Last year, the Atlanta Dream didn’t do so well. This was to be expected from an expansion team, as the players learn how to play with one another and function together on the court.

But after obtaining a dismal 4-30 record (the worst in the WNBA’s 2008 season) the Dream made some impressive off-season moves and  have positioned themselves to have a successful season.

Angel McCoughtry could have an immediate impact with the Atlanta Dream this season.

With the number one pick in the draft, the Dream drafted Angel McCoughtry, the former Louisville star who proved to be both an offensive and defensive force throughout the NCAA tournament. In addition, the Dream also signed free agent center Michelle Snow and former Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw.

Add Nikki Teasley and Sancho Lyttle to the mix and the Dream have the foundation for a force to be reckoned with. And I can guarantee that they win more than four games this season.

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Stanford is going back to the Women’s Final Four … and this time, they mean business.

Without former Player of the Year Candice Wiggins, Stanford needed one of its players to step up big time. Jayne Appel did more than “step up.” She dropped 46 points on Iowa St., to propel her team to St. Louis for another go at an NCAA Championship.

Jayne Appel dominated Iowa St. in the post on Monday night, scoring 46 points.

There was no stopping the 6-foot-4 junior, who is 20 pounds lighter than she was last season. Almost every time the ball came to Appel down in the  post, she made a basket. I can honestly say that she put on a post-player clinic that coaches around the country should study.

With her 46 points, Appel broke Wiggins’s NCAA Tournament single-game scoring record of 44 points. With a little over a minute left to play, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer replaced the starters to finish out the game.

Had she kept playing, Appel might have broken the all time NCAA Tournament single-game scoring record.

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