Liberty suspend McCarville; center knocked from roster

It’s 6:23 p.m. Thursday, June 2, and a quick check of the Liberty official homepage shows the roster has 11 players, including Janel McCarville. The WNBA’s official team preview that was posted this week even lists McCarville as New York’s anticipated starting center.

Oopsie.

When the Libs’ final, final, final roster was released to the media via email today at 5:37 p.m., there were 11 names, only McCarville’s wasn’t on it. That’s correct. McCarville, who’s played six seasons in the league, is not on this year’s team.

Sidney Spencer’s name currently does not appear on the team roster online, but she’s on the squad. Someone probably overlooked Spencer, a fan favorite, when the website was last updated.

But the story here is McCarville. The 6-2 post player started all 34 games for the Liberty last season, averaging 8.8 points in a little more than 28 minutes. Of her six seasons in the WNBA, she spent the past four in New York.

She had a large following in the area, which is why her absence from the team is perplexing. But according to team officials, McCarville was a no-show at training camp.

John Whisenant, Liberty head coach and general manager, said McCarville won’t be suiting up for the team at all, as a result of her skipping the preseason.

“As per WNBA rules, Janel McCarville has been suspended from the Liberty for the remainder of the season following her failure to report to the team for training camp,” Whisenant said. “We continue to believe that this current group of players is ready to compete for a WNBA championship this season.”

A peek at McCarville’s official Twitter account and her fan-maintained account does not reveal specific reasons explaining her absence. Other accounts associated with the Liberty also offer no indication as to why McCarville never showed up to camp.

McCarville spent much of the offseason playing basketball in Italy. She documented her time there on Twitter prior to arriving back in the states. Her last post was made on June 13.

With McCarville out, the center position will be filled by Plenette Pierson, Kia Vaughn and recent signee Quanitra Hollingsworth.