UConn’s Collier seen as the complete package
Lynx see UConn star as a do-everything talent
There wasn’t one specific trait that made Cheryl Reeve want to use the sixth pick in Wednesday’s WNBA Draft on UConn superstar Napheesa Collier.
“The main thing that drew me to her is she does everything,” Reeve, the head coach and general manager of the Minnesota Lynx, said the next day by phone. “She’s a player that whether it’s the simple things — defense, being long, deflecting, rebounding — she always seems to be involved in the hustle plays. That’s something we find really valuable.”
Collier, a 6-foot-1 forward, was taken two picks after the Chicago Sky selected her college teammate, Katie Lou Samuelson. The duo became the 24th and 25th UConn players drafted in the first round since 2001.
Like many players fresh out of UConn, Collier is thought to be pro-ready. She can score, rebound and defend at a high level, and her motor is so relentless that Geno Auriemma dubbed her a “machine.”
“You learn that when you have a UConn player what their value is. The first day that Pheesa steps in here, while it’ll be different, and it might be intimidating at first, she’ll settle in and just do what she does,” Reeve said. “What you learn is that they just know how to play basketball. You don’t have to tell them a lot in terms of where they should be or what they should be doing.
“They’re going to cut when they’re supposed to cut, and they’re going to flash in the high post when they’re supposed to flash in the high post, and they’re going to defend. They’re going to know the little things that are necessary to win a game.”
Winning is in her DNA. Collier and Samuelson lost only five games over four years together in Storrs, with three of those defeats coming in the Final Four. The Lynx have won four WNBA titles since 2011, though they’ll spend this season without former UConn great Maya Moore.
Collier averaged 16 points and 8.1 rebounds over 150 games at
UConn, including careerbests in both categories (20.8 and 10.8) this past season. Calling her versatility “appealing,” Reeve expects Collier to play a lot as a rookie, whether it be as a starter or off the bench.
“She’s just steady, dependable, the same every day,” Reeve said. “The same work ethic, the same energy, the same understanding, the same effort.”
Reeve witnessed Collier’s abilities first-hand last summer while coaching the UConn product with USA Basketball. Collier was the last college player cut before the FIBA World Cup.
“At the end of the day, every time you look, she scored, she rebounded, she deflected — every single day. That’s why she earned her way onto the team (in camp),” Reeve continued. “She’s somebody you look at and you go, ‘Just drop her in and she’s going to be able to do all those things no matter where she is.’ She’s always going to be the same. She’ll have a long career doing just that.”
The Lynx open the season May 25 at home against Chicago, giving Collier an early opportunity to play against Samuelson.
“It’s going to be weird,” Collier said. “Gabby (Williams) is on that team, too, so it’ll be cool.”