'She can scare a lot of people': What A'ja Wilson's likely WNBA coach thinks of her
Midway through a conference call about the upcoming WNBA with media members on Friday, Las Vegas Aces coach Bill Laimbeer jokingly asked why he wasn't getting questions about highly-rated prospects and picks.
The answer was obvious, to Laimbeer and just about everyone with any level of knowledge about women's basketball — the Aces' No. 1 overall pick on April 12 is already essentially guaranteed. It's A'ja Wilson.
In every mock draft conducted by the Associated Press, High Post Hoops and other outlets, Wilson has been the one constant atop the board, even when UConn forward Azura Stevens unexpectedly announced this week she will be turning pro a year early. The 6-foot-5 foward is well on her way to sweeping every national player of the year award for her senior season, and the Gamecock great has the rare combination of size and speed that makes her a generational talent.
However, when Laimbeer was asked straight out Friday if he had already told anyone (hint, hint) that they would be the No. 1 pick, he kept his cards close to the vest.
"No, we put feelers out, and so we're talking in a roundabout way about certain things, but no, we haven't told anybody that you are the pick. Do we have in our mind who we're gonna pick? Probably so," Laimbeer said.
Probably so, indeed. But while Laimbeer isn't yet ready to publicly announce his intent for the top pick, he's more than happy to heap praise on Wilson as a player.
"You don't get many players that can drive like she can. She can attack the basket and with one dribble cover a tremendous amount of ground," Laimbeer said. "It says something when you have a player of that size take the ball out of bounds all the time, where the trust factor is there for her to make the right pass. She's also the player who comes back to get the ball and the outlet pass whether it's to press break or get the ball in because she's going to make the right decisions.
"Those are the intangibles you look for in a player, and also her shot. She shoots from an elevated position above her head, so you don't have to worry about shot blocking. Overall those are the intangibles that set her apart from a lot of other big players in our league. I think in our league her biggest thing is just going to be she can scare a lot of people who are guarding her because she's able to take the ball to the basket off the drive."
Laimbeer isn't just going off what others have said about Wilson — he scouted her in person this past season at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida, and was in Colonial Life Arena for South Carolina's game against Tennessee, though Wilson was unable to play that game with a sprained ankle.
If Laimbeer had his way, however, he would have had the opportunity to see and scout Wilson even more up close and personal. Also during Friday's conference call, he advocated for the WNBA to allow franchises to fly players out to their home cities, interview them and have them work out, just as NBA teams do with their potential draft choices.
This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 6:07 PM with the headline "'She can scare a lot of people': What A'ja Wilson's likely WNBA coach thinks of her."