Was checking to see if Reshanda Gray made the WNBA but instead came across Hind Ben Abdeladader. It doesn't list the country she is from but my guess it is the former Cal guard from Belgium who left school before the her first BB season.

http://fever.wnba.com/roster/

Anyone know if Reshanda is on a team or not?

Yes you are correct, same Hind, but if I recall correctly she played a good portion of her freshman season.
And no, sadly Gray got cut from NY liberty roster on the last day.
Go Bears!

I'd be willing to pay money to see a game that Hind plays in just to see if she ever learned how to play any defense.

After watching yesterday's game, the answer is "no." Indiana is so awful, however, that they have to play someone.

A mock draft came out for 2019 and had Anigwe going in the second round -- which means she would have less than 50-50 chance of making a roster.

annarborbear said:

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I'd be willing to pay money to see a game that Hind plays in just to see if she ever learned how to play any defense.

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Indiana vs Washington on TV now (NBA network). She actually has played so far about 6 minutes in the first half. 1-2 from the FT and the her only shot looked like she rushed a 3pt'er that was an airball. 2 rb but no assist. She played mostly on the wing.

She played 24 min against the Sparks scoring 6 points. But she was the only player on the team to have a + rating that game.. She played well enough that they started her in the second half.

Indiana is simply awful, which will give her an opportunity to show she can play in the league. If nothing else, it boosts her salary in Europe ...

Am watching the New York Liberty at Indiana, and feeling pretty irritated that Hind, a poor defender and erratic shooter, has a roster spot and Reshanda does not (and, yes, I'm aware of R.G.'s propensity to foul).

$64k bitcoin question: Did McPhee not want to play for the Fever, or was Coach Chatman not anxious to recruit her?

For border line WNBA ending up in the right training camp makes a huge difference. It all depend the quality and quantity of players that you are competing at your position with. Because there are so few vacancies there are many players who are not on teams purely based on luck and chance. Once you end up being considered a borderline player that rep will work against you in respect to making a roster. They would rather go with a rookie who's potential is unknown than one who has shown to be replaceable. Unless you are a high draft pick or really shine in training camp the odds of a lower level player making a roster is slim. The camps just are also not long enough for cut players to get picked up and make a different teams roster.

First, Indiana is simply awful, so making that roster is not nearly as difficult as making any other one.

Second, as pointed out, when you're at the end of the bench, it depends on the team and how it's structured. If a team is playing Hind or Gray or any other No. 11 or No. 12 more than a few minutes, they're going to lose anyway, so the decision comes down to different factors than just ability.

So sure, Reshanda Gray brings more basketball value to the court in a completely neutral situation than Hind Ben Abdelkader, but a) neither bring enough to make a difference in the WNBA, and b) Hind just got lucky by signing with a truly terrible team.

Thanks, willtalk and Clay--I do get it. Team/league structure aside, I also realize that the world is an unfair place much of the time. Just venting.

Thus far, Hind is shooting 3-19 on three point shots (15.6%}. I think that Rashandra could beat that.

A bit of love for R.G. here in this piece about a theoretical expansion team in the W:

https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2018/6/5/17428028/2018-wnba-hypothetical-expansion-team-natalie-butler-alba-torrens-sandrine-gruda-marta-xargay

Just for the record, Indiana already looks like an expansion team, and the Las Vegas Aces aren't far behind.

The talent pool is pretty shallow, and the international players mentioned in the Swish Appeal article are unlikely to play in the WNBA because of the low salary. (Alba Torrens has been the sasquatch of the WNBA for years ...)

That said, if someone stepped forward who was willing to lose $2 million a year on a franchise that will accrue zero value, expansion would happen next year.