72 hours before the Israeli Cup week tips off, Maccabi Ramat Hen signed Ivory Latta, the Atlanta Dream's starting point guard, who will take Matalya Belvin's place. One gunner replaces another, but will this bring them the Cup?
Maccabi Ramat Hen, who won 8 of 10 games and led the league for most of the season, made a significant roster change just three days before the cup 1/4 finals. Ivory Latta (24, 5'6) is the newest member of the team, after beginning the season with Ceyhan in Turkey and playing her last game there on Sunday. Latta played for Elizur Holon last season and averaged 22.7 points on good shooting, 4.1 assists and 4 turnovers per game. Latta was #2 in points per game in the league behind Tamara Bowie, but Holon finished the season in 6th place.
Latta replaces Matalya Belvin, the unknown foreigner Ramat Hen signed in the offseason which turned out to be a pretty good acquisition. The lightning quick Belvin averaged 15.1 points on good shooting, 4.1 assists and 4.2 turnovers in 29.2 minutes per game. Belvin proved she can create points for herself from anywhere and did a good job on defense as well with 2.7 steals per game (3rd in the league).
Latta, who had an illustrious career at UNC where she played with LaToya Pringle for three years, is coming in after a busy summer in the WNBA. In her sophomore year in the league, Latta became the Atlanta Dream's starting point guard. She finished the season averaging 11.4 points (36.2% FGs), 3.5 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game. Latta began this winter playing for Ceyhan in Turkey and was #2 in scoring in the league with 20.4 points and 3.8 assists per game. But her team won just 3 of 8 games, good for 8th in the 11 team league. Latta left the team early in the week and has been in Israel for a couple of days, which Ramat Hen used for an eventually successful negotiation.
Even though Latta and Belvin play a similar style, Ramat Hen has very little time to adjust as the Israeli Cup week begins on Sunday. Ramat Hen has hopes of raising the cup before this move, and now the expectations grow with a proven talent like Latta in the mix. But how do you incorporate a new point guard in so little time? Edne Dagan will need to find the answers.
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Ivory Latta
Photo by: Motti Klinger |