LAS VEGAS — As Las Vegas Aces general manager Nikki Fargas focused on this year's WNBA draft, she remembered how fond she was of Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko's system. Fargas was the coach at LSU when her Tigers beat the Eagles by 11 during the 2019-20 season. Thus, scouting for her first WNBA Draft, Fargas kept an eagle eye on one player starring at FGCU this past season, especially when she lit up LSU for ... Read more
The Woman Who Refused to Quit: Inside Emma Cannon’s Unbelievable Rise Through the WNBA.BT
On the day of the 2022 WNBA Draft, Emma Cannon was kicking back and getting ready to watch it all unfold. Hours before the Atlanta Dream selected Kentucky alum Rhyne Howard with the first overall pick, Cannon thought about all of the other players who wouldn’t hear their names called. So, she decided to put her thoughts in a tweet and share them with the women’s college basketball world. “I knew the majority of ... Read more
The Untold Story Behind Emma Cannon’s Rise — A Journey of Resilience, Reinvention, and Pure Heart.BT
She was earthbound. She was unseen. She was snack-bound. In the dim, sweat-stained chrysalis of the Flint Street Community Center—a gym smaller than some closets, a nylon net and a beech wooden court whispering survive, survive,survive—twelve-year-old Emma Cannon cradled a basketball like a strange, leathery fruit. Coach Stortie’s offering felt foreign. A forest of boys’ elbows. A cocoon of taunts, trash talk, ... Read more
The Hidden Ripple Effect: How Emma Meesseman’s Move Could Reshape the Liberty’s Entire Trade Strategy.BT
The New York Liberty made a major midseason splash by signing former WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman. The Liberty has had a strong start to the season with a 19-10 record. The signing of the 2019 Finals MVP not only gives them a major boost, but effectively does away the need to dip into the trade market. The two-time All-Star agreed to a pro-rated veteran minimum deal worth $75,694, strengthening the roster ... Read more
She Was Never the Loudest—But Emma Meesseman Was the True Engine Behind the Mystics’ Rise.BT
Six weeks ago, the Washington Mystics faced the closest thing to a crisis they experienced in this joyous 2019 title season. Kristi Toliver, the cool veteran point guard of their high-powered attack, was out with a right knee injury. Wing Aerial Powers, a breakout performer soaking up minutes in Toliver’s absence, reinjured her left glute. With the playoffs on the horizon, Washington had only three healthy rotation players to ... Read more