Monika Czinano Professional Career
- Thread starter undersized_post
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If Monika and Megan both make their rosters (that's a gigantic *if*), Monika vs Megan would be the first ESPN-televised game of the WNBA season.
May 18th, pretty much one day before the season starts. However, players on non-guaranteed contracts (like Monika and Megan would be) can be cut anytime during the season as well.
Thank you. I hope Monika makes the cut. It was a pleasure watching her play these past couple of seasons. Hope to see her play some more professionally.
Looks like Monica is on her way
Training camp starts April 30th with each team having a couple non-televised preseason games the second and/or third weeks of May.
Don't want to jinx Monika, but just to temper expectations here, I'll say a third round pick making the opening day roster would be a rarity. Most WNBA teams carry 4 or 5 post players. The 4 most talented posts on the Sparks roster are far and away Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Azura Stevens, and Dearica Hamby. But Hamby just had a baby, opening up a temporary roster spot before she will all but certainly rejoin the team midway through the season.
That means Joyner Holmes, Reshanda Gray, and Monika are all essentially competing for 1 or maybe 2 spots (with one being a temporary spot).
-Gray is an experienced vet player who has made a career bouncing from team to team. Very low ceiling but relatively high floor. If the Sparks want to a reliable vet presence at the end of the bench they will go with her.
-Holmes has shown nothing in her three WNBA seasons, but she has played for the Sparks coach Curt Miller before (when he was at Connecticut). I'm guessing he likes her if he's kept her around this long, so that might give her an edge.
-Working in Monika's favor is that her contract would be the cheapest. She's also an unknown quantity. So if they don't want to invest any more in Holmes or Gray, who in my opinion will never be real contributors on a good WNBA team, maybe they keep Monika around for a month to see if she shows anything in practice.
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Curt is the Sparks' Head Coach.
WNBA on Instagram: "In a game of jeopardy, we think we would want the rooks on our team 😂 @monika_czinano and @z.loading_ challenge each other to see who knows the history behind their new team, the @la_sparks"
5,014 likes, 71 comments - WNBA (@wnba) on Instagram on May 4, 2023: "In a game of jeopardy, we think we would want the rooks on our team 😂 @monika_czinano and @z...."
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Czinano is still holding on to the roster? I see Alexis Morris from LSU has already been cut by her team.
Their teams play each other tonight in Phoenix at 9:00 cdt. LA's only preseason game and Phoenix's second of two. Final cutdown day is the 18th.
Finished with 6 points on 3-5 shooting in 9 minutes.
Everyone usually plays equal minutes in these preseason games. Stats and minutes played usually do not correlate to who makes the team. So hard to read too much into anything. But exciting nonetheless!
Everyone usually plays equal minutes in these preseason games. Stats and minutes played usually do not correlate to who makes the team. So hard to read too much into anything. But exciting nonetheless!
With Monika I always think back to a Tweet I saw last year about how Iowa was the only P5 team to ask about her during her sophomore summer. Even if she doesn't make the regular season roster, what a journey from that point to scoring in a pre-season game. She should be extremely proud of what she's accomplished.
Stats for the scrimmage between the Sparks and the Storm. Monika with 9 points in 12 minutes. Impressive to get to the line 8 times! Although she was second on her team in points, just to put that in context, I'd imagine her 12 minutes came primarily against the Storm's very weak bench. But, it's still pretty cool.
This was also Dearica Hamby's first appearance after giving birth. I thought Hamby might miss the first part of the season on maternity leave which would open up a temporary roster spot that Monika could potentially occupy. Unfortuantely, Hamby being back already further lessens Monika's chances of making the team (in my estimation.)
Teams usually carry 4 post players or sometimes 5. The two Ogwumikes, Hamby, and Stevens are locks to make the roster. If the Sparks carry that fifth post, it could be Holmes, Czinano, or someone else entirely added from the waiver wire, etc.
Post players can survive in the league without much range -- *if* they are great defenders and rebounders. But that wasn't Monika's game in college ball, much less in the pros. 😂
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Haven't followed the WNBA that closely and I'm curious concerning the reliance on the 3-point shot. Do they shoot that many and who is taking them besides the guards? Are the big wing players taking that many?
Stats for the scrimmage between the Sparks and the Storm. Monika with 9 points in 12 minutes. Impressive to get to the line 8 times! Although she was second on her team in points, just to put that in context, I'd imagine her 12 minutes came primarily against the Storm's very weak bench. But, it's still pretty cool.
This was also Dearica Hamby's first appearance after giving birth. I thought Hamby might miss the first part of the season on maternity leave which would open up a temporary roster spot that Monika could potentially occupy. Unfortuantely, Hamby being back already further lessens Monika's chances of making the team (in my estimation.)
Teams usually carry 4 post players or sometimes 5. The two Ogwumikes, Hamby, and Stevens are locks to make the roster. If the Sparks carry that fifth post, it could be Holmes, Czinano, or someone else entirely added from the waiver wire, etc.
Post players can survive in the league without much range -- *if* they are great defenders and rebounders. But that wasn't Monika's game in college ball, much less in the pros. 😂
Monika has shown good mid-range, and only had 1 3pt attempt. Its possible that she could develop a 3 point shot...
Stats for the scrimmage between the Sparks and the Storm. Monika with 9 points in 12 minutes. Impressive to get to the line 8 times! Although she was second on her team in points, just to put that in context, I'd imagine her 12 minutes came primarily against the Storm's very weak bench. But, it's still pretty cool.
This was also Dearica Hamby's first appearance after giving birth. I thought Hamby might miss the first part of the season on maternity leave which would open up a temporary roster spot that Monika could potentially occupy. Unfortuantely, Hamby being back already further lessens Monika's chances of making the team (in my estimation.)
Teams usually carry 4 post players or sometimes 5. The two Ogwumikes, Hamby, and Stevens are locks to make the roster. If the Sparks carry that fifth post, it could be Holmes, Czinano, or someone else entirely added from the waiver wire, etc.
Post players can survive in the league without much range -- *if* they are great defenders and rebounders. But that wasn't Monika's game in college ball, much less in the pros. 😂
Bigs usually either need a competent face-up game or ability to stretch the floor by hitting open 3's. If you're huuuuge -- like 6'6'' or more -- you can be impactful with just a strong post up game + rebounding and/or rim protection. The post player most similar to Monika's build who has made a career primarly on post-ups is Brionna Jones (Maryland alum), and her first few seasons were quite bleak. It's amazing she's become as impactful as she is. She is the exception not the rule.
Not all wings are great 3 point shooters, but most offenses hit a ceiling unless the have 3 three point threats on the floor at any given time. More about roster balance than what any specific position has to be able to do.
Yeah I was actually saying her range *won't* be an issue. It's more the defensive and rebounding.
I would think CC's all-around game would thrive in this league, especially her long-range bombing.
Would you really wanna play for a team whose logo looks like a silhouette of Sideshow Bob?
Just not enough teams. Really tough league to make it in.
Yep. For context if the WNBA were the size of the NBA, Megan and Monika would likely be significant role players, or even starters (Megan more so than Monika). As it is, Monika doesn't have much of a shot at sticking and Megan has barely hung onto a roster spot for years.
It's hard to grow a fanbase when most college stars can't make the league.
I would guess the NBA said they'd finance, but only to a certain point.
I really wonder; if the Kathleen Doyles, Monikas, Megans, and others--and similar players from other colleges--all were to get to the point you mention, would that matter to most fans? Would that increase ticket sales? Would games be 'appointment TV' just to watch old Hawkeye players? I'm not pooping on it--I truly wonder for most folks. Maybe it would and that would be exactly what is needed.
I think it could help with interest. I really enjoyed watching Megan play. If she were a starter, I would probably tune into WNBA games to watch her play if I didn't have something else going. But I'm much less likely to do that when she's near the end of the bench and might not even get into a game. At that point, I can just find highlights.
I think I'll watch the league much more whenever Clark turns pro.
While I am not sure how it would mesh with a traditional draft I think if the WNBA wants to build more "local" support they need to keep top players local. If Monika and Megan played for either Chicago or Minnesota you would get much more regional fans. I don't think your passive WNBA fan is going out of their way to follow LA but would follow a midwest team with Hawks on it. The same could be said for any school.
I could see there being protected regions/conferences for early in their career players. The B1G players go to Chicago or Minnesota, SEC go to Dallas or Atlanta, etc. If they set a fixed salary/guaranteed 2 year deal for anyone drafted it would build some support and allow young players the opportunity to prove themselves and then let free agency take over.
Might be crazy but the WNBA needs to do something different because the numbers they are pulling in currently are pathetic.
I could see there being protected regions/conferences for early in their career players. The B1G players go to Chicago or Minnesota, SEC go to Dallas or Atlanta, etc. If they set a fixed salary/guaranteed 2 year deal for anyone drafted it would build some support and allow young players the opportunity to prove themselves and then let free agency take over.
Might be crazy but the WNBA needs to do something different because the numbers they are pulling in currently are pathetic.
As for 3 pt usage, I'll point out that Gustafson took 28% of her shots from 3-pt range last year, after she attempted only two 3s in college.
www.basketball-reference.com
Megan Gustafson WNBA Stats | Basketball-Reference.com
Statistics, history, awards and achievements for WNBA player Megan Gustafson
www.basketball-reference.com
Number of jobs in the WNBA vs NBA:
144: (12 teams x 12 players)......WNBA
510: (30 teams x 17 players).......NBA
NBA teams can have up to 15 players signed to official NBA contracts during their regular season roster. Each team can also carry up to 2 players under two-way contracts.
I think most of us knew at her height, 6-3 and basically scoring 95% of her baskets at Iowa from 5 ft and in and zero or 1 dribble it was going to be an uphill climb for her as a 3rd round pick. I just looked up Megan as I thought she was closer to 6-5 and realized she's only listed as 6-3 as well. As others have posted she's gotten way more fit and leaner and really developed her game to hang on in the WNBA. As we know she also scored 95% of her baskets at Iowa from 5 ft and in. Tough to translate that to the pros.
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