Feb. 7, 2008
ATLANTA, Ga. — Former Commodore greats Chantelle Anderson and Carla Thomas were among 13 players chosen to the WNBA’s newest team, the Atlanta Dream, during an Expansion Draft on Wednesday.
Anderson is Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer. A two-time All-American, Anderson was chosen second overall by Sacramento in the 2003 WNBA Rookie Draft. She has played for San Antonio the past two seasons.
“We really felt like we couldn’t have enough size,” Dream Head Coach Marynell Meadors said of Anderson. “[Chantelle]’s 6-6, she has great post moves. She played… at Vanderbilt and improved a lot thanks to the tough SEC competition. She’s had a couple of injuries over the last two or three years, but I think she’s finally getting well and is playing better every day. She’s gonna add size and veteranism to this team.”
Thomas graduated in 2007 as a two-time Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. She finished her Commodore career in sixth place on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list before being chosen in the first round of last year’s WNBA Rookie Draft by Chicago.
“[Carla]’s 6-3 and a very versatile post player,” Meadors said. “She’s physical down on the low block and we like her ability to step out and shoot the three. She’s a rookie, and a lot of our players are young, but that’s okay. I see her playing a bigger role with us than she did with Chicago last year and I think she has the ability to rise to the occasion. It’s on her: if she comes in and works hard, then she’s gonna get the playing time.”
Training camp beings in April, with the 2008 WNBA season running from May through September. The Dream’s first game will be played at Connecticut on Saturday, May 17. The team’s first home contest takes place on Friday, May 23, at Atlanta’s Philips Arena.
Complete details on the new Dream’s roster, which includes familiar names like Betty Lennox, Katie Feenstra, Kristin Haynie, Ivory Latta and Erika DeSouza, is available here.
