Inside the W with Michelle Smith: University of Connecticut Campus Connection - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA - WNBA.com

Michelle Smith March 28, 2022

The brand standard for college women’s basketball, Connecticut has been as close to a factory for producing WNBA talent as any collegiate program ever.

The Huskies program is a breeding ground of professional prospects turned superstars and has been since Rebecca Lobo became one of the league’s founding players and was assigned to the New York Liberty back in 1997.

Sixteen Connecticut players have won WNBA titles with their teams. Four of them – Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, and Maya Moore have been named league MVP. Five have been named Rookie of the Year (the aforementioned list as well as Crystal Dangerfield).

Head coach Geno Auriemma’s impact as the sport’s second-winningest coach has rippled into the WNBA for years, his ability to ready his player for the professional ranks as well as its run as the head coach of the U.S. National Team, leading the American stars/WNBA elite players to a pair of Olympic gold medals.

There is simply no collegiate program that has had a bigger impact on the league heading into its 26th season. And the Huskies are certainly not done yet, even if they haven’t won an NCAA title since 2016, a veritable eternity in Storrs.

This season has been an atypical one for the 11-time national champion. Injuries to star guard Paige Bueckers (last year’s National Player of the Year) and Azzi Fudd (the No. 1 recruit in the nation), and COVID struggles made the Huskies into mere mortals.

The program that has been responsible for five No. 1 overall picks, 26 first-round picks (most in WNBA history) and 38 draft picks overall, may possibly not have a first-round pick in 2022 for the second year in a row.

That doesn’t mean the Huskies don’t have pro-level talent to offer if and when players opt to renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and make themselves available for the draft. Senior guard Christyn Williams is going to be on many draft boards, as is senior forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa and 5th year senior Evina Westbrook.

Williams is averaging 14.6 points a game along with 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals a game, an all-around threat. Nelson-Ododa is averaging 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds with a team-high 48 blocks and Westbrook, is averaging 9.5 points with a team-leading 47 steals.

With Bueckers out of the lineup for 19 games, these three have made up the core of the Huskies’ experience on the floor.

Longtime WNBA reporter Michelle Smith writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

NCAA players mentioned in this article will become eligible for the 2022 draft at such point as they renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and thereby make themselves available for the draft.

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