#1 WNBA Draft Pick: A'Ja or Gabby or Someone Else?

[CocoHusky]

Many tend to look at the draft as "Who is the best player?" but it is often more complicated. We need to keep in mind that the order of draft also reflects team needs.

I'm not sure the order of the draft reflects team needs. The order of the draft reflects that you were a really bad team and probably need many things, therefore the best player kind of makes the most sense.

 

[Kaizen]

Aja Wilson hands down.

Diamond's status depends on how well she did this year abroad.

I think Saniya's performance is better than DD.
In Isreal, Chong averages 21.5 ppg, Hays 22.2 ppg.
In Turkey, A Quigley 20.6 ppg, DD 17.1 ppg, Plum 10.4 ppg.

Israeli basketball players profiles and stats - eurobasket
WNBA Overseas: Teams Off To Undefeated Starts, Banham Showing Confidence - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

 

[SVCBeercats]

I absolutely love EVERYTHING about Williams. She is one of the hardest working and athletically explosive players as you will ever see. With that being said, her game does not translate well to the WNBA level. She is just too undersized to compete in the post at the next level. She also does not have the handle or 3 pt jump shot needed to compete with most wings/guards. I think it is going to be tough for Williams to find her niche in the WNBA and that is why Wilson will be the #1 pick in the draft.

I agree with what you say. I think Gabby will be viewed as a project to be converted to the guard position. You are spot on. She needs to develop a 3pt shot. In WNBA her ticky-tack fouls may be overlooked but so will the roughhouse fouls she will encounter under the hoop.

 

[CocoHusky]

I think Saniya's performance is better than DD.
In Isreal, Chong averages 21.5 ppg, Hays 22.2 ppg.
In Turkey, A Quigley 20.6 ppg, Plum 10.4 ppg.

Israeli basketball players profiles and stats - eurobasket
WNBA Overseas: Teams Off To Undefeated Starts, Banham Showing Confidence - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

“Be careful of averages and how they’re applied.
One way that they can fool you is if the average combines samples from disparate populations.
This can lead to absurd observations such as:

"Saniya's performance is better than DD”

― Daniel J. Levitin, Critical Thinking in the Information Age

 

[Shades]

Well CT and VA are different states that aren't even near each other. NV is Gabby's home state so it's a little different.

Gabby showed a little disappointment when a WNBA team was announced for Las Vegas because she heard rumors that the bay area might be next to get a team.

 

[CocoHusky]

Gabby showed a little disappointment when a WNBA was announced for Las Vegas because she heard rumors that the bay area might be next to get a team.

For those not fully picking up what you are putting down: Distance from Gabby's home town to San Francisco is about 3.5 hours or about half the distance from her home to Vegas. Of course if the WNBA were to opt to return to Sacramento that would put Gabby 2 hours away from her home.

 

[warbler1055]

This discussion is quite interesting but aren't we too prematurely predicting what the future will hold? There is so much BB left to play this year, GW and KN and AjaW will have plenty of time to display their talents to WNBA scouts and GM. With that said, I am still hoping for KN and Gabby for real high WNBA draft pick.

 

[UcMiami]

A'ja.
Can't teach 'big' and she is very skilled. Most of the bottom feeding teams and low level playoff teams are not competitive with the best because they do not have strong post presence. SA at the bottom and Seattle in that low level playoff position are both examples of teams that really need some post help.

And I do not question that Gabby will be successful but she will not be successful as a post.

 

[HoopsFan21]

If I could own a team I'd have five Gabbys on it.

 

[wallman]

In my humble opinion.....

The Wnba is going away from the big BIG as in slow and wide. They want a more mobile team that doesn't clog the lane and where all 5 are not a liability at getting up and down the court. What has surprised me about South Carolina, for those of you who remember Dawns teams pre top recruits and transfers, they were hard nosed defensive bullies. That has gone by the wayside. Her teams do not play as hard as they used to. There could be many reasons for that. The question will be whether Wilson can improve her motor to a level similar to Grays, which she had before going to SC. I am in the group that views Wilson as smaller than her listed height which could also affect her. Does that mean she will not be #1 , NO, but some of the Wnba teams are very savvy and some not so much. There will be some teams being very diligent in their picks after last year, i.e. being a volume shooter in college won't help you at the next level etc.

 

[Kaizen]

Well, ...we do have some pretty large and diverse states in this union of ours. If you get in your car and drive 7 hours most people would not consider themselves at home (anything) anymore regardless of how many state lines you cross to get there.

I met a US soldier in Cape Town, Africa last Christmas. He told me he really want to go home at Christmas. His home is a place in east and you will need to fly 6 hours from one side to the other side

A "home" is not defined by distance but bythe place your heart belong to.

 

[Kaizen]

“Be careful of averages and how they’re applied.
One way that they can fool you is if the average combines samples from disparate populations.
This can lead to absurd observations such as:

"Saniya's performance is better than DD”

― Daniel J. Levitin, Critical Thinking in the Information Age

Who is Daniel J. Levitin, btw?

 

[CocoHusky]

O

I met a US soldier in Cape Town, Africa last Christmas. He told me he really want to go home at Christmas. His home is a place in east and you will need to fly 6 hours from one side to the other side A "home" is not defined by distance but by the place your heart belong to.

Of course a home is not defined by distance. Distance defines how far you are away from home, in the case of this solider it was 6 hours, no?

 

[Kaizen]

O

Of course a home is not defined by distance. Distance defines how far you are away from home, in the case of this solider it was 6 hours, no?

Thank you for your understanding.
No, from Cape Town to his hometown Houston, you need more than 24 hours fly,

 

[Go/huskies]

Gabby Williams is the female Kawhi Leonard, I think she will be a nice wing prospect at the next level. Call her an undersized post, but she can and has guarded and shut down all 5 positions on the floor, unlike players like Davis who played post at Baylor but could't guard smaller players, or Thomas at FSU who can't guard smaller players, Gabby has. I think Gabby will be a top defensive player in the WNBA from day one. Indy could use her but they might let Dupree and run the team next year, and she would get compared to Catchings, things like that could slow down her star potential. Gabby also plays with a little Nasty in her game, so she'll play hard no matter where a coach puts her.

 

[cbraarj]

Azura played well against Michigan State, got plenty of help and UCONN won. A'ja put up better numbers against ND got no help and lost. When UCONN wins the championship Azura's role will likely not be as large as Wilson's was last year in the FF. This will not be a close decision even with Azura in the mix. It would take major foreign influence to displace A"ja from the number 1 WNBA draft spot.

If she does what she did against Michigan State the rest of the year Azura should be 1st pick. She has the bigger upside between the two. Azura had a lot of help 25 pts, 16 rb 5 assist and a couple blocks Its a good thing she had help. Aja had 34 pts and they scored 87 and she had no help. Who scored the other 53 pts but she had no help. How has Aja played against Uconn the last 3 years when she had help? How about last year after Uconn lost their 3 AAs did Aja do? She was outplayed by Gabby big time! All 5ft 11in of her! Stewies roll with Uconn should be downplayed because she had lots of help in those 4 NC. Maya also because she had lots of help, too. She is only 5 games in to the season but when Uconn wins the NC the whole team will have a lot to do with it because that is the way Connectcut rolls!

 

[CocoHusky]

In my humble opinion.....
The Wnba is going away from the big BIG as in slow and wide. They want a more mobile team that doesn't clog the lane and where all 5 are not a liability at getting up and down the court. What has surprised me about South Carolina, for those of you who remember Dawns teams pre top recruits and transfers, they were hard nosed defensive bullies. That has gone by the wayside. Her teams do not play as hard as they used to. There could be many reasons for that. The question will be whether Wilson can improve her motor to a level similar to Grays, which she had before going to SC. I am in the group that views Wilson as smaller than her listed height which could also affect her. Does that mean she will not be #1 , NO, but some of the Wnba teams are very savvy and some not so much. There will be some teams being very diligent in their picks after last year, i.e. being a volume shooter in college won't help you at the next level etc.

Disagree with most of this. WNBA has always had a preference for big and mobile vs. big and slow and wide, this is not a new trend. Defensive bullying is the SEC way and Dawn has definitely not gone away from that. BTW neither has Mississippi State. Have loved Allisha Gray since she was at UNC but Allisha's motor definitely doesn't exceed A'ja Wilson's motor. Both Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis especially got their motor put into a higher gear when they arrived at SC. A'ja Wilson's most significant improvement in her time at SC was on the defensive side of the ball=SEC DPOY. Wilson has suited up for USA basketball for the past 3 summers, each time her height was listed at 6'5". A"ja is anything but a volume shooter she is shooting 55% for her career and shot 58% last year.

 

[UcMiami]

In my humble opinion.....

The Wnba is going away from the big BIG as in slow and wide. They want a more mobile team that doesn't clog the lane and where all 5 are not a liability at getting up and down the court. What has surprised me about South Carolina, for those of you who remember Dawns teams pre top recruits and transfers, they were hard nosed defensive bullies. That has gone by the wayside. Her teams do not play as hard as they used to. There could be many reasons for that. The question will be whether Wilson can improve her motor to a level similar to Grays, which she had before going to SC. I am in the group that views Wilson as smaller than her listed height which could also affect her. Does that mean she will not be #1 , NO, but some of the Wnba teams are very savvy and some not so much. There will be some teams being very diligent in their picks after last year, i.e. being a volume shooter in college won't help you at the next level etc.

They and the NBA as well only 'go away from' the BIG as in slow and wide becuase they can find enough of those type players that are also supremely talented. The Lynx went running toward that exact kind of BIG in Sylvia Fowles and they have two championships to prove it was a good choice and loss a 5th game championship series at the buzzer in her three years. (Yes they have some OK other players, but ...)

 

[CocoHusky]

If she does what she did against Michigan State the rest of the year Azura should be 1st pick. She has the bigger upside between the two. Azura had a lot of help 25 pts, 16 rb 5 assist and a couple blocks Its a good thing she had help. Aja had 34 pts and they scored 87 and she had no help. Who scored the other 53 pts but she had no help. How has Aja played against Uconn the last 3 years when she had help? How about last year after Uconn lost their 3 AAs did Aja do? She was outplayed by Gabby big time! All 5ft 11in of her! Stewies roll with Uconn should be downplayed because she had lots of help in those 4 NC. Maya also because she had lots of help, too. She is only 5 games in to the season but when Uconn wins the NC the whole team will have a lot to do with it because that is the way Connectcut rolls!

Hopefully you can see the error in your logic:
If Azura can do what she did against Michigan State for the rest of the year, why couldn't A'ja do for the rest of the year what she did against ND?
The right answer is that neither player can, so let's get back to reality.

 

[Shades]

Hopefully you can see the error in your logic:
If Azura can do what she did against Michigan State for the rest of the year, why couldn't A'ja do for the rest of the year what she did against ND?
The right answer is that neither player can, so let's get back to reality.

And Geno is only starting Stevens because KLS is out with injury. When KLS comes back, Stevens' role and minutes and probability of a game like the one against MSU will shrink.

Also, having Stevens come off the bench reduces the odds she'll declare early because coming off the bench definitely hurts your draft stock. Kiah Stokes went #11 in her draft.

 

[CocoHusky]

And Geno is only starting Stevens because KLS is out with injury. When KLS comes back, Stevens' role and minutes and probability of a game like the one against MSU will shrink. Also, having Stevens come off the bench reduces the odds she'll declare early because coming off the bench definitely hurts your draft stock. Kiah Stokes went #11 in her draft.

Don't know if I would cosign most of that. First, Azura has an opportunity to remain in the starting lineup by sustaining her performance. Coming off the bench should not hurt Azura's draft stock because every WNBA GM should realize that UCONN's situation with Azura is unique and draft accordingly based on potential=NLT 2nd if she were in 2018 draft IMO. Lastly, Azura is no Kia Stokes. Azura is a much better offensive player with the potential to be just as dominant player as Kiah was defensively.

 

[bizarro aj]

Are you talking about the same aja Wilson that never goes after loose balls and jogs down the court and is winded by the 4th quarter? I think its funny how some are saying gabby is too short. Maya the goat is only 1" taller. Only a smart GM that wants to win will take gabby for the first pick in the draft.

 

[Shades]

Azura is a much better offensive player with the potential to be just as dominant player as Kiah was defensively.

Offensively yeah, but I don't think Geno would sign off on the defensively part. I know it might be just Geno being Geno to the press, but wasn't he saying Stevens has a ways to go defensively?

I know UConn's situation is unique, but ideally you don't declare for the draft as a Sixth Man. I don't think it'll happen. Never has happened before. That's all I'm saying. Does Stevens deserve to be a high draft pick... YES! Will she declare early if she's been coming off the bench most of the season.... NO. That's my prediction. I'm guessing that's Geno's prediction too (that sneak).

 

[Shades]

Are you talking about the same aja Wilson that never goes after loose balls and jogs down the court and is winded by the 4th quarter? I think its funny how some are saying gabby is too short. Maya the goat is only 1" taller. Only a smart GM that wants to win will take gabby for the first pick in the draft.

Maya plays mostly at the SF spot in the WNBA and she's a very proficient three point shooter.

 

[Dillon77]

Are you talking about the same aja Wilson that never goes after loose balls and jogs down the court and is winded by the 4th quarter? I think its funny how some are saying gabby is too short. Maya the goat is only 1" taller. Only a smart GM that wants to win will take gabby for the first pick in the draft.

Well, we must be talking about a different A'ja Wilson than the one I watched play against my alma mater and rooting interest, Notre Dame, last night. A'ja Wilson scored a career high last night and she was not just firing away, but getting into position in the high and/or low post and shooting accurately and/or getting fouled. All this was taking place while ND was throwing waves of post players at her, from Jessica Shepard and Koko Nelson to Mik Vaughn and Kat Westbeld. And the vast majority of that scoring took part in the second half, when ND threatened to run away to Orlando.

In addition to scoring, she jumped passing lanes twice, leading to break-away layups and showed plenty of enthusiasm and resolve, encouraging her teammates to keep going. And she was involved in rebounding battles all night. That's where she could've gotten help from her teammates, because ND's guards (particularly Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale) were virtually untouched hitting the boards.

I don't see Ms. Wilson that often but have been summarily impressed with her continued growth in all respects of her game.