Tennessee will have a strong presence at the WNBA draft.
Three Lady Vols — Shekinna Stricklen, Glory Johnson and Vicki Baugh — are among the 15 players invited to the women's basketball professional league's annual event, which takes place at 2 p.m. Monday at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. Stricklen and Johnson are projected as top-four picks.
Stanford All-American forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike is the consensus choice at the top pick to Los Angeles. During a pre-draft teleconference on Wednesday, ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo grouped Stricklen and Johnson with Miami (Fla.) guard Shenise Johnson as the next three players likely to be chosen. Seattle holds the second pick, followed by Minnesota and Tulsa.
UT's Johnson, a 6-foot-3 forward, is coming off her best season, earning State Farm All-America honors and being named the SEC defensive player of the year. She finished her career as just the second Lady Vol to grab 1,200 rebounds.
The 6-2 Stricklen was named an honorable mention All-American this season and was UT's leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game. As a junior, she was named SEC player of the year.
Baugh, a 6-4 center who underwent multiple knee surgeries during her Lady Vols career, played 35 games this season and led the team in field goal percentage (57.7 percent).
Recruiting Update: Wilka Montout, a 6-5 center from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, will not be visiting Tennessee. Northeastern coach Jim Rowland said Wednesday that Montout chose Washington instead for her fifth and final visit. Rowland said that Montout will pick a school based on her desire to pursue a degree in International Business.
"It definitely wasn't basketball,'' said Rowland regarding why Montout opted not to visit UT. "It was the academic side of it."
Tennessee still is pursuing Uju Ugoka, a 6-foot forward from Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 9
cwbytruckers writes:
Tennessee and the final four are a thing of the past.
TheStupidPolice writes:
Vicki Baugh? For real?
clvolfan writes:
Go Get'em Glory.
g-man writes:
lady vols not even in preseason top ten
butch31 writes:
These were good choices. Shekinna & Vicki will have to learn to play at full speed. LOL@the 6'5" recruit opting not visit UT, and chose the UW instead OMG.
rocky_topper writes:
I wonder if Shekinna will show up
switcher76 writes:
She may in the second half!!!!!!!
ps11824 writes:
just as soon not hear from you'all nay-sayers..
SummittsCourt writes:
WOW! Most of you who posted on this story really need to get a clue. Your thoughtless words are a reflection of your immaturity and classlessness. These three women reprented Tennessee and the fans with class and hard work and just because they didn't win a title you are all ready to through them under the bus.
Instead you should be grateful that they chose Tennessee and that they are good enough to represent Tennessee at the professional level. The way I look at it - having 3 players good enough to attend the WNBA draft means that Pat can still get talent and it also means that the women's game talent wise has caught up with Tennessee and that is a good thing.
Be careful how you treat people because it will come back to you one day.
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