The consensus among WNBA experts is that LSU star Angel Reese has the talent to be picked in the middle of the first round of the April 15 draft.
In a 12-team league that puts her right in the range of the Lynx, who have the No. 7 overall pick. And in the most recent ESPN WNBA mock draft, Reese is indeed the projected pick for the Lynx at No. 7.
Writes Michael Voepel: “With the personnel they already have, the Lynx seem likely to look for the best player available with this pick.”
Iowa star Caitlin Clark will go No. 1 to Indiana. The rest of the top of the draft is less settled. But it would be interesting if Reese is available when the Lynx pick, as I talked about on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Reese is a big personality and is not for everyone (though personally I enjoy her confidence and unapologetic ability to be herself).
The bigger question to me is how her game fits in the WNBA. At 6-3, Reese has the size to dominate in college; in the WNBA, she won’t have that advantage. With an undeveloped outside shooting game, she might struggle to find her niche. But if she can grow her game, she could be dominant.
*Sydney Sticha, a nursing student from Hastings who does not follow men’s college basketball, correctly predicted the entire men’s Final Four field and won $64,000 in a promotion from Treasure Island Resort & Casino.
Hers was the only perfect prediction out of more than 3,500 submissions. She made the picks on a whim, didn’t follow the tournament and thought that she was being pranked when notified on April Fool’s Day that she had won.
And in case you are wondering who Sticha likes the rest of the way: She picks Purdue over UConn in the title game.
*Also on Friday’s podcast, Twins beat writer Phil Miller joined me for a breakdown of Thursday’s 4-2 loss in the home opener. The Twins are off Friday before being scheduled to play on 12 consecutive days starting Saturday.
*Dawson Garcia is staying with the Gophers men’s basketball team, a decision that resulted in a real sign of the times quote from coach Ben Johnson: “He left a lot of money on the table. That’s a credit to him. There are things he weighed, and his family weighed. I hope our fans really can appreciate that in this day and age.”
*LeBron James’ son Bronny, on the other hand, is leaving USC after one season. My guess is that he winds up playing on the Lakers next year with his dad.
