NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Connecticut Sun

Connecticut Sun Pick Minnesota Star Lindsay Whalen With Fourth Selection in WNBA Draft

April 17, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release


UNCASVILLE, CT. (April 17, 2004) — The Connecticut Sun chose Minnesota All-American guard Lindsay Whalen with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft on Saturday afternoon.

The 5-foot-8 Whalen averaged 20.5 points, 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game this past season, leading the Golden Gophers to their first appearance in the NCAA Final Four, where they eventually succumbed to UConn.

“I am just excited about the opportunity and the chance to be able to play and get to know the team,” Whalen said. “I am ready to do whatever I need to do to help the team, and whatever will help us go is what I am ready for.”

A Naismith Award and Wade Trophy finalist in 2003, Whalen finished with 2,186 career points at Minnesota, the most in school history. She was a double-figure scorer in 103 of 108 career games at Minnesota, scoring 20 or more points 44 times, 25 or more points 23 times and 30 or more points on eight occasion.

“We got the player that we had coveted,” Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “I probably saw Lindsay play about a dozen times over the course of the year, and we tracked her starting last year. We are very happy to have her.”

Connecticut selected 6-1 forward Jessica Brungo of Penn State with their first of two second-round picks (16th overall), then chose 6-4 center Ugo Oha of George Washington with the 24th overall pick. The Sun used their final pick of the draft, 29th overall, on 5-10 guard Candace Futrell.

Brungo averaged 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this past season at Penn State while Oha was a two-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year at George Washington, averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as a senior for the Colonials. Futrell averaged 21.4 points and seven rebounds per game last season at Duquesne.

“We had a real debate in the second round because there were four or five players which we really liked and I thought that Brungo would help us more than the others because of her versatility,” Thibault said. “She has the ability to play small forward and power forward and we have talked about the importance of having that hybrid player, especially in our conference, and I think that Brungo can be that girl for the Sun. Oha is a project. She is 6-4, with the length of a 6-7 person. She is so long, she will bother a lot of people. In about two years from now she could turn out to be the steal of the draft. And our last one Candace Futrell caught our eye about a year ago, and she kept scoring and running. She is a great athlete and has a body that is ready for the WNBA.”

Check out the Connecticut Sun Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Women's National Basketball Association message board...

Women's National Basketball Association Stories from April 17, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central