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WNBA PRE-DRAFT MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL

April 2, 2019

ESPN analysts LaChina Robinson

and Kara Lawson

New York, New York

THE MODERATOR: Thank you to our media for joining us. Once again, this pre-draft media conference call is leading into the 2019 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, which will take place at the Nike New York Headquarters next Wednesday, April 10. ESPN2 will air the first round beginning at 7 p.m. ET, followed by coverage of the second and third rounds on ESPNU at 8 p.m. The draft will also stream live on the ESPN App. With that, I want to welcome two of our top ESPN analysts, Kara Lawson and LaChina Robinson.

Q. I wanted to get Kara and LaChina's thoughts on two WNBA prospects, one being Napheesa Collier from UConn and the other being Sophie Cunningham from Mizzou. Can you break down why either of those players would be good in the WNBA?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: Starting with Sophie Cunningham, wow, I think she's had a tremendous career. She's a fierce competitor, tremendous work ethic. Her impact on Missouri's program as a whole has just been tremendous when you look at how she increased their competitive edge, the expectations as a whole for their program. When I look at the competitiveness across this draft, she is definitely in my top three just in terms of how she gets after it at both ends.

Obviously, her versatility is an asset. She can play inside-out. She's as tough in the post and one-on-one situations as any 5 player that you'll see, natural post player that you'll see, but she can also step out and impact the game from the perimeter. So I think she has a really good shot at making a WNBA roster because of that versatility. She gets after it defensively as well.

The biggest challenge, and you'll probably hear me say this a million times on this call, is just the quickness of the WNBA. The speed, the athleticism at the next level is like nothing that these players get to experience in college. So how Sophie translates to the next level will be something we'll keep an eye on, but she can rebound, has a great basketball IQ, three-point shooting over 40 percent, definitely is an asset in terms of how she can spread the floor. Is she going to come in and start for a WNBA team? I don't see her having that impact, but I definitely think she has a great chance of making a roster. It really is centered in her competitiveness, work ethic and versatility.

KARA LAWSON: Napheesa Collier is in the conversation for me to be the best player in the draft. She's somebody that's very complete, and I think what she does well translates at the next level. She's somebody that can score very easily. She's somebody that can score with the basketball. She's somebody that moves very well without the basketball, which is a very important trait when I look at players trying to make the transition. A lot of players with a lot of production are used to being the center of an offense. One of the adjustments you have to make is you go to a league with 12 teams and with players that are unique, and you have to find a way to make an impact without the basketball in your hands. That will not be a challenge for Napheesa.

I got a chance to watch her with the USA Team, observe her in practices with the national team before the season. She came very close to making that World Championship team, and any of the questions that I had about maybe her size or just her ability were answered for me there because she was doing it against some of the better players in the WNBA.

I think you know what you're going to get with her, so depending on how valuable that is to certain teams, I think she might be one of the easier players to project in the draft.

Q. Obviously Asia Durr is talked about a lot at Louisville. But Arica Carter and Sam Fuehring do they have a chance to be drafted, and even if they're not drafted, do you think that they're the type of players who could eventually maybe work their way on to a WNBA team?
KARA LAWSON: Right now, it's hard with Arica Carter because she's banged up and she's not moving great, and as a guard what's really important in the WNBA is movement. I don't really know her timetable as far as her injury and when she would be 100 percent, but that would certainly severely limit her ability to make a team if she were not 100 percent. The margin for error is very small when you're somebody that's not a sure thing at making the league, which is what I think Arica Carter is.

Now, when she's healthy, the things that she can do well, she's very intelligent, she understands how to play, she can organize, she can defend her position. She can make three-point shots. To me, it's going to be about her health. I did think the Albany Regional she wasn't moving great. That's what stands out as kind of a red flag right now: Is she healthy, and if she's not healthy, is she going to be healthy in time for camp? Because with the way rosters are structured, you can't really wait for somebody that's an unproven commodity that's not going to be healthy for you.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: I thought Sam Fuehring had a great ending to the season in the way that she played in the NCAA Tournament. I always feel like players coming into the draft that are sticking to the front of everyone's mind in terms of how they played most recently have a bit of an advantage. Over the course of her career, she has become a respectable three-point shooter, which I think definitely helps when you get in the conversation of versatility. I think the 4 spot at the next level is one of the hardest positions to play just because a lot of teams run their offenses through the 4, so you really have to be a playmaker. You're also guarding some of the best players in the WNBA on the other end of the floor.

But I think Sam has a chance to definitely make a roster. If anything, her mental toughness and physical toughness are at the top of the list for me. Do I think she's going to be a first-round pick? No. But if you make a roster and you become that maybe 10th or 11th, 12th player, it's about coming in and making a difference. Sam, I remember being in a practice her freshman year and was wondering if she was going to make it through at Louisville. She was having a really hard time adjusting as a successful player coming from high school. She's really shown that she can push through and she started to make her mark and imprint on the Louisville program in a major way later on because of her stick-to-itiveness. She definitely has an upside, but it will be on a later pick in the WNBA in my opinion and someone who can come in at that 11th or 12th spot on someone's team and is going to work hard every day.

The other thing about Jeff Walz's program is defensively you understand a lot because that's what they hang their hat on, just their toughness on the defensive end. So she can adjust and do a lot of things on that end of the floor at the next level. She has good size and is someone that could maybe surprise some people by making a roster.

Q. What do you think about Bridget Carleton and will she be drafted?
KARA LAWSON: Yeah, I think she's going to get drafted. I think with Bridget, I was impressed this year with her total court game, with her consistency, her ability to produce consistently night in, night out. She has solid size. She can shoot the ball. Where she projects, I'm not sure about that. I'm not really sure about where anybody projects, to be honest. I think it's pretty fluid.

But I think she's somebody that is going to get drafted and I think she's somebody that can make the league, for sure.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: Yeah, I agree with Kara. If anything, the fact that she can do a variety of things helps. I definitely also believe she's going to get drafted. She can shoot the three. She can come off screens and really knock it down. She's a good passer, decision maker, attacks the rim versus bigger defenders. She can handle a little bit, plays on balance. I think she's got a lot of things working for her. She's another one that just I love her toughness and determination.

But you know, that 6-1 player at the next level, and I could have said this even earlier about Sophie Cunningham, do you have enough perimeter skill to play at the 3? Because the 4, sometimes you can be a little undersized there where both of those players could slide in that position at the college level.

The more you kind of submit what you can do either at that 3 spot with your perimeter ability or at the 4, the more tenacious I think you are in your rebounding and defending bigger players can tell a story. But I definitely think she has a great chance of being an impact player in the WNBA, again, when you look at what people are bringing off the bench.

Q. I'm trying to isolate potential underclassmen coming in and sort of where they would rank. Kara, I'll give you the perimeter players. I'm wondering where Jackie Young would be for you on a list with Arike Ogunbowale and Asia Durr. And then LaChina, for you, Beatrice Mompremier along with Megan Gustafson and Kalani Brown.
KARA LAWSON: I think it depends on what I want. To me, all three are in the same tier, and then it just becomes buyer's choice. Jackie is the more physically prominent of those perimeter players. She's got better size, better strength than Arike and Asia, and little more versatility defensively because of that size and a little more versatility offensively as well. So she gives you the ability to play more positions and also defend more positions. I think that's one of her greatest strengths and why people really like her as a prospect. She's continuing to grow and continuing to improve. Every time she gets more responsibility, it seems like she flourishes with that.

All three of those players have the ability or have shown the ability to play well against the top competition. There are obviously differences in how they play, but I think Jackie is on that tier with those two.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: As far as Beatrice Mompremier, she reminds me a lot of Tiffany Jackson from Texas. The thing that I think gives her a bit of an advantage over the other bigs is that she's more mobile and more athletic. I think she has a better ability to rebound out of position than Gustafson and Brown. She is a better face-up and driver because she's just overall quicker in my opinion than Gustafson and Brown, and she is also a bit more comfortable with her face-up game.

Now, I say that, and Kalani Brown to me looked much more comfortable in her face-up shot this season than she has. I know Megan Gustafson has that shot, but because she was so efficient around the basket versus doubles and triples, we may not have seen that face-up as much in their system. But Mompremier is just slippery. She's just a little quicker, and obviously you know in the WNBA, the speed of the game, the strength, the athleticism is so much greater, and I think that would help her translate, at least initially, a little easier.

Now, she does not have the low-post game of Megan Gustafson, in terms of footwork and hook shots and finding angles. If you want more of a back-to-the-basket post player, Brown and Gustafson are going to be better in that sense. But I think Mompremier, just because of the things I just named, is probably a little bit more ready right away than maybe Gustafson and Brown are.

Q. With the possibility of say Jackie Young or Sabrina Ionescu opting into the draft, what impact do you think that would have on the top of the draft?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: I think the impact is that it completely changes it because Ionescu and Young are in the conversation at the top. Maybe not for the 1 for Young, but it could be. So I think it changes everything.

The thing it changes the most, I think, is how happy teams are if they both come in that are maybe at 7 or 8 or 9 or 10, because the more players there are in the draft, the more it pushes talent down the board. Those two players are in the conversation in the top five in my opinion, and to me one or both of them entering the draft changes the whole draft.

Q. The Mercury have picks 8 and 13. Given their roster and salary cap issues, what would you think would be the idea of packaging those two and trying to move up in the first round?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: To be honest, I haven't really taken a very close look at teams in terms of needs and those things. I really think that for Phoenix, securing Briann January first and foremost was huge because then you would be looking at, okay, how do you then make an impact at that point guard position. I think that was probably the biggest thing that happened for them in the offseason. I also saw Sancho Lyttle coming back on.

But I don't think it's out of the question to try to move up. Phoenix is such a complete team on their roster. I also like the Essence Carson addition, and you don't see a ton of need in 1 through 7.

But everyone is trying to get -- trying to strengthen their roster down the line, whether that's 7 through 12 or just with your signing of Sancho Lyttle, not knowing how healthy she's going to be, so do you get some support there. But they're such a complete team.

In this draft, I think it's worth it to try to package and move up, honestly. With the exception of the lottery, like 1 through those top players, I don't think there are a lot of players that could come in and start right away for a WNBA team, and there's still even a process for those that come in as lottery picks. But I do think that Phoenix is just so steady at every position, and more important than what they will get in this draft is what they did in the offseason. But I think it would be worth it to try to move up, especially if you can get somewhere in the top half of the draft.

Q. I was going to ask about a couple of Bay Area players, Cal's Kristine Anigwe and Stanford's Alanna Smith. LaChina, I know you spent some time with Cal. What were your impressions of Kristine? And Kara, if you don't mind talking about Alanna Smith.
LaCHINA ROBINSON: Yeah, I think the world of Kristine Anigwe. That visit to Cal probably cemented or I guess probably raised my expectations of where she may go in the WNBA Draft. She's listed as 6-4. I'm 6-4 and I just felt like she was taller than me. I think she's been underestimated a little bit throughout this year from a draft standpoint, partially because we didn't see Cal on national television very much, and partially because I think it's just hard to gauge her physical dimensions from afar. So I was glad to have a chance to be there with her.

I was taken aback by her stature, her length, strength and just overall size. Her athletic ability, rebounding, how she runs the floor, her tenacity on both ends translates well. Then she also has a great upside to her offensive skill set, which will definitely need to improve at the next level. How she attacks the glass reminds me a lot of Nneka and Chiney [Ogwumike], and I think her rebounding numbers in the Pac-12 would support that. She's not as offensively skilled as those players but has an aggressive attack mentality on the glass. I'm surprised sometimes that we are not hearing her name. The bigs in this draft are different. You have great size like a Kalani Brown and a Teaira McCowan. No, she's not that big and she's not that strong, so based on team need, what you're looking for could come into play. But because of some of the things I talked about with Beatrice Mompremier, her quickness and her speed and athleticism I think translates well from the post into the WNBA, even though she doesn't have that size.

I think the world of Anigwe. I think she should go in the top half of the draft. If you're not looking for a 6-7 [player] but you are looking for a post player, she would be one or two on my list.

KARA LAWSON: Smith is a perfect fit for the pro style game. She's somebody that has good height. She's somebody that can really shoot it. A lot of times we talk about post players shooting it, and it's a small part of their game. She's made over 80 threes this year. That's incredible. Shooting it at a 40 percent clip. She can rebound at a high level. She can block shots. She can handle the ball. So I think she's very well-suited for the next level.

I would be surprised if she didn't go in the first round because of what she brings. She brings great toughness. I think she's going to fit because she's comfortable in any spot on the floor. She's comfortable on the perimeter. When I say any spot, I mean placement of spot, not necessarily any position with the ball in her hands, and she can hurt you with the ball in her hands in different positions.

The other thing I think that she does well is she can blend with different types of players. That should make her attractive to any style because she can fit with most teams' styles in this league. I like her a lot. I think she made a good jump this year having to be a go-to player and really thriving in that role.

Q. Kara, you talked about Jackie Young, so let's have LaChina maybe talk about how would Jackie Young benefit from another year in school, what areas in particular would you like to see her work on, and how would that improve her draft stock? And then for Kara, let's talk about the two bigs, Brianna Turner and Jessica Shepard at Notre Dame, and how do you see their potential? How did Turner help her stock with the way she guarded Alanna Smith last night?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: Yeah, I think Jackie Young would benefit from another year if she decided to stay. Kind of what we're seeing now, her willingness to take over a game. I think Jackie is just scratching the surface. It's such a strong senior group for Notre Dame, she's allowed them to take the lead in a lot of ways. But like we saw even last night, you can put the ball in her hands and she can make plays. So I think continuing to see more of that. You will have to see more of that next year because Notre Dame is going to lose a lot of their points and rebounds in their senior class. She'll be thrust even more so into the limelight and in position where you see how she performs in big pressure situations but also with a supporting cast that just isn't as talented.

Now, will she have that to deal with in the WNBA? No. But I think we'll continue to see different facets of her game.

The only real area that I'd love to see Jackie continue to improve is in her comfort in shooting the three. I think Muffet [McGraw] has asked her to do that more often as the season has gone on, and she'll look at it. She doesn't look very comfortable from long range, and in addition to everything that Kara said earlier about Jackie, I think her comfort from three-point land would only improve her stock. She can do that even if she enters the WNBA, but I definitely think that's something if she stayed that I would love to continue to see her grow in.

Q. I know they aren't probably first- or maybe second-round talent, but I was wondering if either of you had watched Marquette players Allazia Blockton and Natisha Hiedeman, and do you think they could latch on to a WNBA team?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: Allazia Blockton, I think the No. 1 thing with her is her versatility, and she's got size. The fact that she's 6 foot versus even 5-10 helps you at the WNBA level at any perimeter position just because the league is long, strong, fast and everything we talked about before. She's another player that I think has been hesitant in developing her long-range game. She's gotten better. But in the mid-range, there are very few players in that draft that are better than Blockton. Marquette plays a very fast-paced game, and in transition, she is money from around the free throw line and really can create her own shot.

She's a great rebounder as well. Just physically tough. She proved a lot defensively. I think that has helped her in her career and will go a long way at the next level. She has a ways to go in her ball-screen offense. Kara talked about earlier just how the WNBA is structured, but a lot of pick-and-roll. So making reads, being a playmaker, making the right passes, those are things that I think she'll have to do more at the next level. But yeah, I think she brings a lot to the 3 position in the WNBA.

KARA LAWSON: As far as Hiedeman goes, I think it's just really hard to make a WNBA roster. It's going to be an uphill battle for her to do so, not because she's not a good player, but because there are just not a lot of spots. To make it as a guard, most coaches want you to be able to knock down threes. That's something that she can do very well. She's solid defensively. She plays efficiently. She rebounds well for her position. So there are a lot of things to like about what she brings.

But for her, it's going to be finding a team that has a spot open at the guard spot and being able to compete and win that spot. Outside of the top picks that we talk about, this is just the reality of the WNBA. There are just not a lot of spots. When you're talking about a prospect like Hiedeman, I think it's really important where she goes. That can determine whether you make a team or not, depending on where you're drafted, just based on the preexisting roster composition.

Q. This question is to Kara. If you can just sort of expound on that point that you were talking about right there. I don't think you can talk enough about how difficult it is to make a roster in this league. I cover a team with the Storm, and I'm thinking they have maybe one spot open. Obviously there will be a lot of picks on April 10th, but how difficult is it to actually get into this league?
KARA LAWSON: Yeah, you're right. It is so hard. If you think about it just from a numbers perspective, right, there are 12 teams. So then you look at the fact that there are players ranging from their first year in the league to, I don't know, what's Birdy [Sue Bird] -- 18th year, 17th year, whatever it is for her, and there are all those players in between. And when you're talking about someone that is having to make a jump from college to pro and maybe is competing with a player that's already played in the league, and the limited time frame that you have to prove it, it's not like you get two months to prove it. You get two weeks or three weeks. And it's really hard because it's a pressure-packed environment in the practices and certainly in the preseason games. You're having to also learn a new system for most players, new terminology. It's obviously new rules with defensive three seconds, with the shot clock. You're processing all those things at the same time in a training camp scenario where you're playing against the best players you've ever played against in your life. It's just not easy.

There are certain players that get picked that a team is going to keep regardless. If you take a player first, second, third, fourth -- they're making the team. But if you're not one of those players, it's really hard to carve out a niche in a training camp time frame. You look at a team like Seattle that is coming off of a championship and has so much talent on their roster, this pick is not changing their team. This is a pick to try to get a good young player into their team and down the road hopefully have them contribute significantly, but for right now it's just to look at somebody and have them be able to see what they can do. I don't know that you're necessarily taking someone that's going to be a prominent part of your rotation. They have a pretty good rotation right now.

Q. Obviously, Jackie Young has been discussed, but of the other four that are definitely coming out for Notre Dame, how you do see them collectively. Who has the highest ceiling, who's maybe the safest, and if there's anyone in there that you think might surprise you?
LaCHINA ROBINSON: I have been very impressed with what we've seen from Brianna Turner throughout this season. When you think about her coming off an injury and how she really has not had time to develop over her career at Notre Dame -- she's had shoulder injuries, so almost every summer she's rehabbing. So her development, her upside is tremendous. She's getting up and down the floor very well despite coming off of that injury. We're seeing her shot-blocking ability. Defensively, she's solid. But she's also as of late gotten the ball in some one-on-one situations in the post and been able to make the most of it. That's where I think she'll have to grow the most for the WNBA, just getting the ball in isolation situations and being able to make plays there.

But as a slasher, especially with the great guard play in the WNBA and how she can catch alley-oop passes and have good finishing around the rim, she gets with the right team, she can make a major impact. Very long. Her physical dimensions help her as well.

Jess Shepard, solid in what she contributes to Notre Dame. I think she gets left out of the conversation so often and is often underappreciated. Her basketball IQ is what separates her, and her passing ability at the WNBA level would be very much appreciated.

Defensively, the speed of the game could be a little quick for Shepard. Even though we've seen her make a physical transformation this year, I think she would need to continue to just improve in her overall game speed. Though every player coming from the college level, I'm sure, will have to make adjustments in those areas.

It's tough for Jess because we are talking a lot about 5s or centers that are 6-7 right now, 6-8. When you look across the WNBA, it's hard for any 5 that doesn't have good size, though we do have teams in the league that go small like a Seattle. But at the 4 spot, it's just, again, as I mentioned earlier in this call, just a tough spot for anyone to make it. That's where she translates best.

And then Marina Mabrey, I think she'll probably be the latter of the three in terms of where she'll get picked, just because there's so much depth in this draft at the guard position. She did start to play more point guard as her career went on, but she's not a natural point guard. But her shooting ability is really second to none. She's been a tremendous shooter from long range, and that can be an asset to any team. I can't tell you the number of WNBA teams I see every year where they insert that 11th or 12th player in that can be a spark from long range or that can stretch the defense.

All three of those players have a great basketball IQ. I feel like I'm talking forever, so I'll leave Arike and any other comments to Kara if you want to jump in.

KARA LAWSON: I love Turner. I think she's ready right now defensively. I think she could be someone's backup big and really flourish because she can switch on the different players and ball-screen action. She's got great length. She can run the court well. If you keep things simple for her in terms of what her responsibilities are on the offensive end, then she can come in and really help you defensively. So I like her a lot.

I love Arike. She's in the conversation for the No. 1 pick in my book. She's tough. She's physical. She's got great range. She's excellent in transition. She can create her own shot. She's become a better passer. I like her as much as I like any prospect in this draft.

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