On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Howard Megdal breaks down the New York Liberty’s recent midseason roster moves and brings on New York Liberty reporter Jackie Powell to talk about what Emma Meesseman joining the team means going forward.
The Liberty, who were already in second place in the WNBA standings, are slated to add Meesseman, one of the top players in European basketball and the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP. She chose New York over other potential landing spots, including the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury.
“I think what really convinced Emma Meesseman … I mean, it’s a bunch of things,” Powell said. “So publicly, what general manager Jonathan Kolb told us was that Emma wanted to win, and she was very confident in the roster that New York has, and it features a lot of familiar faces for her. It features players she’s played with in Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Rebekah Gardner … Natasha Cloud, Nyara Sabally. These are all people she knows. She also knows the staff. She knows Andrew Wade, who she spent time with in Washington. She knows Sandy and Olaf, who coached her when she was a much younger player in Russia. So she knows a lot of the people within this franchise, and she likes those people.”
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
Next, Megdal and Powell discuss how Meesseman might pair in the frontcourt with Jones, who is slated to return from an ankle injury Tuesday night against the Indiana Fever. This conversation also includes takes on what a healthy Jones provides this New York Liberty team while they await Meesseman’s arrival.
“She anchors them on the defensive side with her rim protection, her switch ability, being able to guard almost anyone, and she also anchors them offensively,” Powell said. “Because of the mismatches she poses, when actions are being blown up and things are going wrong, they can say, okay, let’s give the ball to JJ and see what she can create, see what she can do.”
And Golden State Valkyries reporter Michelle Smith is joined by Cal head coach Charmin Smith to talk about the surprising early success of the Valkyries. The two discuss whether the playoffs are a reasonable goal for the team.
To stay up to date with every episode of the podcast, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch up on all our WNBA coverage here.
