What if Breanna Stewart could enter the WNBA draft....

[DaddyChoc]

Stewie the Frosh better than Parker the frosh... are we talking about talent or stats and titles?

CP3 was one of the best EVER coming out of HS... lets not boost Stewie up that much

 

[rocky rococo]

I'm not sure that any player in WCBB history would be chosen over Griner. As good as BG already is, her upside is still boundless.

The names Leslie, Swoopes and Taurasi come to mind. But that's pretty decent company to be keeping. (Literally so in the case of BG and DT)

 

[easttexastrash]

Stewie the Frosh better than Parker the frosh... are we talking about talent or stats and titles?

CP3 was one of the best EVER coming out of HS... lets not boost Stewie up that much

We need to give Stewart her due. Her performance in the NCAA tourney was first team AA level. I had wondered earlier in the year if she just really wasn't as good as advertised but it was just a matter time and confidence. She may very well end up with 4 titles.

 

[easttexastrash]

Stewart was like a kid learning to ride a bike. She fell a few times but once she got the hang of it there was no stopping her.

 

[doggydaddy]

Stewie the Frosh better than Parker the frosh... are we talking about talent or stats and titles?

CP3 was one of the best EVER coming out of HS... lets not boost Stewie up that much

Stewart had just as many awards, accomplished just as much in HS and was even more accomplished than Parker in USA basketball.

Stewart doesn't need any boosting.

 

[msf22b]

I would take Stewie over Chiney in a heartbeat.
Much more range and versatility.
We'll all see next year when Stu sweeps player of the year honors.
As for Griner; I wouldn't be surprised if she has a coupla rocky years until she finds her footing.
The WNBA types are not going to stand around and play tiddlywinks while she crowds the basket and dunks.
EDD on the other hand will wow em.

 

[easttexastrash]

I would take Stewie over Chiney in a heartbeat.
Much more range and versatility.
We'll all see next year when Stu sweeps player of the year honors.
As for Griner; I wouldn't be surprised if she has a coupla rocky years until she finds her footing.
The WNBA types are not going to stand around and play tiddlywinks while she crowds the basket and dunks.
EDD on the other hand will wow em.

There are two or three players who will be able to match up with Griner physically, one on one. There are many players who can match up with EDD on the perimeter...players who have superior physical skills in terms of strength and quickness.

Plus, BG will have DT to pass her the ball and bring out the best in her. Don't discount the affect that being on the same team with DT will have on BG's success. She could not have been put in a better situation to succeed. For the first time in her life she will not be the main focus of a team's defense. If Penny Taylor returns healthy this team is going to be crazy good.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

There are two or three players who will be able to match up with Griner physically, one on one. There are many players who can match up with EDD on the perimeter...players who have superior physical skills in terms of strength and quickness.

Plus, BG will have DT to pass her the ball and bring out the best in her. Don't discount the affect that being on the same team with DT will have on BG's success. She could not have been put in a better situation to succeed. For the first time in her life she will not be the main focus of a team's defense. If Penny Taylor returns healthy this team is going to be crazy good.

Both of you make good points. More than interesting to watch this play out...

 

[stwainfan]

Stewart had just as many awards, accomplished just as much in HS and was even more accomplished than Parker in USA basketball.

Stewart doesn't need any boosting.

Stewart sure did play great in the tournament. Yes I think she has a great upside. I would say she can be one of the top players to ever play.

 

[easttexastrash]

I really hope to see EDD go to Chicago so that the first match-up of the year for EDD and BG will be on the same court. Could you ask for more? Who would come out on the better side of their respective match-up? BG vs. Big Syl or EDD vs. DT?

 

[doggydaddy]

Stewart sure did play great in the tournament. Yes I think she has a great upside. I would say she can be one of the top players to ever play.

Yep, better than Graves...lol.

 

[stwainfan]

Yep, better than Graves...lol.

Graves at times had to carry load in post with Izzy out. Now Graves has a Mercedes in the lane.

 

[doggydaddy]

Graves at times had to carry load in post with Izzy out. Now Graves has a Mercedes in the lane.

And all that doesn't make her as good a player as Stewie.

Russell is not as good as Stewie either.

Both are very good and TN will be a top ten team with them.

 

[HuskyNan]

There are two or three players who will be able to match up with Griner physically, one on one.

I'm not a big WNBA fan but I might actually trek down to the Mohegan Sun to see Tina Charles vs Brittany Griner. I expect Tina to prevail this year but the years to come should bring some epic battles.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree that Stewie is not really ready or strong enough, but if somehow she could come out in the draft (hypothetical, I know), I think she would be grabbed early for the player she would become. It's like the NBA drafting high schoolers who are not ready, but evolve into Kobe, et al.

I think her current strength is not much behind that of EDD, who is also rather lanky.

 

[bballnut90]

Well I hardly think Parker would have been chosen over Griner when Parker was a freshman. Just because Geno said Parker does things no one else can doesn't mean she's better than Griner. Dee is widely acknowledged as the best player in the world. But Stewie and Brit and Candace can all do things Dee can't. Brit can do things Parker can't. And Stewie as a freshman is better than Parker was as a freshman.

Don't think you can make a strong argument outside of the NCAA tournament that Stewart was better as a frosh than Parker. Parker was much more consistent as a freshman, carried Tennessee offensively while having to play out of position for chunks of the season due to injuries. Every opposing defense game planned to stop Parker, and no one could. Look at her production against the best opponents UT faced in 2006:
Maryland-19 points, 8 rebounds
Stanford-21 points, 12 rebounds
Connecticut-13 points
Georgia-26 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Duke-17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals
LSU-23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks
Georgia-19 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks
Georgia-26 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists
LSU-20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Then in the tournament she averaged 22.5 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3.8 blocks while playing out of position. She was the most talented player in the country the minute she stepped onto the court. She was so fluid and polished as a post player, was a great passer, ball handler, shot blocker, overall athlete. Had she been available for the 2006 WNBA draft she would've been selected 1st overall over Augustus.

Stewart has an incredibly high ceiling and played phenomenally in the tournament, but she was nowhere close to being as consistent as Parker was as a freshman, nor was she as polished as Parker. She also had the benefit of playing alongside an All-American center and an All-American wing in KML which means defenses never built game plans around stopping Stewart, usually it was KML who was the focus of the defense. I definitely think her ceiling is off the charts with her skill set and physical attributes, and I do think she'll be the next great one ala Parker/Moore of recent years, but Parker was definitely further along/better as a frosh than Stewart.

Back to the original post, Griner would definitely be selected first overall, she probably would have been selected first overall over Charles in 2010, maybe Moore in 2011, and 1st in 2012 over Ogwumike. Women's basketball has never seen a physical specimen like Griner, and as good as she is now, she still has great upside. After her, I would take Stewart #2 based on potential. Based on immediate impact in the WNBA, I'd take EDD at 2.

 

[bballnut90]

Griner is a great player. She won a national title and set record for blocks second in scoring. Parker played three years and won 2 national titles. Lets see if Griner can win WNBA MVP in rookie year.

Honestly I wouldn't be suprised if Griner is the MVP as a rookie. She'll have great guards/distributors in Prahalis/Taurasi/Taylor to feed her the ball in a good position and defenses will not be able to double/triple her with great teammates. Griner is great at finding the open man when she is double teamed, and I don't think anybody can stop her one on one. If she gets enough touches she definitely will have great stats, and Phoenix will be the overwhelming favorite to win it all this year.

 

[EricLA]

I didn't say Stewie was as consistent as Parker. I said she was better. More skills, more ceiling, more potential. She can do more things that Parker couldn't do. Yep, Stewie went into a slump for about 20 games. Give Parker credit for being more consistent their respective freshman seasons. But it's not all about the stats, now, is it?

And for the record, I readily acknowledge Parker is one of the best players in the world. She was on the Olympic team after all. But even the casual fan has to look at what Stewie can do on the court and compared to Parker early in her college career, Stewie can do more.

Let's see what Stewie does next year and compare it to Parker at the same age.

 

[doggydaddy]

Parker didn't play her freshman year. Sorry, but its apples and oranges.

 

[stwainfan]

Honestly I wouldn't be suprised if Griner is the MVP as a rookie. She'll have great guards/distributors in Prahalis/Taurasi/Taylor to feed her the ball in a good position and defenses will not be able to double/triple her with great teammates. Griner is great at finding the open man when she is double teamed, and I don't think anybody can stop her one on one. If she gets enough touches she definitely will have great stats, and Phoenix will be the overwhelming favorite to win it all this year.

I think Griner will have a great pro game. I do think it may take a little time to adjust to that level.

 

[Buzzyboy]

....would she be drafted before Brittney Griner?

http://j.mp/111kE1y

I think that Griner was a pretty lousy offensive player in not only her freshman year but easily through her sophomore year. I concede that she has finally refined some nice moves around the basket and out to maybe ten feet. It took her a long time. She was primarily an extraordinarily gifted defensive player when she entered the college ranks and the vast majority of her points were layups, some of which came off of offensive rebounds. Her offensive skills (or lack thereof) didn't come anywhere near what Breanna has displayed thus far in her college career. I don't think as a senior her offensive skills approached those of Breanna and Breanna has the ability to defend all over the court, not just play goaltender as does Griner. I personally think that if I had the first pick in the draft that I'd be Elena because she has phenomenal offensive skills that Griner will never approach and she plays very good defense with the ability to cover a greater range of players than does Griner. I think the world is obsessed with Griner and I don't fall into that category. I respect how she's improved her offensive game, particularly in the last year or two but I don't think her "skill" level is anywhere near what any number of WNBA players has and she'll never be a favorite of mine based on that.

 

[Buzzyboy]

no she wouldn't. she'd be eaten for lunch 'cause she's not big enough or skilled enough. yet.

Skilled????? As I mentioned elsewhere, Griner's skill level is that she's 6'8'' and has a good amount of athleticism. She has worked on her game and now possesses some really nice inside moves and a substantially better shot. When she was a freshman, she had almost nothing going for her offensively. I would venture to say that 90% of her scoring in her freshman year came on layups off of passes from her teammates or offensive putbacks. I think when I hear people talk about her skill set they must be talking about someone else. Other than great coordination that allowed her to block shots from day 1 and a phenomenal amount of reach, where was her skillset????? She really has developed some offensive skills (which she should be credited for) but she has no skills offensively that would be on the same planet as Del Donne or Stewart and anyone of a number of players that have played in the WNBA or in the higher levels of WCBB.

 

[easttexastrash]

Haters gonna hate..

 

[easttexastrash]

Out of curiosity, how many players are the best in the league at multiple positions? Do you need more variety in your game or to be the best at your position?

 

[baggerbob]

Brittany and EDD are the 2 most important players since Diana to play in the league, because of their size and abilities. Those 2 players, hopefully will bring people to appreciate the quality of the women's game, who weren't fans before.