Is Saniya Chong a Pro Prospect?

[Kaizen]

It was a four-point game with less than one minute left a year ago at Madison Square Garden.

The No. 1-ranked UConn women's basketball team was doing all it could to hold off No. 6 Maryland. The Huskies, a team with three of the best players in the country on the floor, needed a basket.

So who calmly tossed a shot from behind the three-point arc? Saniya Chong, of course.

The guard had missed the previous three games with an IT band injury and played just 10 minutes off the bench against Maryland.

But she converted a three-pointer with 40 seconds left, fueling a 10-point win for UConn. It was the biggest shot of the season for the NCAA champion Huskies.

 

[Striper69]

Yes, but she was never going to stick in the WNBA.

You might've thought Kiah Stokes would have the same fate considering the criticism she got for not being a big scorer while not at UCONN but Bill saw something else in her.

 

[Striper69]

Saniya has nowhere near the energy Simmons has... bad comparison

As much as I like Megan..I'd say Saniya has the edge as far as being a big scorer.

She might be what the NY Liberty need. A scoring guard who doesn't need to be the best defender in the league because she has Kiah and Tina back there to discourage players from driving to the basket.

 

[eebmg]

You might've thought Kiah Stokes would have the same fate considering the criticism she got for not being a big scorer while not at UCONN but Bill saw something else in her.

I think everyone saw her superlative ability on defense and many WNBA teams would have invested at least a round 2 pick.
Her offense was clearly limited and still is. It is just a matter of game situations and team needs how much time she gets.

I would like her offense to improve but she will never be Tina Charles but that is ok.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Yes, but she was never going to stick in the WNBA.

Maria Conlon never had a fraction of the talent that Chong does. She may have been a good outside shooter, but Chong can do it all.

 

[intlzncster]

You might've thought Kiah Stokes would have the same fate considering the criticism she got for not being a big scorer while not at UCONN but Bill saw something else in her.

But Maria never remotely had the athleticism to stick. Not sure about saniya.

 

[UcMiami]

Yes, but she was never going to stick in the WNBA.

Considering that only about 180 players are invited to training camps each year in the WNBA she was in very select company. Teams really do not invite players who are 'no hopers' to their camps.

 

[JSB60]

If you mean she has to renounce her US citizenship to gain Chinese citizenship, that's not correct. I know many people who are dual US/Chinese citizens, and if her father is a Chinese citizen, she may already be a dual citizen. Or does the league require that one can't have citizenship in any other country?

Most or all the leagues allow you to be a citizen of another country as well as the local player nationality. And they often take players in for accelerated citizenship, such as Bahar Ozturk aka Barbara Turner, dual Turkish/US national.