They'll be on opposing teams when the WNBA Finals begin on Friday but coaches Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces and Nate Tibbets of the Phoenix Mercury have one thing in common: childhoods in South Dakota.
“We’re a very small state, so one thing I think people sleep on is the basketball in South Dakota,” Hammon said. “Mike Miller is another South Dakota guy. Eric Piatkowski. ... Mark Ellis played Major League Baseball. We were in the same graduating class. That’s crazy to have two professional athletes in a school that size in a state that size. So that’s what we do. We do outdoors and sports."
