Will Sedona Prince Scramble the WNBA Draft?

[oldude]

The common consensus is that Paige goes #1 to the Wings, Iriafen & Miles #2 & #3 in some order to LA and DC. But in the entire history of the W, the number of 6’7”+ players with the ball skills of Sedona Prince is exactly 0, unless you want to stretch the interpretation somewhat to include Brittney Griner.

Yes, Prince has a history of injuries as well as some “off court” concerns. She also has another year of eligibility if she chooses. But in this her 6th year of college basketball, Prince is reminding everyone just how highly rated she was coming out of HS in Texas. Her 20 pt, 20 rb, 8 bl game in TCU’s stunning upset over #3 ND, has WBB fans and pundits buzzing.

Could Dallas draft the home state kid #1? Could LA pair Prince at #2 with Brink into a dominant front court combination? If Prince lasts all the way to #3, DC would have a number of options to either draft Prince #3 and/or trade the pick to a number of teams looking for a difference maker at center.

Stay tuned.

 

[oldude]

Both Lauren Brett and Sedona Prince are 6'7" and I think Brett performance is slightly better than Prince.
ESPN has projected 2024-2025 WNBA mock draft Paige is #1 to Wing, Kiki Iriafen #2 to Sparks, Azzi #3 to Chicago Sky and Miles #4 to Mystics. Brett and Prince are #5 and #6.

WNBA mock draft: Bueckers projected No. 1 as Dallas Wings win top pick

The Dallas Wings are on the clock after winning the lottery and the top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. Paige Bueckers is the projected No. 1.

www.espn.com

I think Betts is very effective in the post, not unlike Cardoso. But the word that comes to mind when I see Betts play is “lumbering.” When it comes to Prince, I see a Big with some slick low post moves and excellent timing.

 

[GoUconn7961]

In answer to the OP, I hope so. I’m happy if she goes #1 LOL

 

[Stagnant]

No gm in the world would take prince number one over Paige. You would be sacked before you could hand the card in.

 

[JellyBean]

Prince, especially if she can stay healthy this season and keep playing like she has, could see her draft stock rise quickly! A lot will depend on the expansion draft in a few days and who decides to enter the draft later next year.

 

[oldude]

No gm in the world would take prince number one over Paige. You would be sacked before you could hand the card in.

If you are in need of a center, Prince is one of the best options I’ve seen.

 

[12au]

Can't see Curt Miller passing up Paige

 

[Stagnant]

If you are in need of a center, Prince is one of the best options I’ve seen.

Yep. She has definitely improved her stock. But she has some negatives. And some of the other people in this draft are ahead of her and are going to stay ahead of her.

Paige is going number one for basketball reasons. But she is also going number one for reasons beyond basketball. Business reasons.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think Betts is very effective in the post, not unlike Cardoso. But the word that comes to mind when I see Betts play is “lumbering.” When it comes to Prince, I see a Big with some slick low post moves and excellent timing.

I agree. Betts has improved her quickness and mobility over her freshman year. But she is still quite limited by quickness issues and ball handling at both ends of the floor. Prince at her best is significantly better that Betts in all areas -- and why shouldn't she be since she's ~3 years older. She runs the floor really well for a super-big, has great handles, and can finish around the rim much more effectively than Betts (and Ayoka Lee, while we're on the topic). The only question is how sustainable Prince's current playing level really is. But if she can put together an entire season comparable to that ND game, I'd see her as a possible #2 or even #1 pick. And who knows, maybe Betts can develop to where Prince is over the next two seasons.

 

[darrell]

I can’t see her going #1 over Paige, but I think she can develop into a much better prospect than both Kalani Brown and McCowan. It’s certainly something to think about.

Bumping Cameron Brink to the 4 with Prince at the 5 could be intriguing if you’re LA. She’s certainly making things interesting.

 

[DEpup]

With her body's history, I think the wnba is probably sitting and waiting to see if her body can sustain this performance level over the season.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

What makes Sedona that much different than say Charli Collier? Charli used to have amazing stats as well but as soon as she played against a big with either similar size and/or talent she would have an average games. Who is a potential quality big that Sedona has truly dominated in the past 2 seasons. Her games against South Carolina and Kansas State will hold a lot of weight as it relates to her being a first round pick.

 

[oldude]

What makes Sedona that much different than say Charli Collier? Charli used to have amazing stats as well but as soon as she played against a big with either similar size and/or talent she would have an average games. Who is a potential quality big that Sedona has truly dominated in the past 2 seasons. Her games against South Carolina and Kansas State will hold a lot of weight as it relates to her being a first round pick.

Collier is a couple inches shorter than Prince, and never possessed the same offensive moves, athleticism and timing as Prince imo. Unfortunately, Collier is also out of the W at the present time.

 

[Stagnant]

Prince opted out of the WNBA draft, so we have no idea how many takers there were for her services.

I am talking about college takers. She was there on the portal available for everyone.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Also, we're talking up the 24-year-old Prince after she dominated an 18-year-old? Who in the WNBA (where there are plenty of players her age and size) would she dominate at this moment? I just can't see her dominating, say, Kamilla, night in and night out.

 

[cancontent]

I am talking about college takers. She was there on the portal available for everyone.

Who is to say there weren't a lot of schools interested in her when she was in the portal? Or that she had a specific list of schools she was interested in and that was her focus? The assumption schools wouldn't have been interested in Prince when she was in the portal sounds naive.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Also, we're talking up the 24-year-old Prince after she dominated an 18-year-old? Who in the WNBA (where there are plenty of players her age and size) would she dominate at this moment? I just can't see her dominating, say, Kamilla, night in and night out.

This is basically my point. I was genuinely asking who has she played in the past 2 seasons that screams lottery pick material. All the bigs I can think of in the W would present a problem even undersized ones for her. A'ja, Stewie, Phee, Jonquel, Azura, Kamilla, Aliyah, Kamilla, Ezi, Elizabeth Williams, BG, Brink, Tina Charles, Bri Jones and more. I just don't see her being dominant amongst those players to warrant this conversation of a top 4 pick.

Because of her height she will get drafted for sure but I wouldn't be surprised if she has a career similar to that of a Charli or Kalani in her first couple of years.

 

[bballnut90]

What makes Sedona that much different than say Charli Collier? Charli used to have amazing stats as well but as soon as she played against a big with either similar size and/or talent she would have an average games. Who is a potential quality big that Sedona has truly dominated in the past 2 seasons. Her games against South Carolina and Kansas State will hold a lot of weight as it relates to her being a first round pick.

As noted above, Prince is a much stronger prospect than Collier was. Collier consistently folded against quality bigs and had a lot of red flags about her as a prospect, but the 2021 draft was just unusually terrible. Prince is far more talented in every area as a player.

The biggest basketball related issue with Prince at Oregon (aside from injuries) was that she'd play soft and she wasn't an aggressive post player or rebounder. I didn't watch TCU last year but she put up big numbers when healthy, and this year she's been aggressive and assertive on both ends, putting up monster numbers against good teams. Skill set wise, she might be the most polished F/C offensively since Parker/Stewart. Prince has a smooth midrange shot, handles, range to 3, a strong frame, passes well, dunks with ease and finishes well around the basket. As @oldude said, in the entire history of the W, the number of 6’7”+ players with the ball skills of Sedona Prince is exactly 0.

In regards to her going up against other bigs, she hasn't faced any notable bigs the last 2 years. She performed well going up against Lauren Gustin, Alexis Markowski and Dre'una Edwards but didn't have a great showing against Jessika Carter. None are likely WNBA caliber posts, but it's solid production regardless. Prince will get her chance to impress scouts going up against SC's tall and deep front line. If she can have a big showing going up against the likes of another WNBA lottery pick level athlete in Ashlyn Watkins, it'll be a great sign for Sedona's WNBA prospects. I might be overhyping Prince but time will tell.

 

[oldude]

I am talking about college takers. She was there on the portal available for everyone.

We have absolutely no idea which schools pursued Prince in the portal and which schools did not. We only know that Prince decided to follow her former assistant coach from Oregon to TCU.

Furthermore, a player can put their name in the portal along with a “do not contact” designation, something a number of top players, who already know where they’re going have done.

Finally, I will point out that when Prince first transferred from TX, she was recruited by, and paid a visit to UConn. So obviously, Geno thought she was worth going after.

 

[Stagnant]

we didn’t come in this time. And we looked at centers (beers and Iriafen).

I concede the point though about college interest though. It’s true we don’t know. There was pretty good portal coverage on twitter this summer though; and I didn’t hear her linked to many programs. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen though.

I am sticking with my original point. I don’t believe anyone would use a lottery pick on her.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Prince wasn't in the portal this offseason. This is her second year at TCU. And she didn't play during the 22-23 season. So she was in the portal after leaving Oregon ages ago in relative terms. Not even close to the same time frame as Beers and Iriafen.

 

[oldude]

we didn’t come in this time. And we looked at centers (beers and Iriafen).

I concede the point though about college interest though. It’s true we don’t know. There was pretty good portal coverage on twitter this summer though; and I didn’t hear her linked to many programs. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen though.

I am sticking with my original point. I don’t believe anyone would use a lottery pick on her.

Once again, we just don’t know if UConn expressed an interest in Prince on her 2nd transfer, nor do we know if she designated “do not contact” on her portal designation, as she already may have determined that she was following Coach Campbell from Oregon to TCU.

Prince was and is a sought after BIG throughout college basketball and, so long as she stays healthy, she will be a high draft pick in the W, likely the 1st Big taken overall.

 

[packwrap]

Who is to say there weren't a lot of schools interested in her when she was in the portal? Or that she had a specific list of schools she was interested in and that was her focus? The assumption schools wouldn't have been interested in Prince when she was in the portal sounds naive.

It's this, she followed her former Oregon assistant to TCU and never engaged in a full search.

 

[oldude]

It's this, she followed her former Oregon assistant to TCU and never engaged in a full search.

That’s the most likely scenario. But cancontent was responding to a post suggesting that there was little or no college interest in Prince once she listed her name in the portal. That is hardly likely if she made herself available to other schools.

 

[cancontent]

It's this, she followed her former Oregon assistant to TCU and never engaged in a full search.

Agreed, however my response was to challenge the post where it was assumed there weren't any schools interested in Prince.