After the most anticipated Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft in the 21st century, all eyes are on the upcoming stars who are making their debut in the next season. The last three march-madness tournaments for women’s college basketball have been historical. Players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith, JuJu Watkins, Cameron Brink, and many more that should be named have completely changed how people view Women’s Basketball. However, this was only the start for these young stars. They are advancing up to the pro’s, and are ready to change the WNBA for good.
#1 Pick: Point Guard Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark and her run with the Iowa Hawkeyes will be always remembered. Clark, in her freshman year, averaged 26.6 points per game. Seeing a random freshman come in and have this statline for the season as well as being such an efficient three- point shooter, she already attracted all the attention to herself and her team. In the following year, Clark only improved. Averaging 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, Clark certified herself as a real threat, and the media began talking about her. Her junior and senior year runs were the most special, however.
After Clarks’ amazing statline throughout her first two years of college basketball, she began to attract fans that never watched women’s basketball before. The March Madness tournament is where everything changed for Clark . In one of these match-ups, she faced Hailey Van Lith and the Louisville Cardinals. Van Lith was having a monster season, and played her best against Clark as well. In the heat of the game, words were said. However, Iowa ended up coming out with the win. The camera, pinned to Clark, showed her waving her hand across her face. During the last minutes, Clark and Van Lith were arguing, and Clark told her to stop talking as she was down 15. This level of competitiveness followed with the gameplay shown rocked the media, and the 2023 Women’s March Madness tournament had more viewers than it had seen in a decade.
#2 Pick: Power Forward Cameron Brink
The three-time PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Brink is ready to make the jump from the NCAA to the WNBA. Standing at 6’4” and weighing 170, Brink is going to be locking the paint down as she was at Stanford. Averaging 3 blocks a game in her junior and senior year, Brink was one of the most feared forwards within all of NCAA. Realistically, Brink could have been drafted for her defense on its own. However, over 4 years of practice, she has nearly reached three point range when it comes to shooting the ball. She is an all around threat and this pick will be remembered years from now.
#3 Pick: Center Kamila Cardoso
A 6 ‘7” center coming from the South Carolina Gamecocks, Cardoso is going to be a threat in the WNBA. Being one of the tallest players in the league, Cardoso averaged 2.5 blocks a game in her senior year of her NCAA career. That isn’t all she was good for however, averaging 14.4 points and 10 rebounds as well. When a player averages a double-double being the secondary scorer, it is pretty impressive. Although critics have questioned whether she is going to have the same dominance in the paint as she did with the Gamecocks, I believe with her size and overall talent, she has nothing to worry about.
The 2024 WNBA draft has been labeled as “generational”, many media outlets are saying that this is going to change the way women’s basketball is perceived. All of these players have worked very hard, performed their best during their college careers, and now are ready to put it on display in front of millions.
