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San Antonio selects Helen Darling in Dispersal Draft

January 8, 2007 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
San Antonio Stars News Release


SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Silver Stars selected veteran guard Helen Darling with the fourth pick in the WNBA Dispersal Draft of Charlotte Sting players held via conference call today.

The Dispersal Draft followed an announcement last week that the WNBA will play a 13-team schedule in 2006 after Charlotte previously announced it would cease operations. Teams drafted in inverse order of their 2006 regular-season finish.

Darling, a six-year veteran of the WNBA, has 582 career assists and has averaged 4.7 points and 1.13 steals per game throughout her career. In 2006, she picked up 5.4 points, 2.8 assists and 1.21 steals per game for the Charlotte Sting.

"Helen Darling is one of the premier defensive guards in the league," said San Antonio General Manager and Head Coach Dan Hughes. "She is an excellent distributor and a very tough-minded competitor."

The selection reunites Darling with Hughes who drafted her in Cleveland in 2000. Darling played three seasons for Hughes from 2000-2003, missing the 2002 season after giving birth to triplets. In her career, Darling has appeared in 14 playoff games, averaging 4.8 points, 3.4 assists and 1.64 steals per game, all slightly higher than her regular-season career averages.

The 5-6 guard attended Penn State and in 2000 was the first Nittany Lion to earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors after leading the nation in assists, averaging 10.5 points, 7.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds through 35 games. Darling earned her education degree from Penn State in 2001.

The Chicago Sky picked up Monique Currie with the first overall pick, while Minnesota and New York followed with Tangela Smith and Janel McCarville, respectively.

Two Sting players, center Tammy Sutton-Brown and guard/forward Allison Feaster, are unrestricted free agents and were therefore not available for selection in the Dispersal Draft. They may begin negotiating with any team once the free agency period begins on January 15.

The results of the Dispersal Draft are as follows:

2007 Dispersal Draft Results

Team (2006 Record) Player Pos Ht Yrs College

1. Chicago Sky (5-29) Monique Currie G/F 6'0 1 Duke

2. Minnesota Lynx (10-24) Tangela Smith F 6'4 9 Iowa

3. New York Liberty (11-23) Janel McCarville F 6'2 2 Minnesota

4. San Antonio Silver Stars (13-21) Helen Darling G 5'6 6 Penn State

5. Phoenix Mercury (18-16) Kelly Mazzante G 6'0 3 Penn State

6. Washington Mystics (18-16) Teana Miller F/C 6'3 3 Tulane

7. Seattle Storm (18-16) Tye'sha Fluker C 6'5 1 Tennessee

8. Houston Comets (18-16) Yelena Leuchanka C 6'5 1 West Virginia

9. Indiana Fever (21-13) Sheri Sam G/F 6'0 8 Vanderbilt

10. Sacramento Monarchs (21-13) LaToya Bond G 5'7 1 Missouri

11. Detroit Shock (23-11) Pass

12. Los Angeles Sparks (25-9) Ayana Walker F 6'3 5 Louisiana Tech

13. Connecticut Sun (26-8) Pass

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