Walker departing UConn early for WNBA with plenty still left to prove
There are no assertions of mercenary this time.
There can be no argument that Geno Auriemma may have chased her off because she didn’t get 30 minutes of playing time every game.
This isn’t Azura Stevens in 2018.
This is Megan Walker in 2020.
This isn’t some transfer from Duke not sticking around for a fifth year. This is the girl who, as one of the 10 national Gatorade high school players of the year recruited by UConn, was meant to be nurtured, matured and battle-tested into becoming a woman’s NCAA national champion. As UConn’s 11 banners attest, even a multiple national champion.
This is the junior forward who was charged with taking the torch from Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson and becoming UConn’s best player in a season suddenly cut short by the outbreak of coronavirus. And, for the most part, the 6-1 Walker was.
She led UConn with 19.7 points a game. She averaged 8.4 rebounds. She won the 2020 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the AAC tournament Most Outstanding Player.
So what did Megan Walker have left to prove before she announced Saturday that she was foregoing her senior year of eligibility to declare for the 2020 WNBA Draft? Plenty.
Like winning a national championship as all great UConn players do.
Like playing dynamite as the best player against the best teams.
“I don’t know how you really describe Megan,” Auriemma said after the
opening game of Walker’s sophomore season. “She’s a big guard or a smaller version of a forward. I don’t know what she is.”
After the final game of her junior year, a 26-point performance against Cincinnati in the AAC championship game at Mohegan Sun on Monday, we know what she’ll be in a few short weeks: A professional.
On Friday, Auriemma said a month or two ago he used to sit there at practice every day and contemplate a load of disappointment at the end of the season. The Huskies didn’t have it and Auriemma felt the responsibility. And, then, suddenly, they started to play like, act like, carry themselves like a team that could compete for a championship. He was proud of them. Proud of Walker and senior Crystal Dangerfield, who Auriemma had challenged to step up and take responsibility for what happens with the program.
“Other people did it when you were younger and it’s your turn to do it for the younger players on the team and for yourself,” Auriemma told the two.
“You’ve never proven you could do it.”
They responded through the tail end of the AAC campaign.
“Megan went from last year being an option to becoming THE option,” Auriemma said.
And with that option, with 1,251 career points, 615 career rebounds and being the first UConn Gatorade national player of the year to leave without a national title, Walker chose to go pro.
“Due to the unfortunate circumstances that caused the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, it saddens me that I was not able to finish my junior season in the way that I would have liked,” Walker said. “I am, however, ready to move on to the next phase of my life and career.”
Walker thanked all the appropriate UConn folks and the fans for their love and support.
“I will forever be a Husky,” Walker said.
Only not one in uniform next season.
Make no mistake. This one hurts.
So much of the focus this season was on returning to the Final Four for the 13th consecutive time. It was a reasonable goal, yet not the bar usually set for UConn. With Walker a senior, Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa juniors, with transfer Evina Westbrook and with a terrific freshman class led by Gatorade national player of the year Paige Bueckers, the bar was back where it should be for 2020-2021. A run at the national title.
Part of this is because Oregon will have Satou Sabally, Ruthy Hebert and especially Sabrina Ionescu headed to the WNBA. Another part is Baylor will have Lauren Cox and Te’a Cooper heading to the WNBA. Yes, South Carolina will be awfully tough. Stanford and Maryland are a year older. Baylor will hang around. Oregon has a terrific young crop of talent. Yet with Walker back, there was an offensive rock in place. There was a good shot.
Now, even with Bueckers, considered by many as one of those once-in-everyfive years talents, it’s much harder to see banner No. 12 in 2020-2021.
Was Walker’s departure good for UConn? Obviously not. And now UConn’s entire recruiting class of 2017 is gone without any of them making it to their senior year at Storrs.
Was the decision good for Walker? Only she can answer that right now and she’s going to say yes. Walker said she and her family gave the decision careful thought. Even in January, she gave one of those “right now” answers to one of those, “Are your returning?” questions. That led folks to think leaving was a possibility. There are always personal considerations. And who knows if she was tired of juggling school with hoops?
Basketball is her love and now it is her career. With the new WNBA agreement, the rookie scale for the 1 to 4 picks will rise to $68,000 — $15,000 more than 2019 — plus the ability to qualify for leagueguaranteed money under the marketing agreement. Going pro puts Walker in position to make more money overseas next winter. Still, she could make that and much more at the tail end of her career if she decided to stick around one more year. Right now, Walker is by some projections in the No. 6 range in the draft. So we’ll see.
“During a player’s college career, they’re working towards certain goals, and when you have an opportunity to reach a certain goal that you set for yourself, I think it’s important that you have an opportunity to take it,” Auriemma said in a statement Saturday. “Meg’s decided this is the right time for her to take advantage of this opportunity. We support her 100 percent and we’re going to support her going forward.”
On Friday when he was asked if he was confident all his eligible players would return, Auriemma paused for two seconds.
“I don’t think any coach can really be confident of anything anymore,” he said. “I was confident Azura was coming back and didn’t work out that way. As I’m talking to you right now, I have no reason to think anybody that’s able to be coming back won’t be coming back.”
Do I think Auriemma was surprised by Walker’s decision?
No, I don’t.
Do I think Walker, eligible for the draft after three collegiate seasons because she turns 22 this calendar year, is ready for the WNBA?
No, not really.
She can make a roster. She’s not a starter. Not sure if she’ll make any substantial immediate impact. Walker improved her spot shooting from 3 this season.
She still misses too many close to the hoop. She needs to improve off the dribble at mid-range. And most of all, I’d argue she needed to emerge as a Player of the Year candidate, the best player in the biggest games to emerge as a force.
Walker was 5-for-20 against Baylor.
Walker was 3-for-15 against Tennessee.
Walker was 3-for-16 against Oregon.
Walker was 5-for-11 against South Carolina, but only 2-for-6 in the first half when UConn had any sniff of winning.
Not good enough. Maybe the coronavirus doesn’t disrupt the WNBA season. Maybe she gets on the right team and continues a sweet development. Maybe she avoids a seasonending injury like Stevens had in 2020.
This much is as sure as Stevens costing UConn the national title in 2019 by leaving for the pros: Megan Walker can never call herself a national champion.
Do I think this was the best decision for Megan Walker?
No, I don’t.