The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Ready to ball
After unpredictable draft night, Kiah Gillespie eager to get to work in WNBA
Meriden’s Kiah Gillespie didn’t spend much time worrying about her future in the days leading up to the WNBA draft.
Some experts viewed Gillespie, a 6-foot-2 forward out of Florida State, as a late first-round talent. Others, including renowned
ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo, had her slipping into the second round. Opinions were varied and passionate.
“I didn’t really pay much attention to those mock drafts because a lot of it is opinionated,” Gillespie said. “It’s best to go into it with an open mind. It’s best to take it in stride.”
So that’s what she did. Watching things unfold earlier this month from her coach’s house in Tallahassee, Fla., Gillespie had no idea when or by whom she would be picked. She waited … and waited … and waited … until her name flashed on the screen, indicating the Chicago Sky had selected her with the 32nd pick.
Gillespie, a high school prodigy who left Maryland before revitalizing her career at Florida State, was elated. Relieved. Thankful. Of course she was.
“Seeing my name came across ESPN, just having that opportunity, having that night of celebration, the feeling was unreal,” the former Capital Prep-Hartford star said. “The feeling of draft night was definitely an undefeated feeling.”
Gillespie didn’t expect to land in Chicago. The truth is, neither did the person who selected her, Sky head coach and general manager James Wade. The Sky owned the eighth overall
selection, which Wade used to take Oregon forward Ruthy Hebard, and weren’t slated to pick again until No. 30 — the sixth pick of the third and final round. By that point, Wade figured Gillespie would’ve been long gone. Except she wasn’t.
Wanting to bolster their depth at point guard, the Sky took UCLA’s Japreece Dean. Next off the board was Duke’s Haley Gorecki, going No. 31 to Seattle.
“She wasn’t on our draft board because we didn’t have a second-round pick,” Wade explained. “(Her dropping to the third round) confused us, but sometimes coaches see things that you don’t, and you see things that they don’t.”
What Wade saw was a versatile player with a long wingspan who produced against top competition in the ACC. Last season with the Seminoles, her second after sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules, Gillespie averaged a team-high 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 44.2 percent. And the majority of coaches Wade spoke with leading up to the draft raved about Gillespie’s competitiveness and maturity.
“A lot of people said she’s a baller,” Wade said.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
How does a late-round pick overcome the odds? Gillespie, who was wondering this herself, turned to Twitter for advice the day after the draft.
“32nd pick in the third round. @isaiahthomas do you have some advice for me???” Gillespie wrote to the former Boston Celtic, who was taken with the final pick of the 2011 NBA draft and became an AllStar.
Thomas (not to be confused with Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas) responded: “Yes I do. Be the hardest working player everyday. Learn from your vets and when your name is called be ready for your opportunity. Work work and work some more. The work will have you ready for you opportunity. Anything else I’m here for you.”
Gillespie said she doesn’t know Thomas personally, but has always admired his work ethic and his ability to overcome adversity. She plans to carry a similar mindset into Chicago, where she’ll be fighting for a roster spot.
If and when training camps are allowed to open, Gillespie will join a team loaded with established stars, including Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Diamond DeShields, as well as former UConn Huskies Stefanie Dolson, Gabby Williams and Azurá Stevens. Last season, Chicago went 20-14 and fell a game short of making the semifinals, losing to Las Vegas.
“We’re all teammates at the end of the day, but you have to work for your spot,” Gillespie said. “I don’t think anyone’s going to take it easy on me because I’m a rookie. If anything, it’s an incentive to go harder on me.”
She added: “Just being the hardest-working player. Just go out there and give it my all and play hard. It’s what you have to do every day.”