After reading Ted's post on Charlotte coach Trudi Lacey from earlier today (and the accompanying linked articles) I really wonder what planet she's living on.

I'm sure it's absolutely fabulous for team morale to hear the coach say that there's nothing she can do and that she needs different players to win - these ones just don't take coaching. And here I thought that getting rid of Nicole Powell was going to solve all of Charlotte's/Lacey's problems. How many different players does Lacey need?

I think that Powell's ability to thrive this year pretty much undermines what little credibility Lacey has left.

Take a smart and confident kid like Powell who has the talent to contribute right away in the W. This is especially true for a team like Charlotte which didn't exactly have championship aspirations last year; they could have afforded to let Powell play through her rookie jitters. Instead she's benched, often buried so deep down the pine that her triple doubles were D-N-P. Lacey either ignores her or tells her she's playing like crap so that by the end of the season Lacey not only ruined Powell's confidence, but also turned Charlotte into a lottery contender in the parity ridden Eastern conference.

That's some coaching.

I'm sure it won't happen again this year, since they are just a few different players away from being a contender...

I hope someone's telling Charlotte's newest high draft pick (McCarville) to take anything "coach" says with a grain of salt. From watching the games, it does look like the players listen more to each other (and to Dawn) than to Lacey - an understandable position given Lacey's track record.

Maybe that's not the whole story, but that's what it looks like from here.

Perhaps coach Lacey should complain about her players to Charlotte's GM...I suspect the two are very close.