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Liberty's Schimmel To Take Time Off

The New York Liberty and Shoni Schimmel have released the following statement regarding the 2017 WNBA season:

NEW YORK LIBERTY TEAM PRESIDENT ISIAH THOMAS

"Shoni Schimmel has informed us that it is her desire to take time away from the game during the 2017 WNBA season. Shoni will continue to have the full support of the New York Liberty. We look forward to continuing to work with Shoni during her time away from the game."

NEW YORK LIBERTY GUARD SHONI SCHIMMEL

"I'm very grateful to the New York Liberty for allowing me to take this season to deal with some personal issues. I look forward to rejoining them next year."

Atlanta Dream Draft Preview

The pieces are already in place for Atlanta to continue to contend in the East.

First 3 Selections in 2015

No. 10 overall

No. 34 overall

N/A

Last 3 First Round Picks (Pick, Year)

Shoni Schimmel (8, 2014)

Alex Bentley (13, 2013)

Tiffany Hayes (14, 2012)

Sometimes the best change is no change. Perhaps that's the Atlanta Dream's philosophy ahead of the 2015 season as much of the roster remains intact from the 2014 season, a year where the Dream finished first in the Eastern Conference, but fell in a thrilling Eastern Conference Semifinals series to the eventual conference champs, the Chicago Sky.

One area where the Dream could improve from within is with Shoni Schimmel. Shoni-mania took the league by storm last season as Schimmel put together an impressive rookie campaign that earned her a spot at the WNBA All-Star Game, where she brought home MVP honors. With a year of professional experience under her belt, Schimmel's role should increase in 2015.

Schimmel was taken eighth overall in 2014 and now the Dream will have a chance to try to replicate that draft success. General Manager Angela Taylor and head coach Michael Cooper have the No. 10 pick in Thursday's WNBA Draft.

With Notre Dame's Jewell Loyd and Minnesota's Amanda Zahui B. Entering the draft early, the Dream's chances of drafting another impact player in the tenth spot are even higher. Whichever direction the team takes, the Dream already has plenty of pieces to make another run in the Eastern Conference.

DRAFT HISTORY2014 (top 3 picks)

8. Shoni Schimmel

18. Inga Orekhova

20. Cassie Harberts

2013

13. Alex Bentley

31. Anne Marie Armstrong

N/A

2012

14. Tiffany Hayes

32. Isabelle Yacoubou

N/A

2014 LEADERSScoring

1. Angel McCoughtry (18.5)

2. Erika de Souza (13.8)

3. Tiffany Hayes (12.9)

Rebounding

1. Sancho Lyttle (9.0)

2. Erika de Souza (8.7)

3. Angel McCoughtry (5.2)

Assists

1. Celine Dumerc (4.0)

2. Shoni Schimmel (3.6)

3. Angel McCoughtry (3.6)

Selma Schimmel

Selma Schimmel is a striking example of the effect that one person can have. In her 16 years of surviving cancer, Schimmel has become an outspoken activist, a leader for numerous cancer programs, a respected radio talk show host, and author of Cancer Talk: Voices of Hope and Endurance from "The Group Room," the World's Largest Support Group.

As a personal response to her own breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 28, Schimmel conceived Vital Options, the nation's first and only nonprofit organization for young adults with cancer. Schimmel's vision, leadership, and guidance have led the organization to encompass Vital Options TeleSupport Cancer Network, the nation's leading psychosocial cancer communication, support, and advocacy organization for all ages.

In 1996, Schimmel created "The Group Room," a syndicated radio cancer talk show and North America's only talk show for cancer patients, their families, friends, and health care professionals. A collaborative effort between Vital Options TeleSupport Cancer Network and Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., the show is a national weekly cancer support group without walls.

"The Group Room" allows people from all walks of life, all neighborhoods, and in all physical conditions to meet over the air, talk, take care of one another, exchange information, and speak in a unified voice about the cancer experience. "The Group Room" continues to break new ground in cancer communications through live remote broadcasts from leading cancer centers throughout the nation, as well as from the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Vital Options and "The Group Room" work together with other organizations in the cancer community to encourage research development, communication, and advocacy at both the state and national levels. For example, Vital Options served as a sponsor for "The March: Coming Together to Conquer Cancer in 1998" and sponsored numerous community events around the country designed to bring together cancer patients and health care professionals.

Schimmel has authored numerous articles for oncology publications and has served as a guest speaker at such events as the Sixth International Symposium on Oncology Pharmacy Practice, where she addressed the role of oncology pharmacists. The success of "The Group Room" led Schimmel to create Cancer Talk, a book of hope and lessons in endurance culled from conversations on the radio show. Schimmel is devoting a portion of her royalties from the book to Vital Options.

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