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This time it's Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin.
Griffin was primed for a fantastic fourth and final season, but an ankle injury has halted that back a year. Get well soon, Kelsey! We'll see you next year!
It's not every day that you actually hear about a Rutgers post player. I mean, for every Tammy Sutton-Brown, there's a Tasha Pointer, Cappie Pondexter, Matee Ajavon, and Essence Carson. I think you get the point. But Kia Vaughn has been one of the better posts in the nation over the last few years and it has paid off for Rutgers. Earlier this year, she was named to the Wade Preseason Watch List, and for good reason. This is a woman that has helped her team along the road, even to a title game matchup against those Vols from Knoxville. However, this year Vaughn's game as been lacking. Rutgers, at this point, seems to be a work in progress, with those five (now four) fab freshman leading them along the way. Don't get me wrong, Rutgers will still bring their D, but this year, the offense has not been flowing. Especially for Vaughn. Her numbers are down, and even her touches haven't really improved drastically. Vaughn's stock is dropping as we speak, and even though there is still a lot of time, it's time for her to start getting to work and showing us what she can do.
It's hard to fill shoes, especially to fill the shoes of Lindsay Whalen, one of the better guards in the history of the Big Ten. But Emily Fox has put four solid years in and has proven that she us up for the task. Fox, a Colorado native, had big expectations coming out of high school with all eyes on her in just her freshman year. Fox, who was once known to be shy, has really embrased her leadership role and according to fellow Minnesota guard Brittany McCoy, "Her enthusiasm for the game impacts everyone on the team. When you see her shooting every day, it inspires everyone else to go above and beyond. We feel like something's missing if she's not there." In the summer of 2007, Fox was chosen to take part in the Pan Am games and play for the USA. Among those chosen, were some elite prospects who have already begun their WNBA careers. Emily Fox is having a solid season and her Gopher team is as well. She is a strong prospect at the guard position and definitely someone who will be fighting for a roster spot. And if you're scared of her game on the court, see what she does off the court. Fox's game can be summed up in one word...fast.
Charese 'Tudy' Reed has already moved all over the nation in just her four years as a collegiate. She started out in Rutgers before then heading to Stillwater to play for Oklahoma State. Finally, the Chicago native came back to what felt like home, to Cincinnati Ohio. Xavier coach Kevin McGuff was thrilled to see Reed come his way, and said "Tudy's very talented. Her versatility's very good for us, she can play on the perimeter and she can also be a smaller post player." This year, the senior is expected to add experience to the Xavier team. Earlier this year, Reed helped her Xavier team stay close with a top 25 Louisville team by scoring a game high 31 points. Reed's athleticism and ability to score has been on display so far this season, and it's opening the eyes of WNBA scouts all over the nation.
This weeks edition of our foriegn player scouting deals with players from Asian countries, as well as a couple from the Pacific and Brazil.
First up, there is Bian Lan, a 6'1" guard. She is currently playing for the Jiangsu Phoenix alongside WNBA player Ann Strother. She also played for China in the Olympics, which took place in Beijing. For the tournament, she averaged 11.9 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. She shot 40% from the field as well as from the three point line. Bian Lan is an intriguing prospect because she's fundamentally strong and takes contact much better than her Asian counterparts. If Bian can continue to improve her shooting and take contact, I think the WNBA will call her name soon. 
Next up, we had a bit North, to South Korea, where Choi Yoon Ah resides. She is currently playing for the Shinhan Bank S-Birds of the Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL). Last year, the Washington Mystics were looking to sign Choi, but she elected to stay and train with her National Team prior to the Olympics. It was a good thing she decided to stay because the 5'8" point guard played a huge roll in Korea's finish in Beijing. Choi averaged 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. She shot 50% from three and a stellar 64% from the floor. Choi is a very smart, quick player who knows how to penetrate and create for others. She has also shown that she can take physical play. The point guard position is always a hot commodity in the WNBA, and someone should take a chance on this Korean prospect.
Let's now head south, to New Zealand where we meet Angela Marino. This 5'5"Kiwi has been on the scene for a couple years, in both her play with the New Zealand National Team and her play in Australia's WNBL. She is currently Adelaide Link Lightning where she is currently averaging 14.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. She is also shooting 40% from the three. In Beijing, her numbers mirrored her WNBL stats, averaging 15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Marino is an athletic and pesky player. She's very energetic and will shoot from everywhere. If you're looking for someone to challenge defenders and spread opposing defenses to break defenses, Marino is your girl.
Finally, we head to the beautiful land of Brazil, where Franciele Nascimiento. Franciele, as she is known by in Brazil, is playing for Rivas Ecopolis along side Chicago's Cathy Joens in the Spanish League. Nascimiento is a bit of a project, but she has potential. She is averaging 2.5 points, and 1 rebound in 9 minutes of action. Over the summer, the 6'3" forward played in Beijing for Brazil. In Beijing, she averaged 3.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1 assist. She also shot 45% from the field. Again, Franciele is a project, but she's very athletically gifted and very versatile. She can go inside and out and is a solid defender and rebounder. Many Brazilians have made a jump to the WNBA and Franciele could be the next.
Two years ago, Cinderella reappeared and she was wearing the red of Marist. That's right, two years ago we were introduced to the Marist Red Foxes during their magical run to the Sweet 16, with upsets of Ohio State and Middle Tennessee State. Julianne Viani, a senior guard, has been at the epicenter of this programs' emergence on the National scene. Marist Head Coach Brian Giorgis loves to tease Viani, like the day he picked up the paper and say Viani pumping her fist after one of Marist's upsets. Giorgis replied "Will you look at that? Julianne is cut. Her arms are ripped.'' Though Marist is a small school by athletic standards, Viani and her teammates have shown no fear in going against the nations best. Hudson Valley coach Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki said that "She is a great player and she understands the game. I would take her in a heartbeat. Julianne is a great player." Viani, like her team, is always someone to take account of and watch for. She has shown that she can defend, pass and score from deep. As her team looks to make yet another run in the NCAAs, Viani will be playing for a WNBA pick. No pressure.
Under sized. Under cover. Underrated. All of those adjectives can be given to Marshae Dotson, a senior forward out of Florida. Throughout her career, Dotson has been able to prove to doubters wrong by getting it done down low while standing at just 5'11". Former Florida Coach Carolyn Peck said that "she has a great knack for the ball, especially on the defensive end (and) Marshae has the ability to play like a guard." This year, as a senior, Dotson has become even more of a vocal leader and Sha Brooks, another senior, can account for that, saying that “Marshae’s always talking in practice now”. This year, the Florida Gators are off to a great start, earning their first Top 25 Ranking in a couple years. Last year, the Florida Gators were looking to rebuild, but this year they've actually cited some success and Butler can agree it's centered around Dotson. "Marshae is tough," Florida Coach Amanda Butler stated, "She's a warrior." A warrior indeed, and just at 5'11".
6'4" Senior Center Courtney Paris from Oklahoma has been named this week's WNBA Draft Net Prospect of the Week. After returning to her home state of California, Paris led her Sooner team to a 2-0 record, including a monumental comeback against the California Golden Bears in Berkley. In that game, Paris posted 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and shot 64% from the field. The Sooners also beat California State Bakersfield. For the week, Paris averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 12.5 rebounds, while shooting 75% from the field.
Also considered: Briann January (Arizona State), Megan Skouby (Iowa), Brianne O'Rourke (Penn State), Ashley Walker (California).
This year, the contributors at WNBA Draft Net are looking outside of the US to see if there are any top prospects worthy of a WNBA Draft Pick. We will keep track of this group throughout the year and see how they're doing. Let's get this started.
First off is a youngster from Spain, 6'3 Forward, who currently plays for Celta Indepo in the Spanish League. Alba Torrens is coming off of an impressive set of performances in Beijing and is one of the up and coming youngsters in the European game. Torrens averaged 7.6 points, 4 rebounds while shooting 46% from the floor in Beijing. For Celta, she is currently averaging 13.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, and shooting nearly 40% from the field. Torrens is a lengthy guard who can finish on the perimeter and inside. Her versatility is something we don't always see in the WNBA. She's a very intriguing prospect.
Another youngster out there is Sonja Petrovic, FIBA Europe's 2007 Young Player of the Year. Sonja is a member of the Serbian National Team and has helped build the program as a whole. She was named MVP of the U19 Championships in 2006. Petrovic was supposed to play for Spartak Moscow this year, but has not played for them thus far. However, at the small forward position, Petrovic has shown that she is a talent. She is coming from a struggling national team but they have improved because of her.
Petrovic (SCG #5) and Eldebrink (far right) are
among the top young players in Europe.
Moving a little North, we will now discuss Frida Eldebrink, a guard from Sweden. She is currently playing for Tarbes, who plays in both the French League as well as EuroCup. She is currently averaging 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assist for Tarbes in Eurocup Competition. The 5'9" guard also participated in U19 World Championships and averaged 18 ppg, 6 rpg, and 2 spg. She led her team to the title game where they met the USA. They lost, of course, but she scored 10 points against a very good USA team.
Anastasiya Veremeyenko is one of the talented young posts in the World. She is from Belarus and played an important role for the team in the Olympics in Beijing. At 6'5", Veremeyenko makes a strong prospect because she has a pro-build and is very strong. She's a solid shot blocker and has moves offensivelly down in the post. She is definitely one of the better young players in the world.
