Dupree to Start in Euro League All-Star Game
Candice Dupree's winter team, the Good Angels of Kosice are in the midst of a historic run. And Dupree is a big reason why.Neither her play nor her team's success has gone unnoticed either. Dupree was recently named as a starter in the 2010 Euro League Women's All-Star Game to take place March 9th in Gdynia, Poland. On Feb. 5, her team advanced passed the first round in the Euro League playoffs for the first time ever with a series-clinching win over Beretta Famila at Schio, Italy.
Dupree, who also started in last year's Euro League All-Star game, is near the top of Euro League in several offensive categories. She's averaged 19 points and 10.7 rebounds in 38.9 minutes in Kosice's 11 games. In the first-round series clinching game, Dupree scored a team-high 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and went a perfect 7of 7 at the free throw line to lead Kosice.
Kosice (Slovakia) has been an underdog throughout the regular season, but Dupree has her team in the second round of the Euro League tournament heading into a match up against UMMC Ekaterinburg. Dupree has scored 20 or more points five times in just 11 games highlighted by a 30 point effort against ZVVZ USK Prague in November. Dupree also put up seven double-doubles on the season.
The Euro League All-Star game is formatted so that a team of European all-stars takes on a team comprised of all-stars from the rest of the world. Dupree will start alongside four other WNBA players when The Rest of the World meets Team Europe, including Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor of the Phoenix Mercury, Sophia Young from the San Anotonio Silver Stars and Janell Burse of the Seattle Storm.
The starting five for each all-star side is determined by fan votes. However, Euro League teams are only permitted to have a maximum of two representatives in the game. Thus, Nicole Powell, who was originally voted in will be replaced by Dupree.
Candice Dupree's Season Statistics (Euro League Rank):