Surprisingly good/underwhelming WNBA players | The Boneyard

Surprisingly good/underwhelming WNBA players

bballnut90

bballnut90

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Who are some players that have been much better (or worse) than you thought they'd be coming out of college? Some of my picks:

Better than expected:

Marina Mabrey-She's been much much better than I thought she'd be. I didn't think she had the foot speed or quickness to last in the pros and she's thriving.

Karlie Samuelson-never expected her to last in the pros, let alone be a better pro than her sister

Ariel Atkins-people thought she was drafted too high in 2018 but she's panned out to be an excellent pro after a fine but not spectacular college career.

Dijonai Carrington-she's emerging as one of the better guards in the league this season. She was solid in Baylor/Stanford but I didn't think she'd become this good.


Worse than expected:

Lauren Cox-she was an unbelievable post defender in college and a great passer with a midrange game. I thought her game would translate much better than it did.

Ruthy Hebard-she was sensational in college and I thought she had the pro frame and athleticism to make her mark in the pros.
 
I’ve always wondered if Lauren Cox’s condition (diabetes) impacted her transition. She was never a superb athlete but was one of the two or three best players in the country her senior year and I thought she’d be an All-Star in the league.

A few players I think have been better than expected:
  • A’ja Wilson (I know this one seems outrageous but I don’t think most saw her as the next best player in the world which she clearly is at this point)
  • Angel Reese
  • Courtney Williams
  • Sug Sutton
  • Sophie Cunningham
A few players I thought would stick in the league who haven’t to date:
  • Christyn Williams
  • Destanni Henderson
  • Elissa Cunane
  • Bella Alarie
  • Megan Walker
  • Charli Collier
 
Not that she's ever been close to a star, but Sami Whitcomb being in the league at all, let alone for a number of years and a decent contributor on a couple of Championship teams is a huge surprise to me. I wouldn't even put her in the top 10 players from Washington. Quite a few Huskies who had better college careers never stuck in the W at all.

Rebekah Gardner is similar.
 
GoChips20 said:
I’ve always wondered if Lauren Cox’s condition (diabetes) impacted her transition. She was never a superb athlete but was one of the two or three best players in the country her senior year and I thought she’d be an All-Star in the league.
Expand ...
I'm curious why being diabetic would effect a pro athlete any differently than a college athlete. Adam Morrison is another diabetic who didn't make it as a pro, after a fantastic college career.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
I'm curious why being diabetic would effect a pro athlete any differently than a college athlete. Adam Morrison is another diabetic who didn't make it as a pro, after a fantastic college career.
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I’d assumed the same thing about Lauren Cox, but IIRC she tore her ACL at the end of her senior year, then had covid I think in her rookie year. Megan Walker, also mentioned above, also had covid her rookie year, and I think she had a really serious case.

OTOH, I heard a story on NPR the other day about Mark Andrews, a diabetic NFL player who’s evidently really good. He did say he checks his blood sugar something like 20 times a half. I doubt the WNBA would pay for that.
 
Last edited:
Bigboote said:
I’d assumed the same thing about Lauren Cox, but IIRC she tore her ACL at the end of her senior year, then had covid I think in her rookie year. Megan Walker, also mentioned above, also had covid her rookie year, and I think she had a really serious case.

OTOH, I heard a story on NPR the other day about Mark Andrews, a diabetic NFL player who’s evidently really good. He did say he checks his blood sugar something like 20 times a half. I doubt the WNBA would pay for that.
Expand ...

'I've had students who had a patch with Wi-Fi to keep track of her glucose level. The nurse gets an alert if the blood sugar is high or low. I can't imagine this isn't available for everyone, including pro athletes.

We have more than a few doctors here who could probably answer.
 
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temery said:
'I've had students who have a patch with Wi-Fi to keep track of he glucose level. The nurse gets an alert if the blood sugar is high or low. I can't imagine this isn't available for everyone, including pro athletes.

We have more than a few doctors here who could probably answer.
Expand ...
That device is much more readily available now than when Cox was in college. Also, while it helps to keep track there could be other factors beyond keeping sugar levels stable that are part of her situation. We'll never truly know unless she says something publicly.
 
Players I underestimated:
Nalyssa Smith, because she had no outside shot- but she seems to have worked on it.
AJa Wilson Did not look that dominant in college.
 
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GoChips20 said:
I’ve always wondered if Lauren Cox’s condition (diabetes) impacted her transition. She was never a superb athlete but was one of the two or three best players in the country her senior year and I thought she’d be an All-Star in the league.

A few players I think have been better than expected:
  • A’ja Wilson (I know this one seems outrageous but I don’t think most saw her as the next best player in the world which she clearly is at this point)
  • Angel Reese
  • Courtney Williams
  • Sug Sutton
  • Sophie Cunningham
A few players I thought would stick in the league who haven’t to date:
  • Christyn Williams
  • Destanni Henderson
  • Elissa Cunane
  • Bella Alarie
  • Megan Walker
  • Charli Collier
Expand ...
Angel sure has out outperformed the expectations for her rookie season but I'll need to see a few more years of play to put her on a list like this. One of the announcers said it best, Reece has such an unorthodox style of play that it'll take some time for the league to identify the best method to defend her. I have a gut feeling that this season will be the peak of career because of that. Unless she adds some counter moves and expands her game, I think her stats will slowly diminish with every consequent season.
 
GamecockFam said:
Angel sure has out outperformed the expectations for her rookie season but I'll need to see a few more years of play to put her on a list like this. One of the announcers said it best, Reece has such an unorthodox style of play that it'll take some time for the league to identify the best method to defend her. I have a gut feeling that this season will be the peak of career because of that. Unless she adds some counter moves and expands her game, I think her stats will slowly diminish with every consequent season.
Expand ...
She's raised her FG% a bit (was 34, now up to 38+), but she simply has to shoot better. Compare her to other PFs or Cs in the league, that's really sub par.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I'm curious why being diabetic would effect a pro athlete any differently than a college athlete. Adam Morrison is another diabetic who didn't make it as a pro, after a fantastic college career.
Expand ...
I remember a story in boys life back in the day that talked about how Bobby Clark passed out at his first day of tryouts as a pro. He was "too nervous to eat" which was obviously going to be problematic since he had type one diabetes.

I think the answer to your question may be as simple as the fact that the pros are more demanding than even high-level college athletics. With proper management, it shouldn't be an issue, but it is definitely an extra thing to deal with.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I'm curious why being diabetic would effect a pro athlete any differently than a college athlete. Adam Morrison is another diabetic who didn't make it as a pro, after a fantastic college career.
Expand ...
Cox was in and out of the hospital the year after she left Baylor, she had COVID and a few episodes of her diabetes acting. I assumed it had to do with her diabetes as she made comments about struggling with it at the time and had to change doctors. She was allegedly having spells where her sugars would drop too low and she couldn't do much physical activity because of the symptoms.

Diabetes is super manageable but obviously highly difficult combined with playing athletics at a high level. There is much to balance. But everyone handles it very differently.
 
nwhoopfan said:
She's raised her FG% a bit (was 34, now up to 38+), but she simply has to shoot better. Compare her to other PFs or Cs in the league, that's really sub par.
Expand ...
I feel like Angel never takes her time when she is attempting to score on offense. Half the time it looks like she is just throwing stuff up and relying on her ability to rebound instead of being more methodical with her approach.

Obviously her rebounding and defense has translated very well but down the road she will need to be more efficient. She has had some more efficient outings as of late but I want her to develop some more post moves. I feel her individual development took a hit after the national title, with all the opportunities she had traveling everywhere, I feel she missed a key time to work on her game and grow when it needed to grow. Now she is having to play catchup on that in the W.
 
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bballnut90 said:
Who are some players that have been much better (or worse) than you thought they'd be coming out of college? Some of my picks:

Better than expected:

Marina Mabrey-She's been much much better than I thought she'd be. I didn't think she had the foot speed or quickness to last in the pros and she's thriving.

Karlie Samuelson-never expected her to last in the pros, let alone be a better pro than her sister

Ariel Atkins-people thought she was drafted too high in 2018 but she's panned out to be an excellent pro after a fine but not spectacular college career.

Dijonai Carrington-she's emerging as one of the better guards in the league this season. She was solid in Baylor/Stanford but I didn't think she'd become this good.


Worse than expected:

Lauren Cox-she was an unbelievable post defender in college and a great passer with a midrange game. I thought her game would translate much better than it did.

Ruthy Hebard-she was sensational in college and I thought she had the pro frame and athleticism to make her mark in the pros.
Expand ...

Lauren Cox to me always got a little more credit than warranted in college. Good college player but not great to me.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Jonquel Jones is another. Fairly under the radar playing at George Washington. Not sure anyone projected her to be a MVP.
Expand ...

Jonquel was a HS All-American who strangely went to Clemson, then transferred to GW. She was one of the best rebounders in the nation at GW. I didn't expect her to be an MVP, but I did expect a solid career.
 
willtalk said:
Players I underestimated:
Nalyssa Smith, because she had no outside shot- but she seems to have worked on it.
AJa Wilson Did not look that dominant in college.
Expand ...

I thought A'ja was good in college, but not transcendent. Notably her teams never beat UConn. To her credit, she has improved a lot in the pros--especially her shooting and ability to go to the right. Every year, she has gotten better. She's either 1 or 1a in the world right now.
 
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MSSportsGuy said:
I don’t think anyone thought Mabrey would be this good.
Expand ...

Agreed. I think she was cut by L.A. early in her career. She's unathletic and slow of foot, but she's a bucket. Pretty close to an elite shooter. She does not lack for aggressiveness.
 
Reypl21 said:
She's been underwhelming.
Expand ...
This explains why her career tailed off after 2019 (she was stellar her first 2 seasons).


www.espn.com

Diamond DeShields and the WNBA comeback no one knew about

Just 21 months before winning a WNBA title with Chicago, Diamond DeShields had a tumor removed from her spine that left her with tremors and relearning how to walk.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Plus she missed all of last year with a knee injury. Definitely a tough road for her.
 
Good:
DeWanna Bonner comes to mind for me-Those that remember her being drafted, the reports were not kind. Now, she is in year 14-15 and still doing great things.

Underperforming-I think that could apply to a lot of players. But to be fair, a lot of that depends on the teams that players are on.
 
bballnut90 said:
This explains why her career tailed off after 2019 (she was stellar her first 2 seasons).


www.espn.com

Diamond DeShields and the WNBA comeback no one knew about

Just 21 months before winning a WNBA title with Chicago, Diamond DeShields had a tumor removed from her spine that left her with tremors and relearning how to walk.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Plus she missed all of last year with a knee injury. Definitely a tough road for her.
Expand ...
Don't overlook her surgery to deal with the cyst on her spine. Having to learn basic functions like walking, let alone staying in basketball shape didn't help things.

Edit - was piggy backing your post to expand on the link you included.
 
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