makes Connecticut Sun switch
10 April 2008
Former Mercy Coolock star Tracy Gahan has signed with the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA for the 2008 season. Gahan last played in Ireland in 2006, helping lead Mercy Coolock (now known as DCU Mercy) to the SuperLeague regular season title and to the finals of the league championship.
Gahan has already experienced the WNBA after being drafted in by the New York Liberty in 2002 following an impressive career at Iowa State University.
"I'm really excited to have another opportunity with the WNBA this year,” said Gahan. "I've worked really hard over the past few seasons, playing in places like Greece, Ireland, Turkey and Australia so it's nice to be recognised for all of that work and to get the chance to compete with and against the best players in the world."
"I hope it also shows other players that you can play in a smaller country like Ireland and still get to the top levels of basketball if you work hard towards your goals," added Gahan.
Gahan made a huge impression in Basketball Ireland’s Womens SuperLeague as she helped Mercy capture the Irish league Regular season crown and led her team to the 2006 Championship Finals. An example of Gahan’s excellence was evident in her first game for Mercy Coolock when she notched a triple-double (scoring in double figures in three skill categories) by the interval.
“Tracy fit in very well here in Ireland,” explains DCU Mercy coach Mark Ingle. “She really helped raise the expectation and skill level of each player. She was definitely the right person for the job as she worked hard and trained everyday.”
Tracy’s time in Ireland was spent playing in Basketball Ireland’s Womens Superleague and discovering her Irish roots. While she now has a contract with the Connecticut Sun, she hopes to return some day.
"I absolutely loved my time in Ireland and I would definitely love to go back to play there before I retire," said Gahan.
Since leaving Ireland, Gahan has competed in Turkey, where she led the league in three-point shooting and Australia, where she had one of her most impressive international seasons this year. Leading the Adelaide Lightning to the Australian Defense Forces WNBL Championship title, she was also named Adelaide's MVP. A finalist for WNBL Player of the Year, Gahan was also the only American named in a league All Star Five selection. The Australian media quickly dubbed Gahan "the Double Double Queen", while also naming her the Nivea Player of the Week for rounds 4, 14 and 17 of play. Gahan finished the season ranked fourth in the league for rebounding (9.5 per game), while also ranking second for free throw percentage (83%).
Training camp for the Sun’s begins on 20 April, with the first pre-season game against the Minnesota Lynx taking place on 01 May. Regular season play starts up on 17 May when the Sun host the new expansion team, the Atlanta Dream.