Another global focus for the WNBA Draft

NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - As the dust settles on the 2012 WNBA draft, there’s little doubt internet search engines will have seen some serious action during the past week with fans punching in the names of the five non-American players selected in an attempt to bone-up their knowledge of the quintet.
 
Well actually, in the end it was a quartet since as has happened occasionally down the years, the draft process was subject to a slight hiccup when there was confusion as to the eligibility of a player.
 
This time it was French national team powerhouse Isabelle Yacoubou, a third round pick by current Eastern Conference champions Atlanta Dream, who was determined too old to be considered as a legitimate draft pick.
 
I have to admit that upon hearing the news my immediate reaction was that maybe there should have been a little more internet search engine usage ahead of the draft, primarily checking out her details but I guess that these things sometimes happen.
 
So, what are the prospects of those (legitimate) non-USA national WNBA draftees?
 
Damiris Dantas (Brazil)
The last pick of the first round, the Brazilian centre represents a hugely exciting choice for the Minnesota Lynx who will be able to watch the player compete at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
 
Dantas was named MVP at the FIBA U19 World Championship last year and she is the one player who Brazil are pinning their hopes on to lead the next generation which will play from September of this year with primarily one thing in mind – delivering a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

She certainly has the potential to be the leader for the team in four years with her power and strength inside already establishing her as an essential key player for the current senior team after incredibly impressive displays at the FIBA Americas Championship and Pan-American games last summer.
 
However, her prominence in terms of the Brazilian national team and the significance the Federation is quite rightly placing on 2016 has led some people to question whether there is any real chance Dantas would play in the WNBA during the next few summers – even if she was considered as being mature enough and ready to do so.
 
She has just finished her first season playing with Real Celta Vigo of Spain and while the team struggled in Liga Femenina, Dantas posted nice numbers. She looks to be developing into the type of player who is already rock solid in the paint and as her post moves begin to refine with time, she could potentially become a genuine world class centre.

Quite handy for Brazilian fans once Erika De Souza hangs up her basketball shoes and it will be interesting to see if she can find as much WNBA time and success as her frontcourt national team colleague.

Farhiya Abdi (Sweden)
A year ago, Farhiya Abdi wasn’t even a name widely known in European basketball circles other than by those who had closely followed the youth national team circuit and of course fans of women’s basketball in her homeland who had watched her tear it up in a big way.
 
Being drafted as the first pick of the second round by the Los Angeles Sparks completes a sensational 12 months having made the move to Frisco Brno last summer where she spent her rookie EuroLeague Women season. She also impressed for Sweden at the U20 European Championships and was nominated for the FIBA Europe Young Player Of The Year Award.
 
Her next major challenge is to try and make a successful transition to the senior national team as they try to qualify for EuroBasket Women 2013 in France in coming months. She is likely to be one of the main driving forces of an exciting Swedish side in coming years but still has a long way to go to be considered as the finished product.
 
She showed a lot of character with Brno last season in what was a tough campaign – playing over 30 minutes per game despite being just 19 years old. Her numbers weren’t as efficient as she would have liked but without a lot of options offensively, she probably had to force things a little which is never ideal and inevitably impacted on her shooting percentages.
 
Relatively dynamic on the wing, the small forward has a nice skill-set, can rebound well and I see the real test being the development of her shot selection in coming years and also consistency in her three-point shot.
 
Throughout her career she has been a reference player for her respective clubs and if she steps up to a deeper team, she will have to adapt to no longer being expected to be a high volume player in terms of minutes or executing offensively.
 
Nika Baric (Slovenia)
The point guard has been a phenomenon since she stepped onto the court and it’s little wonder she has been nicknamed the ‘female Ricky Rubio’. Before you take a look down her resume as a young player, you should prepare for your jaw to drop in astonishment.
 
This bona-fide ‘basketball wonder-kid’ had barely finished playing with toys when she first pulled a Slovenia vest during the summer of 2005 at the U16 Division B European Championships. She wasn't even a teenager - the guard treaded the boards for her country at a staggering 12 years of age.
 
Then as her incredible teenage journey continued, she stepped out for Slovenia at senior level aged just 15, was crowned an All Star MVP in her home country and last summer, she finished second top scorer for her country in their European Championship Division B campaign at the age of 16 having also been named MVP at U18 level.

To have made such an impression at a young age takes a special kind of talent, not just in terms of ability but mental toughness and ambitious drive, especially when it means a ‘child-star' missing out on many of the regular activities her peers might have been enjoying.
 
Things inevitably slowed down in terms of productivity when she signed for four-time EuroLeague Women winners Sparta&K Moscow Region Vidnoje last summer but playing alongside Becky Hammon and Seimone Augustus means her continued development certainly isn’t slowing down.
 
She has superb court vision, is a very intelligent young player and is already showing signs of being able to make smart decisions and successfully run a high level team. Rarely makes bad passes or over dribbles but she must now make herself more of an outside threat in years to come.
 
I expect big things from her in coming years and she could be a big hit in the WNBA (if she gets permission from Sparta&K to play). The Minnesota Lynx have made a great choice with Baric who will soon be in action with the Slovenian national team as they try to qualify for EuroBasket Women next year.
 
Astan Dabo (Mali)
Touted as the ‘next big thing’ (almost literally) when it comes to the Mali national team, the teenager has shown glimpses of her huge potential having dipped her toes in the water of serious international competition by way of the 2010 FIBA World Championship and last summer’s Afrobasket.
 
Unlike fellow European picks Abdi and Baric, the powerful Dabo (who was the only African player to be picked) has yet to play in elite level club competition having spent the season in the second tier of French basketball with Reims Basket.
 
But, that could all be about to change with rumours abound that she may step up to the top French league during the summer.  Certainly her profile has been raised in the wake of her new draftee status while an improved performance for Mali at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in June would also catapult her further into the limelight.
 
By selecting Dabo with the ninth overall pick, it’s clear just how much Mike Thibault and the Connecticut Sun think of her and it could be a pivotal year for her both at club and national team level.
 
By the end of 2012, fans could have much more to research and mull over with respect to Dabo, but perhaps the best starting point would be to read the latest African Message column by my esteemed fellow writer Julio Chitunda.
 
Interestingly by the way, Dabo lined up against four of her fellow top 10 2012 WNBA draft picks three years ago when she faced Nneka Ogwumike, Shenise Johnson, Samantha Prahalis and LaSondra Barrett.
 
Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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