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Phoenix Mercury add Penny Taylor to coaching staff

By Kim Doss

PHOENIX, AZ - AUGUST 31: (L-R) DeWanna Bonner #24, Diana Taurasi #3 and Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury stand attended for the national anthem before game three of the WNBA Western Conference Finals against the Seattle Storm at Talking Stick Resort Arena on August 31, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - AUGUST 31: (L-R) DeWanna Bonner #24, Diana Taurasi #3 and Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury stand attended for the national anthem before game three of the WNBA Western Conference Finals against the Seattle Storm at Talking Stick Resort Arena on August 31, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Former All-Star and WNBA champion joins Sandy Brondello’s staff

Just as the Phoenix Mercury prepares to start the season without one member of the Taurasi-Taylor household, they added the another to their staff. The team announced on Friday that it has hired former Mercury forward and Director of Player Development and Performance Penny Taylor as an assistant coach.

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“We always want Penny Taylor involved with our team, and we are thrilled that she will return as an assistant coach in 2019,” Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman said in the team’s press release. “Penny understands the game as well as anyone associated with our league from an X-and-O standpoint and from the perspective of a player who competed at the highest levels for nearly two decades. We are excited about the opportunity to add another strong female voice, and to grow the pool of former WNBA players in the coaching ranks.”

She will join Julie Hairgrove, a Mercury assistant for the past 14 seasons, on Sandy Brondello’s staff. Taylor spent 2017 working in player development. Last season, she sat out after giving birth to her and Diana Taurasi’s first child.

Prior to beginning her coaching career, Taylor played in the WNBA, Australia’s WNBL and for the Australian national team. She was drafted by the Cleveland Rockers in 2001 as the eleventh pick.  When that franchise folded, she was taken first by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2004 dispersal draft. The same year, the team drafted Taurasi first in the rookie draft, setting the franchise up for a dramatic improvement that it has mostly maintained for 15 years.

Over her 13-year WNBA career, Taylor averaged 13 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. She shot 46.6 percent from the field, including 38.2 percent from distance. She helped her teams to nine playoff appearances, including three titles over her 10 years on the court with the Mercury.

Although they will start the season without Taurasi on the floor, the Mercury hope to make it back to the playoffs in 2019. Last season, they lost to the eventual champion Storm in a five-game semifinal.

Taylor will replace Todd Troxel, who was fired in January after being charged with assaulting his fiancée in November 2018. Troxel had been with the team for five seasons.

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