Loyd, Zahui B. inject intrigue into WNBA draft
Loved the clever headline on the cover of Sports Illustrated last week, "Won. Done."
Of course, that refers to all the freshmen who will likely bolt for the NBA after leading Duke to the NCAA national championship last week in their one and only season of college basketball.
Gone will be Chicago native Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and likely Tyus Jones, too.
Not that this is really news anymore.
Once again, Kentucky will probably lose nearly half its team when all the talented freshmen in Lexington take off for the NBA.
These days, the best players in college basketball each year play only the one obligatory season in college that makes them eligible for the NBA draft.
For them, leaving early is expected.
Not so in women's college basketball.
The best players in the women's game stick around for the long haul, which is why it actually was news when Notre Dame junior guard Jewell Loyd, who starred at Niles West and was a finalist for national player of the year honors, and Minnesota sophomore Amanda Zahui B., an All-American and a native of Sweden, declared last week that they were making themselves eligible for Thursday's WNBA draft.
They are both 22 years old, which is the minimum age for WNBA players. Since most college athletes are 22 when they graduate, WNBA players tend to spend four years in college.
These are rare cases, just as was the case of former Naperville Central star Candace Parker, who left Tennessee a year early for the WNBA in 2008.
The thud heard around the WNBA last week was the draft boards in every team's war room hitting the garbage can. The unexpected availability of Loyd and Zahui B. is making everyone re-think their draft strategies.
It is likely now that Loyd and Zahui B. will be the first two picks in the draft.
"(Zahui B.) wasn't a huge shock. She's an international player already. She's older already. She definitely has a pro body already," Connecticut Sun coach Anne Donovan said. "She's further along than most college sophomores.
"But Jewell Loyd ... I'll be honest, I'm very surprised. Coming from Notre Dame, I didn't think we'd see that jump. But I'm pleasantly surprised. It brings a different look to the league and it's getting outsiders who don't play too much attention to the WNBA to talk about us. It's very welcomed."
The WNBA is always in need of some hot topics, and this season, that might be more true than usual.
Diana Taurasi, one of the best players in the world, won't be playing with her Phoenix Mercury this summer. Instead, she elected to take a payout from her off-season team in Russia that stipulated she rest this summer rather than play in the WNBA.
Meanwhile, Parker, another marquee name, just announced that she'll be sitting out the first part of the WNBA season to nurse various chronic injuries. There is no timeline on her return.
Loyd and Zahui B. are arriving just in time. They are big names who bring more star-power to the league. Both have the potential to be impact players immediately.
"This started out as a unique draft, and now it's turned into a very special draft," WNBA analyst Carolyn Peck said last week.
New ballgame:
The addition of Loyd and Zahui B. to the WNBA draft made the Sky's pick at No. 5 a lot more interesting.
In what was previously considered a fairly shallow draft, the Sky could now get a really good player at No. 5.
The Sky's roster is as solid as it has ever been heading into a season, but perhaps one need that could be addressed is depth at the power forward spot.
Jessica Breland, the starter there now, was hurt for part of last season, so drafting the likes of Reshanda Gray, a 6-foot-3 forward out of Cal, could be a smart move. Some college insiders, prior to the announcements by Loyd and Zahui B., thought that Gray could be the No. 1 overall pick.
Isabelle Harrison, a 6-foot-3 forward out of Tennessee, might be up for consideration. But she won't be available until 2016 since she recently suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Center Elizabeth Williams (6-foot-3) out of Duke could work, too.
Sad goodbye:
Rest in peace, Lauren Hill.
She was the college freshman at Mount St. Joseph's in Ohio who captured the hearts of basketball fans everywhere when she willed herself into a couple of basketball games this season despite suffering from inoperable brain cancer that presented many physical challenges.
Mount St. Joseph's season-opener in November was played in front of a sellout crowd and broadcast nationally. Hill scored in that game.
She died Friday at the age of 19.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw