<\/p>\n
UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez, center Lauren Betts and guard Kiki Rice react to a call as Oklahoma State guard\u00a0Stailee Heard (32) watches during the women\u2019s NCAA Tournament on March 23 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jessie Alcheh\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Traditionally, the WNBA draft isn\u2019t a thrill-a-minute production. A handful of blockbuster names wind up where they\u2019ve been rumored to be going for weeks, and the rest of it makes you realize how difficult it is to even make a roster.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t one of those years. Every mock draft has a different look, and even the No. 1 pick is an invitation to debate. And it\u2019s blessing for the Golden State Valkyries<\/a>, not ideally situated \u2014 they\u2019ll pick eighth in Monday\u2019s first round \u2014 but almost guaranteed to get a terrific player.<\/p>\n Put it this way: The way some folks tell it, the likes of Gabriela Jaquez, Flau\u2019Jae Johnson, Kiki Rice and Raven Johnson might still be available.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The first four selections seem reasonably set, but with destinations difficult to forecast. For months, it seemed apparent that the Dallas Wings would use their No. 1 pick on Azzi Fudd, joining former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers to become the best-shooting backcourt in league history.<\/p>\n Forget Fudd\u2019s desultory performance in the national semifinal against South Carolina. The entire\u00a0UConn team fell apart, including the formidable Sarah Strong, and I put that whole mess on coach Geno Auriemma\u2019s multi-level disaster of emotional pratfalls. From 20 feet out, Fudd is the best catch-and-shoot performer this side of Stephen Curry, and because she\u2019s not so great off the ball, Fudd would absolutely flourish with Bueckers (whom she has dated, as both have delicately confirmed.)<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Lately, though, there\u2019s been a surge of support for 19-year-old Awa Fam, a 6-foot-4 frontcourt sensation playing in Spain (Valencia) and excelling in every phase of the game. With high-scoring guard Arike Ogunbowale deciding to re-sign with Dallas, there\u2019s a lot of excitement surrounding a Fam-Bueckers combination.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 1. Dallas Wings Subsequent Valkyries picks: No. 23 overall (2nd round), No. 38 overall (3rd round)<\/p>\n Minnesota could turn to UCLA\u2019s 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts with the No. 2 pick, although there\u2019s powerful temptation to take TCU\u2019s Olivia Miles, the best point guard available. She\u2019s smart, a prolific scorer and a leader, and Caitlin Clark came to mind when we heard her college coach, Mark Campbell, say, \u201cThere\u2019s like a half-dozen people in the world that can process their court vision so quickly, they can throw a one-handed bounce pass on a laser to the opposite corner, off the dribble, and then do it with their left hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Then again, remember Betts\u2019 performance when it counted most, constantly switching out on Texas\u2019 Madison Booker in the national semifinal (Booker shot 3-for-23) and blocking her inside shot with textbook perfection to close out the Bruins\u2019 win. Betts is a winning athlete who shot 68.8% over six games in the tournament\u00a0\u2014 and Minnesota could lose center Alanna Smith as the free-agent market plays out.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re out there charting the Valkyries\u2019 picks, be careful. This team thinks so far outside the box, they\u2019re an isosceles triangle. Their first pick in last year\u2019s draft was Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117<\/a>, who stayed in Europe but will eventually find herself at Chase Center. Before signing French star\u00a0Janelle Sala\u00fcn<\/a> in February, their expansion-draft picks included Cecilia Zandalasini<\/a>, Iliana Rupert<\/a>, Temi Fagbenle<\/a>, Carla Leite<\/a> (regrettably chosen by Portland in the April 3\u00a0expansion draft<\/a>) and Julie Vanloo, all of whom made instant impressions. Had you ever heard of\u00a0any of them?<\/p>\n As such, the Valkyries might turn to Iyana Martin, a 5-foot-9 guard who has dazzled everyone familiar with the Spanish senior national team. She\u2019s only 20, a slashing, creative lefty with WNBA-level vision. There\u2019s a chance Martin could be stashed in Spain, Jocyt\u0117-like, but some feel the Valkyries could take a shot at Nell Angloma, 19, who has shown elite strength, toughness and defensive quickness in the French senior league and could bolster Golden State\u2019s frontcourt.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n So who else is out there? A veritable gold mine of options:<\/p>\n Jaquez: Who wouldn\u2019t want to see her with the Valkyries? She has a tireless motor, a selfless nature and does everything well, leading UCLA to the national title with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the title game. Once known as a passable shooter, she can\u2019t be left alone now.<\/p>\n Rice: If you watched South Carolina trying to frustrate UCLA with a bunch of long, cat-quick defenders, the Bruins made sure Rice had the ball. She wasn\u2019t about to turn it over. She\u2019s also a lockdown defender who shot 49% from the floor this season, and an 86% career free-throw shooter. A can\u2019t-miss choice.<\/p>\n Flau\u2019Jae Johnson: Her game drifts in and out, but she\u2019s explosive in every category and, in defiance of the critics, played stifling defense while shooting 39.3% from 3-point range. Remember, too, that with certain WNBA players \u2014 think Angel Reese here \u2014 there\u2019s a world of off-court value. Johnson stands for glamour, her own clothing line, rap singing (bound for a record contract) and some 40 NIL deals valued at $1.5 million. Come to think of it, the woeful Chicago Sky could use Johnson with\u00a0Reese shipped off to Atlanta.<\/p>\n Ta\u2019Niya Latson: She made a big splash two years ago as the leading scorer in the country (25.2 points per game) with Florida State. Then she transferred to South Carolina and blended right into the team concept. She\u2019s a pure shooter at 5-9, especially tough when slashing to the hoop. Without question, one of the most athletic guard prospects in years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gianna Kneepkens: This is one of the greatest 3-point shooters in college history, averaging 43% over her career at Utah and UCLA, and she\u2019s elite with every other shot as well. Golden State could use a player like that, and a lot of mock-draft analysts agree. Her defense \u2014 really not good \u2014 is another story.<\/p>\n Raven Johnson: She was the glue at South Carolina, over four straight years into the Final Four, and will automatically help any club that selects her. You may not be sold, for she needs work on her shot and rarely took the important ones. But she\u2019ll figure that out. In the meantime, she\u2019s a true point guard and possibly the best defensive player in the entire draft. From one of her best friends, Betts: \u201cSuch a great basketball player, and such a leader. She set a really high standard at South Carolina, and I know she\u2019s going to do amazing things. She\u2019s just elite.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce Jenkins writes the 3-Dot Lounge for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email:\u00a0jenksurf@gmail.com; Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez, center Lauren Betts and guard Kiki Rice react to a call as Oklahoma State…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[18739,48226,115620,115619,101,103,102,104,106,105,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-263591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","9":"tag-lauren-betts","10":"tag-natalie-nakase","11":"tag-ohemaa-nyanin","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","14":"tag-san-francisco-news","15":"tag-sf","16":"tag-sf-headlines","17":"tag-sf-news","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
<\/a><\/p>\n
2. Minnesota Lynx
3. Seattle Storm
4. Washington Mystics
5. Chicago Sky
6. Toronto Tempo
7. Portland Fire
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Washington Mystics
10. Indiana Fever
11. Washington Mystics
12. Connecticut Sun
13. Atlanta Dream
14. Seattle Storm
15. Connectiut Sun<\/p>\n