2009 Detroit Shock season

2009 Detroit Shock season
CoachBill Laimbeer (1-3)
Rick Mahorn (17-13)
ArenaPalace of Auburn Hills
Attendance8,011 per game
Results
Record18–16 (.529)
Place3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals
Team Leaders
PointsNolan (16.9)
ReboundsFord (7.4)
AssistsNolan (3.5)

The 2009 WNBA season is the 12th for the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association in the United States. The Shock attempted to win the WNBA Finals, tying the record for most championships with the Houston Comets (4 but failed in the conference finals. On June 15, 2009, head coach Bill Laimbeer resigned as head coach of the Detroit Shock, due to family reasons and the desire to become an NBA head coach.[1] Though he was unable to secure an NBA head coaching position, ESPN reported on August 30 that Laimbeer was offered, and accepted, an assistant coach position with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Shock is able to overcome the early struggles, and in 2008 championship Detroit Shock reached the playoffs in its seventh straight year. It was their final year in Detroit, as the Shock were purchased by Tulsa Hoops, and new ownership moved the team to Tulsa for 2010.

Offseason

[edit]

Dispersal Draft

[edit]

Based on the Shock's 2008 record, they could have picked 11th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. However, the Shock waived their pick.

WNBA draft

[edit]

The following are the Shock's selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 11 Shavonte Zellous  United States Pittsburgh
2 18 (from Phx. via Atl.) Britany Miller  United States Florida State
3 37 Tanae Davis-Cain  United States Florida State

[2]

Transactions

[edit]
  • August 18: The Shock signed Nikki Teasley after Barbara Farris' seven-day contract expired.
  • August 17: The Shock acquired Crystal Kelly from the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kristin Haynie.
  • August 4: The Shock signed Barbara Farris after Anna DeForge's seven-day contract expired.
  • July 27: The Shock signed Anna DeForge.
  • July 23: The Shock waived Anna DeForge.
  • July 10: The Shock signed Anna DeForge.
  • July 6: The Shock waived Barbara Farris.
  • June 28: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Sherill Baker.
  • June 26: The Shock signed Sherill Baker to a replacement contract.
  • June 18: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Kelly Schumacher due to the return of Cheryl Ford.
  • June 15: The Shock announced the resignation of Bill Laimbeer. Assistant coach Rick Mahorn was promoted to head coach, while assistant coach Cheryl Reeve took over general management duties.[3]
  • June 10: The Shock terminated Britany Miller's replacement contract and signed Kelly Schumacher to a replacement contract.
  • June 8: The Shock signed Britany Miller to a replacement contract.
  • June 3: The Shock waived Kristen Rasmussen, Tiera DeLaHoussaye, Britany Miller, and Sequoia Holmes.
  • May 28: The Shock signed Barbara Farris.
  • May 27: The Shock waived Tanae Davis-Cain.
  • May 18: The Shock signed Kristen Rasmussen and Sequoia Holmes.
  • April 22: The Shock signed Kristin Haynie.
  • April 16: The Shock signed Tiera DeLaHoussaye to a training camp contract.
  • April 9: The Shock traded Ashley Shields to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 18th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
  • January 30: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a training-camp contract.
  • January 9: The Shock re-signed free agent Kara Braxton.
  • August 19, 2008: The Shock signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin to a one-year extension.
  • August 12, 2008: The Shock traded their second-round 2009 WNBA Draft pick to the Washington Mystics as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin acquisition.

[4]

Date Trade
April 9, 2009 To Detroit Shock To Atlanta Dream
18th pick in 2009 Draft Ashley Shields

Free agents

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Roster

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Detroit Shock roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 45 United States Braxton, Kara 6' 6" (1.98m) 190 lb (86kg) Georgia
PF 35 United States Ford, Cheryl 6' 3" (1.91m) 195 lb (88kg) Louisiana Tech
SG 22 United States Hornbuckle, Alexis 5' 11" (1.8m) 155 lb (70kg) Tennessee
F 42 United States Kelly, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) Western Kentucky
C 44 United States McWilliams, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) St. Edward's University
SG 14 United States Nolan, Deanna 5' 11" (1.8m) 147 lb (67kg) Georgia
SF 23 United States Pierson, Plenette Injured 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) Texas Tech
C 24 United States Sanni, Olayinka 6' 2" (1.88m) 205 lb (93kg) West Virginia
G/F 30 United States Smith, Katie 5' 11" (1.8m) 175 lb (79kg) Ohio State
G 6 United States Teasley, Nikki 6' 0" (1.83m) 169 lb (77kg) North Carolina
G 1 United States Zellous, Shavonte 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) Pittsburgh
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Season standings

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Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Indiana Fever x 22 12 .647 14–3 8–9 17–5
Atlanta Dream x 18 16 .529 4.0 12–5 6–11 10–12
Detroit Shock x 18 16 .529 4.0 11–6 7–10 11–11
Washington Mystics x 16 18 .471 6.0 11–6 5–12 10–12
Chicago Sky o 16 18 .471 6.0 12–5 4–13 10–12
Connecticut Sun o 16 18 .471 6.0 12–5 4–13 9–12
New York Liberty o 13 21 .382 9.0 8–9 5–12 8–13

Schedule

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Preseason

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2009 Game Log: Preseason
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 22 7:30pm @ Chicago 67-71 Hornbuckle (14) Miller (10) DeLaHoussaye (5) UIC Pavilion
3,283
0-1
2 May 27 11:00am Chicago 78-68 Zellous (18) Zellous (8) Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
3,952
1-1
3 May 30 7:00pm San Antonio 62-55 Zellous (13) Sanni (6) Hornbuckle (3) Traverse City West H.S.
2,109
2-1

Regular season

[edit]
2009 Game Log: Regular Season
June
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 June 6 2:30pm @ Los Angeles ABC 58-78 Nolan (15) Smith (7) McWilliams (4) STAPLES Center
13,154
0-1
2 June 8 7:30pm Los Angeles 81-52 Nolan (27) Hornbuckle, McWilliams (7) Haynie, Hornbuckle, Smith (3) Palace of Auburn Hills
13,915
1-1
3 June 10 7:30pm Washington 69-75 Smith, McWilliams (14) Sanni, Zellous (7) Nolan (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,329
1-2
4 June 19 7:30pm Indiana 54-66 Nolan (13) Hornbuckle, McWilliams (10) Hornbuckle, Nolan, Smith (2) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,725
1-3
5 June 21 6:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV
FSI
70-82 Nolan (16) Nolan (8) Nolan (6) Conseco Fieldhouse
7,610
1-4
6 June 26 7:30pm @ Atlanta 86-96 Zellous (25) McWilliams (9) McWilliams, Nolan (2) Philips Arena
5,935
1-5
7 June 28 6:00pm Sacramento 86-72 Zellous (18) Ford (8) McWilliams, Smith (3) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,277
2-5
July
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
8 July 2 7:30pm @ New York MSG 64-80 Ford (13) Ford, Hornbuckle (10) Smith (5) Madison Square Garden
8,018
2-6
9 July 5 6:00pm Connecticut 92-95 (OT) Smith (28) Hornbuckle (12) McWilliams (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,981
2-7
10 July 11 7:00pm @ Connecticut NBA TV
WCTX
79-77 (OT) Smith (25) Braxton (13) Smith (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,342
3-7
11 July 15 10:00pm @ Seattle NBA TV
FSN-NW
66-62 Smith (19) Ford (8) Nolan (7) KeyArena
6,821
4-7
12 July 18 10:00pm @ Phoenix 90-97 Smith (21) McWilliams (12) Smith (5) US Airways Center
8,288
4-8
13 July 19 9:00pm @ Sacramento 69-65 McWilliams (21) McWilliams (12) Braxton, Nolan, Smith, Zellous (3) ARCO Arena
7,538
5-8
14 July 22 12:00pm Atlanta 95-98 (OT) Braxton (25) Braxton (12) Nolan (9) Palace of Auburn Hills
14,439
5-9
15 July 31 7:30pm Minnesota 91-83 Nolan (22) Ford (9) McWilliams, Nolan (9) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,314
6-9
August
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
16 August 2 6:00pm Connecticut 65-83 Nolan (20) Ford (9) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,814
6-10
17 August 4 7:30pm New York ESPN2 76-64 Nolan (26) Nolan (14) McWilliams, Nolan, Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,081
7-10
18 August 7 7:00pm @ Washington 66-70 Braxton (14) McWilliams (7) Nolan (6) Verizon Center
10,637
7-11
19 August 9 6:00pm Chicago 64-58 Zellous (19) McWilliams (12) Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,893
8-11
20 August 11 7:00pm @ Washington 81-77 Nolan (23) McWilliams (13) McWilliams, Zellous (4) Verizon Center
10,398
9-11
21 August 13 7:30pm @ Atlanta 75-80 Nolan (20) McWilliams (10) McWilliams (5) Philips Arena
5,641
9-12
22 August 15 7:00pm @ Indiana 59-82 Zellous (16) Braxton (10) McWilliams, Zellous (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,963
9-13
23 August 18 7:30pm Seattle 75-79 Nolan (29) McWilliams (8) Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,392
9-14
24 August 22 8:00pm @ Chicago 76-67 Smith (10) Ford (9) 4 players (4) UIC Pavilion
5,167
10-14
25 August 23 6:00pm San Antonio 99-87 Smith (31) McWilliams, Nolan (7) Hornbuckle (7) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,130
11-14
26 August 25 7:00pm @ Connecticut 90-70 Smith (19) Kelly (8) Zellous (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,811
12-14
27 August 27 7:30pm Atlanta 87-83 Nolan (29) Ford (12) Hornbuckle (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
5,695
13-14
28 August 29 3:00pm @ San Antonio ESPN2 88-100 (OT) Nolan (34) Braxton (7) Teasley (5) AT&T Center
7,735
13-15
September
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
29 September 1 7:30pm Phoenix 101-99 Ford (22) Ford (11) Teasley, Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
5,239
14-15
30 September 4 7:30pm Indiana 70-63 (OT) Nolan (22) Ford (12) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,230
15-15
31 September 6 6:00pm Chicago 84-75 Nolan (19) Nolan (8) Braxton, Hornbuckle, Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,619
16-15
32 September 9 8:00pm @ Minnesota 72-75 Ford (16) Ford (12) Ford, Teasley, Zellous (4) Target Center
7,423
16-16
33 September 10 7:30pm New York NBA TV
MSG
94-87 (OT) Nolan (34) Braxton, McWilliams (8) Hornbuckle, Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,178
17-16
34 September 12 8:00pm @ Chicago 80-69 Zellous (20) McWilliams (10) Nolan, Zellous (4) UIC Pavilion
5,334
18-16
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Postseason

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2009 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 16 8:00pm Atlanta ESPN2 94-89 Nolan (25) Ford (10) Hornbuckle (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,122
1-0
2 September 18 7:30pm @ Atlanta NBA TV 94-79 Nolan (22) Braxton, Hornbuckle (8) Braxton, Nolan (5) Gwinnett Arena
4,780
2-0
Eastern Conference Finals
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 23 8:00pm Indiana ESPN2 72-56 Zellous (23) Braxton, Ford (9) Zellous (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,214
1-0
2 September 25 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV 75-79 Nolan (23) Ford (13) Hornbuckle, Nolan, Zellous (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,210
1-1
3 September 26 7:00pm @ Indiana NBA TV 67-72 Nolan (16) Ford (11) Hornbuckle, McWilliams, Nolan (4) Conseco Fieldhouse
18,165
1-2

Regular Season Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Player statistics

[edit]
Player GP GS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Sherill Baker 1 0 11.0 1.0 1.0 1.00 0.00 7.0
Kara Braxton 28 2 18.0 6.0 1.5 0.68 0.64 9.0
Barbara Farris 13 3 8.5 1.4 0.4 0.38 0.00 1.3
Tanae Davis-Cain 1 0 4.0 2.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 2.0
Anna DeForge 7 7 16.1 2.9 1.4 0.57 0.00 1.4
Cheryl Ford 29 29 26.0 7.4 0.9 0.97 0.45 8.6
Kristin Haynie 20 2 8.1 1.3 0.6 0.70 0.00 2.2
Alexis Hornbuckle 32 21 26.6 4.9 2.7 1.31 0.28 6.7
Crystal Kelly 11 0 7.6 1.3 0.4 0.36 0.09 2.8
Taj McWilliams 34 34 30.4 6.6 2.9 0.97 0.47 9.8
Britany Miller 1 0 8.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 0.00 0.0
Deanna Nolan 33 33 33.7 4.3 3.5 1.33 0.30 16.9
Plenette Pierson 1 0 5.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 1.00 0.0
Olayinka Sanni 31 1 9.6 1.8 0.5 0.35 0.16 3.8
Kelly Schumacher 1 0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 1.00 0.0
Katie Smith 27 27 33.1 2.3 2.8 0.78 0.07 13.7
Nikki Teasley 11 7 20.2 1.3 2.2 0.55 0.36 3.8
Shavonte Zellous 34 4 23.6 3.1 1.8 0.79 0.50 11.9

Team statistics

[edit]
Team FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Detroit Shock .430 .351 .748 36.1 16.9 7.7 2.8 16.1 22.5 78.0
Opponents .410 .340 .777 32.4 15.4 8.2 3.2 15.6 21.1 77.8

Awards and honors

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Laimbeer resigns as Shock coach". ESPN. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  2. ^ "WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Draft Board". Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  3. ^ "Laimbeer resigns as Shock coach". ESPN. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  4. ^ WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions
[edit]