Kelsey Griffin – The Evening Game

WNBL19: University of Capitals coach Paul Goriss on Kristy Wallace signing and a new look team

May 6, 2018November 13, 2021Posted in SportTagged Basketball, Carly Wilson, Kelsey Griffin, Kristy Wallace, Leilani Mitchell, Marianna Tolo, WNBL, WNBL19, Women's sport

Speaking to this site after the 2016/17 WNBL season wrapped up, University of Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss reflected on some of the talented players that had come through the AIS when he coached there. Many of the youngsters he had worked with had become household names – Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum and Ben Simmons.

But there was one “very special player” he mentioned that was relatively unknown at the time – Kristy Wallace.

Since then, Wallace has further honed her craft at Division I program Baylor and played a starring role in Australia’s gold medal winning 2017 World University Games team.

She has also signed a two-year deal with the University of Canberra Capitals, reuniting with Goriss for her first professional basketball.

We would like to welcome Kristy Wallace to the UC Capitals for the next two years!https://t.co/A8qilERrdz pic.twitter.com/cG8DIecJsI

— UC Capitals (@UCCapitals) May 3, 2018

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‘Unleashing the beast’

Goriss says the intangibles Wallace brings immediately stood out when he coached her back in 2014. “There’s very few people that I’ve coached that have that drive and tenacity and want to get better,” he says.

“My first impression of her was someone that loves the game of basketball, wants to be the best that she can and goes about it with such a high work ethic.”

The 22-year-old Wallace will now need to call on all of that work ethic to overcome the ACL injury that brought her college career with the Baylor Bears to a premature end.

The team have no doubt she can make a full recovery, however. “We’d already spoken prior to her doing her ACL,” Goriss says.

“Whether she was injured or nor we started speaking to her very early on about coming back and playing WNBL.

“The knee injury was very unfortunate, but we’re standing by her because I know how valuable she will be to our group.”

After completing studies at the Texan college, Wallace is expected to arrive in Canberra around June, where she will undertake a full medical examination and the timeline for her return to court will become clearer.

Such a major injury requires a long and taxing rehabilitation program, though Goriss has a good-natured chuckle at the suggestion the team may look to ease her into the rotation when she returns.

“Mate, there’s no easing with her,” he says. “The thing will be us trying to stop her going full tilt at everything she does.

“We’ll throw her into the line-up depending on where she’s at medically and we’ll make sure all the boxes are ticked before she gets on court. But one thing we know with Kristy is this – as soon as we unleash the beast, the beast will be at 150%.

“There will be no stopping her, I’m sure, once she gets out there.”

Wallace’s fit on the team

Wallace’s ability as a scorer and distributor were a major part of why WNBA team Atlanta Dream drafted her in the second round and view her as a valuable long-term prospect. But her leadership and lionhearted defence are equally impressive parts of her game and led to her winning Baylor’s ‘Hustle and Courage’ award.

A long 5’11 guard who was a great floor general for Baylor, Wallace is seen as a combo guard by the team. Goriss says she will be a good fit alongside one of the team’s prized signings, Leilani Mitchell.

When coaching Wallace at National Under 19s level, Goriss played her in the backcourt alongside Flames prodigy Tahlia Tupaea, and says Wallace and Mitchell could form a similar switching 1-2 duo.“No one was a point guard or an off guard (in that team), it was whoever has the ball brings it up the floor and the other becomes a lane runner.

“We’re not going to pigeonhole Kristy into a role. She’s got unbelievable speed, so we want to enhance that, whether it’s the ball in her hands or not.

Goriss also believes Wallace’s ability to play as a primary ball-handler will free up Mitchell, a career .395 shooter from three-point range at WNBA level, to play off ball and function as more of a pure scorer.

On the defensive end, Goriss says Wallace has the length and athleticism to guard small forwards as well as guards. “Our league doesn’t really have too many threes that will really take you down and post you up. So, I think she can definitely guard a one, two or three.”

Goriss welcomed the retired Carly Wilson to the coaching staff last season. "Carly has a great basketball IQ" he says. Photo: Vanessa Lam — Goriss welcomed the retired Carly Wilson to the coaching staff last season. “Carly has a great basketball IQ” he says. Photo: Vanessa Lam

Big name players, big time expectations

Wallace, of course, isn’t the only big signing the University of Canberra Capitals have made. Marianna Tolo, Kelsey Griffin and Leilani Mitchell are all players who have been in MVP contention in this league before. Individually, each moves the needle. Collectively, they give the team a big three that has already got people talking about championships.

“We’re not going to shy away from that,” Goriss says. “We’ve recruited the team to make the top four and to push for a championship run. I think that kind of expectation is good to have.

“I also think we’ve got the right character within the group. Number one, they’re good people and number two, they’re good basketball players. They all want to play together, they want to make the team work and they’re invested in it”

Goriss concedes such a new-look team may take time to gel. “I guess that’s always one of the big challenges with a new group and unfortunately we’ve had to bring in the majority of our group over the last two seasons.”

Mitchell, Tolo and Griffin have all played for the Opals at various stages, where Goriss is an assistant coach. The Capitals will run some of the same offensive systems, meaning there is some inbuilt familiarity for the incoming or returning players.

The team still has a handful of roster spots to fill, including both import spots and Goriss says they are likely to bring in an import three, as well as a player to start at the two until Wallace can play. A big to fill in for Marianna Tolo, who also has an ACL injury, is also on their shopping list.

Goriss also reflected on the value of having club legend Carly Wilson as one of his assistant coaches last season. “Carly has a great basketball IQ,” he says. “It was difficult for her working a full-time job and then coming to practice and the games, but what she knows about the players and the WNBL was invaluable.

“She has that perspective of a newly retired player and can bring what it’s like out on the floor into the coaching seat. And she can relate to the players, that’s a great quality of hers.”

WNBL: 18 Things to Look Forward to in WNBL18

October 2, 2017November 13, 2021Posted in SportTagged Abby Bishop, Basketball, Belinda Snell, Carley Mijovic, Courtney Williams, Ezi Magbegor, Katie-Rae Ebzery, Kelsey Griffin, Liz Cambage, Rachel Banham, Sami Whitcomb, Sara Blicavs, Suzy Batkovic, Tayla Roberts, Tessa Lavey, WNBL, WNBL18, Women's sport, Zitina Aokuso

Sydney become the hunted

The University of Sydney Flames steamrolled to the title last season and bring back most of their winning team, but basketball genius Leilani Mitchell, the league’s best clutch player in WNBL17, is a big loss. Much depends on returning Opal Ebzery, who may slide over to the one guard at times.

Dandenong’s duck boat friends

NBA fans have long been intrigued by the idea of the ‘banana boat’ team, a superteam comprising superpals Lebron James, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade, so named because of a memorably ridiculous Instagram picture of the high-profile trio riding an inflatable banana with Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union. A photo of Carley Mijovic and Sara and Steph Blicavs riding an inflatable duck with Opals teammates didn’t go quite as viral, but the friends did also form their own superteam of sorts, bringing in AIS buddies Tessa Lavey and Tayla Roberts to form a new-look core at Dandenong.

“I got a couple of messages from Sara and Carley saying ‘get here, let’s go, we’re going to get this championship” Lavey told the Herald-Sun. One of the most intriguing storylines is how this quack squad will fare.

Think of Alex Bunton and Alanna Smith as the Gabrielle Union of this photo.

The grudge match

Circle this date: Saturday October 14, 7:00pm. University of Sydney Flames v Dandenong Rangers. The grand final rivalry continues.

The return of Liz Cambage

One of the most physically dominant bigs in the league’s history, Liz Cambage at her best is good enough to shift the entire balance of power across the whole league. Her return after a five-year absence from the WNBL is one of the year’s biggest stories and enough to tip a now stacked Melbourne into a narrow lead as title favourites.

Adelaide star Laura Hodges said Cambage presents all kind of matchup problems for other teams. “Lizzie is a player like no other, she has great shooting touch, she’s a great scorer, extremely strong and athletic. You can’t stop her, you just have to work around her.”

The unscripted moments

Like this fine spill:

The youth brigade

Most players don’t get much WNBL court time in their first year, but Ezi Magbegor isn’t most players. The shot-blocking dynamo is a rare talent and already looked comfortable at this level during pre-season; also look out for her former AIS teammate, Zitina Aokuso, a hyper-athletic centre, who has joined the Fire. Melbourne pocket rocket Monique Conti is already one of the most fun players in the league to watch, while Kara Tessari (Spirit), Cassidy McLean (Flames) and Sarah Elsworthy (Lightning) all project as future stars.

Suzy Batkovic’s quest for six MVPs

Batkovic has quietly been one of the most dominant players not just in basketball, but in any Australian sport over the last decade. Yet there will be no shortage of players who could compete with her for this year’s award: Sami Whitcomb went painfully close last year, while previous winners Abby Bishop and Liz Cambage will again be candidates. Sara Blicavs and Asia Taylor should again be in the race, while newcomers Banham and Williams could storm into contention.

A fierce competitor, Batkovic would give up another MVP medal for a shot at a championship in a heartbeat, but we say a record sixth individual award would be pretty cool.

Kelsey Griffin: Anything is Possible

The FIBA Asia Cup was Kelsey Griffin’s first International basketball after having naturalised as an Australian citizen. More than this, however, it soon turned into a full-blown coming-out party for this gritty, hyper-competitive, supremely well-rounded player. It introduced the basketball world to a fact WNBL fans are already well aware of: Kelsey Griffin is very, very good at basketball. The team’s disappointment at missing the finals last season provides rich motivation, while the arrival of Rachel Banham adds much needed outside shooting to their hard-working core. As another basketballing KG once famously yelled: Anything is possible!

New stars: Williams, Banham, Wiese

Not all WNBA players who have come into the league have been dominant, but it would be a huge surprise if Courtney Williams, a WNBA rotation player, doesn’t make a major impact for Perth. Rachel Banham and Sydney Wiese were both elite shooters at college level who have the ability to get points in bunches and the gravity to stretch the floor and kick their team’s offence up a notch. Banham has already hit a buzzer-beater circus shot to win a pre-season game for Bendigo. Her scoring rampages for Minnesota attracted attention from one of the biggest names in the sport.

The tactics

Think of basketball as chess for tall people. The real-time tactical battles between coaches will again be fascinating as they punch and counter-punch to try to exploit any advantage their current line-up has.

Sara Blicavs, one of this league’s versions of the multi-dimensional queen chess piece, told this site in an earlier interview that the WNBL is more tactical than the men’s game. “The men are more athletic, but we get the same number of points. We have to be smarter, quicker and read the game better.”

Hold On, We’re Going Home

In WNBL18, everything old is new again: Nat Hurst is back at Canberra, where she has won a ridiculous seven championships. Cayla George has rejoined Townsville, where she starred in two WNBL titles. Abby Bishop is back at her hometown team, Adelaide, just as Katie-Rae Ebzery rejoins her local team in Sydney. Each has reason to believe they can lead their team to glory.

“Laura Hodges on Liz Cambage: “Lizzie is a player like no other…You can’t stop her, you just have to work around her””

An eight-team race

You could make a good argument for any of the eight competing teams to win the WNBL this season, such is the depth and spread of talent. It could be like the last NBL season, where only a couple of points spread the entire field and a team that was placed last at the halfway point ended up as champions.

With a shortened schedule and in such an even competition, chemistry and fit will be even more important. A buzzer-beater here and a tough road loss there could easily separate a finals campaign from an early exit.

The match-ups

Abby Bishop v Suzy Batkovic, Liz Cambage v double teams, Ezi Magbegor v Zitina Aokuso, Rachel Banham v your best perimeter defender.

The Sami show

Every Australian sports fan should see Sami Whitcomb, the league’s most unguardable player, in person. A spectacular shooter with a whole arsenal of stepbacks and almost imperceptibly quick shot release, Whitcomb will be joined by another scorer in Courtney Williams, a move that doesn’t so much create headaches for opponents as brain-splitting migraines.

Slam dunking?

Jen Hamson and Liz Cambage have both dunked during games. Zitina Aokuso is throwing them down in practice. Just saying.

The ageless Belinda Snell

Now entering her 21st season of elite level basketball, Belinda Snell should be slowing down. Should be, but isn’t. At the Asia Cup, she was still easily one of the Opals best players, regularly outpointing opponents a whole generation younger. Her ability to see the court and read opposition plays before they unfold was a huge factor in the Flames’ championship last season. Seasons change, empires rise and fall, but Snell remains a steady evergreen, racking up steals through sheer canniness and throwing perfect entry passes.

The double-headers

Christmas comes a month early for WNBL fans; on November 25 and 26, all eight teams converge on the State Basketball Centre for two days of double headers. Other rounds include joint fixtures with NBL teams. In a crowded summer sporting market, this kind of innovative scheduling can only help the league get the attention it deserves.

It’s back on TV

Let’s dance!

WNBL: Bendigo coach Simon Pritchard reflects on #WNBL17: “We’re all about championships”.

March 30, 2017November 13, 2021Posted in SportTagged Basketball, Bendigo Spirit, Gabrielle Richards, Heather Oliver, Kara Tessari, Kelsey Griffin, Kerryn Harrington, Nadeen Payne, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, WNBL, WNBL17, Women's sport

“The thing that stands out to me is that we conceded the least points of any team” Bendigo Spirit coach Simon Pritchard says of the team’s 2016/17 campaign. “But at key points, our defence broke down”.

The anomaly of the team’s greatest strength deserting them at times summed up a puzzling season which saw the team produce some masterful defensive performances, but also endure some extremely costly lulls which resulted in a sixth place finish.

In the first half of the competition, the Spirit were downright miserly, grudging only 66.08 points per game, In the back half, they allowed a far less imposing 76.25 a game.

Kerryn Harrington with the steal and fast break points. Her injury-enforced absence would prove costly for Bendigo.

Along the way, the hard-nosed team had managed to completely shut down grand finalists Dandenong, who could only manage a miserable 44 points and hassled eventual champions Sydney into a 55-point outing. Oddly, the team also seemed to do better when on the second leg of a back-to-back, compiling a 4-1 record in these games.

Boasting a 10-5 record at one stage, the Spirit went into a major swoon in January, losing four games straight. This stretch included a 41-point shellacking at the hands of Perth, where both Sami Whitcomb and Ruth Hamblin ran riot. “Emotionally, it shocked the hell out of us” Pritchard says of the loss to the Lynx.

Pritchard believes a big part of this dip can be explained by the lengthy break the players were given around Christmas. It’s a mistake he takes responsibility for and one Bendigo won’t be making again. “That was a really poor decision on my part” he says. “The long break allowed some deconditioning. Ideally, we would have brought them back five days earlier”.

Major injuries also hampered Bendigo’s campaign, with veteran guards Jane Chalmers and Kerryn Harrington both going down after the former played through a thumb injury in 2016. After the Spirit had already lost Kelly Wilson to Townsville, their loss hit particularly hard. “We had two injuries in the same position” Pritchard says. “To lose both of them and to have to shuffle a heap of players, it had a compound effect down the line”.

Pritchard on Kelsey Griffin: "a match winner" — Pritchard on Kelsey Griffin: “a match winner”

The silver lining of this injury cloud was that it allowed Kara Tessari to gain valuable exposure to WNBL level competition, and the 17-year-old, one of the team’s many juniors from regional Victoria, thrived. “She’s a great defender and controlled the team really well” Pritchard says. Having been elevated from a development player spot to the senior list during the season, the team sees Tessari as very much on the ascent. “She’ll be an important piece going forward. We’ll certainly look to give her more of a role”.

Long-term, Tessari may be able to help with an area where Bendigo struggled this year, namely perimeter shooting. The Spirit made just 102 three-pointers, only one ahead of last-placed Adelaide and, remarkably, behind the individual three-pointer tally of Sami Whitcomb (105). Their overall three-point percentage was 26.42%, again only good for seventh. “That was a personnel thing” Pritchard notes. “We need to recruit into that spot next year”.

The Spirit had sought to bring in more long-range shooting by signing Seattle Storm player Blake Dietrick, but she couldn’t recapture the shooting form she previously showed at Princeton. “We thought we were recruiting a better shooter than we did” Pritchard laments. “We did expect Blake Dietrick to do a bit better job than what she did, offensively and defensively”.

Kelsey Griffin and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe were the team's star players. Here, Griffin throws a bullet pass inside for Raincock-Ekunwe. — Kelsey Griffin and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe were the team’s star players. Here, Griffin throws a bullet pass inside for Raincock-Ekunwe.

The club’s other import, super athletic Canadian Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, proved a revelation at both ends of the court. Scoring mainly around the basket (she had only 11 three-point attempts, for one make), she ranked amongst the competition’s most efficient players. She put up 15.88 points per game (good for eighth in the league), collected 8.38 rebounds (fourth in WNBL) and ended up earning an invite to training camp with WNBA team New York Liberty.

The club are hopeful of getting Raincock-Ekunwe back next year. Although they have secured their financial future, they do have budgetary restrictions to contend with which mean Raincock-Ekunwe may play as the team’s sole import.

Kelsey Griffin, who started as an import before becoming an Australian citizen, is another player who the team are desperate to retain. The thought of Griffin, who has won two championships with Bendigo, playing for another team just seems wrong. “Kelsey is a match-winner, she’s proven that over a long period” Pritchard says. “It’s just a matter of whether we can keep her”.

With Raincock-Ekunwe and Griffin, the team’s strength was in their frontcourt, where Griffin also chipped in with scoring (15.13 a game), typically outstanding defence and rim protection (27 blocks). Popular centre Gabe Richards was again hard to keep off the boards, though her scoring was somewhat down from past all-star five efforts, slipping from 15.50 in 2015/16 to 7.58 this season.

Gabrielle Richards muscles to the hoop against the Flames. "She's a really smart basketballer" Pritchard says. — Gabrielle Richards muscles to the hoop against the Flames. “She’s a really smart basketballer” Pritchard says.

Pritchard suggests there are a number of reasons for Richards’ lower numbers. “We changed our offensive structure this year, so she wasn’t getting as many of those baseline looks” he says. “Though she also had some good looks that she missed, she was maybe a bit unlucky there”. He backs Richards to continue to be a high-level contributor. “She’s a really smart basketballer. We need to find a role that maximises what she can do”.

The team finished on a strong note, with Nadeen Payne coming off the bench to hit 14 and then 16 points in consecutive one-point victories against Melbourne and finals-bound Perth. Underrated guard Heather Oliver also had strong all-round performances in both games, while Raincock-Ekunwe hit a long two to seal the game against Perth. In many ways, the closing stretch summed up the Spirit at their best: tough, intense and confident that Raincock-Ekunwe and Griffin would make the clutch plays to get them over the line in a dogfight.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe hits the game-winner against Perth.

Those last two wins meant the team finished with a 13-11 win/loss record, which Pritchard agrees would normally be enough for a playoff berth. But the Spirit have zero interest in settling for consolation prizes. “We’re all about championships” Pritchard says. “There’s only first”.