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Thin crop Cleveland holds first pick in WNBA Draft
Posted: Monday April 24, 2000 06:19 PM
SECAUCUS, N.J. (Ticker) -- With most of the elite college basketball players returning for their senior years, the WNBA Draft does not have a great deal to offer. The Cleveland Rockers will kick off Tuesday's proceedings with the first pick. The WNBA had a plethora of talent available for its three previous drafts. Among those selected last season were Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw, who was selected first overall by the Washington Mystics, and a number of players from the defunct American Basketball League. However, this year's crop is the thinnest the league has to offer as most of the premier collegiate players just completed their junior seasons. Forward Tonya Washington of Florida did forgo her senior year to become eligible for the draft, but she is not expected to be a high selection. Among those who should be picked early are centers Andrea Garner of Penn State and Summer Erb of North Carolina State. Garner averaged 14.7 points and 8.6 rebounds last season and led Penn State to its first Final Four. Erb averaged 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds before she suffered a broken left foot late last season. Phylesha Whaley of Oklahoma and Maylana Martin of UCLA are two of the top forwards available. Whaley averaged 20.8 points and 7.9 rebounds last season and helped guide Oklahoma to the Sweet 16. Although UCLA was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Martin had a stellar season with 17.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest. Tamicha Jackson of Louisiana Tech and Edwina Brown of Texas are among the guards that will be selected early. Jackson averaged 15.6 points, 3.4 assists and 3.3 steals while guiding the Lady Techsters to the Elite Eight last season. Brown averaged 21.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists a season ago for the Lady Longhorns. Cleveland finished with the league's worst record last season (7-25) and was awarded the top selection by a lottery. The three-time defending champion Houston Comets own the last pick in each of the four rounds among the 16 teams. The team that figures to be the busiest is the Minnesota Lynx, who own eight of the 64 total picks and three of the first 10. The Lynx recently picked up three more selections when they dealt center Marlies Askamp to the expansion Miami Sol. Washington has the fewest picks with two and the Phoenix Mercury will be the last team to make their first selection with the 21st overall pick. In addition to Miami, the Portland Fire, Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever are each participating in their first draft. This season's draft is being held when it was originally scheduled as opposed to last year, when it was pushed back a week because of a labor dispute. The draft was rescheduled when the WNBA and the Women's Players Association finalized the league's first collective bargaining agreement. The fourth WNBA season begins on Monday, May 29 when Houston hosts the New York Liberty in a rematch of last season's Finals.
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