Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) attempts a snatch in the second half against the Louisville Cardinals during the semifinals of the Oklahoma City regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena.(Photo: cabbage D. Smith, USA immediately Sports)
Story Highlights
- Lieberman says she would speciate Griner to pursue an NBA opportunity
- Phoenix hydrargyrum has first clean house in WNBA rough drawing on April 15
- Meyers Drysdale says Griner would face greater challenges off the court in NBA
After Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tell he would cypher drafting Baylor's Brittney Griner, the age-old see took off. Can the girls compete with the boys?
Nancy Lieberman has a better perspective than most. "There's non a man who would sell his soul and let her fix down and dunk on him. They be dismissal to stroke her on her ass," Lieberman, the first woman to play in a men's professional league, said Wednesday. Since the 6-8 Griner plays the post, thither is no bearing that she can physically compete with NBA players, Lieberman, one and only(a) of the gamey's all- clock greats, said.
MORE: Griner responds to Cuban's NBA offer
Even so, Lieberman, who played in the USBL in the late 1980s, said if Griner called her tomorrow for advice about the NBA, she would tell her: "Do it, girl. You can do this. You should go out there if you're afforded the opportunity because how many mountain in their lifetime would? You're going to do what nobody has ever done."
Ann Meyers Drysdale is similarly conflicted, but said she's looking preliminary to whatever Griner decides to do. If she does make an NBA roster, would she play? Would she be happier sitting on an NBA bench as a groundbreaker or playing 40 minutes and dominating in the WNBA?
Meyers Drysdale, the only woman ever to sign a drop out agent contract with an NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, in 1979, also sees the neck from both sides. She is the vice president of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. And the Mercury have the No. 1 pick in the draft on April 15.
"She's a post player, she's 6-8 but with a subtle frame compared to a man's frame at that position," Meyers Drysdale said. "I'm looking forward to whatever she decides."
UCONN COACH WEIGHS IN: Auriemma call Cuban's offer "a involve"
Then there was UConn coach Geno Auriemma who said Cuban shouldn't waste his draft pick on June 27.
"I think it would be a sham," Auriemma said Wednesday. "The fact that a woman could actually play right now in the NBA and compete successfully against the level of play that they have is abruptly ludicrous."
"If Brittney Griner tries to make it to an NBA team, I think it would be a popular relations thing," Auriemma said on a Final four teleconference with reporters. Cuban is a financial brainiac, Auriemma said, but "his genius would take a huge hit if he drafted Brittney Griner."
When told of Auriemma's comments, third house of Famer Lynette Woodard, the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in the mid-1980s, disagreed."That's just one man's opinion," she said.
Woodard said Griner could make a NBA roster. "She's done things in the game no one else has," the Hall of Famer said. "Anyone who can catch, drop footfall while turning around to dunk on you is undoubtedly the greatest player ever."
Woodard said Griner has the potential to move to the two or three spot, which is what she would likely have to play in the NBA. Woodard said she's seen Griner run the floor before recalling a time she watched Griner, in her pre-Baylor days, compete against guys.
Cuban reiterated his interest in Griner on Wednesday. "We tax every draft eligible player on the planet," Cuban told USA TODAY Sports in an email when asked to respond to Auriemma's comments. "The materialise of any college graduate selected at the end of the draft make a roster is very, very small. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't consider everyone.
"As I told the media (Tuesday), she would have to excel in workouts to break drafted. I have no problem giving her that opportunity. I hope she gives it a shot.
"Nothing harms an organization or corporation more than a closed mind."
As for Griner, she's game. "@mcuban so when do I show up for try-outs!!!" she tweeted.
To make an NBA roster, it will take more than skill, Meyers Drysdale said. The greater challenges would come from factors beyond the court.
"It would be the media, what people are tweeting, web sites. Even now they've questioned her gender. Why are people so mean to her? She's a great kid," Meyers Drysdale said dead before doing double-duty as a broadcaster for the Suns' game Wednesday. "She would be traveling on the road, the innuendoes what people would say. What would wives, girlfriends say? The loneliness of be on the road. That's the tough part. The playing part would probably be easy."
Materials taken from USA Today
No comments:
Post a Comment