I'm not that up to speed on Twitter but I saw a tweet saying #33 Talia Caldwell, pivotal player on Cal's Final Four Team, has signed a contract with the NY Liberty.
Congratulations!!! More proof - hard work and determination pay off.

Not sure if you read her story in the Players' Tribune
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/talia-caldwell-basketball-wnba/

Bigshadetree;842676522 said:

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I'm not that up to speed on Twitter but I saw a tweet saying #33 Talia Caldwell, pivotal player on Cal's Final Four Team, has signed a contract with the NY Liberty.
Congratulations!!! More proof - hard work and determination pay off.

Not sure if you read her story in the Players' Tribune
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/talia-caldwell-basketball-wnba/

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Thanks for posting. Talia one of my favorite Bears!! Glad she will finally have an opportunity to show off her talent.

FINALLY!

I always thought Talia Caldwell should have been drafted right out of college because after the big "3 to See" (Griner, Delle Donne, Diggins) things were pretty wide open!

I just looked up her stats from overseas and she leads her league in rebounding (with 11.2 rpg). But her 15.0 ppg might be even more impressive.

The NY Liberty have the last pick of the 1st round in the WNBA draft so it makes sense why they signed Talia, and also suggests she'll have a good shot at making the final roster. Even if they do draft a solid post with their first pick at #12 (maybe a Pac-12 big like Jillian Alleyne, Temi Fagbenle, or Ruth Hamblin), I still kind of like Talia's chances. After Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes, I don't see any other posts on the current Liberty roster who would be necessarily favored over Talia (though 6'6" Carolyn Swords started 22 games for them last year averaging 15 mpg, 5.1 ppg, and 4.0 rpg).

Talia's a little small for the W, but she plays bigger and has a shot. But first she has to beat out a solid veteran in Avery Warley. Warley will turn 27 in May, and she's a legit 6-3 -- and she's played 104 WNBA games. She's an OK shooter, a good FT shooter, a good rebounder and a terrible ballhandler.

Caldwell is 6-1, a slightly better shooter, a much worse FT shooter, a good rebounder and an OK ballhandler.

Size, experience and free-throw shooting are working against Caldwell, and that assumes the Liberty don't take a post in the draft.

ClayK;842676626 said:

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Talia's a little small for the W ... Caldwell is 6-1

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Height police here! I don't know if an inch or two matter all that much, but most sites list Caldwell at 6'3" (Eurobasket said 6'2", Cal said 6'4"). At Cal she was taller than Brandon and at least as tall as Gray. And I know from standing next to her that she's taller than I (6'1").

She was listed at 188 centimeters in her Euroleague profile, which is 6-1. Generally, those heights are exaggerated, but maybe not.

For the W, given her style of play, she's going to have to overcome lack of size. And I never got the impression she had really long arms (like Brandon, for example), which may be more important than raw height.

ClayK;842676920 said:

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She was listed at 188 centimeters in her Euroleague profile, which is 6-1. Generally, those heights are exaggerated, but maybe not.

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188 cm is just a hair over 74 in (divide by 2.54). I suppose there's no consistency in measurement, some numbers I've seen must include wishful thinking or thick shoes.

Quote:

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And I never got the impression she had really long arms (like Brandon, for example), which may be more important than raw height.

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Yes, I think reach is more important than height. Width counts as well, because it gives you room to work, but then Brandon's lack of width allowed her to maneuver between people.

Yes, I thought ClayK was drunk when he said 6'1"! Then I noticed she was listed 6'2" in Europe and also saw a couple photos of her with her teammate and good friend Haley Peters (former Duke forward) where Talia looked a shade shorter. So I concede she may very well be 6'1"-6'2". (so was Gen Brandon perhaps only 5'11"-6'0"???)

Anyway, Talia will have her work cut out for her as the Liberty got 6'4" Adut Bulgak with pick #12—basically a dream player for that pick and someone I expect making the final roster. But Talia could still beat out Avery Warley and/or Carolyn Swords.

NY's coach loves height. Swords had perhaps her best W season yet last year with NY but the opposite might be said of Warley.

Though I agree with ClayK about Warley in the sense that I only remember her from her days with Phoenix, and she seemed to be a legit great rebounder even at the WNBA level. And based on glimpses of her with Phoenix, she's definitely significantly more athletic than Talia. That said, if Talia can be more scrappy and blue collar and be more effective in the role of simply getting rebounds and producing unscripted points off O-boards, she still has a good shot over Warley.

New York Tarakchian, Annie Waived
New York Ballard, Danielle Waived

Talia still hanging in there but Liberty just signed a solid vet 6'3" Jennifer Lacy, who notched 7.0 ppg while playing a bit for Connecticut last year. Not much of a rebounder though, so Talia might have an edge there!

And, WOW, Bill Laimbeer announced that Brittany Boyd will be NY Liberty's starting point guard on opening night! Quite thrilling news for Boyd and Cal WBB, especially since NY seems to have former WNBA #1 draft pick, vet Lindsey Harding on their roster!

http://www.excellesports.com/news/new-york-libertys-brittany-boyd-finds-shes-teams-starting-point-guard/

Both brittany boyd and talia caldwell started in a preseason contest vs chicago today, neither former bear had great games though. BB played 16min, 3-10 fg, 0-2 on 3 pointers, no free throws, 1 Offensive rebound, 3 assists, 2 fouls and 1 t.o. TC got 21 min but failed to score on 3 attempts, no free throws, 6rebounds (2 offensive) 2 fouls and 1 T.O.
Lets hope the coach saw enough good stuff to keep them both on the roster!
Go Bears!
P.S. NY LOST 59-93
http://www.wnba.com/game/20160501/NYLCHI/

The Liberty just traded for an overweight Shoni Schimmel, who was in the doghouse in Atlanta. Schimmel, when in shape, is a tremendous player and is an effective point guard.

This conceivably could affect Boyd's starting spot down the road and definitely her minutes when and if Schimmel can run up and down the court several times without needing oxygen.

Possible bad news for Talia, NY just received Amanda Zahui B from Dallas wings for a draft pick. Hope Talia can make the team. I think rosters are supposed to be cut to 12 by Friday 13th!

It will be a shock if Talia survives the final cut now. Zahui B. was the second overall pick last year and the Liberty traded a first-round pick for her -- she's staying.

Stokes has a concussion, though, so maybe that will work into something.

Talia cut today per wnba.com. I was really looking forward to watching her and having 4 bears playing in the league. Keeping my fingers crossed for BB, LC, and RG.
Go bears!

Avery Warley and vet Swin Cash (who has a couple Olympic gold medals) also waived by the Liberty. Amanda Zahui B. is a big development. I was surprised she didn't do much with Tulsa/Dallas. She's young, huge at 6'5", strong, pretty mobile and smooth. Has some versatility and shooting range. Put up cumbersome numbers in 2 years at Minnesota scoring and rebounding. Laimbeer likes size so it's not surprising he jumped on her and gave her the benefit of the doubt despite not doing much as a rookie. With veteran Cash also getting waived, Talia has no reason to hang her head. But I don't know if she'll get many more looks by WNBA teams.

I think players like Gennifer Brandon and Talia Caldwell would really benefit from either roster expansion or league expansion. Both have wnba talent, but need to refine skills and develop more. Unfortunately the wnba is slow to grow, and many good players do not get their chance to showcase their talent. Luckily they should both be able to make a living in the euro league, I think Gen was averaging 16pts and 10reb this past season with Dunav (Bulgaria)

Expansion is mentioned for the WNBA, but for financial reasons it's unlikely to happen. That said, though, there aren't enough players either -- the talent dropoff after the first five or six on each roster is pretty substantial, and both Atlanta and San Antonio don't even go that deep.

With young girls choosing volleyball and soccer rather than basketball, the long-term prognosis for WNBA expansion is not that bright ...

I think the expansion will happen, but not for another couple years. When the new president of the wnba addressed this issue she said they had intrest from both potential owners and cities. I agree that there is a talent drop off after the starting 5 on all teams but I think the talent pool that the wnba can draw upon is growing. Not only from the US colleges but international players as well. Many euro league stars don't try out for the wnba because of the salary drop off. More teams are picking marquee partnerships which will help with that issue. Definitely a interesting topic to keep an eye on.

Every WNBA president every year has, without fail, said "We have interested cities and interested investors," but a phone call for information is a long way from the reality of losing $3 to $5 million in the first five years for a franchise that has no market value, and at best, will turn a six-figure profit in a good year.

San Francisco will get a team when the new arena opens, but I would guess it will be a relocation rather than expansion.

The argue over talent goes on every year, but look at the San Antonio roster. Next, protect the top six on each WNBA roster and see what you have left over ...

It's not pretty.