Let's Talk Some WNBA
This is an Atlanta Dream sponsored newsletter
Hello everyone, I missed you. After taking nearly a month off, I’m more ready than ever to bring Hoopla back to you at full force. I even have some dates for you looking ahead to how the Monday content will look until the 2022-23 season begins.
Here are some dates to remember as we move through the offseason:
June 20 - First team preview. As with last year, I will start with whichever team I think will finish in last next season in the Big Ten and move up.
September 26 - Last team preview. I am hoping to have these done before October so I can do some more general preview posts to look at players, schedule, non-conference games, etc.
June 13 and July 4 - No posts. For the former, I will be on my way back from New York City after the Governor’s Ball music festival (flex) and the other is July 4 and I may also be out of town.
Things can certainly change, but that’s where my head is at. Plus, we have plenty of weeks before any of these, so let’s talk about something.
The WNBA Draft happened back on April 15, and, as it often does, there were some surprising picks within the three rounds (Lexie Hull, top six pick, hello?).
Focusing on the Big Ten as this newsletter does, there were four selections from the conference:
Veronica Burton (Northwestern) - 7th overall to the Dallas Wings
Nia Clouden (Michigan State) - 12th overall to the Connecticut Sun
Naz Hillmon (Michigan) - 15th overall to the Atlanta Dream
Ali Patberg (Indiana) - 34th overall to the Indiana Fever
Three of these players were no surprise, but it was immensely cool to see Patberg get selected by the Fever after all the heart and soul she poured into her years with the Hoosiers.
Sadly, this is the WNBA, where the rosters are far too small and the draftees are far too unsafe, so it took less than a week for Patberg to get waived from the Fever roster. But Burton, Clouden and Hillmon remain on their team’s respective rosters just a few days before the regular season is set to begin.
With that in mind, I am going to write this with the assumption that the trio of Big Ten players keep their spots. Nothing is certain in the WNBA, specifically for a second-round pick like Hillmon, but these three seem relatively safe thanks to the Dream’s desire to rebuild. I also like optimism, it’s more fun to write with!
I think the road for Burton to become an immediate key player in the WNBA is clear. Yes, the Wings have one very clear star at guard: Arike Ogunbowale (18.7 PPG, 3.3 APG last season), but I can see a world where Burton starts at point guard to allow Ogunbowale to be a more dynamic off-ball scorer.
It is not a certainty that Burton wins the starting job: Marina Mabrey (13.3 PPG, 2.9 APG) and two key reserve guards, Moriah Jefferson and Tyasha Harris, are all back. But Dallas had a mostly underwhelming campaign and could be looking for a spark from a new face, something especially true for a point guard that is so ready defensively from day one.
In a perfect world, I think Burton’s defense and passing pairs perfectly with what Ogunbowale brings on offense. Here’s hoping the Wings see the same thing.
Clouden is entering easily the best team here, as the Sun were the best regular season team last year, thanks largely to MVP forward Jonquel Jones. As a guard, Clouden has some more room to crack the rotation, but Connecticut is plenty strong in the backcourt with veterans Jasmine Thomas (10.6 PPG, 4.1 APG) and Courtney Williams (16.5 PPG, 4.0 APG), the latter of which was acquired from the Dream in the offseason.
Natisha Hiedemann is the other primary guard that Clouden will be battling with outside of any late entries from the training camp roster, so it seems like the Michigan State standout will have an opportunity to show her impressive scoring and playmaking ability off the bench. I think this could be a great fit for Clouden out the gates, and from there she could prove capable for extended run as someone who can run an offense.
Finally, let’s talk Hillmon. As said prior, there’s a chance the Michigan standout gets cut still, as second-rounders are never safe. But Atlanta seems very keen on keeping one of the best players in the conference’s history, and I think that’s a very smart thing.
Atlanta was very bad last year and also had plenty of controversy within the roster that seemed to make the whole team spoil by the midpoint of the season. Good thing I decided right before last season that I was becoming a Dream fan, typical me move.
But that stinky year has led to a full-on rebuild with room for youth and development under a new head coach. Watching Hillmon, I think all she needs is a chance to prove herself, and it seems that is what she’s getting in Atlanta.
A young core of Arizona star Aari McDonald, Kentucky phenom Rhyne Howard (drafted first overall this year) and Hillmon is The Hoopla Newsletter Big Three moving forward, and I am desperate to have it work after manifesting it days before the draft happened.
Now, Hillmon will not be an immediate starter: Atlanta still has veteran forwards Tiffany Hayes (14.7 PPG) and Cheyenne Parker (10.2 PPG), a new veteran center in Kia Vaughn (6.2 PPG) from Phoenix, as well as another solid up-and-coming forward in Monique Billings (8.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG).
Size has always been a concern for Hillmon, as is her lack of a jump shot. But she was also small and couldn’t shoot against plenty of collegiate opponents, and I watched that not matter over and over and over again. I know the WNBA is a different animal, but so is Hillmon, and she couldn’t have picked a better landing spot to go out and prove herself.
One final note before I end this newsletter, everyone reading this should watch some WNBA this year. It is great, great basketball that is worth your attention, especially after the NBA and NHL postseasons are over. There will be nationally televised games, and I absolutely respect if those are the only ones you can tune in for. But I figured I should let you all know just how cheap the WNBA League Pass is.
The WNBA site currently says it is “enhancing” their league pass, but last year’s price? $25. For every game. Sickeningly low, and something I would highly recommend.
Games start Friday, and the there are games on ESPN or ESPN2 both Saturday and Sunday. Please check them out and support this league that deserves it. Also, go Dream.