A look at what the WNBA draft does have
It has been spring ritual — UConn completes its NCAA Tournament run and all eyes turn to the next date on the basketball calendar.
The WNBA Draft has held special interest among UConn fans as one exHusky after another has advanced to the next level. From No. 1 picks to lateround selections, there’s always a UConn presence in the draft.
Not this year.
The Huskies, coming off another Final Four appearance, did not graduate a player. Evina Westbrook was eligible for the draft, but she elected to stay at UConn.
So Thursday night’s selection show (7 p.m., ESPN) won’t hold the same level of fascination for UConn followers.
Nor will it have much buzz for fans of Connecticut’s WNBA team. The Sun don’t have a first-round pick, so Connecticut will be looking for role players when it makes selections with the 20th and 21st selections.
What should you know about the draft? Here’s a primer:
HUSKY-LESS
The last time UConn did not have a player selection was 2007. Before that was 2003, so Geno Auriemma’s program has had at last one player picked in 21 of the past 22 drafts.
But this year’s team was young, a freshman-heavy roster with three juniors (Westbrook, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa). Westbrook sat out a season after transferring from Tennessee, so she could have left and would likely have been a high draft pick in what is considered just an average draft.
Instead, she elected to return for another season.
Had Westbrook made herself eligible, she would have been UConn’s 27th first-round pick. The Huskies have had a first-rounder in seven of the past eight drafts, including Megan Walker (seventh overall) last year.
Five UConn players have been the first overall pick (Breanna Stewart in 2016, Maya Moore in 2011, Tina Charles in 2010, Diana Taurasi in 2004, Sue Bird in 2002). UConn had the first three picks in 2016 (Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck).
The next No. 1 pick? Paige Bueckers might have been the top pick if she was available this year.
STAR-LESS
Bueckers, coming off her freshman season, is the face of her sport. Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu had the same pizzazz when she went No. 1 to the New York Liberty last year, similar to South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson (No. 1 to Las Vegas) in 2018 and Stewart in 2016.
This year’s draft lacks that can’t-miss player. Texas center Charli Collier is regarded as the likely No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings and she could turn into a solid pro — the 6-foot-5 junior averaged 19 points and 11.3 rebounds this season, and 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds over her career.
UConn fans may remember Collier, who verbally committed to Auriemma’s program as an high school junior in Texas before changing her mind a year later. She developed into a good player at Texas
“She looks like a WNBA player,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “She's big and strong, has a great frame, plays really hard. She added the 3-point shot, which a stretch 4 needs to have now in the WNBA. She's got a good-looking stroke. She's got decent hands.”
After Collier, there is 6-5 Finnish forward Awak Kuier, Rutgers guard Arella Guirantes, Louisville guard
Dana Evans, Baylor guard DiJonai Carrington, Tennessee forward Rennia Davis, and Arizona guard Aari McDonald.
Are there impact players? That remains to be seen.
“It's not as strong,” Lobo said. “I think people kind of understand that this class isn't as strong as maybe last year's class, and it's not as strong as the classes in the next couple years. I think that's pretty much how everyone feels about it.”
But Lobo added that this is a guard-heavy draft with talented prospects.
“Of course there are really good players in the draft and of course teams are going to be able to find players who can fit a need for them,” she said.
SUN SPOTS
Connecticut traded its first-round pick in the DeWanna Bonner trade last year, so Curt Miller won’t be making a selection until the middle of the second round.
Miller said this week he is looking for offense of the bench as he prepares to use three picks (20, 21, 30). But that may be a challenge in a draft lacking depth.
The Sun have nine players under contract and plan to carry 11, so there’s not much of an opportunity for a draft pick to earn a spot.
The Sun lost to Las Vegas in the semifinals of the WNBA bubble season last year, after losing to Washington in the finals in 2019. Connecticut climbed back from an 0-5 start to earn a playoff berth and make a run last year.
This season, the Sun will be without forward Alyssa Thomas (15.5 points, 9 rebounds). Thomas is out with a torn Achilles. But Jonquel Jones will be back after sitting out last season, so the Sun figure to be contenders — even without an impact player from the draft.