Atlanta Dream: Their Mission to Win the WNBA Title

(The Atlanta Dream championship banner)

(Members of the Dream celebrate after
winning the Eastern Confrence title)

  The Atlanta Dream, in their 4th year of existence in the WNBA have seen many ups and downs. From starting in 2008 with a league-worst 4-30 record to winning the Eastern Conference and advancing to the WNBA Finals in 2010. This organization has established a great success story on how to build a champion from the ground starts with their general manager and head coach from the beginning, Marynell Meadors. Before joining the Atlanta Dream, Meadors spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics. There she helped head coaches Richie Adubato and Tree Rollins to an aggregate record of 50-52, including a playoff appearance in 2006. Meadors also served as the first General Manager and Head Coach of the now-defunct Charlotte Sting where she led the franchise to the playoffs in each of its first two seasons. Following her tenure with the Sting, Meadors moved south where she was hired as the Director of Scouting for the Miami Sol.

(Atlanta Dream coach Marynell Meadors)

           
             Meadors also has college experience, she served as the head coach at Florida State University and Tennessee Tech University for a combined 30 years. For two seasons prior to joining the Mystics, she served as an assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh recruiting and scouting. At Florida State, Meadors quickly turned the program around from three straight losing seasons prior to her arrival. The apex of her tenure came in 1991 when the Seminoles won the Metro Conference Championship and advanced to second round of the NCAA Tournament. Before heading to Florida State, Meadors earned her stripes at Tennessee Tech where she won more than 300 games as head coach. She was the first head coach of the women’s basketball program and in her 20 years at the helm, she posted a school-record .723 winning percentage.
        

(Atlanta Dream forward Angel Mccoughtry)

The Atlanta Dream lead by their star forward and one of the best players in the WNBA today, Angel Mccoughtry have definitely taken her young team to a championship caliber level. In her 1st year as a member of the Dream, she won Rookie of the Year. Last season, she helped the Dream, who entered the postseason with a 19-15 record and the 4th seed in the Eastern Confrence and they shocked the world by stunning the top seed Washington Mystics and the 2nd seed, New York Liberty by sweeping their way through the confrence playoffs. The 3rd year guard from Louisville also established a WNBA playoff record for most points in a game with 42 vs NY in the Eastern Confrence Finals. Also, the Dream have a great core of players around Angel, including guard Iziane Castro Marquez. Marquez, who is currently in her 8th season from France, averaged 16.9 points last year, was a huge piece that took the Dream to the WNBA Finals and also was voted to the All-Star Game. Two other key players are forward Sancho Lyttle and center Erika Desouza. Desouza, in her 5th season, averaged 12.4 points in the confrence title season and will be relied on heavily in the 2011 season. Lyttle, averaged 12.8 points for the Atlanta Dream and she also was a WNBA All-Star in 2010.

(Dream center Erika Desouza)

 The Atlanta Dream also have a huge depth on their bench. Some of the key players are Allison Bales, Armintie Price, and Coco Miller. Bales, who entered her 3rd season in the WNBA in 2011, averaged only 4 points per game, but she provided a huge defensive threat off of the bench and have seen starting action at times throughout the season. Armintie Price, who many refers to as the sixth woman of the Atlanta Dream, averaged 5 points per game and provided extra energy to keep the team going. Coco Miller, who attended the University of Georgia and currently is in her 11th season, averaged 3 points per game but is a major 3-point threat and key component to their roster. The Dream entered the 2011 season with the addition of All-Star guard Lindsey Harding, acquired from the Washington Mystics and Courtney Paris, who was acquired after Sancho Lyttle suffered an injury early in the season. Currently, the Dream began their season 3-7, but with their team getting healthy and started to click as a WNBA team, they will be a force to be reckoned with as the season continues. The Atlanta Dream expect a huge second half of the WNBA season and will look towards returning to the playoffs and the WNBA Finals with one goal in mind... WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP.