Show won’t go on, but draft will
with no big dance for players to flaunt their talent, we highlight our first-round wnba draft projections
Heroes are made during March Madness. It’s quite common for players to use the Big Dance to showcase their abilities by taking over games in order to raise their draft stock. But with the tournaments canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, players — including DePaul’s Chante Stonewall, Northwestern’s Abi Scheid and Rice’s Erica Ogwumike — won’t get a final chance to turn heads before the WNBA Draft on April 17.
Despite other sporting events being canceled and leagues suspended, the WNBA hasn’t decided what to do with the season opener just two months away. As of now, the league is monitoring the situation and promises an update toward the end of this month.
With the draft one month away, here are the Sun-Times’ projections for the first round:
1. New York Liberty: Sabrina Ionescu
5-11, PG, Oregon Averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 assists and 8.6 rebounds last season.
Ionescu seems to be exactly what the rebuilding Liberty need, especially with their move to the Barclays Center this season. The do-it-all guard was one of the most recognizable faces and overall greatest talents in college basketball last season. She finished her career with 26 tripledoubles, an NCAA record, and could make an immediate impact both on and off the court this season.
2. Dallas Wings: Satou Sabally
6-4, SF, Oregon
Averaged 16.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in 29 games last season.
Sabally announced last month that she would forgo her senior season and enter the 2020 draft. She has tremendous upside and could bring an instant scoring boost to the Wings, who finished in the bottom two for scoring last season.
3. Indiana Fever: Lauren Cox 6-4, PF, Baylor
Averaged 12.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots in 22 games last season.
Cox is a talented shot blocker who also can shoot from long range. She has suffered injuries in the past, including a foot injury last season that limited her to 22 games. Still, she or Sabally would be a great choice for Fever legend Tamika Catchings’ first pick as the team’s new general manager.
4. Atlanta Dream: Chennedy Carter 5-7, PG, Texas A&M
Averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23 games last season.
The Dream could use an electrifying scorer like Carter to pair with Courtney Williams after Angel McCoughtry’s departure during free agency. Carter is a draft-eligible junior, but she hasn’t officially decided what she might do next. The deadline to declare for the draft is April 7, though that could change.
5. Dallas Wings: Beatrice Mompremier 6-4, PF, Miami
Averaged 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds in 17 games last season.
After a foot injury sidelined her for 13 games, Mompremier came back “extra motivated” and finished her senior season strong. She’s an athletic big who can shoot from anywhere on the court. She could be another solid addition to the Wings’ youthful roster.
6. Minnesota Lynx: Crystal Dangerfield 5-5, PG, UConn
Averaged 14.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 30 games.
The Lynx could use a point guard after Danielle Robinson signed with the Aces last month, and Dangerfield has the potential to be the next great WNBA point guard to come out of UConn. Why not reunite her with reigning Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier, with whom she went to three Final Fours?
7. Dallas Wings: Mikayla Pivec
5-10, SG, Oregon State Averaged 14.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 32 games last season.
Pivec has a high basketball IQ and sees the floor well. She’s also a great defender and an aggressive rebounder. During her time at Oregon State, she proved she’s capable of plugging many different holes for a team.
8. Chicago Sky: Ruthy Hebard
6-4, PF, Oregon
Averaged 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in 33 games last season.
Hebard does most of her damage in the paint, which could be valuable for the Sky, a team already loaded with perimeter shooting. She also would bolster the team’s frontcourt, which lost breakout star Astou Ndour via trade last month.
9. Dallas Wings: Te’a Cooper
5-8, PG, Baylor
Averaged 13.6 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 30 games last season.
The Wings have four first-round picks, though their training-camp roster already is maxed out at 15, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they traded at least one of their two lower firstround picks to another team. If not, Cooper, who’s coming off a breakout season at Baylor, seems like a good fit at No. 9.
10. Phoenix Mercury: Bella Alarie
6-4, SF, Princeton
Averaged 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in 23 games last season.
Alarie has a chance to be the first Ivy League player to go in the first round since Allison Feaster (Harvard) in 1998. She was easily the best player in the conference and hasn’t even reached her full potential yet. Her numbers took a slight dip from last season, when she averaged a double-double, but she was a leader on a Princeton team that went 26-1.
11. Seattle Storm: Tyasha Harris
5-10, PG, South Carolina Averaged 12 points, 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 33 games.
Harris has developed the reputation of a point guard who makes others around her better. She’s an outstanding leader who helped guide a young South Carolina roster to a 32-1 record this season. The Storm re-signed 39-year-old Sue Bird to a one-year deal last month, so nabbing Harris would be an investment for the future.
12. Washington Mystics: Arella Guirantes 5-11, G, Rutgers
Averaged 20.6 points and six rebounds in 30 games last season.
Coach C. Vivian Stringer has a reputation for developing well-rounded and aggressive professional players. Guirantes, a draft-eligible redshirt junior, is no different. With Kristi Toliver gone, the Mystics could use a fearless competitor like Guirantes. ✶