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| The Connecticut Sun selected 6-3 center Brionna Jones of Maryland in the first round of the 2017 WNBA Draft. She joins fellow Terps Alyssa Thomas and Lynetta Kizer on the Sun roster. |
By Colleen White
UNCASVILLE – The
Connecticut Sun made 6-3 center Brionna Jones their top choice in the 2017 WNBA
Draft on Thursday night. Jones, who starred at the University of Maryland, Jones finished her collegiate career with
1,928 points and 1,209 rebounds. She led Maryland to three Big 10 titles and a
pair of Final Fours, closing out her career by averaging 19.9 points and 10.9
rebounds as a senior.
The Sun are hopeful that Jones can help offset the loss of team leader
Chiney Ogwumike, who had offseason surgery to repair her left Achilles tendon
in late November. The former No. 1 overall pick is expected to miss a good
chunk of the 2017 season—certainly the early portion thereof—after having
missed all of the 2015 season after undergoing microfracture surgery on her
right knee.
“Obviously, it fills some need with the loss of Chiney,” said
Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “We needed some more post
depth. [Jones is] a tremendous low-post finisher [with a] tremendous IQ. I can
honestly say I talked to a ton of these draftees on the phone. Not one person
had a better conversation with me than Brionna Jones. There were lots and lots
of mock drafts, [but] not one time in our war room did we think Brionna Jones
would drop to eight.”
“I am happy to be a part of the Connecticut Sun,” said Jones,
who led the nation in field goal shooting percentage as a junior (.665) and senior
(.690).
Jones added that the comfort level of joining Alyssa Thomas, with whom she
played with at Maryland, would be reassuring. “Having that person I played with
on the team if I need to ask questions, it is going to be a great help,” she
said.
In the second round, the Sun selected 6-2 forward Shayla
Cooper from Ohio State. Cooper, who averaged 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per
game as a senior, finished her college career with 1,070 points and 690
rebounds. She had 26 career double-doubles with the Buckeyes.
“I think it will be great,” Cooper said of being selected to
the same team as Jones—a Big 10 colleague. “Brionna Jones is a great player.
I’ve played against her. I’ve guarded her. She’s a tough player.”
Three picks later the Sun chose Florida State’s Leticia
Romero, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist with the Spanish National Team. A 5-8
guard, Romero completed her collegiate career as the ACC’s all-time three-point
field goal percentage leader (47.7 percent on 112 of 235 shooting from beyond
the arc). She was also the first three-time All-American in FSU history.
Finally, the Sun chose Jessica
January from DePaul with the No. 28 overall pick. The Blue Demons’ No. 4 all-time assist leader, January,
a CoSIDA All-American, averaged 15 points, 6.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game as a senior,
and scored 1,530 points throughout her collegiate career.
UConn, which last year saw its players chosen 1-2-3 (Brianna
Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck), this year had no players taken
until the third round, when Saniya Chong was selected by the Dallas
Wings with the 26th overall pick.
The Sun will open the 2017 season on Saturday, May 13 by
hosting the Atlanta Dream at Mohegan Sun Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $14
per game and can be purchased by visiting ConnecticutSun.com or calling 877-SUN-TIXX.
—with
staff reports
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