Walker, Dangerfield Ready for WNBA Draft
The Story: The women’s basketball team will continue its long run of having players move on to the WNBA tonight when Megan Walker and Crystal Dangerfield are selected in the WNBA Draft (7 p.m., ESPN).
A PROUD TRADITION: The Huskies have had a player drafted in the first round in nine of the last 11 years, with Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson selected last year. Dangerfield and Walker, who is leaving UConn early as a draft-eligible junior, will join them.
WHEN WILL THEY GO? It’s not a particularly deep draft class, which is part of the reason why Walker decided to leave early, and she’s pegged as a mid-first-round pick. Dangerfield is a bit of a wild card; the Minnesota Lynx need a point guard and she could go as early as the No. 6 pick, but it seems more likely she’ll fall to the end of the first or the beginning of the second round.
REBECCA LOBO ON WALKER: “I think the bigger thing is where is she going to go and what is she going to be asked to do. Right now, in terms of her game translating to the WNBA, she can go out there and if it’s a team that can put her in the places where she really thrives — ‘Just go out there, Megan, and make some open 3s for us’ — she’ll really succeed because she does that really well. If she’s in a situation where she’s asked to do a few things that are out of her comfort zone, there might be a bigger learning curve for her. But she could end up in a great situation because she can shoot the basketball as well as anybody in this draft. If she goes to a team that can really focus on that, she’ll have some good success.”
LYNX COACH CHERYL REEVE ON DANGERFIELD: “I think Crystal will be the point guard taken after [South Carolina’s] Ty Harris, more than likely. I think Crystal is probably looking at, in the right situation, having the opportunity to be a reserve player in our league as she develops, and I think she’s got some good qualities. She can defend. Obviously, she can shoot the 3, comes from a great program, so I think all those things would allow her to get the opportunity probably later in the first round, and if it’s the right situation and there’s opportunity in terms of a roster spot, she seems like somebody that could make the most of an opportunity.”
CHARLES TRADED: Another former UConn player made headlines on Wednesday when Tina Charles was traded from the New York Liberty to the Washington Mystics. Charles, 31, was the Liberty’s all-time leading scorer, the WNBA MVP in 2012 and a seven-time all-star, but what she’s missing is a championship, and with the Mystics, she hopes to achieve that.
Morning Reads
READY TO ROLL: Incoming freshman Javonte Brown-Ferguson is ready to get his time at UConn underway. (The Day)
DEGEORGE TO LOUISVILLE: Former UConn guard Cam DeGeorge has transferred to Louisville, where the three-year starter will play his final season as a graduate transfer. (GoCards.com)
