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Post by clayk on Dec 25, 2023 14:11:15 GMT -5
It's hard for me to see Cardoso dropping to four, even if everyone comes out. A 6-7 center who's played against top competition, and done well, and has been coached by Dawn Staley, over an oft-injured combo guard like Paige Bueckers? Then again, one should never underestimate the ability of WNBA GMs to make bad choices.
I think a sleeper backup PG is TeHina Paopao. She might have defensive issues, but otherwise she's solid.
I cannot for the life of me see what people see in Georgia Amoore at the next level. She's spunky, but really, what else is there? And Charise Leger-Walker can't shoot at all -- don't see her in the first round.
A forward who can't shoot threes (Rickea Jackson) does not look like a lottery pick to me. And though her A/TO is way up this year and may mean she's figured it out, I'm still suspicious. She looks good coming off the bus, though ...
Don't know the answer to this one because I haven't seen her enough: Can Jacy Sheldon defend at the WNBA level? If she's a plus defender, she'll find a home; if you have to hide her, I don't know if she can make it.
I do not believe for a second in Elizabeth Kitley or Ayoka Lee. Tall, slow centers with nice numbers in college do not automatically translate to the W. Some can, but they need a) an offense from the elbow and short corner; and b) enough athleticism to deal with defending the pick-and-roll. Don't see either one in either one.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2023 17:27:55 GMT -5
Cardoso dropping to us does largely depend on a mostly-healthy Bueckers turning pro, which is on the surface the biggest unknown for this draft class. even if she turns pro, lotto teams may not go for her if she’s clearly gimpy/worn down come March.
there are a variety of reasons not to touch Ayoka Lee until the second round – if she even turns pro. she seems like the type to really care about her academic experience, so i wouldn’t be surprised to see her stay in school anyway if she’s still having to finish her master’s degree (in i believe Early Childhood Education?).
Kitley at least has a decent jumper in & around the paint, which i could see her parlaying into a good midrange jumper in the future. i get why some are critical of Kitley, but i also think she doesn’t get enough credit sometimes. i like her as a late-, and maybe even a mid-first rounder to the right team.
the only thing i like about Kitley’s teammate Amoore is her hugely improved apg & ato. everything else about her i’m skeptical of. at least Charlisse Leger-Walker, even as inefficient a scorer as Amoore, is a bigger “do it all”-type guard who is better built to handle the physicality than the average guard, let alone someone tiny like Amoore. both, interestingly enough, are from Oceania.
Paopao i’ve always liked as well, even when she hit her sizable shooting slump last season. (although now we see that Oregon wbb has turned into a bit of a mess, which could’ve played into that slump. it’s possible.) i would be okay with us taking her at 4 if she turned pro, but i just don’t find that to be realistic. she doesn’t need to do/produce more than what she’s doing at SCar, so i don’t see her being able to up her draft stock. if we wanted her, we’d have to trade for a mid- to late-1RP. maybe we’d even trade down under the right circumstances…
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Post by toad455 on Dec 25, 2023 19:57:52 GMT -5
If Bueckers doesn't enter, I see Sheldon as the second best PG in this draft and a much better defender than Clark. Rickea Jackson has been a bust this year so far (w/injuries). Kitley and Ayoka Lee are mediocre and have a limited shot in the WNBA. My biggest bust this year has been Celeste Taylor. Averaging 7.9 ppg, 3.5 apg & 2.1 steals per game while shooting terrible from both the field and three-point range. I also had her going to New York at #11 in my mock draft but her poor shooting bounced her into the second round. The lottery picks might end up as Clark, Brink, Cardoso and Sheldon if certain players don't enter(Bueckers, Edwards).
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Post by WBBDaily on Dec 26, 2023 14:56:24 GMT -5
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Post by clayk on Dec 26, 2023 17:22:34 GMT -5
Does she ever guard the other team's top perimeter player? I know she wouldn't for a whole game, but in key situations when she's not in foul trouble, do they use her as a stopper?
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Post by toad455 on Dec 26, 2023 17:58:05 GMT -5
Does she ever guard the other team's top perimeter player? I know she wouldn't for a whole game, but in key situations when she's not in foul trouble, do they use her as a stopper? Sometimes. Her & Celeste Taylor rotate defensively. Cotie McMahon is also looking good defensively for Ohio State, too, recently.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2023 3:20:49 GMT -5
ultimately though, Jacy Sheldon isn't about to make a W team thanks to her defense. similarly, Celeste Taylor isn't about to make a W team thanks to her offense. if either does, of course.
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Post by clayk on Dec 27, 2023 17:11:25 GMT -5
In Seth Partnow's "The Midrange Theory," he talks about an interesting NBA insight into college stats. He says pro scouts will look at steals in college as an indicator that a player may transition well to the pros. No one was certain why, but the intuition was that steals require anticipation and athleticism, and imply a basketball IQ high enough to realize where the ball is going next.
So that means Jacy Sheldon may well be worthy of a high first-round pick, as she averages 2.3 steals a game. Paige Bueckers 1.9 is second in the point guard to Dyasha Fair (2.2), and if there's any validity in the theory, Fair may transition well too.
Angel Reese (2.2) does well too, but Rickea Jackson doubters have some more ammo (0.7). Aaliyah Edwards, in comparison, is at 1.7.
The centers are all pretty low, with Brink at the same level as Jackson, and Kamila Cardoso at 0.5. Elizabeth Kitley bottoms out at 0.3, while Ayoka Lee is at 0.9.
Just another data point ...
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Post by toad455 on Dec 27, 2023 18:03:42 GMT -5
I'm not high on Dyashia Fair, but given the PG shortage in the league, she may go third round.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2023 21:53:42 GMT -5
Fair is a tiny volume scorer, which doesn’t bode well, but at least she’s hitting 40% of her 3s. being a decent 3pt shooter is the only way you can overcome being a small guard in the W. also helps Fair that her ATO has been over 2 the past few seasons. if you like steals, you might be interested in Vandy’s Jordyn Cambridge, who’s 2nd in the country at SPG these days (4.4) only behind freshman sensation Hannah Hidalgo. 8.4 rpg for a 5-9 guard, to go along with 15 ppg & a 1.8 ato, is also a positive eyebrow-raiser. she’s one who has improved every year she’s been in college; definitely one to watch once conference play begins.
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Post by WBBDaily on Dec 28, 2023 19:10:55 GMT -5
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Post by awhom111 on Dec 28, 2023 23:23:57 GMT -5
My very long list of internationals:
As always, I fear that I have not gone deep enough and somebody will pick Tayla Brazel or Emily Kalenik or Rosanne Le Seyec or something.
There is also a lot of grousing about the Maggie Bair mystery. If she is no longer eligible, I am not sure who would be next up in the elusive post-college category. It would probably be Julie Pospisilova, but I guess Nerea Hermosa or Lola Pendande could be considered or somebody will decide that it is the second Achilles injury that makes a good argument for an injury deferral pick of Lily Scanlon.
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Post by awhom111 on Dec 29, 2023 22:44:05 GMT -5
Some more about this draft and the future when it comes to the Nike Hoop Summit:
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Post by WBBDaily on Jan 6, 2024 13:07:09 GMT -5
Prince is healthy and averaging 21.2 & 10.6 with 3.3 bpg...will be interesting to see how she does vs. Big 12 competition. She's played a total of 63 games since '20-'21, will she feel like slogging through another college season after this?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2024 17:03:04 GMT -5
i too see Prince making herself available for this draft, even as she may be able to stay in school next season.
that said: concerns of future consistency in production against tougher competition aside, she more importantly will need to show she can stay healthy. her collegiate career has been marred with injury woes. that one game she sat out last month for the sake of “load management” has also still stuck with me. i don’t know what she’ll try to do if she’s injured to end the season. if she does stay healthy though, i think her numbers will shape up to be good enough for a W team to give her a legitimate look in Training Camp.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2024 21:09:14 GMT -5
concerns of future consistency in production against tougher competition aside, she more importantly will need to show she can stay healthy. welp! this time she broke her damn finger. is it bad luck or does she just have a glass body? a bit of both probably but regardless, this is just the latest hit her playing career has taken. i suppose that in spite of this, the rest of her body will be kept fresh for the end of the season, possibly carrying into the pros as well. granted, we'll see how much time she misses – and what she looks like when she does return. although, i am reminded that Stephanie Soares, herself a tall & skilled center much like Prince, played all of 13 games at the entire Div.-I level for her to be drafted as a lottery pick. (btw how was that only last year?) all it takes is one team being particularly interested i guess...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2024 3:08:16 GMT -5
My very long list of internationals:
As always, I fear that I have not gone deep enough and somebody will pick Tayla Brazel or Emily Kalenik or Rosanne Le Seyec or something.
There is also a lot of grousing about the Maggie Bair mystery. If she is no longer eligible, I am not sure who would be next up in the elusive post-college category. It would probably be Julie Pospisilova, but I guess Nerea Hermosa or Lola Pendande could be considered or somebody will decide that it is the second Achilles injury that makes a good argument for an injury deferral pick of Lily Scanlon.
you weren't kidding 😜 finally finished reading all your entries. as in-depth and thorough as you always are, it seems to me like there are more names maybe than expected? or at least that i expected, certainly. Borlase and Puoch are shoo-ins to go somewhere. Loughridge i had never even heard of... probably thanks to her career momentum-killing ACL tear. considering we haven't even seen non-injured Shyla Heal resurface in the W[NBA], it may take some time for Loughridge to meet her moment; it doesn't seem like it'll be 2024's Draft Night. as i watch Washington State wbb from time to time, i have naturally seen Eleonora Villa, who is now a part-time starter and will surely take the lead whenever Charlisse Leger-Walker graduates. and i had heard Eleonora had a sister who also played, though i never would've expected to see her listed here! it's interesting that Matilde didn't follow her twin to the States, let alone Wazzu; i wonder what went into that decision. depending on the timing, i wonder how much Madina Okot's situation changed once Eastern Michigan fired Fred Castro. with all these W 'prospects' from Europe whom i ultimately don't take seriously as such – because not to sound cynical & bitterly disillusioned but where are virtually any of the ones drafted in recent years now? not in the W, that's for sure – it would be really cool to see someone like Okot get the call. someone seriously needs to take Maggie Bair if nothing but for science. it appears that she's having a very similar season in Spain to her American teammate who already has a season in the W under her belt, Leigha Brown...
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Post by toad455 on Jan 7, 2024 8:01:21 GMT -5
If this draft remains deep, I only see four foreigners getting drafted. The two Aussie in Puoch & Borlase and the two French players in Lacan & Leite. Maybe Dallas Loughridge ends up a third rounder.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2024 11:36:55 GMT -5
i no longer see any value in drafting particularly French players, as well as Spanish ones. even if they were to start showing up, which hasn’t happened yet even on a small scale, Prioritization will eventually keep them out.
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Post by WBBDaily on Jan 9, 2024 16:58:19 GMT -5
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