2011 WNBA Draft Recap: Maya Moore Has High Expectations For The Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx drafted Maya Moore first overall in the WNBA Draft on Monday. They had the first pick in the draft because they had the worst record in the league last year, which means that Moore will be entering a situation she might not be familiar with after so much success at Connecticut. According to Roman Augustoviz of the Star Tribune, Moore doesn't plan on lowering her expectations for her team or herself at all.

"I live in the land of high expectations at the University of Connecticut, so I feel I have been prepared very well for it," said Moore, whom the Lynx took with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. "I am looking forward to the challenge."

As happy as Moore is to be in the WNBA, the Lynx are probably more happy that they had the privelage to draft the transcendent UConn star.

"Today could not be any more special for us and for the entire group of Lynx fans," said Roger Griffith, the team's executive vice president. "Every year the first pick has a chance to make a difference. But every once in a while that pick is above the ordinary No. 1 pick and this is one of those years."

2011 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx Take Kachine "The Machine" Alexander

The Minnesota Lynx made the fifth of their five draft selections this afternoon by drafting a Minneapolis native, selecting point guard Kachine "The Machine" out of the University of Iowa.

Alexander is a 5'9" guard that, going into the season, was called the best inch-for-inch rebounder in the country by ESPN.com. She averaged 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season for the Hawkeyes. . .yes, somebody that's 5'9" averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game. That's impressive is what that is.

Plus she has a great nickname. . .I mean, come on. Kachine "The Machine?" That's some kind of awesome right there.

So now, the Minnesota Lynx have completed their 2011 WNBA Draft. As we mentioned earlier, there's a chance that at least one of the five ladies that the team drafted this afternoon, or even some of the players currently on the roster, could be dealt in the near future, but we'll have to see what happens.

2011 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx Select Felicia Chester

With the second of their two picks in the second round of the 2011 WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx selected 6'3" forward Felicia Chester from DePaul University.

Chester was an Honorable Mention on this season's all-Big East team, as she averaged 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game for the Blue Demons in 2010-11. She shot 56.7% from the floor as well.

Unfortunately, our friends at Swish Appeal don't have a scouting report on Felicia Chester, so we can't fill in any more blanks for you. We will try to rectify this later on.

So, the Minnesota Lynx have one selection remaining in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the second pick of the third round, number 26 overall. The Lynx have drafted a lot of forwards this evening, and there's no guarantee that they're going to keep all of them. If any of them get shipped out of town, we will let you know and keep you updated.

2011 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx Select Jessica Breland With First Pick Of Round Two

With the first pick of the second round of the 2011 WNBA Draft, the 13th overall selection, the Minnesota Lynx grabbed another forward when they selected Jessica Breland, a 6'3" forward out of the University of North Carolina.

Breland averaged 12.4 points a game and 7.1 rebounds a contest for the Tarheels, despite only playing 23 minutes per game. She also missed the entire 2009-2010 season with Hodgkin's lymphoma before making a comeback this year.

What does Swish Appeal think of Jessica Breland?

A 6'3 post, Jessica Breland returned to the court this season after missing the entire prior year with Hodgkin's lymphoma.  It took a while to get her stamina back, and, at the end of the year, it was still an issue, but her game improved all year, culminating in an ACC tournament performance where she averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds as UNC went to the finals before falling.   Her junior season (2008-09), she had averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  A team drafting Jessica will be looking for a return to that form, but will need patience.

The Lynx have the next selection as well, the 14th overall pick, so we'll see what they do there.

2011 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx Tab Amber Harris With Fourth Overall Pick

After selecting Maya Moore with the draft's top pick, the Minnesota Lynx followed that up by selecting Amber Harris, a 6'5" forward from Xavier University in Ohio.

Harris is the two-time defending Atlantic Ten Conference Player of the Year, and a four-time all-conference selection.

Here's what the folks at Swish Appeal think of Amber Harris, calling her the second-best player in the country after. . .Maya Moore.

Consistency, consistency, consistency.  That's what you get with Amber Harris.  At 6'5, Harris is not just a back to the basket post player.  She is a face up forward, adept with the ball in her hands anywhere on the court.  There isn't much that Amber can't do, and he she has shown the dedication and work ethic to continue to put in the time working on the skills that need it.  Harris has become a capable ball handler and distributor as well as a dynamic scorer and solid rebounder.

Another impressive pick for the Lynx with a selection that they had acquired from the Connecticut Sun.

Minnesota's next selections will be the first and second picks of the second round, the 13th and 14th selections overall.

While you're waiting for that. . .check out this Amber Harris highlight.

2011 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx Shock Nobody, Take Maya Moore First Overall

With the first overall selection in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx selected University of Connecticut forward Maya Moore, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.

Moore was the consensus best player in women's college basketball this past season, and brings a truckload of awards with her to Minneapolis.

Here's what our friends at Swish Appeal, SB Nation's college basketball site, have to say about Moore.

Adept both in the paint and out on the perimeter, Maya Moore is as complete a prospect to enter the WNBA in quite some team.  She still can improve her handling of the ball, and she's been known to be out of position on defense occasionally, but she has a quickness and anticipation on both ends of the court that have helped overcome any weaknesses.  Two NCAA championships, multitudes of All-American and Player of the Year awards, a possible Rhodes Scholar, and as nice a kid as I've ever met.  Maya is the complete package.

Sounds like a pretty good deal for the Lynx, from where I sit.

The Lynx have selected their second player as well, and we'll have a piece up here about her as well.

2011 WNBA Draft: Swish Appeal's Final First Round WNBA Mock Draft

Over at SB Nation's home of women's basketball, Swish Appeal, they have posted their final WNBA mock draft leading up to this afternoon's proceedings, projecting the first round's twelve selections.

They have the Lynx selecting Maya Moore at number one. . .think the operative word for that selection at this point is simply "duh". . .and with the fourth pick, they have the Lynx selecting Xavier forward Amber Harris. Here's their analysis of the pick:

Assuming (Gonzaga guard Courtney) Vandersloot goes third, Harris seems too talented to fall below this point. But with Anosike gone, there's also a feeling that the Lynx could go with a true center in Ta'Shia Phillips, which could help strengthen their post defense.

Anoskie refers to center Nicky Anosike, who was dealt to the Washington Mystics a few days ago in exchange for Washington's 2012 first-round selection.

Which way will the Lynx go in this year's WNBA Draft? In a little more than two hours, we can all turn on ESPN and see for ourselves.

2011 WNBA Draft: Who Will The Minnesota Lynx Pick After Maya Moore?

The 2011 WNBA Draft will kick off in about three hours on ESPN, and your Minnesota Lynx have the top overall pick in this year's selection meeting. If you surf around this vast interweb of ours, you'll see that the consensus is that Connecticut forward Maya Moore will be Minnesota's pick at the top spot, and she should immediately make the Lynx a contender for the 2011 WNBA Championship.

But the Lynx have four other selections in this year's draft as well. . .what are they going to do with those picks? Let's take a stab at which direction the team will go, shall we?

After the Lynx select Moore, they'll have a bit of a breather before their next selection, the fourth pick overall. There could be a number of options at this pick, as the only player that's projected to definitely be gone before this pick is 6'8" Australian center Liz Cambage. With this pick, I think that the Lynx will look to pair Moore with another dynamic forward, and will grab 6'4" Stanford forward Kayla Pederson with this selection. Pedersen averaged 12.6 points and eight rebounds a game for the Cardinal this year, and was an all Pac-10 selection all four years she played at Stanford.

From there, the Lynx have the top two picks in the second round, the 13th and 14th selections overall. While it would be nice to see Pedersen's Stanford teammate, Jeanette Pohlen, drop to one of those spots, it likely won't happen. So, to give them a spark in the backcourt, I think the Lynx will use one of those picks on Jasmine Thomas, a 5'9" point guard out of Duke. Thomas was the MVP of the 2011 ACC Tournament, and led the Blue Devils in scoring each of the past two years. The other pick will go back to the front court, as I think the Lynx will tab Carolyn Swords, the 6'6" center out of Boston College.

The Lynx will have one more pick in the draft, that being the first pick of the third round (the 25th overall selection). Having drafted 80% of a starting five with our first four predicted picks, the Lynx could look to the shooting guard spot with Baylor's Melissa Jones. Jones suffered a nasty eye injury this past season, but appears to be fully recovered and would make a nice addition to the Lynx.

This assumes that the Lynx will keep all of their selections. . .it's entirely possible that they could trade at least one of those choices for future considerations. But in our scenario, we assume that they make all their selections.

The WNBA Draft will be held at 2:00 PM Central time, and you'll be able to watch it on ESPN. We'll have coverage of all the picks here, and our friends over at Swish Appeal will have coverage of the whole draft.