all about hustle, effort, and want-to. If you're giving up that many offensive rebounds then you know the players aren't giving their best effort at all. As a coach, you have to call a timeout there and address the issue because it's not acceptable.
Totally agree. However, I was right behind the bench and the coach was so passive when she should have been fired up about their terrible effort and play . They all just tuned her out and the rebounding effort and post defense didn't really improve at all throughout the game.
I wrote a much longer comment but it completely disappeared twice so I finally gave up and wrote a short one w/o any analysis.
Terrible rebounding and post play and not taking care of the ball. What else? Let the rookies play more and develop.
I was at the game last night right behind the bench. The body language is so bad. It seems like none of the players respect the coach or are motivated by her. The only player that showed effort and energy was Sammy. I know we are in tank mode, but the chemistry on this team is terrible. The lack of any rotation and just throwing players in and pulling them out in frustration proves how bad things are. It was really tough to watch. And the rookie Jordan subbing in and throwing the ball and then getting an immediate technical is proof of how the coach has no control over her squad. I don't expect them to win with this roster, but last night their play and the coaching was a huge embarrassment. Now Jewell has padded her stats and will probably leave in free agency and the Storm will get nothing back for her. Such mismanagement with Stewie leaving and getting nothing back for her. But that is a whole other topic.
The bad body language is concerning to hear. As media, we're very far away from the Storm's bench. So that's something we have a hard time picking up on. In one regard, it's not surprising to hear the players are starting to have bad body language and not give 100% effort because losing is tough on everyone. None more than the players that are trying and continue to end up on the losing end. That is a very dangerous situation to be in as a coach. If too many players start tuning you out and you lose the locker room, it's hard to recover from that.
Very true. At a previous game, I watched Mercedes be subbed out and when Quinn reached her hand out for a high five, Mercedes completely ignored her and walked past. It’s not good. I feel badly for Quinn. She was promoted too soon and is in over her head. Reminds me of Joe Mazzula, the Celtics coach. And with Sue gone, it’s really obvious.
I am also confused with the line up changes game to game or even within a game. A player starts a few games and plays 20+ minutes each game and then DNPs the next few games. Makes no sense. It has to impact the confidence of the players. I am starting to think Quinn doesn’t have a coherent game or longer term strategy.
Why I does she call time outs with less than two minutes to go and down by double digits. Two time outs last night and one with less than a minute to go Thursday night. Why?
I think should start playing the rookies a lot - see what they can do. JH obviously has a ton of talent. Let her and the others develop.
While we didn't specifically ask on the timeouts at the very end of the game, I can confidently say she was using those to set up a play for the young players. You have the timeouts, so take them and the young players can go out there and try to execute a last-second play as if they were only down two points or the game was tied. I really liked that she did that.