FanPost

The Mystics' secret weapon: Stefanie Dolson

Stewart W. Small

I have written previously on The Washington Posts here. But just to make my case crystal clear, the Mystics aren't just "The Emma Meesseman show."

Today, I thought I would point out some of Stefanie Dolson's very, very encouraging numbers.

Let me put it in terms everyone can understand, right off the top. Dolson shot 50 percent from the field, 48 percent from three, and 87 percent from the free throw line last season.

I just smiled as I typed that. As a Mystics fan, that makes me very happy. She hit at a higher rate than any other center in the association in three-point attempts. Sure she didn't launch it as much as Candace Parker, but she knows she has the green light, she earned it.

And, who doesn't want a stretch FIVE? Delightful. I have used images from the WNBA.com statistical archives, below, because seeing is more impactful in this case.

And the photo below, illustrates how well the Posts' were playing together at the beginning of the season.

And you can see the difference minutes made after the All-Star break, below:

As I pointed out in my previous article, despite the addition of Parker and Sylvia Fowles on this list, Kelsey Bone and Tina Charles' minutes didn't change, and neither did their ranking.

But Meesseman and Dolson began sharing the load with Kia Vaughn and LaToya Sanders, hence the drop in production. Though I will point out once again that Meesseman's shooting actually went up to 56.7 percent.

As I have illustrated, Dolson being chosen as a USA Women's National Team Finalist was no accident, or part of a '#BleedBlue' conspiracy that always seems to get bandied about when selections are made. If you don't know what #BleedBlue is, that's UConn's Twitter slogan.

I would also like to say that it was aggravating to me and a number of other fans that Big Mama Stef garnered three votes for Most Improved Player. I know that it is a numbers contest, but I am pretty sure that going from a rookie to a starter to an ALL STAR, is about as much improvement as you can do in a year, no?

And this is just annoying. She lost out to Kelsey Bone, a year older, and someone she was totally hanging with statistically at the beginning of the year. I would like to see her have the same opportunity this year, minutes being equal. I also believe that playing overseas with Ivory Latta could only be helpful to her development, and I expect to see better footwork because I am sure she is aware of it.

Frankly, 2015 was an embarrassment of riches for Coach Thibault in the post department. Having worked through a season with all of that talent at the top of the rotation, he has to have a much better idea of how and when to deploy it. Or, I'd like to think so.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.