Way too early 2019 mock draft

[Dillon77]

She could fit in well with any team. Instant upgrade.

Oh, I'm sure she will. I'm just interested in seeing them all mesh together; not just A'ja and the guards, but also adding Laimbeer and his style.

 

[Shades]

Oh, I'm sure she will. I'm just interested in seeing them all mesh together; not just A'ja and the guards, but also adding Laimbeer and his style.

I’m also very curious about the Korean center that arrived in Vegas today.

Park Ji-soo committed to join U.S. WNBA

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

She probably was headed to an MVP in 2017 had she not missed so many games. Shouldas don’t count with me though.

Obviously you’re willing to give her a pass every year. I had and have much higher expectations of her based on her physical gifts. Is that okay?

Interesting that you did not respond to my questions to you about Maya Moore, Candace Parker, and Sylvia Fowles.

Your expectations of Griner do not seem to match up to expectations of other superstar players.

There has never been a five-time MVP in the history of the WNBA. But presumably, you are holding her to a standard higher than that for Moore, Parker, Fowles, Swoopes, Cooper, Griffith, Jackson, Holdsclaw, Charles, etc., with no explanation or reasoning behind it.

 

[SCGamecock]

Good list, thanks for putting together an alternate version.
Bill Laimbeer, who loves to collect as many "paint-eaters" as possible, might already be palpitating over the players in this draft (even with A'ja Wilson aboard): Brown, McCowan, Turner, Shepard, Anigwe, Gustafson, Collier. Whew!

As for order, totally depends on team needs, situation and philosophy, as pointed out by many others.

Laimbeer has stated on the record that he doesn’t see Wilson as a center... so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him draft another big early in the 2019 draft for that true center, even with Bone on the roster.

 

[SCspur]

Laimbeer has stated on the record that he doesn’t see Wilson as a center... so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him draft another big early in the 2019 draft for that true center, even with Bone on the roster.

I think A’ja will start at the 4 with Harrison at the 5. She’s listed as a Center but I think Bill plans on using her in multiple scenarios.

 

[bbballfan23]

Anyone else find it odd that not only Lou is a little too low at 3 but Pheesa at 6!? Both are better pro prospects than Gabby & 2/3 current college players (Durr) in the national USA pool. Their versatility will get them both off the board in the top 4 IMHO. Shepard is solid but highly doubt there’s a coach in America crazy enough to take her over Pheesa. Same with Durr over Lou.

 

[Orangutan]

She had a great season last year. She has been improving every year after (for me) a disappointing rookie season. I’m not saying Griner isn’t a great player. But have you seen Griner? There’s nobody like her. What I’m saying is with her tools, she should be unstoppable. If she had Maya’s heart and work ethic, she would be unstoppable.

Agree with this 100% Griner runs too hot and cold for me. Sometimes she is a monster and sometimes she disappears. 1 NCAA NC and one WNBA title are obviously great achievements but with her abilities it really feels like she should have a couple more of each.

 

[Orangutan]

Mabrey listed at #12 is interesting to me. I'm not totally sure she has the athleticism to stick at the next level. But she's tough, determined, a good passer, and a great shooter, so maybe she has a chance. Think maybe she's more of a 2nd round pick, though.

Turner has some obvious question marks. She's 6'3 and fairly lean, so she'd be small to play center. To play the 4, you really need to have midrange jumper or you become an offensive liability. Reports are that Turner has been working on that shot while she rehabs her knee.

On the other hand, she has plenty of athletic ability, she's a very good defender and a shot-blocker, and most of all she's just a player. Some people just have the instinctive ability of how to play the game and be effective.

Athletically, she reminds me a little of Jessica Breland. With Breland's moon-ball midrange shot, she'd be an easy high first-round pick. I think Turner is a little bit out "out of sight, out of mind" for some people. She is listed 4th among the ND players here and I think she could have the best career.

 

[bballnut90]

Anyone else find it odd that not only Lou is a little too low at 3 but Pheesa at 6!? Both are better pro prospects than Gabby & 2/3 current college players (Durr) in the national USA pool. Their versatility will get them both off the board in the top 4 IMHO. Shepard is solid but highly doubt there’s a coach in America crazy enough to take her over Pheesa. Same with Durr over Lou.

Eye test says Shepard’s a better creator and facilitator than Collier. Different players but Shepard as a passing 4 has more potential to me in the pros than Collier playing the 3 or 4. If Shepard shows her range again next year and excels in the high post, she should be a highly coveted pick. Strong, physical 6-4 players who aren’t afraid to bang, and also possess good perimeter skills don’t grow on trees.

I also don’t think Collier is a better pro prospect than Williams. Williams is a better athlete and all around player. Despite good length, Collier is a little small to play the 4 in the pros and is an inconsistent perimeter shooter. Plus she isn’t close to being the athlete Williams is.

Anyone who’d take Durr at 1 should be fired IMO. Good explosive scorer, but doesn’t bring much else to the table.

 

[bballnut90]

Mabrey listed at #12 is interesting to me. I'm not totally sure she has the athleticism to stick at the next level. But she's tough, determined, a good passer, and a great shooter, so maybe she has a chance. Think maybe she's more of a 2nd round pick, though.

Turner has some obvious question marks. She's 6'3 and fairly lean, so she'd be small to play center. To play the 4, you really need to have midrange jumper or you become an offensive liability

I think Mabrey is a late 1st or 2nd rounder. She’s one of the craftier players on ND and has an incredibly quick release. She’s also a solid defender and a very good passer. Definitely better suited as an off guard even though she’s likely playing point next year. I think she should get a shot, she has exposure and has proven she can put up monster numbers on any given night.

Turner should be fine as a 5 IMO. No she isn’t Fowles or Griner esque, but she is very athletic and defensively can hold her own. She does need to put on about 10lbs of muscle though and work on her hands (I’m not even sure how someone does can work on this besides more reps, but so many passes slip through her fingers, and she fumbles rebounds). She does run the floor extremely well. We still haven’t seen her fully healthy yet, so I’m hoping this is the year we do. A lot of people (including myself) thought she was a better long term prospect than Wilson after her freshman year. Wilson made massive strides each year after, while Turner has dealt with injury issues all 3 seasons (and she was injured part of her freshman year too).

 

[UConnCat]

I think Mabrey is a late 1st or 2nd rounder. She’s one of the craftier players on ND and has an incredibly quick release. She’s also a solid defender and a very good passer. Definitely better suited as an off guard even though she’s likely playing point next year. I think she should get a shot, she has exposure and has proven she can put up monster numbers on any given night.

Mabrey is not a solid defender. She's actually a pretty bad defender.

 

[bbballfan23]

Eye test says Shepard’s a better creator and facilitator than Collier. Different players but Shepard as a passing 4 has more potential to me in the pros than Collier playing the 3 or 4. If Shepard shows her range again next year and excels in the high post, she should be a highly coveted pick. Strong, physical 6-4 players who aren’t afraid to bang, and also possess good perimeter skills don’t grow on trees.

I also don’t think Collier is a better pro prospect than Williams. Williams is a better athlete and all around player. Despite good length, Collier is a little small to play the 4 in the pros and is an inconsistent perimeter shooter. Plus she isn’t close to being the athlete Williams is.

Anyone who’d take Durr at 1 should be fired IMO. Good explosive scorer, but doesn’t bring much else to the table.

Collier is quicker, longer, more explosive certainly. A better scorer, shooter, passer, shot blocker, defender. So I’ll give Shepard the edge in rebounding but everything else is Pheesa’s. Check the numbers & she had to share a lot with Z & Gabby. Shepard didn’t have an equal on ND in the post.

 

[bballnut90]

Mabrey is not a solid defender. She's actually a pretty bad defender.

I think she does a solid job. She averages over 2 steals per game and was just named ND's co-DPOY along with Young. She isn't going to be a lockdown defender, but I think she can hold her own in most matchups on the defensive side.

 

[bbballfan23]

I think she does a solid job. She averages over 2 steals per game and was just named ND's co-DPOY along with Young. She isn't going to be a lockdown defender, but I think she can hold her own in most matchups on the defensive side.

I agree. She isn’t a good defender but she works very hard, which is half of the battle for most players. She can maybe be a specialty shooter off the bench but I don’t ses her ever being a starter in the WNBA.

 

[UConnCat]

I think she does a solid job. She averages over 2 steals per game and was just named ND's co-DPOY along with Young. She isn't going to be a lockdown defender, but I think she can hold her own in most matchups on the defensive side.

I don't think so. The perimeter players in the WNBA will blow by her. ND played mostly zone this past season because of a short roster and because, other than Young, it didn't have the players to play 1 v 1 defense. The next time Mabrey gets in a real defensive stance will be the first time she does.

 

[bballnut90]

Collier is quicker, longer, more explosive certainly. A better scorer, shooter, passer, shot blocker, defender. So I’ll give Shepard the edge in rebounding but everything else is Pheesa’s. Check the numbers & she had to share a lot with Z & Gabby. Shepard didn’t have an equal on ND in the post.

I'd say Shepard is hands down a better passer than Collier despite Pheesa having more assists and a better A/TO ratio. Rewatch the NCAA tournament. She's also better at creating her shot in the post too. I think Shepard's game translates better as a 4 than Collier's does. She's stronger, a better banger inside but can also step out and facilitate the offense from 15-20 feet, or knock down the open jumper. Collier has all the skills needed to be a good 4, but is a little undersized at 6-1, where Shepard is 6-4 and has brute strength. Again, different players with different skill sets, but I think Shepard is more unique as a prospect and has pro skills that can make her standout in the W. I also think she has more upside than Collier due to her relatively late start playing for a good coach. If she went to ND from the get go, I think she'd be a couple steps ahead of where she is now.

 

[bballnut90]

I agree. She isn’t a good defender but she works very hard, which is half of the battle for most players. She can maybe be a specialty shooter off the bench but I don’t ses her ever being a starter in the WNBA.

Agreed. I don't see her as a starter, but I think she can make a roster spot and compete for minutes as a backup 2 or 3pt specialist. Not many players have the range or quick release than Mabrey does.

 

[bbballfan23]

I'd say Shepard is hands down a better passer than Collier despite Pheesa having more assists and a better A/TO ratio. Rewatch the NCAA tournament. She's also better at creating her shot in the post too. I think Shepard's game translates better as a 4 than Collier's does. She's stronger, a better banger inside but can also step out and facilitate the offense from 15-20 feet, or knock down the open jumper. Collier has all the skills needed to be a good 4, but is a little undersized at 6-1, where Shepard is 6-4 and has brute strength. Again, different players with different skill sets, but I think Shepard is more unique as a prospect and has pro skills that can make her standout in the W. I also think she has more upside than Collier due to her relatively late start playing for a good coach. If she went to ND from the get go, I think she'd be a couple steps ahead of where she is now.

You completely lost me when you said better upside. Hahaha people think Napheesa struggled this year & her numbers are much better than Shepard’s. Can you imagine if she has a great year. Her talent laps Shepard’s on a bad day.

 

[bballnut90]

I don't think so. The perimeter players in the WNBA will blow by her. ND played mostly zone this past season because of a short roster and because, other than Young, it didn't have the players to play 1 v 1 defense. The next time Mabrey gets in a real defensive stance will be the first time she does.

I don't think she's going to be a starting SG in the league so I don't see this being an issue. If she plays 10-15 minutes off the bench, she isn't going to draw the opposing team's best penetrating guard. As someone else mentioned, a lot of defense comes down to sheer effort. I think she'll hold her own just fine when she's on the court.

 

[UConnCat]

I don't think she's going to be a starting SG in the league so I don't see this being an issue. If she plays 10-15 minutes off the bench, she isn't going to draw the opposing team's best penetrating guard. As someone else mentioned, a lot of defense comes down to sheer effort. I think she'll hold her own just fine when she's on the court.

She puts a lot of effort in to offense; I'll give her that. Her defense is more the matador style. She can talk to KML about how many minutes that earns you in the WNBA.

 

[Shades]

If Shepard shows her range again next year and excels in the high post, she should be a highly coveted pick. Strong, physical 6-4 players who aren’t afraid to bang, and also possess good perimeter skills don’t grow on trees.

She seems a little shorter than 6’4, but I’m nervous that the Lynx will see her as a younger healthier version of McCarville (a player the Lynx had success with) and be tempted to draft her. Shepard will never be a favorite of mine after what happened to Yori.

I also don’t think Collier is a better pro prospect than Williams. Williams is a better athlete and all around player. Despite good length, Collier is a little small to play the 4 in the pros and is an inconsistent perimeter shooter. Plus she isn’t close to being the athlete Williams is.

I’m a little skeptical on Collier as a PF in the WNBA myself. If she’s a true 6’1, she most likely would have to convert to SF.

Anyone who’d take Durr at 1 should be fired IMO.

Agree. The only times in the last ten years a guard was taken #1 in the draft were in weak draft classes. 2019 is not weak.

The guy who wrote the mock draft article in the first post is fairly new to following the WNBA.

Based on potential I’m going with McCowan #1 at this point in time.

 

[bballnut90]

You completely lost me when you said better upside. Hahaha people think Napheesa struggled this year & her numbers are much better than Shepard’s. Can you imagine if she has a great year. Her talent laps Shepard’s on a bad day.

You can't compare numbers from a UCONN player to a player at another school when evaluating WNBA prospects. UCONN's statistics are inflated relative to other programs because they always take high percentage shots and crush teams to a different degree than other programs do. Most UCONN players shoot significantly higher percentages at UCONN than they do in the pros, and they also typically have much better numbers all around than what they produce in the pros.

That said, their numbers are pretty similar:
Shepard: 15.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 assists, 0.7 blocks, 0.8 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 56.5% FG, 29.4 mpg
Collier: 16.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.3 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.6 steals, 1.5 turnovers, 58.3% FG, 28.8 mpg

Collier's are slightly better in most areas, but she also played in UCONN's extremely efficient offense, and faced an easier schedule.

Aside from the numbers piece, a lot of my hype for Shepard comes from her strong showings at the end of the season. In her last 7 games, she played great against Oregon, Louisville, Mississippi State, and UCONN (teams who finished #2-5 in the last poll). She played well going up against bigger, more athletic players while she wasn't playing her natural position. Put her at the 4, where her skills are best suited, and she becomes a matchup nightmare.

 

[Shades]

I think Mabrey is a late 1st or 2nd rounder.

If you remove the “1st or”, I’m with you. Hard to see her as a first rounder as it stands now.

Turner should be fine as a 5 IMO. No she isn’t Fowles or Griner esque, but she is very athletic and defensively can hold her own. She does need to put on about 10lbs of muscle though and work on her hands (I’m not even sure how someone does can work on this besides more reps, but so many passes slip through her fingers, and she fumbles rebounds). She does run the floor extremely well. We still haven’t seen her fully healthy yet, so I’m hoping this is the year we do. A lot of people (including myself) thought she was a better long term prospect than Wilson after her freshman year. Wilson made massive strides each year after, while Turner has dealt with injury issues all 3 seasons (and she was injured part of her freshman year too).

That’s like saying Harrison as a 5 should be okay. I’m not feeling either as a center at the next level. Laimbeer bringing in Bone, Swords, and Park illustrates the point.

 

[Orangutan]

That’s like saying Harrison as a 5 should be okay. I’m not feeling either as a center at the next level. Laimbeer bringing in Bone, Swords, and Park illustrates the point.

Yep, Turner's size says "4" but her skill set says "5". She's not going to get taller, so it's either learn the skills of a 4 or try to make it as undersized 5. Her career prospects are much better if she can manage the former.

 

[wallman]

She puts a lot of effort in to offense; I'll give her that. Her defense is more the matador style. She can talk to KLM about how many minutes that earns you in the WNBA.

Totally agree Cat and I almost spit my coffee out when I saw the word defense associated with her. She is also no where close to as good a shooter as KML(only 39% from 3last year) so whats the point.

My doubts about Shepard are also that I don't think she is 6'4" and with the lack of speed it will be difficult going against the bigs. Durr is another one who plays little defense and has trouble getting involved with anything other than trying to score.

 

[Shades]

See why there’s no room for Mabrey in the first round? Things begin to fall off a cliff for me after Laksa at #14, but Mabrey could easily drop off the 2nd round.

 

[DallasBUFan]

View attachment 30944
See why there’s no room for Mabrey in the first round? Things begin to fall off a cliff for me after Laksa at #14, but Mabrey could easily drop off the 2nd round.

I like it, but I switch Brown for McCowan. I think in the WNBA they want someone that can step outside and hit a 12-15-17 footer. McCowan is good however, she needs to develop many more aspects. Kalani needs better conditioning, but see her as the better of the two. However, I could be slightly bias, but McCowan is a Texas girl too.

 

[bballnut90]

I like it, but I switch Brown for McCowan. I think in the WNBA they want someone that can step outside and hit a 12-15-17 footer. McCowan is good however, she needs to develop many more aspects. Kalani needs better conditioning, but see her as the better of the two. However, I could be slightly bias, but McCowan is a Texas girl too.

Agree. A lot depends on this upcoming season, but Brown is a much better offensive player than McCowan right now. Keep in mind Teaira has made incredible strides the last 12 months, i don’t think anyone thought she’d have the kind of season she did this year. I also want to see her become more of a shotblocker. Another offseason of hard work and improvement and she could become the clear cut #1 prospect.

 

[bbballfan23]

A lot of this will depend on how these players do this season. It’s all speculation until then. I tend to lean towards Las Vegas taking Lou #1 give the fact they have Moriah & A’Ja. They need a shooter & long wing. Why take another 5 in back to back seasons? Didn’t make sense. I think Pheesa would be the next best “fit” for them. Not saying she’s a better pro prospect than Brown or McCowan but she would be better to put next to A’Ja than the other 2.

 

[meyers7]

Just so we are clear, she should have five MVPs, per your statement.

• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Candace Parker have five MVPs? Does Candace Parker have five MVPs now?
  
• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Maya Moore have five MVPs? Does Maya Moore have five MVPs now?
  
• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Sylvia Fowles have five MVPs? Does Sylvia Fowles have five MVPs now?

Just so we are clear, she would have 4 WNBA Championships, per your statement,

• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Maya Moore have 4 WNBA Championships?
  
• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Candace Parker have 4 WNBA Championships?
• After 5 years in the WNBA, did Sylvia Fowles have 4 WNBA Championships?

Interesting that she is not given a pass for 2017, with no Taylor (retired), Bonner (pregnancy), or Dupree (traded), whereas other teams had their full rosters of star players.

I think what Shades is trying to get across is with Griner's "tools", she should be better than all those players. You shouldn't be comparing Griner to what Parker/Moore/Fowles has done. You "should" be comparing them to her.

So you kind of support Shades argument, she is not living up to her potential.