Courtney Paris signs multi-year extension with the Tulsa Shock

The Shock now has a major player will be there for years to come.

The Tulsa Shock announced Monday that center Courtney Paris has re-signed a multi-year contract with the team. Paris started all of Tulsa’s games in the 2014 season, where she averaged 9.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. In a press release, Paris stated the following:

Oklahoma has felt like home since my sister and I arrived in Norman back in 2005. To have the opportunity to stay in Tulsa and continue my basketball career for the next few years couldn’t have worked out any better. I believe in the direction of the franchise and I am eager and ready for the opportunity to help it continue to grow. I feel like with the young talent on the team the future is bright in Tulsa and I’m excited to be a part of it.

The Shock has been one of the WNBA’s youngest, and worst-performing teams for the last several seasons. However, Tulsa remained committed to youth and despite the losing, the team has made improvements on the court each and every season. Though most of their young core involves homegrown draft picks like Glory Johnson, Skylar Diggins, and Odyssey Sims among others, they are still on their rookie contracts.

Unlike the previous three, Paris was signed as a free agent to help fill in the void for 2011 first round draft pick Liz Cambage, who never really seemed to be particularly committed to the WNBA or the Shock organization. Though Paris isn’t as talented as Cambage, it’s not always about talent, it’s also about fit. Paris fit in nicely with the Shock’s system in 2014, and with the rest of the young core back in 2015, it’s nice to see that there will be stability with personnel. Now, the goal should be pretty clear for the Black and Gold: