The Dream potentially boosted their scoring by selecting former Connecticut standout Tiffany Hayes in the second round of the WNBA draft on Monday.
That Atlanta general manager/coach Marynell Meadors found someone who has a good chance make the roster, at the only spot where the team has a weakness, was a bonus.
“I never thought she’d get out of the first round,” Meadors said after calling in the 14th pick, the second in the second round but the Dream’s first in the draft. Atlanta didn’t have a first-round pick. It was included as part of the package to acquire point guard Lindsey Harding before the 2011 season.
There were other Atlanta ties to Monday's draft. Georgia Tech’s Sasha Goodlett was selected 11th by the Indiana Fever. Former St. Pius and Tennessee standout Kelley Cain was selected seventh by New York.
The Dream, which went 20-14 during the regular season, needed a perimeter scorer to back-up Angel McCoughtry, who will be trying to lead the team to the finals for the third consecutive year.
Hayes, 5-feet, 10-inches tall, averaged 11.7 points per game in four seasons at Connecticut, including 14.7 points per game as a senior. She helped the Huskies go 147-7 and win two national championships. She can play shooting guard or small forward and said her ability to be a complimentary player is one of her strengths. A left-hander, she can shoot deep 3-pointers and is effective at penetrating and drawing fouls. She said he has worked on improving her mid-range jumper but needs to work on her right hand and consistency.
But her goal now is to make the team, which isn’t a guarantee like it is in most other professional sports leagues.
“Right now, all the draftees, we were talking, the goal is to make a roster,” Hayes said. “It’s an option to not even make a team. We have to go in and work hard and make sure that we are on a team.”
Hayes and the other draftees are concerned because supply has outstripped demand.
There are 336 teams that play NCAA Division I basketball, as well as overseas leagues, providing players for 12 WNBA teams. It has become difficult for players who were selected in Monday’s draft, or in recent years, to earn a place on the 11-player rosters, much less spots in the starting five.
During the past five years, of the draft’s 64 first-round picks, 51 are still in the league and 23 are still with the team that selected them. Just 13 of the 64 are everyday starters in the league. Just two of last year’s first-round selections became starters: former Collins Hill High School standout Maya Moore and Courtney Vandersloot.
Meadors said the depth of the WNBA is so strong, she would advocate reducing the draft to two rounds.
“Everybody’s deep at every position,” Meadors said. “They are two deep everywhere.”
The Dream are an example. Even without Erika de Souza, who won't join the team until after the Olympics, Iziane Castro Marques, who became a free agent, and Alison Bales, who retired, the only spot up for grabs on the team is the one Hayes will compete for: back-up small forward. The Dream will open their season on May 19 at Indiana.
The Dream tried to dip into the overseas market with their third-round pick, selecting Isabelle Yacoubou, a 6-foot, 4-inch forward/center who plays in Spain and is a member of the French Olympic team. The Dream later learned that Yacoubou wasn’t eligible for the draft because she was too old. WNBA rules stipulate that international players can only be drafted in the year in which they turn 20 years old. Meadors said she would try to sign her as a free agent.
But Hayes, Goodlett and Cain were three of the lucky ones on Monday. Goodlett is the second Yellow Jackets player in as many years to be chosen in the first round, following Alex Montgomery’s selection by New York last year.
“Honestly, I’m ready to go [Tuesday] if they wanted me (to),” Goodlett said by phone from draft headquarters at ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn.
This past season, Goodlett earned All-ACC second-team honors and led the Jackets to their first Sweet 16 berth. She has kept an eye on the Fever, taking a liking to their relentless style. The Fever are coached by Lin Dunn, who coached Tech coach MaChelle Joseph at Purdue and has been a coaching mentor.
“I know she’s a hard-nosed coach that gets the best out of her players,” Goodlett said. “I’m ready for her to get the best out of me.”
Staff writer Ken Sugiura contributed to this report
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Tiffany Hayes
Height: 5-10
Position: guard/forward
College: Connecticut
About: Hayes averaged 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game as a senior. She helped the Huskies win two national championships and reach four Final Fours.
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