First 2005 WNBA mock draft

Tuesday 25 January 2005

For the purpose of this mock draft, I will leave Currie and Polk out.

#1 Charlotte Sting - Cappie Pondexter

A bit of a surprise I guess, especially considering Pondexter's year so far. However Charlotte really needs guards, especially somebody to replace Dawn Staley, and I think Pondexter is a superb backcourt prospect. She is a great scorer and distributor, has some size and being in CVS' system has given her good defensive awareness. I also think CVS' system doesn't make her look as good as she really is. For example, Pondexter has a reputation for being too trigger happy for a point guard. I believe that to be a reflection of CVS' system as opposed to being some inherent fault she has. On the young women's team in 2003, which was a who's who of the 2004-06 draft class (Beard, Augustus, Ohlde, Thomas, Whalen, Wecker etc), Pondexter performed the duty of pass-first floor general quite nicely. In the WNBA, she'll be able to settle into this type of role and she'll have a great mentor for at least a season or two in Dawn Staley.

#2 Indiana Fever - Sandora Irvin

Head coach Brian Winters has stated the Fever are looking for a point guard and perimeter players who can shoot but adds you can never have too much frontline depth. I don't think the Fever are lacking in the 3 point department - Kelly Miller, Catchings and Coretta Brown are all decent shooters, but I assume Winters would give Wecker a good look if we used that criteria. They certainly need a point guard but there's no one worth taking at #2. Beefing up the frontline is probably the better idea, especially if you can move Catchings back to the 3 (which is where I think she can deal the most damage).

It boils down to McCarville or Irvin. Both are different types of player - McCarville is the more traditional low post player with good passing skills while Sandora Irvin is more of a high post player with a strong defensive presence. Tough call but I think Indy will go with Irvin because of her athleticism and versatility.

#3 Phoenix Mercury - Janel McCarville

I don't think the Mercury would complain too vociferously about this pick. Janel gives them what they need - a banger in the middle and somebody who can garbage quite effectively. Her effectiveness on the defensive end may be the only real significant concern - how is she going to deal with the Western post players bigger and more mobile than her?

#4 San Antonio Silver Stars - Kendra Wecker

San Antonio needs perimeter shooting, a small forward, a centre not named Margo Dydek and a point guard - possibly in that order. Kendra Wecker fills the first two quite nicely and her prowess on the boards will help, considering Thomas' so-so rebounding and Dydek's inconsistency.

#5 Houston Comets - Jacqueline Batteast

Houston needs guards and shooters but I'm not convinced of the quality of the remaining guards in this draft for this draft position. Tan White has the moves but her size and what guard position she'd play is a real issue. Dionnah Jackson is a bit bigger and is more of a point guard but I'm not convinced she's worth taking over Batteast. Maybe the Comets should ponder some trades for a guard.

Barring that, Batteast is a good talent with a multitude of skills and the Comets could perhaps insert her at the 3 to pit her against the bigger wings and shift Sheryl to the 2. She'd also benefit from working with Tina and Sheryl and could give her that edge that she seems to lack at times. I also think she's better trade bait than any of the remaining guards in the draft.

Supposedly Van likes Tan White so we'll see.

#6 Washington Mystics - Dionnah Jackson

The Mystics need a point guard or a centre, Sancho Lyttle may be worth considering for the 5 spot but she is quite raw and Sanford does an ok job when she doesn't foul herself out of minutes. On the other hand, the Mystics pretty much play point guard by committee, which works ok in the short term but you're going to need a real PG in the long run (SDS is most certainly not a point guard, more a utility guard than anything else). There are several guards worth considering but Dionnah Jackson is a good fit. Jackson has good size for a PG (5-9), is a versatile defender and has a good floor game.

#7 Detroit Shock - Sancho Lyttle

Laimbeer wants a big backup centre - he's got one here. She's a project but I'm sure he
doesn't mind the challenge.

#8 Connecticut Sun - Tan White

The Sun also need a centre (don't most teams...) but there's nothing worth left taking up here in that department. Some speed in the backcourt would be nice - something was that was dreadfully exposed in the finals series last year. There are few speedier than White (and has some pretty moves to boot) and while I'm not sure how she'd fit into Thibault's system, she'd at least provide a different look to what they currently have.

#9 Sacramento Monarchs - Angelina Williams

By all reports, Williams is a good player stuck in a not-so-desirable situation (the Illinois program has been in steady decline for a while). The Monarchs do need a bigger perimeter player who can score and Williams could be it.

#10 New York Liberty - Tanisha Wright

The Libs need posts and guards. No posts worth taking up here but there are a whole lot of guards. Becky Hammon is the anointed one at point guard so I don't think the Libs will take a mere backup up here when they need a 2 guard to eventually replace VJ. Wright is a solid choice - she does a bit of everything except shoot from the perimeter but Hammon, C-Rob and Christon can easily compensate for that.

#11 Minnesota Lynx - Dee Dee Wheeler

Minnesota needs guards in a big way - Helen Darling and Teresa Edwards are probably best at turning the ball over. Minnesota could use a guard from either position but I'll go with a PG here because I don't think Harrower is a sure bet to return to Minnesota.

Temeka Johnson is a good college PG but I think her height and lack of shooting range will prevent her from being a good pro PG. Yolanda Paige can dish out the assists but what about the other aspects of her game? SMS may give her a good look though - Paige is/was a team-mate of the Bulgers, whom SMS coached in high school. Jamie Carey can shoot but is undersized, lacking in foot speed and is really a mediocre playmaker (not even the best on her own team). I'll go for Dee Dee Wheeler here. Wheeler is a pretty useful player: she's a good scorer who scores at a decent percentage; solid A/TO ratio; good defender. Being the focus of Arizona's offense the last couple of years hasn't honed her PG instincts well but she'll have a chance to work on that with SMS as coach and T Edwards in the roster (if she returns).

#12 Seattle Storm - Erica Taylor

Seattle needs backup of any kind so they'll probably go for the best player left. Taylor probably deserves to go higher but she will have dropped off the radar due to her disrupted senior year. This pick might be *too* sensible for Anne (Seattle needs a good 2 guard backup) but Seattle has a recent La Tech alumna in Frierson and maybe she'll influence Anne (ok, that's a stretch but let's move on).

#13 Los Angeles Sparks - Shyra Ely

Penny Toler realises a UConn or Tennessee player hasn't been taken first round and thinks she has to fulfil the tradition. Ely could be a good role player in the WNBA but she does suffer from possible tweener syndrome and somebody needs to light a fire under her. Being pushed around in practice by LL/Thomas/D-Nasty may do the trick.