Tag: satou sabally

WNBA Rookie Report: Mid season updates of Satou Sabally, Crystal Dangerfield, Julie Allemand and more. Weeks 2-4.

Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx rookie
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The WNBA has now passed the mid season and it is now time to update on all of the rookies that have played and to give an update from their first week as a rookie. Some rookies have shined, others got injured, some did not get enough playing time, etc. We have it all covered for you from the WNBA Rookie Report committee members Teylor Haines, Blake O’Tain and myself (Aneela Khan). The rookies are reported on by their draft order.

Sabrina Ionescu

Sabrina Ionescu suffered an ankle injury and left the WNBA bubble a couple of weeks ago. She is officially considered out for the rest of the season which puts a sour note on her rookie year. – Aneela

Satou Sabally

Satou Sabally has shined for Dallas at the mid season point. She has played almost about 27 minutes per game and has averaged 12.3 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and the most impressive stat is her 2.3 assists per game. Satou Sabally has only played in 11 out of 15 Dallas Wings games but she has been super productive in the games she has played. She also has 3 double doubles on the season so far. She still is one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year – Aneela

Lauren Cox

Cox has now played in 10 games for the Fever. She is still adjusting to the quicker play in the WNBA. She’s averaging 3.4 points per game, and 3.7 rebounds per game (3rd among rookies). Cox is still adjusting but has shown some bright spots so far. – Blake

Chennedy Carter

Chennedy Carter was the youngest player to score 30+ points in a game, a loss to Seattle. Carter was the clear front runner to win ROY prior to her ankle injury on August 10, but has been sidelined since. Carter’s explosiveness and playmaking ability being void from Atlanta’s offense has made them appear stagnant. She’s expected to return within this week. – Teylor

Bella Alarie

Alarie has appeared in 15 games averaging 2.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Bella is also averaging 1.1 blocks per game, 2nd among rookies. Alarie has still been unable to drain a 3 in the WNBA. She has continued to develop and provide some key minutes for Dallas. – Blake

Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan

Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan is a shooter. In the limited minutes that she touches the floor that has been the overall consensus. “Kiki McBuckets” as Napheesa Collier has recently coined her is shooting over 46 percent from behind the arc. The most impressive part is that Herbert-Harrigan has an ability to take you off the dribble and handle it well enough to what ever shot she likes. – Teylor

Tyasha Harris

Ty Harris has been one of more steady rookies even with the minutes distribution within the Wings rotation not always favoring her. The recent news of Jefferson being sidelined for the rest of the season allows for Ty to run the show for that second unit. Her vision on dribble drive sets with the intent to kick it out has fit perfectly with Mabrey and Ogunbowale’s gameplay. Harris is averaging 7 points per game and nearly 3 assists. –Teylor

Ruthy Hebard

Ruthy Hebard has found playing time in a loaded, but banged up Chicago front court averaging 14 minutes in the last five outings even snagging a start versus Atlanta. Hebard’s movement without the ball and her knack for grabbing offensive boards has been put on full display. Ruthy’s effectiveness in her short minutes on the court has make Coach Wade feel as though she’s a viable option to make plays down the stretch. Hebard is averaging 4.3 points per game along with 3.2 rebounds per game. – Teylor

Megan Walker

Walker has appeared in 12 games for the Liberty. She’s averaging  3.7 points and 1.3 boards per game. She has really struggled from the 3 point line, only 13% from 3. Walker is still a year behind all the other rookies, so look for her to come on at the end of this season, or next season. – Blake

Jocelyn Willoughby

 Is averaging 5.1 points, and 1.9 rebounds per game. Willoughby is shooting 40% from 3. Willoughby has been making very strong contributions on this very young Liberty team. – Blake

Jazmine Jones

Jones is a rookie that has really found her rhythm this season. She’s averaging 10.5 points per game, ranked 4th among rookies. Averaging 3.4 rebounds which also ranks 4th among rookies. 1.3 steals per game, 2nd among rookies. Jones has really picked up for the Liberty since Ionescu went down with an ankle injury. – Blake

Kylee Shook

Kylee Shook is surprisingly doing more on the offensive end of the ball than what she was known for, but necessarily at an efficient rate. Her mid-range game is for sure the most developed part of her game. Shook has to get better at defending in the post or she becomes liability defensively for New York when their vets rest. – Teylor

Kathleen Doyle

Doyle has played in 10 games so far. She has 1.6 points per game, on 25% from the field, and 28% from 3. It’s been a rough go for Doyle so far. In this shortened season it makes it a lot tougher for rookie, kind of thrown into the fire with no preseason. – Blake

Leaonna Odom

Leaonna Odom has played in all 14 New York Liberty games so far and she is averaging about 5.3 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game in around 22 minutes per game. She has also been a starter for 9 games (out of 14 games played so far). She has looked good some games, not so great in others and is still feeling her way through her rookie season.-Aneela

Crystal Dangerfield

Crystal Dangerfield has excelled as a point guard for Minnesota at the halfway point. She is currently one of the top leading candidates for Rookie of the Year after some injuries to the top rookies. She has played in all 13 Lynx games and has been a starter for 11 of them. She is currently averaging 14.6 points per game and 3.2 assists per game in just under 29 minutes per game. She had a career high 29 points and 4 assists in a loss recently against the Los Angeles Sparks, a top 3 team. She just gets better and better every game. -Aneela

Brittany Brewer

Brittany Brewer has not gotten minutes for the Atlanta Dream, even as the Dream sit in 11th place out of 12th right now. She has not been able to make an impact as she has only played in 4 games so far. – Aneela

Te’a Cooper

Te’a Cooper does a lot of things that don’t always show up on the stat sheet and I believe that will either keep her on L.A.’s roster next season or she’ll get picked up elsewhere. Cooper has not scored much as of late, but her entry passes and ability to run point to rest Gray has been vital for the contending team. However, Te’a does have to improve her finishing at the basket and not just aim for creating contact. On the defensive side of the ball, Cooper continues to make life hard for opposing guards with her tenacious defense. -Teylor

Joyner Holmes

Holmes has played in 12 games, and averaged 2.7 points per game, and 2.1 rebounds per game. She is only shooting 7% from 3. I think Holmes is going to have to get that 3 pointer to go down to see more playing time. In this new Walt Hopkins system, shooting lots of 3s. -Blake

Beatrice Mompremier

Beatrice Mompremier has gotten limited playing time for the Connecticut Sun as the Sun have turned their season around after they got off to a bad start and has had some good, not so great games when she has more playing time. She’s still finding her way in the WNBA and still needs time to adjust to the WNBA. – Aneela

Kaila Charles

Charles has played in 13 games. She’s averaging 3.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. She’s now shooting 42% from the field, and 33% from 3. These shooting percentages are a huge improvement since our last rookie reports. She’s definitely developing into a good option off the bench for Connecticut. – Blake

Jaylyn Agnew

Jaylyn Agnew hasn’t seen much time on the court despite Atlanta being down a guard, specifically not playing at all in the last two games. Agnew is averaging nearly 7 minutes of playing time in her 10 games played. – Teylor

Stella Johnson

Stella Johnson was cut by the Chicago Sky and was quickly picked up by Washington. Johnson went from playing less than two minutes a game through eight games to starting for the Mystics in just two. Stella marked career-highs in points(25), minutes played (31), and field goals made (8) versus Atlanta. With this young Mystics team that doesn’t have a legit number one option, look for the Rider grad to make some more noise in her rookie campaign. – Teylor

Ezi Magbegor

Ezi Magbegor has played in all 15 Seattle Storm games and has looked good in her limited minutes of play. She is currently averaging 6.3 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game in only 13 minutes per game. She is one of the future stars for the Seattle Storm and is getting better every game. – Aneela

Julie Allemand

Allemand has had an excellent rookie campaign so far. She’s averaging 5.5 assists per game which is the most by a rookie, and second in the league. Julie is shooting 48.2% from 3 which is 4th best in the WNBA. She is getting 1.5 steals per game which is first among rookies. Allemand is averaging 8.4 points per game which ranks 5th among rookies. Julie should definitely be in the rookie of the year conversation. -Blake

WNBA Rookie Report: WNBA Debuts of Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, Chennedy Carter, Tyasha Harris and more. Week 1.

Chennedy Carter, Satou Sabally, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, WNBA
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

Week 1 of the shortened WNBA season has come to a close and WNBA rookies have finally played a WNBA game. Some rookies had a great first week, other rookies struggled, some did not get enough playing time and some rookies got injured. We have it all covered for you from our WNBA Rookie Report comittee members Teylor Hines, Blake O’Tain and myself (Aneela Khan). The rookies are put together by their respective draft order.

Sabrina Ionescu

As one of the most anticipated WNBA rookie debuts in WNBA history, Sabrina Ionescu’s first game was against one of the top WNBA teams in the Seattle Storm. She struggled from the field and was 0-8 from three. She finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Four days later, she turned it around against the Dallas Wings, another young team in the WNBA. She had 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. She shot 55% from the field and 60% from three. Two days later, she suffered an ankle injury and was out the rest of the game. She had 10 points in 12 minutes before the injury. Ionescu’s injury will keep her out for a month, maybe longer and so unfortunately there will be no more rookie updates of Sabrina Ionescu for a while. – Aneela

Satou Sabally

As one of the most versatile players in this draft, Satou Sabally’s WNBA rookie debut was also much anticipated. Her first game was against the Atlanta Dream in which she fouled out but had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Her second game was against New York and fellow rookie and Oregon team mate in Sabrina Ionescu. Sabally struggled in the game and finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds. In Sabally’s third game of the season against the Indiana Fever, she showed her versatility and promise as she had a big game and scored 23 points and had 17(!) rebounds. In her final game of the week, she struggled and ended up with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Satou Sabally still has so much upside and will continue to get better as she gets used to the WNBA. She is now one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year. – Aneela

Lauren Cox

Cox has still not made her WNBA Debut and still remains in COVID protocol. -Blake

Chennedy Carter

Chennedy Carter is just as great as advertised. Her handles are great and she can create her own shot whenever she pleases. The most surprising, but, also positive observation of Carter’s game has been her willingness to distribute. We often discuss Chennedy’s focus on scoring the ball, but she has shown in spurts of games that she can shift her mindset. However, it’ll be in the Dream and Carter’s best interest if she starts to cut down on the turnovers. Most of her turnovers come from trying to do too much and not letting the game flow, but those errors can be fixed. Carter wrapped up the first week of play averaging 15.3 points per game along with 4 assists. -Teylor

Bella Alarie

Bella has had a slower start in the WNBA than I expected, only putting up 3 points per game. She is definitely still adjusting to this new level of competition in the WNBA. In her 12.5 minutes per game, she is averaging 1 block, which is 3rd best among rookies. -Teylor

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan

Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan started the season not playing in the Lynx’s opener, but unfortunate injuries opened the door for playing time. In the last three games, she’s averaging nearly 13 minutes on the floor. Herbert-Harrigan has yet to find her touch offensively and that could be due to adjusting to playing heavily on the perimeter. As the season progresses, the hope is that those open shots will start to fall. On the contrast, her defensive presence has been impressive. Herbert-Harrigan’s active hands and ability to be an effective defender without fouling, specifically, in the Chicago game makes her a viable asset to the Lynx’s rotation. -Teylor

Tyasha Harris

Ty Harris has the makings of an All-Rookie team candidate. Harris has showed a little bit of everything that she’s capable of since her debut. Noticeably, she’s great with change of pace and has displayed amazing court vision early on. Harris wrapped up the first week of play averaging 7.5 points per game and 4 assists on nearly 48 percent shooting from the field. Harris’ assist-to-turnover ratio sits at 4:1 to start the season. -Teylor

Ruthy Hebard

Ruthy Hebard’s playing time has been limited due to the depth of Chicago’s front court. However, with Dolson foot injury it has allowed Hebard to come off the bench and make a difference specifically with rebounding. Most notably, in her eight minutes of play against Washington she pulled down six rebounds. With making that kind of impact in such a short amount of time, Hebard’s confidence and growth going forward for the Sky could be major. -Teylor

Megan Walker

Megan has played in 3 games for the Liberty, after passing COVID protocol. She has struggled to begin her career, she’s only shooting 18% from the field, and 0-11 from 3. Megan has scored 2 points in each of the Liberty’s 3 games. Walker was a junior who declared for the draft early, so she is younger but having a very slow start to her career to say the least. -Blake

Jocelyn Willoughby

Willoughby has made meaningful contributions for the Liberty early in this season. She’s averaging 7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and is shooting 55 percent from 3! Willoughby has been strong defensively too, against Atlanta she had 3 steals and 2 blocks. She has definitely put of some strong stat lines for a WNBA rookie. -Blake

Jazmine Jones

Jones has played in 3 of New York’s games. She had an outstanding performance against the Atlanta Dream. Jones scored 20 points in that game, along with 2 steals and 2 blocks. Jazmine is averaging 10.3 points per game, which is 4th among rookies. Jones has also been a good rebounder averaging 3 rebounds per game, which is 5th among rookies. -Blake

Kylee Shook

Kylee Shook got off to a rough start in her first two games, but averaged 8 points and 4.5 boards in her last two. With such a young team, Shook will get a solid amount of playing time to perfect pick and pops with Clarendon running point. The main question for Shook is if she’ll be able to adapt to the physicality of the league and make a difference on the defensive of the ball like she did in college. -Teylor

Kathleen Doyle

Doyle suffered an ankle injury in practice which delayed her WNBA debut. She did make her debut against Atlanta on Sunday. She played 7 minutes 0-1 from the field, with one assist, and one turnover. Not a lot of time on the court yet for Kathleen, after her delayed debut. -Blake

Leaonna Odom

Leaonna Odom played in all four New York Liberty games in her first week as a rookie. She played the most minutes in New York’s first game and scored 9 points and had 3 rebounds. She was held scoreless in the Liberty’s second game but had 4 rebounds. In the third game, Odom scored 3 points and had 2 rebounds. In the final game of the week, Odom scored 4 points and had 1 rebound. She has shown flashes of what she can do as rookie but still has a long way to go. – Aneela

Crystal Dangerfield

Crystal Dangerfield excelled in the point guard role for Minnesota in her first week as a rookie. She had 10 points and 2 rebounds in her first game but was held scoreless in her second game. Due to injuries, Crystal Dangerfield played heavy minutes in the final two games of the week for the Minnesota Lynx and had 9 and 17 points respectively. She has played well in starters minutes, so we will see if it will be kept that way for the rest of the season. – Aneela

Brittany Brewer

Brittany Brewer has not gotten much playing time so far in the WNBA and has only seen action in 2 games for the Atlanta Dream this week. She played just 17 minutes against the Dream and had 2 points, 2 steals and 4 blocks. She just played only 3 minutes versus Indiana and was held scoreless across the board. – Aneela

Te’a Cooper

Te’a Cooper exudes the energy that the Sparks often need from their second unit along with Sykes. Her ability to execute on the pick-and-roll with both Ogwumike and Parker will keep her on the floor. The best part of Cooper’s game thus far has been her defensive prowess with how she picks players up mid-court and causes havoc. It doesn’t always result in steals or blocks, but the disruptions make a difference. It’ll be big for the Sparks if she can knock down 3-pointers consistently going forward. Through the first week of play, Cooper averaged 7.3 points per game on 47 percent shooting. -Teylor

Joyner Holmes

Holmes has played in all 4 of New York’s games so far. She’s averaging 3.5 points per game, and 2.8 rebounds per game. She is yet to hit a 3 pointer (0-7 on three point attempt). Joyner did have an excellent game against the Dallas Wings. She scored 7 points, her career high, along with 4 rebounds. -Blake

Beatrice Mompremier

Beatrice Mompremier only got limited time and played in only 3 games out of 4 for the Connecticut Sun. The most playing time she got was on July 26th against Minnesota in which she scored 2 points and had 3 rebounds in 9 minutes. – Aneela

Kaila Charles

Kaila has played in 3 of the Sun’s games, she is averaging 5.3 minutes per game. She hasn’t made a field goal yet in her WNBA career (0-3 on field goal attempts). We will see if Charles can develop a little bit more, and if the Sun utilizes her more within these next couple of games. – Blake

Jaylyn Agnew

Agnew has seen limited minutes thus far for Atlanta. In that time, the former Creighton star hasn’t been able to find a groove with her 3-point shot until their most recent game sinking both of her attempts. – Teylor

Stella Johnson

Stella Johnson has seen the court for a total of  one minute and it came in the Sky’s decisive 96-78 victory over the Sparks. There wasn’t much to dissect at that point, but hopefully Johnson can receive minutes before the team’s backup point guard arrives. -Teylor

Ezi Magbegor

Ezi Magbegor got off to a great start in her first week as a rookie. She was a terrific finisher and a great defensive presence for the Seattle Storm. She only averaged about 14 minutes per game in the four games she played but she made the most out of her minutes scoring 7.8 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game. – Aneela

Megan Huff

Megan Huff has only played in 2 games out of 4 for the Minnesota Lynx in her first week as a rookie and has only played 3 minutes so far. – Aneela

WNBA ROOKIE REPORT: Previewing Sunday’s WNBA rookie debuts of Chennedy Carter, Satou Sabally, Bella Alarie and more.

Atlanta Dream rookies Chennedy Carter, Jaylyn Agnew and Brittany Brewer.
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The WNBA season tipped off and half of the league played in the WNBA season opening games. The other half of the league tip off today and with that, comes the exciting debuts of Satou Sabally, Chennedy Carter, Bella Alarie and more. We continue with our rookie previews written by Blake O’Tain, Teylor Hines and myself (Aneela Khan).

We start with the 12 pm match up between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx. In this match up, there are 5 rookies featured, 2 from the Sun and 3 from the Lynx.

CONNECTICUT SUN

BEATRICE MOMPREMIER (20th overall pick)

Drafted by the LA Sparks, the Connecticut Sun signed her as a rookie free agent. Beatrice Mompremier was a double double machine in college for the University of Miami. She will look to help Connecticut off the bench as the Sun lost some bench players and have added some new players. It may her take some games and she may not get the minutes right away, but she is capable – Aneela Khan

KAILA CHARLES (23rd overall pick)

After a very underwhelming senior season Charles slipped down to the twenty-fourth pick of the WNBA draft. Charles is a good rebounder for her height. She is excellent at driving to the basket, and shooting in the mid range. Charles impact may not be immediate for this strong Connecticut team, however Charles could develop into a very meaningful role for the Sun. – Blake O’Tain

MINNESOTA LYNX

MIKIAH HERBERT HARRIGAN (6th overall pick)

Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan was a surprise pick at sixth to some, but the talent is very much there. She is a well-rounded player who score at will whether it’s off the dribble, pick-and-roll or spot up situations. At 6’2 she’ll most likely move to the small forward position, but her athleticism allows for that to not be a drastic change. It’ll be important for Herbert-Harrigan to play with her competitive ferocity on both ends in order to make noise this year and beyond for the Lynx. – Teylor Hines

CRYSTAL DANGERFIELD (16th overall pick)

Crystal Dangerfield was thought to be a first round pick but fell to the second round and Minnesota Lynx drafted her 4th (16th overall). She was a steady point guard at UCONN and is very unselfish. Her size may prevent her against bigger opponents but she can develop into a very smart point guard and help the Minnesota Lynx’s bench. She may not have spectacular stats in her rookie season but she can still be a contributor. – Aneela Khan

MEGAN HUFF (2019 WNBA Draft, 26th overall pick)

Megan Huff was drafted last year by the New York Liberty and was cut from the team following preseason action. She was signed by the Minnesota Lynx after Cecilia Zandalasini said she would opt out for personal reasons. Megan Huff is a versatile scorer and rebounder and played overseas in Latvia during the winter. She will have the chance to prove herself in the WNBA and can help out the Lynx bench. – Aneela Khan

Next up, we move to the afternoon match up (3:00 pm EST) between the Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces. In this match up, there are 2 rookies featured, both from the Chicago Sky.

CHICAGO SKY

RUTHY HEBARD (8th overall pick)

Ruthy Hebard is a All-American post that was one of the most efficient scorers in the nation. Hebard’s touch around the basket and her ability to get rebounds will be needed for the Sky. With the team being down a post player, Ruthy will get the opportunity to flex her wings early and show what she can do. The anticipation centered around Ruthy is to see how the pick-and-roll works with Chicago’s guards. If that connection can be built early on then she’ll certainly be another gem within that deep rotation. – Teylor Hines

STELLA JOHNSON (31st overall pick)

Stella Johnson was drafted and waived from the Mercury prior to being signed by the Sky. Although, Johnson led the NCAA Division I in scoring her load with the Sky should be light. It’ll be tough to get minutes with such a deep roster but she’ll may see the floor with such a condensed season. – Teylor Hines

Last but not least, we move onto the final match up of the day, the Atlanta Dream versus the Dallas Wings at 5:00 pm EST. There are 6 rookies featured in this match up, 3 from the Atlanta Dream and 3 from the Dallas Wings.

ATLANTA DREAM

CHENNEDY CARTER (4th overall pick)

Carter is a feisty, shoot first point guard who the Dream will look to run the offense. With some missing roster pieces she’ll get the green light to make things happen. Carter has an insane ability to create her own shot, but it’ll be pivotal if she can show more of her facilitating skills with this team. It’s expected for Carter to be a star in this league someday and it may start just start from day one. – Teylor Hines

BRITTANY BREWER (17th overall pick)

Drafted by the Atlanta Dream, Brittany Brewer has tremendous potential. The Dream drafted her in the second round to help out the Dream bench and develop, but she will get the chance to play right away as the Dream are down two forwards (Glory Johnson and Kalani Brown) and will not be available to play at the start of the season. – Aneela Khan

JAYLYN AGNEW (24th overall pick)

Jaylyn Agnew was drafted and waived by the Mystics prior to the season. The Dream needed to fill a dire need for shooting and the fit made sense. The reigning Big East Player of the Year knocked down just over 37 percent of her three-point attempts last season. With what could be a fluid bench rotation, Agnew will be able provide a spark of scoring coming from the second unit. – Teylor Hines

DALLAS WINGS

SATOU SABALLY (2nd overall pick)

Drafted second overall, Satou Sabally comes in with very high expectations and hopes to help turn the Wings franchise around. She is a very talented forward who can score, rebound, even pass the ball. She will probably be competing with Sabrina Ionescu for Rookie of the Year honors. She can also defend and is versatile. There are many great things ahead for this rookie – Aneela Khan

BELLA ALARIE (5th overall pick)

Alarie standing 6’4 can bring lots of useful traits to this young Wings team. She has a huge wingspan which allows her to be a great rebounder and a very strong shot blocker. Bella has also shown she can launch threes from deep. This Wings team is so young, Alarie could be a starter in her debut. – Blake O’Tain

TYASHA HARRIS (7th overall pick)

Ty Harris is a pure point guard who has a great feel for the game. She’s a floor general who plays with composure that’s needed within this young team. Harris’ playmaking skills with her quickness will open up more spot up opportunities for their shooters and allow her create own shots. If her shots are falling and her assists to turnover ratio proves to be efficient, she could be a vital piece to their future. – Teylor Hines

WNBA Virtual Draft Recap — A Honest Review

wnba draft, wnba, women's basketball
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The WNBA Draft took place tonight on ESPN. It was held virtually, due in part to the global pandemic and taking social distancing seriously. It was going to be an experiment for other sports leagues to see if they could also pull it off. Pulling this off was not going to be easy because of technological glitches, different WiFi structures, delays, etc.

The virtual WNBA Draft actually started off really well. They had a great introduction, honoured Gigi Bryant, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester in a nice tribute, had great studio integration with Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco and Sue Bird had intelligent insight into certain players. She would make a fantastic head coach or TV analyst, she’d be great at both. It is absolutely normal for the #1 pick to have a ton of TV air time and to take up around the first 15 minutes of draft coverage. Sabrina Ionescu does deserve that coverage. She shined in college, she deserves that spotlight.

As a matter of fact, the first couple of picks were just fine. It’s when they got to the 4th pick in Chennedy Carter, and she did not have a proper microphone. The TV viewer can hear the conversation echo back and forth between her and Holly Rowe which is not great. By the way, Chennedy Carter is going to be a fantastic WNBA player. She’s going to be electric. Moving onto the 6th pick in Mikiah Herbert Harrigan in which they did not even interview her. I don’t even think ESPN realized that they missed her interview completely. I know that they acknowledged that that the 8th pick Ruthy Hebard was having some technical delays in terms of TV interview but that’s it. They never circled back.

I think ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA first round was actually pretty good. Minor problems. The issues that arose happened right around the 13th pick. We got the announcements from the commissioner on picks 13, 14, and 15 but after that, we just got them on the bottom of our screens. No offense, but when it is on TV commercials, that is when people look away, or reply to texts, emails, etc. No one is looking at the bottom of their TV screens.

On a personal level, when I am trying to tweet about certain players and how they fit or don’t fit on that team, another bunch of players would crop up. I barely had time to process it and then they never even bothered to say that was the end of Round 2. Or that the final round had started. I can’t even imagine what it was like for the players. They were robbed of their moment and the draft was swiftly finished at 8:45 pm. Not even 9 pm. We barely got acknowledgement of some of the second and third round picks. I should note, that some of the third round picks fell and can probably make a WNBA roster.

Overall, it was a mess. A hot mess. I’m so tired of women’s basketball and this is professional women’s basketball being treated like this. ESPN could have given the draft another hour. They should have slowed down their picks. Talked about a few of the second round and third round picks. They should have interviewed some more players. This was the perfect opportunity to bring in more WNBA fans as the sports world has essentially shut down and more eyes were on this draft than ever before. But, nope. That did not happen. ESPN let the WNBA down. They did them a disservice. I was severely disappointed and I know that I am not the only one.

I would say, I hope for a better WNBA Draft next year, but I think that’s hoping for too much. I think they will deliver a great first round but let us down again for the second and third rounds. Maybe one day, we will have a dedicated women’s sports channel that will get it right and deliver us the stories all of us want. Maybe one day

2020 WNBA Mock Draft Version 3.0

megan walker, connecticut, 2020 wnba draft
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

We are now in March and normally around this time, the NCAA Tournament would be kicking off. Unfortunately due to the corona virus spreading across the world, the tournament was cancelled. It was for good reasons, although I, like many others were crushed since the NCAA tourney brings so many good memories and great performances. It also allows seniors to raise their stock and for the WNBA general managers to see what certain players are made of.

It also makes junior Megan Walker’s decision to join the draft early somewhat intriguing because there is still no word on whether or not the WNBA season will be cancelled and how they will deal with the draft which is happening in less than a month

I debated on whether or not to publish this latest version of the WNBA Mock Draft, but I thought my subscribers deserved a treat since I am not releasing it on Twitter and Instagram, so if you are viewing this post, it means you are viewing my blog and for that, I appreciate it. If you would like to view past versions (Version 1.0 and Version 2.0) you may do so here for Version 1.0 and here for Version 2.0. Thanks for your continued support!

ROUND ONE

  1. New York  Liberty- Sabrina Ionescu
  2. Dallas Wings – Satou Sabally
  3. Indiana Fever – Chennedy Carter**
  4. Atlanta Dream – Lauren Cox
  5. Dallas Wings – Megan Walker
  6. Minnesota Lynx – Tyasha Harris
  7. Dallas Wings – Ruthy Hebard
  8. Chicago Sky – Beatrice Mompremier
  9. Dallas Wings – Kiah Gillespie
  10. Phoenix – Mikiah Herbert Harrigan
  11. Seattle Storm -Crystal Dangerfield
  12. Washington –  Bella Alarie

ROUND TWO

  1. New York Liberty – Te’a Cooper
  2. Indiana Fever – Joyner Holmes
  3. Dallas Wings – Kathleen Doyle
  4. Minnesota Lynx – Nicki Ekhomu
  5. Atlanta Dream – Kaila Charles
  6. Phoenix Mercury – Mikayla Pivec
  7. Seattle Storm – Nausia Woolfolk
  8. Los Angeles Sparks – Haley Gorecki
  9. Dallas Wings – Leaonna Odom
  10. Los Angeles Sparks – Japreece Dean
  11. Connecticut Sun – Stephanie Jones
  12. Washington Mystics – Jocelyn Willoughby

ROUND THREE

  1. Atlanta Dream – Sara Rhine
  2. New York Liberty – Ciara Duffy
  3. Atlanta Dream – Becca Hittner
  4. Indiana Fever – Taryn McCutcheon
  5. Phoenix Mercury – Ja’Tavia Tapley
  6. Chicago Sky – Reili Richardson
  7. Seattle Storm – Katie Campbell
  8. Chicago Sky – Kylee Shook
  9. Las Vegas Aces – Jazmine Jones
  10. Los Angeles – Nadia Fingall
  11. Connecticut – Jordan Danberry
  12. Washington – Juicy Landrum