Ten Future WNBA Prospects To Keep An Eye On

By James Bowman: SPM GA Writer
Posted Monday, August 11, 2008

Angel McCoughtry. SPM File Photo by Tara Polen.

With the WNBA season winding down, fans of pro women’s basketball will have to find other diversions. Most of those fans are looking forward to the women’s college basketball season, where many of the rookie stars of the WNBA for 2009 will be found. Here are ten players that you should definitely keep an eye on, because you might see them on your favorite WNBA team next year.

Demetress Adams, 6-4 forward from South Carolina. Adams is only one of two players that I know of last year who had more than 50 steals and 50 blocks last season (the other is Jessica Bobbitt of Belmont). The 50-50 club is usually a ticket to success in the NBA and should gain Adams the appropriate notice in the WNBA. Adams shoots over 50 percent from the floor, and is a leader in all of the stats that indicate great defensive players: rebounds, steals, and blocks. A great post player, last year Adams was a second-team All SEC-player.

Kristi Cirone, 5-8 guard from Illinois State. When Cirone gets an open look, it’s lights out. Cirone shot 48 percent from the field last year and almost 40 percent from the three-point stripe. This Redbird might be one of the most overlooked players in the country despite being the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year two times in a row and being an honorable mention All-American. (Should I mention that Cirone led the country in assist to turnover ratio?) It’s doubtful that Illinois State will make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament, so make sure your tourney calendar is marked.

Tiera DeLaHoussaye, 5-6 guard from Western Michigan. DeLaHoussaye ranked third in the nation in steals and 10th in assists last year. She might be overlooked due to her conference and her height, but DeLaHoussaye is only one of a handful of women who had over 200 assists last year. She was defensive player of the year in the Mid-American Conference last year. As only one of two seniors for the Buster Broncos and with a new head coach in place for 2008-09, the burden will be on DeLaHoussaye to lead not just on the court but off it.

Lisa Karcic, 6-1 forward-center from Villanova. Karcic is the kind of player who can kill you from outside, hitting 41.6 percent from the three-point line last year – and when do you see post players shoot so well from long range, in addition to getting the rebounds? In 2007, Karcic said that she contemplated playing overseas when she graduated, but there’s plenty of room for Karcic in the WNBA. With such a combination of big-woman and little-woman skills, she can provide problems for any defense.

Shalee Lehning, 5-9 guard from Kansas State. Assist/turnover ratio is more important in the WNBA than the NBA, because WNBA teams turn the ball over more. I soon learned otherwise. Lehning’s 1.66 (203 assists/122 turnovers) ratio is very good for someone who is such an integral part of her team’s offense. Lehning might be overlooked by many, but not in Kansas, where she was a standout high school player. Lehning is already ninth in career assists for the Big 12, and she still has one more year to go. She led K-State to the WNIT championship as a freshman, and she took the Cats past the first round of the NCAAs last year. She has a reputation as a good defender and for being mentally tough.

Angel McCoughtry, 6-1 forward from Louisville. A Big East all-Freshman in 2006 and a Big East Player of the Year in 2007, she is one of two seniors who will receive the most attention in 2009 (the other is Courtney Paris). McCoughtry was second in the NCAA in steals last year and was a second-team All-American along with Kristi Toliver (Paris was a first team). McCoughtry is one of those players who has the power to take over a game, and the Cardinals made it to the Sweet Sixteen last year but couldn’t get past North Carolina -- despite 35 points and 13 rebounds from Louisville’s Angel of the Court.

Courtney Paris, 6-4 center from Oklahoma. Oklahoma calls her “the most dominant player in Oklahoma women’s basketball history.” I think she might be the most dominant player in the history of just about any school. Paris was named the AP women’s college basketball Player of the Year as a sophomore, the first time that award had ever been given to a sophomore. She has the record for most consecutive college double-doubles by any player, man or woman, with 92 -- a record still in progress. Coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina men’s squad once told Oklahoma coach Sherri Cole she could consider herself lucky – if Paris were male, she’d have been in the NBA after her first year as a Sooner.

Jennifer Risper, 5-9 guard from Vanderbilt. One of two Vandy players on this list, she was a second team All-SEC player in 2008. Risper was the leading rebounder for the entire Commodore team as a guard last year with 6.3 rebounds a game. Risper is not one of those players who was a standout as a freshman, and played a reserve role for part of her sophomore year. With so many great players in the Southeastern Conference, Risper is exactly the kind of sparkplug player that gets overlooked.

Kristi Toliver, 5-7 guard from Maryland. You might have heard of Toliver - as a freshman, her 3-pointer in the 2006 NCAA Finals sent the game against Duke into overtime, and she made the free throws that put Maryland in the lead for good – clearly, composure in pressure situations is not a problem. Toliver had 275 assists last year for Maryland and they say that she can play every position for the Terps. Overlooked? Possibly. Overrated? Not at all.

Christina Wirth, 6-1 guard/forward from Vanderbilt. Wirth was already playing four positions on the floor as a freshman for the Commodores, a testament to her amazing versatility. Wirth shot 47 percent from the floor, 41.5 percent from the three-point line, and was placed on the postseason all-first team by the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt should be a top twenty team this year, and with Vandy playing Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols at least twice, it’s time for Wirth to blossom under the spotlight.