u/sanverstv

I hope it's ok to share these links/excerpts from Eric Apricot's (and Marisa Ingemi's) blogs/reports here. Both are really worth subscribing to for the lastest Valkyries news. At any rate, Eric's latest (you can read full report here) has some interesting info on Justė including yesterday's press availability and off-season review and "scalable skills" for the WNBA.

You can read the full report by Marisa Ingemi here, but here's an exerpt:

>There was a Juste Jocyte sighting! The 20-year-old rookie practiced with the Valkyries for the first time. She said she wasn’t sure if she would play Monday against Connecticut, and head coach Natalie Nakase said it was “up to” Jocyte.

>Cecilia Zandalasini practiced for the first time since sustaining a concussion on the May 9 opener at Seattle. Her status is still unclear. “We know Ceci knows the game inside and out,” Nakase said. “But she looked good today.

and this...

>Some of the Valkyries flaws showed in the exhaustion of playing a road back-to-back in Indiana, between 14 turnovers and late free throw misses that Nakase pointed out at Sunday’s practice.

>A deeper bench could help alleviate that in the future, too.

>With Hayes healthy, Zandalasini back and Jocyte available in some capacity, the Valkyries will have more flexibility than they’ve ever had. Kaila Charles has started the past four games, but Hayes was the starting shooting guard in Seattle to open the season. If they go back to her, and slide in Zandalasini or even Jocyte takes over that role is something to watch.

Marisa Ingemi wrote this nice piece in her Valkyries Insider. Here's an excerpt.

>Kaila Charles has found security, home in the WNBA

>A year ago, Kaila Charles was battling again. For the second straight season, she had made an opening day roster out of training camp, but her position was on the fringe.

>Then, the Dallas Wings cut her. It was the fifth time she was waived, and she wasn’t sure how many more WNBA opportunities were out there.

>The Golden State Valkyries, it turned out, needed her, too, and gave her the thing she has never had in her WNBA career: an opportunity to take a breath and just focus on basketball.

>“It's definitely one of my dreams come true and goals come true, to not only be playing in the W and doing what I love, but to play with a team that feels like a home and they accept me since day one and allow me to be myself,” Charles said at media day. “And so to be back here, I'm very thankful.”

Read the full piece here.

Good piece by Nathan Canilao in Mercury News....I decided to subscribe and support their good coverage since it's only $1 for the year. Here's the link for the entire piece and a couple excerpts (I didn't know she's a dual citizen either):

>While her age suggests she is young, Jocytė has been a veteran hooper in Europe. Playing overseas since 2019, she became the youngest player to suit up in France’s top women’s league and in EuroBasket at just 14. 

>Jocytė has been something of a prodigy as she possesses the rare skillset of a guard with the height and length of a wing. Comfortable in catch-and-shoot situations, the Washington D.C.-born forward has also flashed the ability to shoot off the bounce either in the pick-and-roll or in size-ups. 

>The road that brought Jocytė, who has Lithuanian and American citizenship, to Golden State is rooted in franchise history....

>Her game is built on craftiness, pacing and feel, aspects that tend to age well but don’t always translate immediately to WNBA success. 

>That uncertainty has only added to the mystery. 

>Most WNBA fans outside of the Bay Area have little frame of reference for what she actually is, because she has never played a minute of American professional basketball. She doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of a can’t-miss WNBA prospect, mostly because she doesn’t appear to possess elite athleticism. Her value, as those who have followed her career in Europe will attest, is found elsewhere — in the hesitation dribble that freezes a defender, the mid-range pull-up in traffic, the pocket pass that springs a cutter before the defense can react.

>Valkyries guard Kaila Charles saw this up close when she played Jocytė’s team in the Euro League playoffs just over a month ago. 

>“She’s just so smart and the fact that she’s so young, it’s going to show and she’ll have a really good career,” Charles said. “She’s taller than me, so she’s a really big guard that can create for others, she can shoot, she can step out, she’s in the post. And so I think she’s very versatile, and I think that fits with the system that we have.”

Some good insights on Valkyries by Maya Goldberg-Safir. Her Substack, WNBA Rough Notes, is worth reading.... Her latest: Puzzling Through Valkyries Media Day

>Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in a corner of the Sephora Performance Center (aka the Valks’ practice facility) with enough journalists to fill a small wedding reception. The afternoon started with a bang: a much-anticipated appearance by General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin, during which I thought to myself: “okay, let everyone else write about this, there will be so much more to come.” But truthfully, it was that first interview that stuck with me — and for the rest of the day, I mulled through it like a puzzle, including for an hour over coffee with one of my absolute favorite journalists, Eric Apricot (his work is an essential read for all Valkyries fans, for real.) All of this is to say, here are three major interpretations from the day that I settled on, and wanted to share with you:

To read her insights, check out the Substack....

Good piece on Marta by Marisa Ingemi on the Her Hoops Stats newsletter...

>But where does Suarez actually project as a WNBA player? She creates matchup problems on the perimeter, frequently attacking closeouts to either score or set up teammates with guard-like fluidity despite primarily playing in a forward spot. She can secure defensive rebounds and immediately push the ball in transition herself. With reliable 3-point shooting, she stretches the floor effectively, too.