Caitlin Clark will headline the 2024 WNBA Draft, however she is much from the one impression guard who will make her manner into the league. Because the skilled recreation modernizes, franchises are on the lookout for extra playmakers on the perimeter in an effort to enhance the tempo and spacing of their offenses. Clark is essentially the most prolific and recognizable guard on this group, and she or he is joined by a deep class — together with a number of worldwide prospects — of shooters, pure factors and combo guards who’re wanting to make their impression on the subsequent stage.
The draft is lower than three weeks away, happening April 15 in Brooklyn, N.Y., simply eight days after the nationwide championship. In anticipation of the occasion, eight WNBA normal managers shared their candid opinions concerning the upcoming draft class with The Athletic earlier than the NCAA Match. They have been granted anonymity to permit them to talk brazenly. Thursday, we’ll run one other installment that features their unvarnished takes on frontcourt gamers comparable to Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.
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WNBA Mock Draft: The place will Angel Reese land? Who can be picked after Caitlin Clark?
After the event, we’ll launch our last mock draft and a GM scout of the potential picks within the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Gamers are listed in alphabetical order.
18.8 factors per recreation (ppg), 6.8 assists per recreation (apg), 33.5 3-pt discipline objective share (3-pt fg%), 85.9 free-throw share (ft%)
• “I feel most individuals can be prepared to tackle Amoore as a result of she has a transparent place of a one. Worst-case state of affairs, they are able to flip her right into a backup one, and having the ability to cement that place isn’t something small on this league. A backup one who can stretch the ground is a pleasant piece so as to add to your staff. She would be the most secure choose of all of (Jacy Sheldon, Jaylyn Sherrod and Hailey Van Lith).”
• “Amoore’s query is measurement. The query is can she do a few of the similar issues offensively in faculty that she would wish to do within the execs? As a result of size bothers her on a few of her pick-and-rolls. I feel she is aware of learn how to run a staff extraordinarily effectively.”
• “She’s acquired that means that I feel the highest-level level guards have, the place they know not simply who wants the ball, it’s learn how to manipulate the protection to get them the ball of their finest conditions to achieve success, and one of the best timing.”
Simply @georgia_amoore issues 👏#MarchMadness x 🎥 ESPN 2 / @HokiesWBB pic.twitter.com/4p1yw8K8XY
— NCAA March Insanity (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 22, 2024
Isobel Borlase | 5-11 guard | Adelaide Lightning (WNBL, Australia)
15.6 ppg, 4.7 rebounds per recreation (rpg), 2.5 apg, 1.8 steals per recreation (spg)
• “Borlase has a recreation that’s suited to Australia. I don’t know if it interprets to our recreation.”
• “I feel she does a extremely good job creating for herself. She will be able to rating in some ways in which present that she has what I name the worldwide maturity. You’ll be able to inform that she’s been taking part in skilled basketball. … From what I’ve seen, I feel that she may simply be within the first spherical.”
Caitlin Clark | 6-0 guard | Iowa
31.8 ppg, 8.8 apg, 7.3 rpg, 37.9 3-pt fg%
• “I feel the identical as the remainder of my colleagues: A generational expertise that may be the spine of a franchise. A transparent No. 1 choose.”
• “Phenomenal participant. In all probability one of the offensively prepared guards coming into the draft we’ve seen in fairly a while.”
• “I feel the place she’s gonna be most helpful for her staff, which everyone knows which staff that can be, is her means to go and unfold the ball and unfold the like to some unbelievable gamers on her staff. I feel she is going to battle extra offensively simply due to the power of the guards that can be defending her, and the velocity of these guards is one thing that she’s not used to seeing in faculty. However I feel the place she’ll make the largest impression is her means to go.”
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What makes Caitlin Clark one of the best shooter in faculty basketball? The physics behind her shot
Leila Lacan | 5-11 guard | Angers (France)
11.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 3.3 spg
• “Unsure about her velocity, quickness, toughness at this stage, however I feel she’s most likely first spherical.”
• “I actually like Leila’s measurement. She has a fairly full package deal. I feel she’s actually good at pick-and-roll. I feel her imaginative and prescient is absolutely good, however she will additionally create for herself. She’s a pretty prospect. It’s just a bit troublesome while you don’t fairly find out about abroad obligations and the nationwide staff and all of these sorts of issues.”
Carla Leite | 5-9 guard | Tarbes (France)
15.9 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.4 spg, 87.4 ft%
• “Simply 19 years previous however demonstrates court docket consciousness to turn out to be an elite skilled level guard. Great means to get to the rim, nice change of tempo, nice means with the ball in her palms, sees the ground exceptionally effectively. Respectable measurement, will get to the road rather a lot for a PG and converts a excessive share of free throws. Must proceed to enhance 3-point taking pictures.”
14.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 89.2 ft%
• “She’s a combo guard. I feel she’s extra two-one than one-two. She’s proven she’s good at a whole lot of issues. Can shoot the three, midrange? She will be able to get to the rim. Bodily defender. However I’d say of these three, I’d most likely give the slight edge to Amoore, after which (Jacy) Sheldon proper behind her.”
• “Charisma is only a regular, nice chief, excessive basketball IQ, prepared to do no matter it takes for the staff to achieve success. … I feel her midrange recreation is without doubt one of the finest within the league. Nice on the pull-up within the midrange. Must constantly shoot 3s, however an amazing defender.”
• “Charisma has labored actually onerous on her shot, and there was a whole lot of development in that within the first two-thirds of the season. She struggled on it this again third. She’s gonna want to search out some consistency. I feel she’s gonna need to take the Jackie Younger development step in her shot. She has a pleasant pull-up, a very nice pull-up, like a second-layer feed off a ball-screen motion. She truly can elevate and time her launch very well to a contest. That 3-point means has to turn out to be actually constant the way in which Jackie grew hers.”
Jacy Sheldon | 5-10 guard | Ohio State
17.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.9 spg, 37.3 3-pt fg%
• “The ceiling could also be larger than Amoore, however there’s additionally an opportunity the physicality of our league could also be an excessive amount of for her.”
• “Great athlete. My concern for her is the physicality of the sport. Ohio State is a really bodily staff, however while you have a look at her physique body, I fear a little bit bit about her means to deal with the physicality on it. However nice imaginative and prescient, passer, shooter.”
• “May she develop a little bit of an Allie Quigley sort of recreation? She has a fast launch. She performs in an up-tempo system very well. I feel she reveals nice IQ within the half court docket off the ball, on the ball. I do discover her to be an elite communicator. Her means to vacillate from the one by means of three positions so easily is particular.”
• “She has nice discretion in deciding on her photographs, after which she will actually get her complete staff concerned. And I feel they go as she goes. Clearly, one of the impactful components of her recreation is the defensive finish. She’s tremendous athletic, and she or he simply has nice recognition of when she ought to go for a dangerous factor of their press particularly, however she’s a extremely disciplined defender, and I feel that that’s gonna be her greatest impression on the subsequent stage, not less than within the rapid.”
What a technique to rating her 2000th level! Congrats @JacySheldon ! pic.twitter.com/prWeRXtTt5
— Ohio State Ladies’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) March 22, 2024
Jaylyn Sherrod | 5-7 guard | Colorado
12.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 2.2 spg, 49.8 2-pt fg%
• “Great defender. She catches my consideration each time I watch them together with her toughness on protection, her means to intimidate whoever she’s guarding. Performs onerous. She appears to be actually sensible, and naturally, she’s added some offensive ability to her recreation. I like her toughness.”
• “She’s simply not a professional shooter proper now. She could also be a kind of ones that should go abroad and work on her offensive recreation and get a constant leap shot, as a result of these days you’ll be able to’t be a guard in our league and never be a superb shooter. She will be able to assault the basket and do all that, however individuals study to cheat off of you if you happen to can’t shoot.”
Hailey Van Lith | 5-7 guard | LSU
11.8 ppg, 3.6 apg, 35.5 3-pt fg%, 82.7 ft%
• “Good outdoors shooter, respectable at attending to the rim, however midrange recreation is a query. Performs onerous — scrappy, competitor, love the hearth. Jogs my memory a little bit little bit of Dana Evans. In all probability a extra pure two than a one, however her measurement would require her to principally play on the one. Nonetheless, questions on whether or not she could be as efficient as a one.”
• “She hasn’t shot the ball like individuals thought she would. I don’t know if it’s good or dangerous for her that she went to LSU and was pressured to play level guard. However she’s needed to work on some ballhandling and a few passing abilities due to what their staff wanted.”
(Images of Charisma Osborne, Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith: G Fiume, Harry How and Ethan Miller / Getty Pictures)