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https://wnbadraftnet.tripod.com/wnbadraftnet2009/
Phoenix picks up Temeka Johnson from LA via a trade. How does that shake up the draft and who impressed during the first two rounds? Click and see!
Many people have questioned our rankings, wondering where on Earth we get these stats and how they could possibly predict someone having a successful professional career. Well, let's see how our stats from this year shape up with the players of 2008 during their senior years....
Rank - Name (Team) - Drafted Number
1. Candace Parker (Tennessee/LA)- 1
2. Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky/Sacramento) - 31
3. Crystal Langhorne (Maryland/Washington) - 6
4. Sylvia Fowles (LSU/Chicago) - 2
5. LaToya Pringle (North Carolina/Phoenix) -13
6. Erlana Larkins (North Carolina/New York) - 14
7. Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee/Connecticut) - 9
8. Candice Wiggins (Stanford/Minnesota) - 3
9. Nicky Anosike (Tennessee/Minnesota) - 16
10. Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee/Detroit) - 4
11. Olayinka Sanni (West Virginia/Detroit) - 18
12. Alex Anderson (Chattanooga/San Antonio)*
13. Leilani Mitchell (Utah/Phoenix) - 25#
14. Khadijah Whittington (NC State/Indiana) - 26
15. Tasha Humphrey (Georgia/Detroit) - 11$
16. Laura Harper (Maryland/Sacramento) - 10
17. Tamera Young (James Madison/Atlanta) - 8
18. Ketia Swanier (Connecticut/Connecticut) - 12
19. Natasha Lacy (UTEP/Detroit) - 28*
20. Erica White (LSU/Houston) - 17
21. Charde Houston (Connecticut/Minnesota) - 30
22. Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin/Connecticut) - 23
23. Shannon Bobbitt (Tennessee/LA) - 15
24. Quianna Chaney (LSU/Chicago) - 19
25. Charel Allen (Notre Dame/Sacramento) - 43
* Didn't make roster in 2008.
# Traded to New York
$ Traded to Washington
Notes...
- Two players in Top 25 didn't make a roster last season (Lacy, Anderson).
- Of the Top 10, 5 made the 2008 All Rookie team and 6 were in the top 10 WNBA rookie rankings at the end of the season.
- Three players we had in our top 25 that went late in the draft, stuck and performed (Mitchell, Kelly, Houston).
- From the bottom of our list, Matee Ajavon (#33) and Essence Carson (#34) have proved to be much better pros than seniors. They are the only players outside of our top 25 to make All Rookie and/or be ranked at the end of the season.
Question #7
MJ's Take...
I’m sure they were all familiar with Chris Brown and Rihanna prior to the recent news, they don’t remember what Bobby Brown was like pre-crack, and they were all big fans of Barney the Dinosaur growing up. Sorry, but that’s all I got. 2008 yielded three legit stars/2012 Olympians with the top three picks. Two of those kids already won Olympic gold in Beijing. One took home the MVP award!!! That’s a tough act to follow!
If one 2009 kid receives strong consideration for the 2012 Olympics, consider that a moral victory. I doubt you’ll find a true franchise player in this draft.
PS's Take...
Last year was a pretty strong class, but had real superstars available at the post positions. I can't really compare the two.
CD's Take...
Obviously, there's a huge difference between the depth of the drafts. However, I think, much like in 2008, there are a couple players who have seperated themselves from the pack. I think there are only a couple players that people could see being drafted in the top three, much like Parker, Fowles, and Wiggins.
Question #6
MJ's Take...
While I don’t think any team will be getting a franchise player (Jackson, Bird, Whalen, Nolan, Parker, Taurasi, Pondexter, Augustus, Young, Fowles, or Wiggins) in this year’s draft, the team that has the most to gain from this draft would have to be Minnesota. They have a chance to add as many as three players to their roster in hopes of developing true depth (and not having to bring starters off the bench). If they do their homework, they might be able to fill in a few holes with the top ten draft picks.
PS's Take...
I really only see a few strong impact players in the draft this year. Atlanta needs a franchise player to build around for the future. Washington is a mess and they need whatever they can get. Chicago has a solid core which they just want to add to as they grow. Minnesota needs to find out how to make something of all the talent they have on their roster...they need to start winning.
CD's Take...
Obviously the lower-end teams have a good number of spots available. Atlanta is the one exception with all of the free agent signings. Minnesota, Chicago and Washington all are great locations for a rookie. Also, teams like Sacramento and Seattle also have some fat to trim, especially if Seattle doesn't sign Jackson, so I think there could possibly be more spots on those teams too. If I were a rookie, I would not want to go to San Antonio, New York, and Detroit. Those are three teams with limited number of spots available.
After the second round, let's see who stepped up and who stepped to the side...
HOT
A. Walker - CAL (Left) - 32 pts, 70% FG, 10 rebs, 1 blk
C. Wirth - VAN (Middle) - 24 pts, 53% FG, 7 rebs
R. Montgomery - CON (Right) - 25 pts, 50% FG, 5 asts
COLD
E. Fox - MIN (Left) - 2 pts, 4 rebs, 4 stls
C. Black - DUK (Middle) - 4 pts, 29% FG, 8 rebs
T. Davis-Cain - FSU (Right) - 2 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl
The first two rounds are now finished and the Sweet Sixteen is finalized. In total, 24 WNBA Draft Net Prospects will be on display on Saturday and Sunday in the Sweet Sixteen. Click the link below for Second Round stats and Sweet Sixteen Scheduls.
https://wnbadraftnet.tripod.com/wnbadraftnet2009/id127.html
MJ's Take...
I’m sure some will say Kia Vaughn (C, Rutgers) and Chante Black (C, Duke), but that depends on who you ask. I’ll throw a name out there—Takia Starks of Texas A&M. She’s an undersized volume shooter (shoots a ton and converts at a low 40s percentage) who cannot run an offense, is overrated defensively (A&M’s system hides her deficiencies well), and lacks a strong left hand. She isn’t going to be a SG in the WNBA (too small and not a good enough shooter to play off the ball), but she can’t play PG in college—so why is she a candidate for the first round? Because the media likes her? Makes you wonder who’s really in charge of WNBA scouting.
Oh, wait. I can top that. Forward Danielle Gant, also of A&M. She’s scrappy, undersized, has a big heart, tough as nails, and is a coach’s dream…see where I’m going with this? Analysts like her intangibles, but none of them mentions her inability to go left, the ridiculously poor handle, and how she’s anchored in the paint offensively despite being 5-10 on a good day. So, why do the analysts continue to pimp her despite her obvious flaws? If I knew the answer to that question, I’d probably be the league’s scouting director by now. It defies logic that a 5-10 college power forward can step into the WNBA and make the transition to wing. You don’t go from guarding Ashley Paris (no disrespect to AP5) one year to guarding Diana Taurasi the next with no problem! There’s a steep learning curve involved. Quick question: what happened to the last two sub-six foot post players who were drafted in the WNBA’s first round? The Washington Mystics selected both players (in successive years). The team already severed ties with one player last year while the other player is holding on to her roster spot by a string.
Perhaps I spoke too soon. I’ve got one more name—Briann January (G) of Arizona State. Is she a good defender? Yes. Does she have a nice shot? Yes. Can she put some points on the board? Yes. Does that make her deserving of all the hype she’s getting AS A POINT GUARD PROSPECT? Hardly. She is yet another undersized two-guard who people are trying to pigeonhole into the PG slot so that she’ll have a job this summer. Having seen her play against the best of the best and the worst of the worst, my opinion is the same. She can’t run a team in college and she isn’t going to magically discover how to run a team in the pros—especially not with the reduced roster sizes. Because she’s not athletic enough and too undersized to play the two in the WNBA, what other position does she play?
Okay…one more. Rashanda McCants (G/F) of UNC belongs on this list. Athletic? Yes. Good scorer and rebounder? Yes. Decent defender? Yes. Weak handle? Yes. Low basketball IQ? Yes. Poor perimeter shooter? Yes. Oft injured? Yes. Potential head case like big bro? Remains to be seen. I wouldn’t touch this one with a ten-foot pole.
PS's Take...
Lyndra Littles from Virginia has not impressed me this season, and Kia Vaughn has waited until the last weeks of her senior year to play at the level people expect. I just don't think they are near as good as others seem to think that they are.
CD's Take...
Abby Waner and Chante Black, to me, are two overrated players. Waner is someone who had a better freshman season than any other season in her career. As she's gone on, her shooting has gotten worse and worse. Many question whether it's because Gail is gone, but you have to suck it up. Waner sometimes isn't mentally in check for games and her shooting can be flat out ridiculous. Her shot selection is pretty bad a majority of the time, as she usually shoots from 5-6 feet behind the arc, just to see it hit the backboard. She's a good defender, but I question if she will be effective at all at the pro level.
Chante Black brings great size but she's not tough enough. I don't see her being able to body down low with the best of the world in the WNBA. Sure, Black is a good shot blocker, but people in the WNBA are going to rough her up. Black has shown that she struggles against more physical competition. I don't really think she'll translate to the next level.
MJ's Take...
Small forward and it isn’t even close. You’ve got McCoughtry in a league of her own, followed by the likes of Coleman, Bonner, and Virginia’s Lyndra Littles (who some erroneously denigrate without having much to back their claim). If you don't acquire a decent wing prospect in this class (assuming it's your primary need), you simply aren’t looking hard enough or didn’t make the right calls to the right GMs. It would not shock me to see as many as six small forwards taken in the first round.
PS's Take....
There are a lot of quality small forwards/swing players avaialble, with McCoughtry, Coleman, Bonner, and Gant at the top of my list for that position.
CD's Take...
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the point guard slot. Obviously there are stars at the SF position, but I think there is more depth at the point guard position. Montgomery and Toliver lead the way with January, Lehning, Brooks, Cirone and Boddie just behind. Not to mention players like Kristi Smith, Camille LeNoir, Mandy Morales, Julianne Viani, and Dellena Criner. I think people may be surprised at how many points are taken in the draft.
The first round of the 2009 NCAA's is now over. Let's see who played well, and who didn't.
HOT
Shavonte Zellous
64-35 win over Montana
31 pts, 48% FG, 9 rebs, 4 stls
Porchia Green
71-55 win over Tennessee
23 pts, 53% FG, 8 rebs, 3 asts
DeWanna Bonner
85-49 win over Lehigh
26 pts, 57% FG, 7 rebs, 1 blk
COLD
Rachel Porath
69-59 loss to LSU
5 pts, 50% FG, 5 rebs
Jessica Morrow
87-82 win over UTSA (OT)
5 pts, 2 asts
Megan Skouby
76-62 loss to Georgia Tech
4 pts, 33% FG, 1 reb, 1 blk
32 NCAA Tournament games have been played and the field of 64 has been trimmed in half. After the first round, 40 WNBA Draft Net Prospects will survive and move on to the second round. Use the link below for TV times and who to look for!
https://wnbadraftnet.tripod.com/wnbadraftnet2009/id127.html
27 WNIT games have concluded and after Sunday, 7 WNBA Draft Net prospects will move on.
Lade Akande (Butler), Kristi Cirone (Illinois State), Krystal Ellis (Marquette), Shawn Goff (Mississippi), Shantia Grace (South Florida), Monique McLean (St. John's), Whitney Thomas (Indiana).
