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Carrington: From UConn rival to Sun pick
Three weeks ago, DiJonai Carrington became a household name in Connecticut.
In the final seconds of the Elite Eight matchup between Baylor and UConn on March 29, Carrington went up to shoot a jumper outside the key. The Lady Bears were down by one with six seconds remaining. She was met by a wall of outstretched arms from UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia NelsonOdoda, causing her to fall backwards and her shot fall to fall too short.
It was a no- call foul that split national women’s basketball fans across the country. Some argued there was clear contact between her and the arms of the Huskies, while others brushed it off saying Baylor had played just as physical earlier in the game — even Lebron James voiced his opinion.
“I personally don’t see it as a controversial call,” Carrington said after the game. “I’ve already seen the replay and one girl fouled me in my face and one girl fouled me on my arm, so at that point you can’t do anything else.”
For a brief moment, it was almost as if UConn’s 13th- straight trip to the Final Four was slightly tainted knowing the refs missed the call that could have changed the game.
Carrington’s five- year collegiate career ended that night in San Antonio.
But it wasn’t the last time fans in Connecticut would hear her name — in fact, it could be just the beginning.
Carrington was selected with the 20th overall pick in the WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun. Almost ironic isn’t it?
“We thought DiJonai could go as
early as late in the first round and certainly didn’t expect her to drop to 20, but we had spoken with her multiple times leading up to the draft,” Sun coach Curt Miller said. “We’re really excited that we saw it starting to happen in the second round and we’re very fortunate and very happy to have her as part of our team.”
The 5- foot- 11 guard from San Diego spent the first four years of her collegiate career playing at Stanford where she helped the Cardinal earn two Pac- 12 tournament championships. Carrington got her first experience of playing during her freshman season in 20162017. She played in 35 games that year, all coming off the bench, to lead the team with a steal every 14 minutes ( 19 total on the season).
The following year she was the Pac- 12’ s fourthleading scorer off the bench, second in rebounds and first in steals. In Stanford’s game against UConn on Nov. 12, 2017, she led the Cardinal with 21 points, the only player on the team in double- figures.
As a junior, she was named an All- Pac- 12 and All- Pac- 12 Tournament team honoree, starting all 36 games and averaging 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Her senior season was cut short just five games in due to a knee injury which allowed her the extra year of eligibility as a grad transfer. She chose to finish her career at Baylor, but was also showed interest from Oregon, and, who else but, UConn.
“I’m really proud of her,” VanDerveer told the Pac- 12 following Stanford’s win over Washington in the 2019 Pac- 12 Tournament. “She has improved a lot. Her decision- making has improved. Honestly, she’s very coachable. She is someone who wants to learn, pays attention, works hard.”
During her lone season for the Lady Bears, Carrington was named the Big- 12 Newcomer of the Year and the Big- 12 Sixth Person of the Year. She averaged 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and led the team with 56 steals ( 2.1 per game).
This ability to come into any environment and light up the floor with offensive scores or big defensive stops is something Miller is in need of this season without star forward Alyssa Thomas, who is sidelined this season rehabbing an Achilles tear.
“She may be the best two- way wing in the draft,” Miller said. “Really believe that she can score in multiple levels, strong and physical guard that can guard multiple positions.
She’ll tell you that you don’t need to run plays for her, that she can create her own offense and transition off of her defense making hustle plays. She came off the bench for Baylor all year, you want to talk about a humble superstar in someone that understands the mantra that it doesn’t matter who starts the game, it’s who finishes the game.”
Carrington said Miller and the Sun coaches have been very transparent about the lack of open spots on the Sun’s roster this season. Out of the 12 players vying for spots, only two will most likely make the cut during training camp which begins on April 25.
She’ll be competing against the Sun’s other two draft picks, Aleah Goodman ( Oregon State) and Micaela Kelly ( Central Michigan), along with six free agents for the two open spots.
But Carrington isn’t afraid of pressure.
“Whenever you have an opportunity to go against the best in the world, it’s always something that you have to just relish,” she said. “Competitiveness is in my DNA and I’m just gonna battle. … It’s a unique opportunity whereas Coach Miller said there are spots available on the roster and that’s what I’m coming in to take. I’m not someone who’s ever been afraid of people because of who they are on paper. I’m excited to learn from our vets, but I’m also excited to challenge them as they’re going to challenge me.”
Carrington, who suffered two ACL injuries during her high school career, isn’t the first in her family to go pro or compete on the big stage.
For starters, her dad, Darren Carrington was a fifth- round pick in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. His eight years in the NFL was highlighted by two trips to the Super Bowl, first with the Broncos in 1990 and later with the then- San Diego Chargers in 1995. He even helped train DiJonai in Pop Warner football when she was in elementary school.
When asked on Thursday night who was the better athlete between her, her dad and her older brother, who played football at Oregon and Utah, Carrington responded:
“In his prime, I guess my dad because he’s the one who has proven it. I’m on my way to proving it, but my dad played eight years in the league so I’m not able to battle with that yet, but hopefully in eight years we can have this conversation again and I can have a different answer for you.”