Mercury Take Courtney Williams, Cover All Bases in WNBA Draft
April 14, 2016 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release
The Mercury were at the mercy of six other teams before their own first-round pick arrived at No. 8 overall. When it did, General Manager Jim Pitman wasted little time calling in the team's selection.
"We will take Courtney Williams from South Florida," he said on the phone.
And take her they did, coming away with a gifted scorer and potentially elite defender in the first round. As an added bonus, Williams is a Diana Taurasi fan, making her transition from South Florida to the Valley of the Sun even more seamless.
"Picking eighth, we never knew who was actually going to be there," Pitman admitted. "We were very fortunate to get one of our top picks in Courtney Williams. She's a terrific fit for us. She brings us athleticism and scoring. I think she's going to be a great defender in this league at a position [where] we needed some depth. I'm really thrilled that she was available at eight."
The 5-8 guard was one of the few collegiate stars to experience individual success against University of Connecticut, putting up a combined 37 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in her last two games against the national champions. On the season, she averaged 22.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range.
"She's a combo guard," Pitman said. "She played mostly two in college, but I think she can play some backup one for us and let Diana rest at times. That's really important for us as we move forward. Our team is a little older. We're full of veterans, so having that young, athletic talent in the backcourt is a big plus for us.
Suns Invest in Oregon's Alleyne
For the second draft in a row, the Mercury showed confidence in the face of injury. Last season, Phoenix selected Isabelle Harrison after she had suffered a torn ACL late in the NCAA season. She is now fully recovered and plans on joining the team this year.
On Thursday night, the Mercury again selected an injured talent that slipped to them, this time in the second round. With the 20th overall pick, Phoenix chose Oregon standout Jillian Alleyne. Despite missing eight games, she still finished as the Ducks' all-time leader in rebounding (1,712) and owns the school's single-game and single-season rebounding records. Her 92 double-doubles are the second-most in NCAA history.
"Jillian Alleyne was someone that we would have considered in the first round had she not gotten injured during the end of her senior season at Oregon," Pitman said. "When she was still available at 20 for us in the second round, that was a huge bonus for us."
Alleyne is projected to join Phoenix for the 2017 WNBA season.
Mercury Add Depth with Fields
Draft night ended with Phoenix's selection of Nirra Fields with the 30th overall pick. The UCLA product averaged 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest.
"Nirra Fields was actually someone we were considering in the second round," Pitman said. "We were very happy to get her. She had a very good season at UCLA...again, adding more depth to our training camp roster."
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from April 14, 2016
- Los Angeles Sparks Select Talia Walton 29th Overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft - Los Angeles Sparks
- Minnesota Lynx Select Temi Fagbenle with the 35th Overall Pick in 2016 WNBA Draft - Minnesota Lynx
- Los Angeles Sparks Select Whitney Knight 15th Overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft - Los Angeles Sparks
- Sparks Select Brianna Butler as 23rd Selection in 2016 WNBA Draft - Los Angeles Sparks
- Sparks Acquire Chelsea Gray from Connecticut Sun - Los Angeles Sparks
- Atlanta Dream Adds Four Players at 2016 WNBA Draft - Atlanta Dream
- Stars Select Moriah Jefferson with No. 2 Pick in WNBA Draft - San Antonio Stars
- Mercury Take Courtney Williams, Cover All Bases in WNBA Draft - Phoenix Mercury
- Sky Adds Two in 2016 WNBA Draft - Chicago Sky
- UConn's Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck Make History as Top Three Picks in WNBA Draft - WNBA
- Lynx Acquire WNBA All-Star Jia Perkins from San Antonio - Minnesota Lynx
- New York Liberty Selects Three Players in 2016 WNBA Draft - New York Liberty
- Lynx Select Bashaara Graves with the 22nd Overall Pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft - Minnesota Lynx
- South Carolina's Mitchell Highlights Indiana Guard Trio in 2016 WNBA Draft - Indiana Fever
- Indiana Selects South Carolina's Mitchell with No. 9 Pick of WNBA Draft - Indiana Fever
- Minnesota Lynx Single-Game Tickets on Sale Today at 6 p.m. - Minnesota Lynx
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