Storylines For WNBA's Hoopla Alums
What to watch for from the six Big Ten players in the league from the past two drafts
The WNBA season began this weekend, and Breanna Stewart has already scored 45 points in three quarters, so that’s fun.
This will not be the last I talk about the WNBA, and you should watch it because it’s terrific basketball. You should also watch the Atlanta Dream and root for them because you respect me and my interests.
That being said, let’s take a Big Ten angle to all of this. Since starting Hoopla two seasons ago, 10 players have been drafted from the conference. Six of them remain on WNBA rosters, though I wish that number was higher.
Abby Meyers, Taylor Mikesell and Monika Czinano were all cut before their rookie seasons could begin. Ali Patberg is the 10th player and was cut in the preseason the year prior. Czinano was a force at Iowa, but was a less surprising drop. Meyers and Mikesell, however, felt like they should at least get a season to prove themselves.
Meyers was a first-round pick, but was the fourth pick that the Dallas Wings made in that draft alone. Because WNBA rosters are small, it was more an unfortunate circumstance than anything. Mikesell, though, I really disagree with. The Indiana Fever had the space and could really use a knockdown shooter. I think they’ll regret not giving Mikesell a chance.
But six players are getting a chance in their first or second seasons, and many of them are in interesting spots to prove worthy of sticking around.
Diamond Miller
Maryland → Minnesota Lynx
Five of the six Hoopla alums fall into two separate, similar categories, but Miller stands on her own. The Maryland standout went second overall to the Lynx and holds different expectations than the rest of the group.
Miller has the potential to be a future star in the WNBA, and that was clear throughout her time with the Terps. At her best, she was a dominant two-way player who could score at all levels and make big plays down the stretch. At Minnesota, she should get every opportunity to capitalize on that potential and turn it into pure talent.
The Lynx have made it clear that she is a focal point of their future, not just with the No. 2 selection, but by making her a starter in their opening game. Miller played 23 minutes and finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-of-9 shooting.
I’d expect Miller’s role to only grow as she gets comfortable to the WNBA level. The Lynx are in an interesting spot, possessing some solid talent around star forward Naphessa Collier. They likely will compete for a playoff spot, but could end up with a high lottery pick once again. Miller’s development one way or another could swing that.
A lot of players I will talk about from here are fighting to stay on rosters. Miller should not have that problem for at least the next two seasons, and will never have that issue if she can reach her ceiling.
The Second-Years
Veronica Burton (Northwestern → Dallas Wings)
Burton was a 2022 first-round pick and found her way into the starting lineup late last season after an injury to Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale.
It’s a good sign that Burton remained the starter to begin this season, scoring 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in a win over the Dream (pain). With Ogunbowale and Natasha Howard, Burton does not need to be relied on as a primary scorer, but the key for her will be to get back some of the offensive form she showed as the do-it-all Northwestern guard.
Burton shot 32.9 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from three in her rookie season, and missed her only attempt against Atlanta. The Wings likely want to see her shoot with more confidence, as she is clearly a better shooter than she has displayed.
Why is that clear? For one, she shot 41.5 percent at Northwestern. But two, and more importantly, Burton has yet to miss on 36 free throw attempts in her WNBA career. It is hard to be a bad overall shooter and have a good enough form to go perfect on 36 free throw tries. That means it’s something past the form, and hopefully we see Burton find that out.
For now, it feels like Burton’s roster spot is relatively safe thanks to her high floor offered by being a terrific defender. But the shot has to come around at least a little to keep that spot safe.
Nia Clouden (Michigan State → Connecticut Sun → Los Angeles Sparks)
Clouden joined Burton in the first round last year as the 12th pick to the Sun. She didn’t play a large role there, but was a contributor to a team that made the WNBA Finals, and that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
The Michigan State phenom averaged 2.1 PPG and 0.8 APG, shooting 41.4 percent from three in 28 contests. It was not a bad year, but the Sun still elected to release Clouden after one season. This could be a blessing in disguise for Clouden, who rejoined head coach Kurt Miller in Los Angeles, now with more opportunity to carve out a role.
The Sparks have talent, but are in more of a rebuilding phase, giving Clouden a chance to compete with Zia Cooke for reserve guard minutes. Clouden had an assist in six minutes of action in game one while Cooke shined, but I hope to see more of Clouden as the season progresses.
Naz Hillmon (Michigan → Atlanta Dream)
Naz Hillmon was the rare second-round pick who has yet to feel overly threatened for her roster spot, and thank goodness for that.
I was overjoyed when Hillmon fell to the Dream in 2022, a perfect fit of a player ready to prove herself and a team that has the space and patience to let her do exactly that. In year one, Hillmon eventually started in 12 of her 34 games, averaging 4.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 1.2 APG while shooting 48.0 percent from the field.
Those numbers aren’t flying off the page, but they were very solid and made it clear that she was worth keeping around in 2023. A tremendous offseason with Athletes Unlimited later, and Hillmon still looks like she will have a big role, starting the year with 7 points and 8 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Hillmon did not start, with Nia Coffey earning that spot next to Cheyenne Parker, but that is not a certainty to stay the same all season. Of the three Hoopla sophomores, Hillmon feels to be the most stable and the most likely to have a surge in year two thanks to that impressive offseason and the role within her team. And I swear that isn’t just my Atlanta Dream bias coming through.
The Non-Miller Rookies
Grace Berger (Indiana → Indiana Fever)
The Fever were already on my nerves after cutting Taylor Mikesell (and Destanni Henderson), and they are really, really on my nerves after the first two games of the season.
Through two games, the Fever are 0-2, and have played their No. 7 overall pick a total of three minutes. In the first game, they were down 25-10 in the first quarter. No Grace Berger action then, or throughout the contest.
But hey, the Fever came back and made it close, so I guess I get it if you don’t think Berger is ready quite yet (she is). OK, but how about when the Fever are down, oh I don’t know, 36-14 after one quarter? No? How about when down 62-35 at half? Still believing in that comeback effort without one of the most clutch college players I’ve seen? Cool cool, but how about down 85-55 after three quarters????
Even down 30 late to a Stewart masterclass, the Fever did not play Berger. It took until the 3:09 MARK OF THE FOURTH QUARTER, DOWN 24 POINTS, for Berger to see the floor. Oh hey by the way, she scored on her first shot and added an assist, steal and block.
Can you hear the foam building up in my mouth as I write this? This is silly behavior from a franchise that has been 18 layers deep into the pits of hell for a significant amount of time. Of course the goal is to win games, and if you don’t think Berger is your best chance to do that right now (she is), I understand limiting the minutes. But an absolute rout to the Liberty was a perfect time to just give her chances to develop against top-end talent with literally no danger to your record.
I know Grace Berger is a WNBA talent, so I won’t bore you with that talk. I just want to know that the Indiana Fever aren’t going to bungle this home run in-state get like they’ve bungled so much as of late. So far, I am very worried.
Leigha Brown (Michigan → Atlanta Dream → Connecticut Sun)
As much as I wish Brown remained on Atlanta, I was glad to see her get traded to the Sun instead of being waived like many other second rounders. That should signal that the Sun saw something in Brown, especially for a roster certainly trying to compete this year.
So far, Brown has played three minutes and added a rebound and assist, but she looked really solid in Atlanta’s preseason games and should prove valuable as a great rebounder at guard, as well as an excellent mid-range shooter.
Again, getting traded to the Sun is a good sign that they see the potential. But that doesn’t make Brown safe, and she will have to prove that potential in what is likely to be pretty limited action in a very solid roster.
Feature Photo Credit: @minnesotalynx on Twitter
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