Sparks Select Purdue Center
The Sparks, already the WNBA’s tallest team, got taller Friday, even while another Western Conference team got the closest thing to L.A.’s Lisa Leslie.
General Manager Penny Toler and Coach Michael Cooper, surprised to find 6-foot-4 Purdue center Camille Cooper up for grabs as the last first-round pick during the WNBA draft, unhesitatingly called her number.
Most pre-draft projections had Cooper a mid- to late first-round pick. Considered a strong defender, she joins Leslie and Paige Sauer, both 6-5; and 6-3 Rhonda Mapp at center.
The Seattle Storm didn’t need any surprises. With the No. 1 pick overall, Coach and General Manager Lin Dunn drafted 6-5 Australian Olympian Lauren Jackson, as expected.
“She’s an incredibly gifted player,” Nell Fortner, the 2000 U.S. Olympic coach and now Indiana Fever coach, said of Jackson. “She’s a 6-5 Lisa Leslie type. . . . I’m just glad she’s going to the West.”
Other first-round highlights:
* Georgia’s Miller twins were gone midway through; Kelly to the Charlotte Sting (second), Coco to the Washington Mystics (ninth).
* Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State, the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader, went to the Portland Fire as the fourth pick. “My life has changed dramatically in the last two weeks,” she said. “It will be a tough adjustment for me. The athleticism and size is incredible. There are high expectations on me, but hopefully my mom is right. She says I perform better under pressure.”
* Tennessee’s 2000 Naismith Award winner, Tamika Catchings, who may not be able to play this season because of a knee injury, went third, to Indiana. Another injured All-American, Svetlana Abrosimova of Connecticut, was the seventh pick, by the Minnesota Lynx.
* Many were surprised that Notre Dame’s 6-5 center, Ruth Riley, wasn’t chosen until the Miami Sol took her as the fifth pick. She led the Irish to the NCAA championship.
Quipped Miami Coach Ron Rothstein: “Pat Riley came into my office after the NCAA title game and told me: ‘If you don’t take Riley, you’re nuts.’ It was a no-brainer.”
Added New York Liberty Coach Richie Adubato: “When the No. 1 center in the country falls to you at No. 5, life is very, very good.”
The Sparks drafted last because at 28-4 they had the WNBA’s best regular-season record in 2000.
“To acquire a player like that--we’re extremely happy,” Toler said. “She adds a lot of athleticism and defense for us.” Michael Cooper called Cooper a “luxury.”
“Camille will enable us to use a lot of different combinations to our lineup, including moving Lisa Leslie around a lot,” he said. “We can also now create a lot of mismatches in our half-court set.”
Late in the draft Friday, Houston Comet Coach Van Chancellor tabbed the Sparks the early favorites, saying: “The road to the championship now goes through L.A.”
Camille Cooper will be reunited with a high school teammate, Ukari Figgs, with whom she has shared two championships. The two won a Kentucky state prep title at Scott County High in Georgetown, Ky., in 1995. Four years later, at Purdue, they won the 1999 NCAA title.
Cooper, in a 31-7 season, averaged 14.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and had 66 blocks for Purdue.
The Sparks’ second pick, 32nd overall, was 5-9 Xavier guard Nicole Levandusky. She finished her Musketeer career with 376 steals and a 39% three-point shooting percentage. Taken third (48th overall) by L.A. was Notre Dame’s 6-2 Kelley Siemon, a strong inside player, but with a free-throw touch worse than Shaquille O’Neal’s. Siemon shot 55% from the field but 44.3% from the line. Taken fourth (64th) by L.A. was 6-0 Beth Record of Syracuse.
Among the Southland area college players chosen were 6-3 guard Erin Buescher of The Master’s College (23 overall pick, by Minnesota), Long Beach State’s 6-3 center Jackie Moore (30th, Sacramento Monarchs) and Pepperdine’s 5-10 guard Rasheeda Clark (36th, Portland).
“I’m still in shock,” Moore said. “I felt like I was supposed to see my name up in the fourth round, but being [picked] this early is great.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
WNBA Draft List
FIRST ROUND
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NO. TEAM PLAYER POS. TEAM/SCHOOL 1. Seattle Lauren Jackson F-C Australia 2. Charlotte Kelly Miller G Georgia 3. Indiana Tamika Catchings F Tennessee 4. Portland Jackie Stiles G SW Missouri St. 5. Miami Ruth Riley C Notre Dame 6. Detroit Deanna Nolan G-F Georgia 7. Minnesota Svetlana Abrosimova F Connecticut 8. Utah Marie Ferdinand G Louisiana State 9. Washington Coco Miller G Georgia 10. Orlando Katie Douglas G-F Purdue 11. Cleveland Penny Taylor F Australia 12. Portland LaQuanda Barksdale G-F North Carolina 13. Phoenix Kristen Veal G Australia 14. Indiana Kelly Schumacher F-C Connecticut 15. Houston Amanda Lassiter F Missouri 16. SPARKS Camille Cooper C Purdue
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OTHER SPARKS SELECTIONS
SECOND ROUND (32): Nicole Levandusky, G, Xavier
THIRD ROUND (48): Kelley Siemon, F, Notre Dame
FOURTH ROUND (64): Beth Record, G-F, Syracuse
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SOUTHLAND COLLEGE PLAYERS CHOSEN
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NO. TEAM PLAYER POS. TEAM/SCHOOL 23. Minnesota Erin Buescher G The Master’s College 30. Sacramento Jackie Moore C Long Beach St. 36. Portland Rasheeda Clark G Pepperdine
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