STORM: The Horton Report

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Alan Horton is preparing for his first season as the Seattle Storm's play-by-play broadcaster on KKNW 1150 AM. He'll team with Adia Barnes to call the action all year long.
He'll also share the perspective of a newcomer to the WNBA and his take on the Storm all the way up to and throughout the 2007 season in The Horton Report.

You can share your feedback with Alan at right.

Izi's Back
Posted on March 30 | permalink

Anne Donovan announced yesterday the Storm has signed Iziane Castro Marques to a multi-year deal. Izi will return for her third season in Seattle and don’t be surprised if it’s a breakout year. Anne got a chance to see her play first-hand at the World Championships last fall and says it was the best she’s seen Izi play. She was Brazil’s go-to player, logging close to 31 minutes and pouring in 17 points a game while leading the host country to a fourth-place finish. Izi is currently playing for Hondarribia-Irun in Spain and averaged over 20 points per game in Eurocup competition.

Of course, Izi isn't the only Storm player in action overseas. Lauren Jackson's Samsung Bichumi team won Game 1 of its best-of-five championship series in Korea with the Shinhan Bank S-Birds. Jackson had 33 points and 11 rebounds playing against new L.A. center Taj McWilliams-Franklin in Samsung's 73-69 win. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night.

Final Four Thoughts
Posted on March 29 | permalink

North Carolina – “Rocking, Rolling and Rebounding in Cleveland, Ohio." That was the slogan Tar Heels head coach Sylvia Hatchell put on t-shirts she made for her players on their way to the 2006 regional in Cleveland. Who knew they would get to use them again? Actually, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise. North Carolina has lost only three times this season and - since a scare from Notre Dame in the second round - has rolled into the Final Four. The play of Ivory Latta (21 points, 4 assists, 2steals) and Erlana Larkins (career-high 29 points, 10rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists) against Purdue was awesome.
Outlook: The Tar Heels have been knocked out by the eventual national champion in each of the last two tournaments. Look for them to get over the hump this year and be “rocking, rolling and rebounding” their way through Cleveland with a national title.

Tennessee – Two words for the Lady Vols: Candace Parker. Wow! If her performance against Mississippi wasn’t perfect, it’s as close as you can get. Parker played 25 minutes and scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting (4-of-4 from the free-throw line), adding 14 rebounds, 5 blocked shots and 2 assists. Her blocks were some of the best you will see at any level of basketball. I can’t wait to see her in the WNBA against the best in the game - too bad that won’t be for at least one more season.
Outlook: With 17 Final Four appearance and six national titles, Tennessee has the history and maybe the MVP of the tournament in Parker, but will it be enough to get by a Tar Heels squad that thumped them by 13 back in December?

LSU – The surprise of this Final Four, for the simple reason that I don’t think anyone knew how this team would react with the sudden resignation of Pokey Chatman. Give credit to Bob Starkey, who has stepped in and rallied this team around the play of 6-6 Sylvia Fowles. Starkey made an interesting comment the other day when comparing Fowles to another former LSU Tiger: “The first thing is the rare ability for a player of that size to be able to move in such a way; both Shaquille (O'Neal) and Sylvia are extremely quick and agile. The other thing is both of them were extremely coachable. Then, off the court, they really had some outgoing personalities that make great teammates and great ambassadors for the sport." High praise from Starkey, who’s seen his share of LSU basketball over the decades. Fowles has had three straight games of 20+ points and has dominated the inside; against Connecticut she had 15 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Outlook: LSU makes a fourth straight Final Four appearance, but they’ve yet to reach the title game. A key matchup against Rutgers will be in the post, where Fowles matches up with 6-4 sophmore Kia Vaughn.

Rutgers – No Cappie Pondexter, no seniors, five freshmen and a 3-4 start to the season … no problem for the Scarlet Knights. They advanced to their second Final Four with a convincing win over Arizona State. True, they’re lucky to be here (leading by one against Duke, Lindsey Harding missed two free throws with 0.1 seconds left) but they’ve made the most it, playing like they have nothing to lose. And that can make for a dangerous team.
Outlook: This should be an interesting matchup with Fowles and Vaughn leading two of the best defensive teams in the country. I give a slight edge to the Tigers.

Final Thought: I mentioned last week that Purdue’s Katie Gearlds could be on the board when the Storm pick at #7. After seeing her play these last two weeks, I can’t help but think that her game would be a great fit here in Seattle. The only question now is whether she’ll still be available at #7.

Arena Update
Posted on March 27 | permalink

Many of you have probably already heard, but EventsCenterFacts.com launched the other day. It provides facts and figures, questions and answers, artists’ renderings and gives the latest news on the proposed King County Events Center multi-purpose arena in Renton. You can sign up and get emails on the latest news and it shows how you can get involved by contacting your legislator.

Since moving here last October, I’ve been amazed how many people I’ve met that have been uninformed on this issue. They’ve heard this or read that, but they don’t know the facts. This Web site spells it out in very simple terms, from how the arena will be funded to what it will look like to what it will be used for.

I would imagine most of you already support this project, so what else can you do? Help make people informed on this issue. Let them know about this website. Make them aware that there are no new taxes or tax increases. Make them aware that this arena is more than just a new home for the Sonics and Storm.

Do you realize that Spokane recently hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, sold a record 154,893 tickets over the eight day event, and brought thousands of out of state visitors to their city? Do you realize that last week they hosted the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament, sold out all their games, got national publicity, and again benefited from tourists spending thousands of dollars in their hotels, bars, restaurants and shops?

And these are just two recent examples. These are the type of events that benefit the economy of an entire region and it makes me just shake my head when I think of them not being held in Seattle. I hope people realize that this project is about so much more than just the Sonics and Storm.

Star Watch, Part II
Posted on March 23 | permalink

With the Sweet 16 getting underway, it’s time to update our “Star” watch, which I blogged about last week. Here are some players to keep an eye on for the weekend and as we approach the draft.

Still Dancing:

Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding, Duke - We should probably add sophomore Carrem Gay to this list for the Blue Devils. With Bales held to a season low four points and Harding turning it over six times, it was Gay who led Duke to their 10th straight Sweet 16 with a win over Temple. The 6-2 forward finished with 13 points and 10 boards.

By the way, Harding was added to the USA Senior National Team a few days ago. She’ll compete for a backup point guard spot when training camp opens April 7 in Rome. Speaking of which, it will be a busy few weeks for head coach Anne Donovan: March 30 & 31 - WNBA Pre-Draft Camp at Cleveland State, April 4 - WNBA Draft in Cleveland, April 7-19 - Team USA training camp in Rome, Italy, April 22 - Storm training camp begins.

Armintie Price, Ole' Miss - One of the top players in the tournament so far. What a turnaround against Maryland. In a 31-point loss to the Terps in November, Price was held to 9 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Tuesday, she bounced back with 29 points (9-of-12 from the field, 11-of-13 free throws), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Ivory Latta and Camille Little, North Carolina – Latta saved the day against Notre Dame, hitting six clutch free throws down the stretch. She finished with 17 points but was just 4-of-12 from the field. Little has been pretty quiet so far; she had 8 points and 5 assists against the Irish.

Sylvia Fowles, LSU - Fowles is the reason the Tigers are still dancing. 14 of her 21 points against West Virginia came in the second half. LSU rallied from 11 down to win by six. The dream of a fourth straight Final Four is still alive.

Adding to the List:

Candace Parker, Tennessee - Single-handedly led the Lady Vols to their 26th straight Sweet 16. She is so smooth and so athletic. Her line score: 30 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Just a redshirt sophomore, so she isn’t draft eligible, but a player who is and might be available when the Storm pick at #7 is …

Katie Gearlds, Purdue – A 6-1 guard/forward who can score the ball. In the first half against Georgia Tech, she sparked the Boilermakers with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting - her only miss was an off-balance three attempt as the shot clock expired. She also has range; she hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in that first half against the Jackets. Gearlds is a smooth shooter who can create her own shot. Check out her website at KatieGearlds.com.

Other possible Draftees:

Since we’re talking Storm draft for a few moments, here are a couple of players that should be on the radar, but whose teams didn’t qualify for the tournament.

Eshaya Murphy, 5-11 guard, USC - She can play the 1, 2 & 3. Scouts describe her as quick and athletic with a total all-around game and skills just waiting for the next level. Will hit the open jumper, has a sweet rotation on her shot. Didn’t get a lot of national exposure playing on a 17-12 Trojan team.

Jessica Dickson, 5-11 forward, South Florida - Just the complete package - can play the 1, 2 & 3. Very unselfish, can find open teammates, has a variety of moves and can score. An all-around game that adds up to a solid WNBA player.

Noelle Quinn, 6-0 guard, UCLA - If she’s still there at #8, this could be the pick. She can flat-out score. Scouts project her as a WNBA starter. Quinn spent most the year playing point guard, but still led the Bruins in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Stars Heading Home:

Jessica Davenport, Ohio State - Struggled in a first-round loss to #13 Marist. Facing constant double- and triple-teams, Davenport managed only 13 points to go along with 11 turnovers. Also, she threw an elbow that seemed to fire up the Red Foxes.

Brooke Smith, Stanford - After pouring in 29 against Idaho State, Smith finished her Cardinal career with a 12-point, 8 rebound effort in a loss to #10 Florida State.

Chrissy Givens, Middle Tennessee State - 24 points in a win over Gonzaga in the first round, but was held in check by #13 Marist in round two. Just 16 points and the Blue Raiders' winning streak ends at 27.

Bernice Mosby, Baylor - Led the Bears with 26 points, but it wasn’t enough as NC State won in overtime.

Amber Harris, Xavier - 19 points and 10 rebounds in a first round loss to West Virginia, but it was Mountaineers Olayinka Sanni (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Chakhia Cole (21 points, 12rebounds) who controlled the paint.

Upsets, Upsets, Upsets
Posted on March 21 | permalink

What a wild four days. For the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, no region has its 1 through 4 seeds left after two rounds. Not only were three #2 seeds upset, but two #4 seeds are also gone. The MAC and MAAC each have a team in the Sweet 16 for the first time ever. It is truly March Madness. Is it the George Mason effect? Is it parity? I don’t know, but I took notice when Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma said, “I think this is the best tournament we’ve had in long, long time.” And he’s saying this after only two rounds! Hopefully the best is yet to come. Here are some thoughts and comments on what we’ve seen so far.

Top Seeds Survive: It wasn’t pretty, but all four #1 seeds advanced. Duke struggled with Temple, UConn was down at the half to UWGB, Tennessee needed all of Candace Parker’s 30 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks to get past Pitt and UNC needed a 15-0 run to end the game to fend off Notre Dame. All four teams have to be breathing a huge sigh of relief and thinking, thank goodness we weren’t #2 seeds.

#2 Seeds Topple: Only Purdue escaped into the Sweet 16. Stanford got upset on their home floor by #10 Florida State (their first Sweet 16 appearance in school history), Vanderbilt was “Flynn-ed” by #7 Bowling Green (Amber Flynn came off the bench to score 19, double her season average), and defending champion Maryland got out-“Priced” by Ole Miss. Armintie Price was simply sensational. Against the Terps in November she was held to 9 points on 3-of-16 shooting in a 31-point loss. Tuesday she had 29 points (shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 11-of-13 on free throws), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. By the way, can the Rebels play some defense? They forced Maryland into 29 turnovers, 20 in the first half!

Make Way for the Red Foxes: First an upset of #4 Ohio State, then #5 Middle Tennessee State. Marist becomes just the third #13 seed ever to advance to the Sweet 16. Their win over the Buckeyes Saturday set the stage for the slew of upsets to follow.

Pulling for the ‘Pack: How can you not root for #4 NC State and Kay Yow? The Hall of Fame coach is battling stage-4 cancer, she’s undergoing chemo treatments and her father just passed away. Since her return from a 16-game absence, the Wolfpack have rallied to win 12 of 14 - including an upset of #1 Duke, handing them their only loss of the season.

‘Pack Part II: Feel Good for Fields: Think there isn’t pressure in these games? With the season on the line, with her coach’s career in the balance, Wolfpack sophomore Shayla Fields went to the free-throw line against #5 Baylor with 19 seconds left and the game tied. She promptly missed both. But as fate would have it, the Bears didn’t score and the game went to overtime, where Fields got another chance, hitting her only three-pointer of the game to seal the win for NC State.

Home Cooking? #1 Duke will take on #4 Rutgers in Greensboro, essentially a home game for the Blue Devils. The last time Duke played a regional there was 1999, when they advanced to the Final Four. But don’t overlook Rutgers, as the Scarlet Knights know how to play on the road. Two weeks ago in the Big East Tournament they knocked off Connecticut in Hartford. Then Tuesday they handled Michigan State in East Lansing.

Tournament Time
Posted on March 17 | permalink

Let the madness begin! The Women’s NCAA Tournament tips off today with Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut and Tennessee the top seeds and favorites to reach the Final Four.

I caught up with Storm Director of Basketball Operations Missy Bequette. Not only does Missy handle the day-to-day operations of the team, she is also heavily involved in the draft selection process, scouting and player personnel.

So here are a few players to keep an eye on over the next few weeks:

Alison Bales – 6-7 center – Duke
A force inside. Already holds the NCAA Tournament career record for blocked shots. Tough, aggressive, with a high basketball IQ. Doesn’t try to do too much. And since we’re talking Duke …

Lindsey Harding – 5-8 guard – Duke
Arguably the top point guard in the 2007 class. She does it all for the Blue Devils: 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Her defense is outstanding (ACC Defensive Player of the Year) and her all-around game and floor leadership earned her the Naismith Award.
Tournament Outlook: Harding will lead Duke to their fifth Final Four appearance since 1999, and a shot at their first National Title.

Jessica Davenport – 6-5 center – Ohio State
Big, strong, and fierce. Averages 22 points per game. Only player in Big 10 history to win player of the year honors three times. Possible #1 pick in this year’s draft. She has been named to the USA Senior National Team, coached by Anne Donovan.
Tournament Outlook: With Brandie Hoskins sidelined with a torn Achilles, the Buckeyes will go only as far as Davenport can carry them.

Brooke Smith – 6-3 forward/center – Stanford
Brook “the Hook,” as Missy described her, she can shoot the hook shot with both hands. Kevin McHale-type moves. Versatile enough to play three positions.
Tournament Outlook: With Smith, Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel, the Cardinal have a likely showdown with top seed Connecticut in the Elite Eight.

Armintie Price – 5-9 guard – Mississippi
Talk about talent - only the fifth player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists, and 300 steals (Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Sophia Young being the others). Two-time SEC defensive player of the year, still developing a consistent jump shot, but one of the best slashers in the game.
Tournament Outlook: The Rebels will have their hands full with the defending champs in the second round.

Ivory Latta – 5-6 guard – North Carolina
Along with Lindsey Harding, one of the top two point guards in the country. Also one of the quickest. Energetic, confident, loves to play the game. She can hit from the outside or drive to the hoop, and will take the big shot. Just fun to watch. Speaking of the Tar Heels …

Camille Little – 6-2 forward – North Carolina
Averages 14 points a game, but her strength is on the defensive end. Long arms and great anticipation lead to plenty of rebounds, steals and deflections.
Tournament Outlook: Latta and Little lead the Tar Heels to Cleveland and another Final Four.

Chrissy Givens –5-11 guard – Middle Tennessee State
Givens has dominated the Sun Belt Conference and led the Blue Raiders on a 26-game winning streak. Averages 23 points per game and shoots 51% from the field while consistently facing double-teams.
Tournament Outlook: MTSU is battle tested with close losses at Maryland and Tennessee and a win over #8 Georgia. But dreams of a Final Four will be difficult - Ohio State, Tennessee and Maryland await in the Dayton Regional.

Bernice Mosby – 6-1 forward – Baylor
Quick, strong and athletic. Nearly averages a double-double (18 points and 9 rebounds per game). Good ball-handling skills and solid defensively.
Tournament Outlook: A likely Sweet 16 showdown with #1 Connecticut looms for the 2005 champs.

Sylvia Fowles – 6-6 center – LSU
Much of the focus surrounding LSU has centered around the departure of head coach Pokey Chatman, not their talented center Sylvia Fowles. Only a junior, Fowles has put up impressive numbers in Baton Rouge. Impressive enough that she has been selected for the USA Senior National Team as an underclassman, with Anne Donovan touting Fowles' skills.
Tournament Outlook: Who knows how much of a distraction Chatman’s sudden resignation will be, but a second-round matchup with Xavier would pit Fowles against …

Amber Harris – 6-5 Center – Xavier
Just a freshman, but what a talent: 16 points and 9 rebounds per game. Broke the freshman block record set by Oklahoma's Courtney Paris with 133.
Tournament Outlook: Surrounded by seniors, Harris and the Musketeers could find themselves in a Sweet 16 matchup with #2 Stanford.

Hello Storm Fans
Posted on March 5 | permalink

Greetings Storm fans!

I am ecstatic to be talking with you as the new play-by-play voice of the Seattle Storm. I am already counting the days (75, by the way) to the season opener May 19 against the Comets. I know the energy inside KeyArena that night will be electric, just like it was when I attended the home playoff game against the Sparks last season. I was truly impressed by the passion and energy displayed by Storm fans and the bond they share with this team. I plan on bringing that same kind of passion, energy and commitment to the radio broadcasts this season.

Also, I am incredibly excited to be teaming up with Adia. I have had the chance to work with some great partners in my broadcasting career, but none has been more qualified than Adia. As a former player, she has unequaled knowledge of what it takes to play in this league, and as a former member of the Storm (and the 2004 championship team), she understands the special relationship between the team and this community.

So I hope you tune us in this season, not only on KKNW 1150 AM, but also here on storm.wnba.com. We will continue to provide the most comprehensive Storm coverage - including player and coach interviews, video and audio updates and a daily blog that I will file throughout the season.

Finally, I’d just like to say I am incredibly honored to be joining the Storm family, and I look forward to seeing you all at KeyArena this season.

Go Storm!

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