WNBA FAN
Years ago

Answers a few questions why Erin didn't make Opals

Article in IndyStar

MINNEAPOLIS - After seven years on the Australian national basketball team, Erin Phillips was told she wasn't good enough. Not good enough to be the point guard, not good enough to be a shooting guard.


The Indiana Fever player traveled from Australia to the United States immediately afterward, thinking about nothing else during a 10-hour flight. She was "devastated," she said.


She was motivated.


“During the Olympics, it was tough to watch my team,” Phillips said. “After the Olympics, to make this all better was to win a championship with the Indiana Fever.”


The 27-year-old guard has helped the Fever move closer to that. Her 13 points – many in clutch situations – helped the Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx 76-70 in Sunday’s Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.


Game 2 is Wednesday at Minnesota in the best-of-five series.


Phillips said she could have taken the snub to arbitration but declined to do so. She decided to redirect her energies to helping the Fever win a WNBA title for veterans like Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas, both 33, and Tammy Sutton-Brown, 34.


“That’s probably been more of a motivator – to win it for them – than my disappointment,” Phillips said.


One irony of her exclusion is that a supposed weakness was outside shooting.


During the regular season, her 3-point percentage (.438) led the Fever and was fourth in the league among those with 10 or more 3s. During the past nine games, including seven in the playoffs, she has shot .534 (15-of-28) from the arc and averaged 11.1 points.


She thought she was headed to the Seattle Storm before a trade sent her to the Fever in April 2011. She had played three seasons at Connecticut but was out of the WNBA in 2010 because of obligations to the Australian team.


Former Fever guard Tully Bevilaqua, who was on Aussie teams with Phillips that won a world championship in 2006 and Olympic silver medal in 2008, was a role model. Bevilaqua always told Phillips how much she loved Indianapolis and the Fever.


Now, Phillips feels the same.


“We have such great camaraderie on this team,” she said. “It’s very special because it’s rare. Sometimes you go play on many teams that have great players, but they never have that camadaerie, that 'X’ factor, that you’d do anything for them.


“And we definitely have that here. I think it definitely shines through when there’s 14,000 Minnesota fans screaming. We all come together. I feel like I’ve been here for years with this team.”

Topic #29605 | Report this topic


SamCro  
Years ago

Erin's stellar form in the WNBA is actually making a mockery of her snub from the Opals. If Coach Graf had her time over surely Erin would be selected. It still really annoys me that Screen was a starting 5 player in London & Erin actually couldn't make the final 12!!! I'm still convinced the real reason for her non selection hasn't come out yet...

Reply #383491 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Personally I think Erin is a better fit than Harrower and once The current coaches contract is up BA should be full steam ahead on Tom Maher

Reply #383492 | Report this post


Very Old  
Years ago

can't get rid of Graf untli LJ retires.

Reply #383493 | Report this post


Andy  
Years ago

Mcleod and Screen were selected over Erin, What a friggen joke. Graff has failed as the Opals coach and should be dumped.
Goodluck Erin during the WNBA finals, I have been watching your progress closly over the last few months and its great to see you step up big time and demand your starting position in one of the best womens teams in the world. Hope Fever win the title.

Reply #383495 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

And as long as Graff is there after airing things like this Erin has less chance in future of being an Opal

Reply #383496 | Report this post


The Teacher  
Years ago

Didnt Erin and LJ has a brief 'fling' at one time?

I seem to recall this, and also recall it maybe ending pretty badly.

Could be one of the reasons......

Reply #383504 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

What a joke and Graf def needs to be fired! For Erin to not make the team over people like McLeod, Screen, Hodges and even Richards to an extent is nothing but an embarrassment to Australian Basketball and these were my thoughts before Erin spoke up!

Reply #383507 | Report this post


HaHa  
Years ago

Erin didnt make the team purely because she was not willing to follow the team expectation and make herself available for all camps and games in the lead up to the Olympics.

She thought that she should be allowed to play with the Fever and turn up to the tournament while all 11 other players had to follow team rules and make all those commitments and thus not play WNBA till after the Olympics. Just like Lauren Jackson, Jenna O'Hea did.

Got nothing to do with her ability.

Coach Graf was about the last person in Australia even willing to give Erin a go because she has just bout burnt every bridge with every coach she has had, including the previous coach when she told them that she would only accept selection at the last Olympics if she was playing more than 20minutes in each game.

Only when she got told that te coach was more than willing to go to the media with that did she backed down.

Dont believe everything you read in the papers.

Same as when she said she was willing to play for free for the lightning last year in the papers and said the lightning hadnt spoken to her. In fact they had and she was asking for over 100K.

Reply #383517 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Didnt Erin and LJ has a brief 'fling' at one time?


I don't think Erin is that way inclined. Her b/f used to be former Crows and now Richmond ruckman Ivan Maric.

Reply #383525 | Report this post


WNBA FAN  
Years ago

Haha - I think you should follow your own advise and not read and believe everything you hear. I am guessing you are not Carrie Graf and you are hearing the infomation you heard 2nd hand your self. People like you annoy me because unless you heard the information come out of Erin Phillips and Carrie Graf's mouth you have nothing really new to add.

On another note when has Jackson, Taylor, Snell, and Tully ever (besides this year) given up there spots in the WNBA to come back to Australia and train with the Opals ummm NEVER so why would you expect Erin. Before Penny did her knee she made it clear in a Pheonix newspaper that she was playing the 2012 WNBA season. So if Penny didn't go to the camps do you think BA and Carrie Graff wouldn't have selected her? I think NOT.

Reply #383535 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

LJ won't & shouldn't be at the next Olympics in Brazil. LJ has been a warhorse & legendary player for the Opals over a long period of time but unfortunately 'father time' marches on. It's now time for the Opals to regenerate with a new generation of rising Opal players & who better to teach the next generation coming through (to play the right way) than Tom Maher?

Reply #383540 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

This whole situation shows how much of a joke Basketball Australia really is!
To try and force players to skip the first two thirds of the WNBA season which is how they make their living to spend that time commiting to the Opals program is a joke!

Now I know that BA as part of the contracts were paying those players, but these players (Erin) making that decision to give up 2 thirds of WNBA season could in fact end their careers in the WNBA. Unless your Lauren Jackson I dont think too many players could get away missing 2 thirds of a season and be happily welcomed back by their WNBA teams.

Now if Penny Talyor didnt get injured I wonder what Ms Graf would've done there??? Would it be a case of one rule for her guns/favourites and another rule for other players (Erin)

For the Olympics / World Championships you need to have your best 12 players playing, PERIOD!!

You didn't see the Boomers making that rule with their international players (eg Patty etc) and apart from a disapointing lose to Brazil they probably played up to their own expectations unlike the Opals.

Going by the Opals result this could go down as one of the worst selection decisions ever made by a coach of national team!!
Erin should not only have made the team but started and played big minutes!!
Lets hope this mistake is not made again for our next international tournament!!

















Reply #383553 | Report this post


HaHa  
Years ago

Penny Taylor was playing the WNBA season AFTER the Olymplics. Not before which was the issue. Same as all other WNBA players.

No one player is bigger than the team.

Reply #383554 | Report this post


Mystro  
Years ago

Brazil>Boomers

Reply #383556 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

Boomers did seem to favour players who committed to their program and worked hard as a team player. Baynes in there over Jawai, etc.

Reply #383560 | Report this post


WNBA FAN  
Years ago

HAHA - You are still getting 2nd hand information, you really need to start getting your facts RIGHT. Go to the Pheonix website or even google and Penny is QUOTED saying she WILL be there for the start of the 2012 season... Gee you are getting annoying with your incorrect facts.

Reply #383561 | Report this post


Young Gun  
Years ago

Has seemed weird that she didn't get much playing time in Beijing & didn't make the London team. I wonder if there were more behind the reasons she didn't appeal. In any case, her game is doing the talking, much like the Opals' didn't

Reply #383564 | Report this post


Camel 31  
Years ago

Seems Jackson's BA contract is different to Jarry's
though.

Reply #383569 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Had Erin shot better than 32% or made any of her 9 three point shots in 2010 she might have been given some leniency to miss some of the build up.

As it was she chose wnba and missed out on a medal, but at least she might get a title instead and then everyone will have got something.

Reply #383570 | Report this post


ringlord  
Years ago

I will miss our little Blondie very much.

Reply #383586 | Report this post


Red 35  
Years ago

Can anyone tell me if any other country imposed such strict selection conditions or was it just Australia.

Reply #383691 | Report this post




You need to be a registered user to post from this location. Register here.



Close ads
Little Streaks - The fun and interactive good-habits app designed especially for kids.
Serio: Tourism photography and videography

Advertise on Hoops to a very focused, local and sports-keen audience. Email for rates and options.

Recent Posts



.


An Australian basketball forum covering NBL, WNBL, ABL, Juniors plus NBA, WNBA, NZ, Europe, etc | Forum time is: 7:10 pm, Tue 19 Mar 2024 | Posts: 968,026 | Last 7 days: 754