Monday, April 11, 2011

Draft day

Draft board:

2011 WNBA DRAFT - ROUND 1

Pick Team Record

1 Minnesota Lynx | Maya Moore | Connecticut 13-21
2 Tulsa Shock | Elizabeth Cambage | Australia 6-28
3 Chicago Sky | Courtney Vandersloot | Gonzaga 14-20
4 Minnesota Lynx | Amber Harris | Xavier 17-17
5 Los Angeles Sparks | Jantel Lavender | Ohio St. 13-21
6 San Antonio Silver Stars | Danielle Robinson | Oklahoma 14-20
7 Tulsa Shock | Kayla Pedersen | Stanford 15-19
8 Atlanta Dream | Ta'Shia Phillips (Traded to Washington) | Xavier 19-15
9 Indiana Fever | Jeanette Pohlen | Stanford 21-13
10 New York Liberty | Alex Montgomery | Georgia Tech 22-12
11 Washington Mystics | Victoria Dunlap | Kentucky 22-12
12 Seattle Storm | Jasmine Thomas | Duke 28-6

2011 WNBA DRAFT - ROUND 2

Pick Team Record

13 Minnesota Lynx | Jessica Breland (traded to New York) | North Carolina 6-28
14 Minnesota Lynx | Felicia Chester | Depaul 13-21
15 Chicago Sky | Carolyn Swords | Boston College 14-20
16 Connecticut Sun | Sydney Colson (traded to New York) | Texas A&M 17-17
17 Chicago Sky | Angie Bjorklund | Tennessee 13-21
18 Atlanta Dream | Rachel Jarry | Australia 14-20
19 Phoenix Mercury | Brittany Spears | Colorado 15-19
20 San Antonio Silver Stars | Danielle Adams | Texas A&M 19-15
21 Tulsa Shock | Italee Lucas | North Carolina 21-13
22 New York Liberty | Angel Robinson (traded to Minnesota) | Marquette 22-12
23 Washington Mystics | Karima Christmas | Duke 22-12
24 Seattle Storm | Ify Ibekwe | Arizona 28-6

2011 WNBA DRAFT - ROUND 3

Pick Team Record

25 Tulsa Shock | Chastity Reed | Arkansas-Little Rock 6-28
26 Minnesota Lynx | Kachine Alexander | Iowa 13-21
27 Chicago Sky | Amy Jaeschke | Northwestern 14-20
28 Connecticut Sun | Adrienne Johnson | Louisiana Tech 17-17
29 Los Angeles Sparks | Elina Babkina | Latvia 13-21
30 San Antonio Silver Stars | Porsha Phillips | Georgia 14-20
31 Phoenix Mercury | Tahnee Robinson (traded to Connecticut) | Nevada 15-19
32 Atlanta Dream | Kelsey Bolte | Iowa State 19-15
33 Indiana Fever | Jori Davis | Indiana 21-13
34 New York Liberty | Mekia Valentine | UC Santa Barbara 22-12
35 Washington Mystics | Sarah Krnjic | Serbia 22-12
36 Seattle Storm | Krystal Thomas | Duke 28-6

Not a lot of copy right now......everyone is still mulling team draft grades, the strengths of the picks, and other issues. But we do have some analysis:

ESPN's Mechelle Voepel breaks it down team by team, and finds that most of today's choices make sense.

A few who didn't make the draft.

Minnesota looks freakin loaded. But then again, how many times have we said that before?

I'm still analyzing the entire draft. I've had a long day that ended with the UCLA banquet (more later), so I haven't had time to sit down and think about it yet. But on the surface, it really does make sense. I don't see any big shocks like I usually do.

What do you think of today's draft?
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How was the banquet. I decided to skip it. Was the coaching staff present?

April 12, 2011 at 4:49 PM
Patrick Meighan said...

"How was the banquet. I decided to skip it. Was the coaching staff present?"

My daughter and I went. Nikki and the other coaches were there, and they could not have been classier, under what had to have been somewhat-intimidating circumstances for them. It was weird that they were there, but I think it would'be been way weirder had they not been. But they (and everybody else) appropriately kept the focus on the 2010-2011 team/season... in fact, at no point in the official program did anyone (coaches, Dave Marcus, anybody) even explicitly acknowledge that the coaching staff chose to buy out the remainders of their respective contracts and are now employees of Louisiana State University. No one at the podium acknowledged that there's a search currently ongoing for Nikki's replacement. No one mentioned any of it. It was all just this completely unmentioned elephant in the room, and it never really went away, not ever.

But it's done now. The banquet's over, the coaches are gone, and now it's time to get a new staff in here to continue the momentum that this program has developed. For my part, I told Gabe Cagwin (one of UCLA's development guys) that I intend to upgrade my contribution level next season. If it's in any of y'all's power to do likewise, I encourage you to do so.

Of note: the returning players have just begun personal/voluntary workouts, just yesterday morning. The body of the 2010-2011 season is not even warm and they're already geeking up for the 2011-12 season which, oh by the way, includes an away game at Baton Rouge. So, yeah, they're gonna be ready. Now let's get a coach in here who knows how to use 'em.

My daughter and I already can't wait 'til next November, and to see all these young women (and four new ones) take the court in blue and gold.

Patrick Meighan
UCLA Class of '95

April 12, 2011 at 5:46 PM
Anonymous said...

Patrick, you are a classy guy and I am proud to be a Bruin fan beside you. I was torn about going, but didn't because I had committed to a training session. Sorry I missed what appears to be a good event.

Nikki and the entire staff are a class act and I would have expected nothing less them. I think that is one of the things I will miss most about them.

It excites me to know that the returning players are committed to the team, and I hope the incoming players will be as well. I am a committed fan and I am looking forward to next season. I just hope that the uppers @ UCLA are committed to bringing in a coach who will be an asset and continue to build on the foundation that Nikki has set.

April 12, 2011 at 8:06 PM

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