VITALS: 5-10 G-F (Lockhart, Texas)
KEY STATS: 21.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.9 spg in 1999-2000; Kodak All-American; Wade Trophy winner.
By Michelle Smith
Special to ESPN.com
In a draft so deep you can see the bottom without a snorkel mask, there is no such thing as drafting for need. If you are a WNBA general manager, you just take the best player available and hope she will be able to make an impact -- and in some cases, merely hope she can make the roster.
That is why, barring a last-minute signing by Teresa Edwards, Texas guard-forward Edwina Brown will be the No. 1 selection in this year's WNBA draft.
College stars with pretty statistics are a dime a dozen. Brown has those, averaging better than 21.2 points and 8.4 rebounds a game for the Longhorns. Many of those same players end up going home with plenty of individual plaques and trophies. Brown has all those too (Wade Trophy, Kodak All-American, Big 12 Tournament MVP, All-Big 12). And she has one much more elusive thing: pro potential.
Brown is a complete player. She can score, she can rebound, she can pass and she can lead.
It doesn't hurt that she's 5 feet 10, either. She's got the size to match up well with shooting guards, but her dishing skills and quickness
suggest she could also play the point.
She is a consistent scorer, finishing seventh in the nation and hitting double figures in 33 of 34 games, and there are a number of teams that could use the points. But she is also physical enough to hold her own in the paint and pull down a few boards.
Then there's her defense. She is an aggressive, strong defender, averaging nearly three steals a game last season. And because of her size, she can mark the point guard or the team's best scorer.
"She is probably the most explosive guard in the draft," assessed Seattle coach Lin Dunn.
Here's the bonus, not only is she the best player, but she will fill a need for Cleveland if the Rockers hang on to the first pick. With Suzie McConnell-Serio coming back from foot surgery, Cleveland is going to need a point guard, and when McConnell-Serio comes back, she is going to need a complementary partner in the backcourt.
Want an intangible? How about this. Brown won the Wade Trophy this year as the National Player of the Year, which not only takes into account play on the court but work done in the community.
The WNBA is very community-conscious, especially when it's trying to sell tickets in a town where the team isn't doing so well.
Talk about your complete package.
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VITALS: 6-2 G-F (Arlington, Texas)
KEY STATS: 17.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.5 spg in 1999-2000. Played for USA Pan Am Games team in '99.
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
Kansas' Lynn Pride wasn't a Kodak or AP All-American and wasn't Big 12 Player of the Year. So why suggest she might be the top pick among college seniors in the WNBA draft? Well, partially because I ever-so-graciously agreed to that other Michelle (the one who spells her first name funny) choosing first. A certain Longhorn was on my radar screen until I found out I'd have to take somebody else.
But ... well, why not Lynn Pride, who's as physically gifted as any of this year's seniors; throw her in the pool of potential dunkers.
Cleveland needs help at forward, right? The 6-foot-2 Pride is an incredible leaper with long arms and great range on defense, and guarded every type of player while at Kansas.
"Pride can go from guarding a power forward to guarding a point guard, and she can do that easily," Colorado coach Ceal Barry has said.
Offensively, Pride has that jumping-jack ability for putbacks. She's a very good ballhandler. She comes off the dribble, elevates, and puts up a short-range jumper about as well as anyone. So why not Lynn Pride?
Because it's hard to know how much Pride will mature in the next five years. That will be critical factor as to what kind of pro she becomes.
Obviously, living so close to Lawrence, Pride is by far the most familiar of all this year's seniors to me -- the one I've spent the most time watching, writing about and thinking about.
Coach Marian Washington really served as a mother figure to Pride during her four years at KU, which was important to Pride's growth off the court. Now, Pride needs a different kind of relationship with a coach -- less love, more realism -- to really grow up on court. That means not blaming the refs or letting pesky guards get under your skin, and constant polishing of fundamentals -- such as shooting form, which Pride needs to work every day on.
Sound harsh? Sure, but Pride can take that realism. She's a good kid who may thrive in a system where she's the not the focus of attention, where she can listen to older teammates who will be blunt but not mean, where she will learn to play smarter and get the most from all her talent.
Will she go as the top pick? No, probably not, but compare her to a lot of the other seniors this year and you'll find she's as quick as most of the 5-8 to 5-11 stars, and much quicker than some of those players just an inch or two bigger than she is. Her durability is also a plus; she crashed into press row and the scorers table and the benches plenty of times going after the ball and always seemed to bounce up.
What might be best for Pride, though, in this draft is not going No. 1. Orlando, which has the No. 4 pick, might be the best place for her. The Miracle would seem to have a spot for her at forward, and I think she would respond well to coach Carolyn Peck.
Whatever team gets Pride has a lot of ability with which to work.
Voepel's also-rans
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