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charleshamaker

Storm 2021 draft preview

Updated: Apr 28, 2021


After a offseason with some big changes (Storm losing Sami Whitcomb, Natasha Howard, Alysha Clark, Crystal Langhorne, and Morgan Tuck. Adding Katie Lou Samuelson, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Candice Dupree, Ty Young, Haley Gorecki, Stephanie Talbot.), the WNBA draft is still a valuable asset to this Storm team. There are two main things that the Storm will more than likely look to address: Point guard and Center. Now, you may say that that the Storm are already set at point guard with Sue Bird and Jordin Canada. While this is true for the time being, Sue Bird is 40 and sadly she will not play forever, at least I do think think that she will. Seattle may aim to acquire their PG of the future or somebody that can learn under Bird and Canada. This team is forward heavy, so it would be very hard to imagine Seattle taking a SF, a PF could make sense considering the teams lack of centers (only two on the roster), but otherwise I would not imagine another forward joining the squad. With that being said, Center is the other spot that I imagine Seattle will address. The draft is this April, on the 15th at 4pm PST.


Point guard

We will take a look at three point guards that Seattle could acquire in the first two rounds

  • Evina Westbrook, UCONN

Westbrook is a redshirt junior out of the University of Connecticut. She just played her first year at UCONN after spending two at the University of Tennessee. She stands at 6foot tall, good size for a guard (in comparison, Sue Bird is 5'9" and Jordin Canada is 5'6") and she has shown the maturity and leadership that seems to be a requirement or rather a much needed asset at point guard. She may not burst out on the stat sheet with huge numbers, but she still has a huge impact on the game despite this.

  • Kiana Williams, Stanford

Kiana Williams is the best all around point guard of these three that I have listed, somebody that really is most like the point guard of the modern day basketball game. She had a very strong senior season with Stanford, leading the team in points and assists the majority of games and becoming the school leader in 3 point field goals made all time, passing Candice Wiggins. She could be the investment of the future at PG and could be who the Storm ultimately take with their first round pick.

  • Didi Richards, Baylor

Didi Richards is a defensive STUD out of Baylor. Let me just list the awards that she has won throughout her time with the bears: 2020 Naismith defensive player of the year, 2020 WBCA defensive player of the year, 2020 big 12 defensive player of the year, 2020 big 12 all-defensive team (unanimous), 2020 all-big 12 second team, 2020 academic all-big 12 second team, 2020 Texas defensive player of the year. That is all just from last year. It is clear and obvious that Richard is the best on-ball defender in the country, but with that being said she is not (at least not right now) a high scorer with her season high in points being 14. She can dish it out still, but her offensive game may be the reason she is not a first rounder. She will still contribute, and we could see her taken in the second round.


Center

We will take a look at two centers here, the same number of centers that Seattle currently has on the roster.

  • Janelle Bailey, UNC

Bailey is a 4-year player from the University of North Carolina who can bring big offense to the court. She had a season high of 25 points last year in a game against Syracuse. She is also a good rebounder, which is an obvious need at center. She is a standard center, not a stretch big as she is not a three pointer shooter, at least not to this point. She has also proven herself on the defensive side of the court, totaling 104 blocks and 79 steals in her college career. She is someone I would target in the second round.

  • Ciera Johnson, Texas A&M

Johnson is a 3-year player out of A&M that brings good defense to the court, as well as a valuable double-double threat (fourth on Texas A&M's career list with 21 double doubles as a CENTER.). She was rated as the #1 post player in her 2016 recruiting class, and provides some good defense with 92 career blocks and 83 career steals in her time with A&M. She is someone that is a reliable classic center and we could see her join the team in the second or third round of the draft.

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