In a 2000 WNBA Draft in which players slip-slided around considerably, the Utah Starzz, who traded the third and eighth picks Monday for veteran point guard Jennifer Azzi and the No. 12 overall pick, the Utah Starzz were bound to go big.
And they did that both in size and name.Utah's first choice in Tuesday morning's draft was Seattle native and former ABL Seattle Reign 6-4 center Naomi Mulitauaopele, who played at Stanford, as did Azzi.
"I'm very excited. I really enjoy staying on the West Coast and staying with a Stanford alum in Jen," said Mulitauaopele (pronounced Moo lee towel pay lee), adding she likes being on the same team with Natalie Williams as well.
She is the first Samoan in the WNBA.
"She can play the four and five positions, can run the floor, is very strong and will be able to defend a lot of people in this league," said Starzz coach Fred Williams. "She posts up, has a mid-range shot from the elbows and gets a lot of balls off the boards," he said, noting her offensive rebounding capability.
"I lover to bang," said the 207-pounder. "You have to be physical and get great position. I'm just so excited to return to competition," she said. She was hurt during the 1997-98 Stanford season and was without a team last year after her rookie season in the ABL. She averaged 9.7 career points for Stanford.
In the 2000 WNBA Draft, televised for the first time, teams were given five minutes to make first-round picks and three minutes for the second, third and fourth rounds.
It was also the first time in its four-year existence the WNBA Draft was made up primarily of college players. That and a smattering of international players and former ABL players who didn't jump in last year, after their league folded, made the draft not only weaker than usual but a draft with few household names. It also meant players expected to go in the first five or so picks went much later as some teams made some surprise picks, mostly going big.
Using the No. 3 pick that belonged to the Starzz until Monday afternoon when the trade was made for Jennifer Azzi, the Detroit Shock selected Texas's versatile guard Edwina Brown, a 5-9 guard who was on five All-America teams and the Wade Trophy winner. She had a four-year career scoring average of 14.7 a game and rebounding average of 6.7 with 517 career assists, 257 steals. Brown was considered a good choice for the No. 1 overall pick Tuesday, but the teams picking at one and two went big.
At the other pick which once belonged to Utah, No. 8, Detroit selected Louisiana Tech's 5-6 point guard Tamicha "Action" Jackson, a quick, aggressive, strong defender who is the Sun Belt Conference career steals leader with 361 plus a 13.5 career scoring average.
The first pick of the draft, by the Cleveland Rockers, was 20-year-old Belgian center Ann Wauters, 6-foot-4, considered Europe's best young player. The Rockers, without center Isabelle Fijalkowski, who did not re-sign with the WNBA last year, needed post help and chose a post who's still developing.
"I am excited to come to America, and now I am the first pick, I am so excited," said Wauters. She said she has seen some WNBA games on tape. "It's a very different game than Europe, and I like it very much," Wauters said via NBA.com TV.
"It just brought so many elements to our program," said new Rockers coach Dan Hughes of his first-ever draft pick.
Tausha Mills of Alabama ('98), where she was an All-American 6-2 center, and a year of experience with the Chicago Condors of the ABL was the second pick overall, going to the Washington Mystics. It was where Mills, known as the "female Shaq," wanted to be selected all along for the chance to play with Nikki McCray and last year's No. 1 draft pick Chamique Holdsclaw.
At No. 4, the Orlando Miracle surprised with the choice of Brazil's Cintia Dos Santos, a 25-year-old 6-4 center with her country's World Championship team. She is so little-known in this country, the WNBA's official list of draft-eligible players misspelled both her first and last names.
Minnesota, which made a number of off-season trades to come up with three first-round picks and two in the second round, took versatile wing/guard Grace Daley, 5-6, from Tulane with the first of those choices at No. 5 overall. She score 2,249 career points for the Green Wave.
The Lynx followed that up at pick No. 6 with another perimeter player in 5-8 shooting guard Betty Lennox of Louisiana Tech, who averaged 17.3 points a game last season. And with the No. 10 overall pick, Minnesota went to ambidextrous 6-2 UCLA forward Maylana Martin, who showed extremely well at the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago. She score 2,101 career points and had 935 rebounds at UCLA.
Portland, the first of the 2000 expansion teams to have a pick at No. 7, the Fire took Kansas 6-2 forward Lynn Pride, who averaged 14.5 points for her career, 17.4 as a senior, who is known for her defensive play. "We can build a franchise around a player like Pride," said coach Linda Hargrove.
Seattle, the next expansion club, picking at No. 9 overall, took Czech 6-4 versatile post player Kamila Vodichkova, 28, a member of her country's national team who was dominant in European play. She scored 16.8 points a game over the last two seasons.
At the No. 11 pick, just ahead of Utah's spot, Charlotte, under new coach T.R. Dunn, took 6-6 Summer Erb, a wide-body inside player.