Lady Vols' place in WNBA draft a matter of perspective

Glory Johnson talks about Monday's WNBA draft

Photo by Saul Young, copyright © 2012

SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL Tennessee players Shekinna Stricklen, from left, Glory Johnson, and Vicki Baugh walk back to their locker room smiling after a news conference at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA on March 25.

When Vicki Baugh was informed that she had been invited to the WNBA draft, the Tennessee center initially was more skeptical than excited.

"Really?" she said, describing her first reaction.

"Wow" or "great" would have to wait.

"Vicki Baugh, right?" she asked.

Yes, a part-time starter last season and a player who underwent multiple knee surgeries during her UT career was one of 15 players on the women's basketball professional league's guest list for its annual talent grab.

The three-round event, which involves 36 total selections, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.

It was fitting that Baugh initially questioned her invitation.

Beyond Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike, the consensus projection to be the No. 1 pick by Los Angeles, the draft abounds with question marks involving several players. Furthermore, it's not as top-heavy with slam-dunk picks as next year, when Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins and Elena Delle Donne will be available.

"It will be very subjective in terms of most of the selections," said Cheryl Reeve, coach of the defending champion Minnesota Lynx.

Tennessee's Shekinna Stricklen and Glory Johnson, who will join Baugh in Bristol, are part of this prevailing theme. Although both Stricklen and Johnson could be chosen within the first four picks, their profiles are a matter of perspective.

Stricklen had a pretty good take on her strengths and weaknesses.

"The main thing I bring is versatility," she said. "With my height, I can play more than one position, that's a big advantage.

"As for my weakness, you know my footwork, quickness, getting better on defense.

Stricklen had a pre-draft workout with Brian Agler, the coach and general manager of the Seattle Storm. The Storm has the second pick in the draft,

"It's a big decision for us," he said. "We have not had a lottery pick since 2001, and this pick for us will be somebody that we feel — doesn't have to be a starter right away but at some point in their career can be a significant piece of the puzzle for the Seattle Storm."

Another consideration regarding Stricklen is consistency. At the SEC tournament last month, she scored just two points in the first half of the three games. Such performances don't project well for a part-time role.

"When she comes to the WNBA, if she doesn't play a lot of minutes and she plays versatile minutes, how productive will she be in those minutes?," asked ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck in profiling Stricklen.

Since effort is Johnson's strongest suit, consistency is less of a question.

"People talk about her as being just relentless and they talk about her motor," ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said.

Those same people also wonder about Johnson's offensive game and try to pinpoint her greatest asset

"The negative to Glory's game is you don't know exactly what her strength is offensively," Lobo said. "What is her go-to move? What can she consistently hit? The free-throw line jumper? Because she didn't have to do a lot of that at Tennessee."

Lobo, a former University of Connecticut All-American, said that Johnson reminds her of another former UConn star, Swin Cash. Ironically, Seattle traded Cash to Chicago for what turned out to be the No. 2 pick on Monday.

Since Baugh wasn't expecting an invitation to the draft, she has no clue about her prospects. She hopes that her 6-foot-4 stature, along with her ability to run the floor and her face-up game will enhance her prospects.

Baugh's lengthy orthopedic history will be a major consideration as well. In assessing Notre Dame's Devereaux Peters, a player with a similar medical chart, Agler essentially was speaking of Baugh's situation in saying, "It will depend on what people's expectations are in terms of their evaluation."

In other words, she will be yet another subjective consideration.