Tag: satou sabally

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

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 17

Celeste Taylor , texas
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

*NOTE – These final weekly rankings update was for the final week of regular women’s college basketball season and before the conference tournaments started. I am just posting now because of emergency situation with my family. The final overall one will come out a later date. *

This is it. This is the final weekly rankings update for this women’s college basketball season. I will unveil the FINAL OVERALL rankings for 2019/2020 next week, so make sure you are subscribed so you can be one of the first ones to receive the rankings.

In what is now my fourth year compiling these rankings, I have never gone further than Week 16. I have never needed to. I, usually had a solid idea of who was going to make the final cut for each class and this week would have been the final overall rankings. However, there were so many upsets to ranked teams this season, so many top teams falling to non ranked teams and so much balance this year that a lot more players ended up making the list. Not only that, several top players would be on the list and then they would immediately fall off due to upsets or their team was not playing up to their standard.

There were some more upsets this week to ranked teams and so, a bit of shuffling was required for this final week. If your favourite player has been playing well and is not on this week, rest assured they have made it in previous weeks and they may be in the FINAL OVERALL rankings released next week. As always, thanks for the support and please continue to visit my blog and tell others to do so. Thank you!

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of February 24th to March 1st. If this is your first time viewing these rankings or have questions, please read the FAQ page first. Click here to view last week’s rankings.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Jaylyn Agnew – Creighton
  5. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  6. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  7. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  8. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  9. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  10. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  11. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  12. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  13. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  14. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  15. Haley Gorecki – Duke
  16. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  17. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  18. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  19. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  20. Becca Hittner – Drake
  21. Abi Scheid – Northwestern
  22. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  23. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  24. Jaelyn Brown – California
  25. Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
  26. Alexis Lewis – Seton Hall
  27. Alana Gilmer – Marist
  28. Cierra Johnson – Alabama
  29. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  30. Alissa Alston – St. John’s
  31. Taylor Frederick – South Dakota
  32. Jayla Scaife – Dayton
  33. TeTe Maggett – Illinois State
  34. Ivy Wallen – North Alabama
  35. Michal Miller – Wright State
  36. Madeline Smith – Montana State

JUNIORS

  1. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  2. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  3. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  4. Aarion McDonald – Arizona
  5. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  6. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  7. Selena Lott – Marquette
  8. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  9. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  10. Kayla Jones – NC State
  11. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  12. Lexi Gordon – Texas Tech
  13. Lauren Van Kleunen – Marquette
  14. Arella Guirantes – Rutgers
  15. Mariella Fasoula – Vanderbilt
  16. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  17. DiDi Richards – Baylor
  18. Awa Trasi – LSU
  19. Oshlynn Brown – Ball State
  20. Maddie Waldrop – UT Martin
  21. Abby Kapp – Bucknell
  22. Victoria Morris – Old Dominion
  23. Dayzsha Rogan – Jackson State
  24. Amaya Scott – Bethune – Cookman
  25. Anna McLeod – Abilene Christian
  26. Natalie Armstrong – Samford
  27. Mallory McGwire – Boise State

SOPHOMORES

  1. Lexi Hull – Stanford
  2. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  3. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  4. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  5. Grace Berger – Indiana
  6. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  7. Charli Collier – Texas
  8. Nia Clouden – Michigan State
  9. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech
  10. Laren Vanarsdale – Hampton
  11. Hannah Pratt – Columbia
  12. Lindsey Thall – Kent State
  13. Kate Mager – Merrimack
  14. Jamilyn Kinney – Belmont
  15. Aja Blount – Coastal Carolina
  16. Jasmine Smith – Rice
  17. Emily Ivory – UMKC
  18. Queen Egbo – Baylor

FRESHMEN

  1. Celeste Taylor – Texas
  2. Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame
  3. Alissa Pili – USC
  4. Aliyah Matharu – Mississippi State
  5. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  6. Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
  7. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  8. Anne Simon – Maine
  9. Ellie Mitchell – Princeton

2020 WNBA Mock Draft Version 2.0

Satou Sabally is a top 2 pick after she declared early for the 2020 WNBA Draft held in April.
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

It has been one month since the first version was published and much has changed in the world of women’s college basketball as well in the WNBA. WNBA Free Agency shook up a large majority of WNBA rosters and many draft picks were traded. I will have two more versions of this 2020 WNBA Mock Draft which will be released monthly. One in March which will be released sometime during the NCAA Tournament and the final WNBA Mock Draft which will come out one week before the WNBA Draft held in April.

Dallas has the most WNBA draft picks this year so they will have a lot of tough decisions to make moving forward. Some players have played their way into the 2020 WNBA Mock Draft such as Duke’s Haley Gorecki and Leaonna Odom. Some have played their way off this mock draft. Of the draft eligible juniors, I included just one this time as Satou Sabally has already declared for the draft and the other possible early junior (Aarion McDonald) may not declare early. Some players have moved up and down since the previous month due to the team’s needs changing as well as their play on the court.

For the potential draftees, making the roster for this year could prove to be very tough as spots are very limited due to all the new signings as well as contract extensions. Some teams may only carry 11 players. It may take some of these potential draftees two to three years to make the roster, if they still desire to play in the WNBA some day.

ROUND ONE

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – PG – Oregon  – New York Liberty

Another month, the top pick is still Sabrina Ionescu from Oregon. The New York Liberty need some good news after rumors of Tina Charles potentially moving on came to be during WNBA Free Agency. Sabrina Ionescu can provide that new spark. Most importantly, she can provide leadership and give the Liberty a possible new franchise corner stone. She recently became the first women or men’s college basketball player to reach 2000 points, 1000 assists and 1000 rebounds in their career and I don’t think she is done yet.

2.  Satou Sabally – SF – Oregon – Dallas Wings

Unofficially last month, I included Satou Sabally in my first version of the 2020 WNBA Mock Draft. I had her originally going fourth overall to the Atlanta Dream, but Sabally has been on a tear since then. Her declaring early had to do with some financial situation in her family but it still a great move because the Dallas Wings can now take her and help the Wings elevate their franchise a little bit after a lot of veterans left during WNBA Free Agency. She is just scratching the surface of her potential and between her and Cox, I think the Wings should lean towards Satou Sabally.

3. Lauren Cox – PF/C – Baylor – Indiana Fever

With the declaration of Satou Sabally declaring early, this opens up the spot for Indiana to grab Lauren Cox. Cox would normally be a top 2 pick in this draft, but she slides now down to the 3rd spot. The Fever could use her as a starter and help facilitate their offense as Cox is an excellent passer offensively. The Fever can do so much with what Lauren Cox brings to the table, that they should not pass on her if they are given the chance. She’s still a very good and talented player.

4.  Beatrice Mompremier – PF/C – Miami – Atlanta Dream

Last month, I had Satou Sabally as the #4 pick overall. In that past month, as I have stated before above, Sabally has increased her stock. Not only that, the next best available player is draft eligible junior Chennedy Carter. But the Atlanta Dream don’t need Carter anymore. They have acquired Courtney Williams in free agency and still have some talented guards on their roster. There is no space for Carter. However, there is still some space for fowards and centers and the best player available for that position is Beatrice Mompremier. She recently just got back to playing form as she was injured a large majority of the year. She will be in top shape come draft time and the Dream could use her off the bench to help develop her game slowly so she can get improve and get better.

5. Ruthy Hebard – PF – Oregon – Dallas Wings

Last month, this pick belonged to the Phoenix Mercury but it now belongs to the Dallas Wings. The Dallas Wings already had pick #2 and have already a loaded roster. Some are on training camp contracts and the Wings have talented guards already on their roster so putting Chennedy Carter on this team does not make any sense either. The Wings should take Ruthy Hebard with their fifth pick but she will be in tough competition to make the final roster as she will be in competition with four other power forwards/centers trying to make the team.

6. Chennedy Carter** – SG – Texas A&M – Minnesota Lynx

Chennedy Carter has not declared yet for the draft, but if she does, she now falls down two spots from last month. Not because of her talent, but because of the WNBA teams reshuffling their rosters during WNBA Free Agency. The Minnesota Lynx just recently acquired Rachel Banham from Connecticut in a sign and trade but Carter still play well on this team. She can help give Minnesota Lynx another star besides Napheesa Collier and Sylvia Fowles.

  • 7. Te’a Cooper – SG – Baylor – Dallas Wings
  • 8. Tyasha Harris – PG – South Carolina – Chicago Sky
  • 9. Kiah Gillespie – SF – Florida State – Dallas Wings
  • 10. Crystal Dangerfield – PG – Connecticut – Phoenix Mercury
  • 11. Kaila Charles – SG – Maryland – Seattle Storm
  • 12. Bella Alarie – SF – Princeton – Washington Mystics

ROUND TWO

  1. Kathleen Doyle – New York Liberty
  2. Jocelyn Willoughby – Minnesota Lynx
  3. Mikayla Pivec – Dallas Wings
  4. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – Indiana Fever
  5. Joyner Holmes – Atlanta Dream
  6. Haley Gorecki – Phoenix Mercury
  7. Nicki Ekhomu – Seattle Storm
  8. Sara Rhine – Los Angeles Sparks
  9. Becca Hittner – Dallas Wings
  10. Japreece Dean – Los Angeles Sparks
  11. Stephanie Jones – Connecticut Sun
  12. Brittany Brewer – Washington Mystics

ROUND THREE

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

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 11

satou sabally
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

After a crazy week filled with upsets, this week was not quite as shocking. There were some upsets but they were few and did not affect the rankings too much. The Pac 12 conference is definitely the toughest conference out of all the conferences this season and Oregon proved it’s worth over the week. Sabrina Ionescu showed why she is the best women’s college basketball player this year versus a very good top 10 team in Stanford. There’s more top 10 showdowns coming in this upcoming week so make sure you tune in and watch those games.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of January 13th to January 19th. Click here for last week’s rankings.  First time viewing these rankings or have questions, please read the FAQ page first.

**Click here for last season’s Week 11 rankings list. Click here for 2018 Week 11 rankings list. Click here for 2017’s Week 11 rankings list.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  3. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  4. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  5. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  6. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  7. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  8. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  9. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  10. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  11. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  12. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  13. Robbi Ryan – Arizona State
  14. Juicy Landrum – Baylor
  15. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  16. Alexis Tolefree – Arkansas
  17. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  18. Abi Scheid – Northwestern
  19. Mary Gedaka – Villanova
  20. Alexis Lewis – Seton  Hall
  21. Kianna Ray – TCU
  22. Becca Hittner – Drake
  23. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  24. Jordan Wallace – Rutgers
  25. Rachel Thompson – Colgate
  26. Davion Wingate – FGCU
  27. Bailey Greenberg – Drexel
  28. Cinia McCray – North Carolina A&T
  29. Chanette Hicks – Norfolk State
  30. Brittney Patrick – Southern Illinois
  31. Kaela Hilaire – Stony Brook
  32. Nneka Ezeigbo – Robert Morris
  33. Te’ja Twitty – UNC Greensboro
  34. Torrie Cash – Coastal Carolina
  35. Japonica James – Troy
  36. Lizzy Klinker – Idaho

JUNIORS

  1. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  2. Dana Evans – Louisville
  3. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  4. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  5. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  6. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  7. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  8. Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  9. Deja Church – DePaul
  10. Kendall Spray – Clemson
  11. Qadashah Hoppie – St. John’s
  12. Nancy Mulkey – Rice
  13. Amber Ramirez – Arkansas
  14. LeeAnne Wirth – Gonzaga
  15. Lindsay Pulliam – Northwestern
  16. Hannah Sjerven – South Dakota
  17. Gabi Haack – Bradley
  18. Ellen Margaret Andrews – Yale
  19. Maddi Utti – Fresno State
  20. Chelsey Perry – UT Martin
  21. Kesha Brady – Tennessee Tech
  22. Abby Kapp – Bucknell
  23. Katie Turner – Davidson
  24. Erin Whalen – Dayton
  25. Faith Cook – Sam Houston State
  26. Alyssa Adams – Stephen F. Austin
  27. Arsula Clark – Tulane

SOPHOMORES

  1. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  2. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  3. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  4. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  5. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  6. Lexi Held – DePaul
  7. Charli Collier – Texas
  8. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  9. Shaniya Jones – Georgia
  10. Nia Clouden – Michigan State
  11. Dara Mabrey – Virginia Tech
  12. Ajah Wayne – Old Dominion
  13. Rachel McLimore – IUPUI
  14. Sienna Durr – Columbia
  15. Amanda Mobley – Rider
  16. Lou Lopez – Senechal – Fairfield
  17. Adebola Adeyeye – Buffalo
  18. Ayzhiana Basallo – San Jose State

FRESHMEN

  1. Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State
  2. Alissa Pili – USC
  3. Sara Scalia – Minnesota
  4. Brynna Maxwell – Utah
  5. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  6. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  7. Darian White – Montana State
  8. Kiki Jefferson – James Madison
  9. Molly Davis – Central Michigan