Two Terps are taken in top 10 of draft
Walker-Kimbrough picked No. 6 overall by Mystics; Jones goes No. 8 to Sun
On a night when two Maryland women’s basketball All-Americans joined the professional ranks, what seemed old became new again.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was taken No. 6 overall in the WNBA draft Thursday night by the Washington Mystics, a convenient first job for the 5-foot-11 guard, who could take the MetrofromtheXfinity Center to her new workplace at Verizon Center.
Two picks later in New York, 6-3 center Brionna Jones (Aberdeen) went to the Connecticut Sun, which play about an hour away from Bridgeport, where the careers of Walker-Kimbrough and Jones ended unexpectedly in the Sweet 16 last month.
They will enter the league on teams with polar-opposite expectations. Walker-Kimbrough, the nation’s leading 3-point shooter in 2015-16, joins a Mystics team with three of the league’s most accurate long-range shooters: Emma Meesseman, Elena Delle Donne and former Terps guard Kristi Toliver.
With Washington’s trade for Delle Donne, the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player, and its acquisition of Toliver, a prized free agent, expectations have never been higher for the Mystics, who are seeking their first league title.
“I’m just really happy to be here,” Walker-Kimbrough said after she was selected, fighting back tears. “I’m just so thankful.”
ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said WalkerKimbrough can learn from Washington’s established guards and continue on the