JoePgh
Cranky pants and wise acre
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In all probability, Christyn, Evina, and Liv will finish their UConn careers at the end of the upcoming season and will be available in the WNBA draft. At what draft position will each of them be drafted?
I haven't done a lot of research on this subject. I haven't looked at any mock drafts for 2022 (are there any at this point?), and I haven't even familiarized myself with other likely graduates in the 2022 college class who will become available to be drafted. So my own projections (below) are based solely on my subjective assessment of how well each of them is suited to the WNBA game and where similar players have gone in previous years.
By the way, of course I know that Dorka MIGHT decide to leave after one year, and others (less likely) might do the same. Or one or more of the three players mentioned above might take advantage of their COVID year and stay for yet another season in Storrs (very unlikely, in my view). But sticking to the most likely scenario, which is that these three and only these three are in next spring's draft, here is my guess as to where they will be drafted:
Christyn will be a lottery pick, around #4 overall. I expect her senior year to look like the second half of her junior year, i.e., stellar. She will be a 12-to-14 point scorer in her senior year, while averaging 3 or 4 assists and 4 or 5 rebounds. To a pro scout, she will appear as a player with all the athletic skills to be a starting guard in the W: speed, quickness, a quick release on her shot, penetration ability, plus ballhawking and quickness on perimeter defense. Her negatives (at this point) are foul proneness and some overall iffiness when the game is on the line, but those are correctable with experience. I think Geno will confirm to anyone who asks that she is a very coachable player.
Evina will improve her 3-point accuracy to about 40% in her senior year, and that will be the key to making her a #8 or #9 overall draft pick. She will be a big guard even in the WNBA, but will still be able to defend most smaller guards (as well as anyone can). She also has enough size to play the "3" in the pro league. I see her as a similar player to Natasha Cloud on the Washington Mystics or Brittany Sykes of the LA Sparks -- both of whom are solid starters for their WNBA teams. She has unusually well-rounded skills. Until now, her only serious negative has been her uncertain 3-point accuracy, but I expect that flaw to be corrected in the coming year.
Olivia willl go around #11 or #12 in the first round, or possibly early in the second round of the draft. I don't expect to see a big change for her in her senior year -- maybe somewhat better reliability on her mid-range jump shot. However, she will benefit from being able to play in the high post on offense, which is more suited to her skillset, particularly passing. Pro scouts will see a very solid defensive rebounder, a good passer, a fast court runner for an inside player, and some potential scoring ability that may be more apparent in the pro game than in college. I also think that they will see a high ceiling for future development, more than with some other college centers who are "what you see is what you get". I expect her to be a backup center in the WNBA -- not enough scoring to be a starter, but enough overall ability to provide solid backup minutes.
Since the Connecticut Sun will be drafting late in the first round, it's possible that they may have a chance to select Liv, and I hope they do. She certainly seems to have a higher ceiling than Beatrice Mompremier, who is their current backup to Jonquel Jones. However, I also think that the Sun will see their biggest positional need in the back court, where their two current starting guards (Jasmine Thomas and Briann January) are getting a bit "long in the tooth". So another possibility would be for them to draft Liv and trade her for a guard who is already in the league, or to trade their draft pick for a starting pro guard.
I haven't done a lot of research on this subject. I haven't looked at any mock drafts for 2022 (are there any at this point?), and I haven't even familiarized myself with other likely graduates in the 2022 college class who will become available to be drafted. So my own projections (below) are based solely on my subjective assessment of how well each of them is suited to the WNBA game and where similar players have gone in previous years.
By the way, of course I know that Dorka MIGHT decide to leave after one year, and others (less likely) might do the same. Or one or more of the three players mentioned above might take advantage of their COVID year and stay for yet another season in Storrs (very unlikely, in my view). But sticking to the most likely scenario, which is that these three and only these three are in next spring's draft, here is my guess as to where they will be drafted:
Christyn will be a lottery pick, around #4 overall. I expect her senior year to look like the second half of her junior year, i.e., stellar. She will be a 12-to-14 point scorer in her senior year, while averaging 3 or 4 assists and 4 or 5 rebounds. To a pro scout, she will appear as a player with all the athletic skills to be a starting guard in the W: speed, quickness, a quick release on her shot, penetration ability, plus ballhawking and quickness on perimeter defense. Her negatives (at this point) are foul proneness and some overall iffiness when the game is on the line, but those are correctable with experience. I think Geno will confirm to anyone who asks that she is a very coachable player.
Evina will improve her 3-point accuracy to about 40% in her senior year, and that will be the key to making her a #8 or #9 overall draft pick. She will be a big guard even in the WNBA, but will still be able to defend most smaller guards (as well as anyone can). She also has enough size to play the "3" in the pro league. I see her as a similar player to Natasha Cloud on the Washington Mystics or Brittany Sykes of the LA Sparks -- both of whom are solid starters for their WNBA teams. She has unusually well-rounded skills. Until now, her only serious negative has been her uncertain 3-point accuracy, but I expect that flaw to be corrected in the coming year.
Olivia willl go around #11 or #12 in the first round, or possibly early in the second round of the draft. I don't expect to see a big change for her in her senior year -- maybe somewhat better reliability on her mid-range jump shot. However, she will benefit from being able to play in the high post on offense, which is more suited to her skillset, particularly passing. Pro scouts will see a very solid defensive rebounder, a good passer, a fast court runner for an inside player, and some potential scoring ability that may be more apparent in the pro game than in college. I also think that they will see a high ceiling for future development, more than with some other college centers who are "what you see is what you get". I expect her to be a backup center in the WNBA -- not enough scoring to be a starter, but enough overall ability to provide solid backup minutes.
Since the Connecticut Sun will be drafting late in the first round, it's possible that they may have a chance to select Liv, and I hope they do. She certainly seems to have a higher ceiling than Beatrice Mompremier, who is their current backup to Jonquel Jones. However, I also think that the Sun will see their biggest positional need in the back court, where their two current starting guards (Jasmine Thomas and Briann January) are getting a bit "long in the tooth". So another possibility would be for them to draft Liv and trade her for a guard who is already in the league, or to trade their draft pick for a starting pro guard.
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