On Monday April 15th the WNBA Draft happened at Brooklyn Academy of Music where all these players dreams is about to come true. I had the opportunity to be part of this draft by covering it thru a Zoom press conference that showed the live media room. Over 100 people was on this zoom getting ready to interview the drafted players which were on our list we got. A lot of hype before this draft surrounding former Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark as she was expected to go number one by Indiana Fever. Everyone was ready to go and looking forward to seeing what happens.
As expected Caitlin Clark does go number one to the Indiana Fever which now forms a new dynamic duo in WNBA with her and Aliyah Boston. This will be fun to watch as their tickets prices have been a hot commodity with Clark in town. Her coach from Iowa was in attendance supporting her as they waited for Caitlin Clark's name to be announced officially at number one. What a fantastic college career at Iowa as she now starts her new journey in the WNBA with Indiana Fever who is building their team and heading into a great direction. Clark will bring a different dimension to this team by making her teammates better, learning from the veterans and becoming a top duo with Boston.
Here is the recap of rest of draft for round one
Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, G, Iowa
Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink, F, Stanford
Chicago Sky (via Phoenix Mercury): Kamilla Cardoso, C, South Carolina
Los Angeles Sparks (via Seattle Storm): Rickea Jackson, F, Tennessee
Dallas Wings (via Chicago Sky): Jacy Sheldon, G, Ohio State
Washington Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards, F, UConn
Chicago Sky (via Minnesota Lynx): Angel Reese, F, LSU
Minnesota Lynx (via Atlanta Dream): Alissa Pili, F, Utah
Dallas Wings: Carla Leite, G, France
Connecticut Sun: Leïla Lacan, G, France
New York Liberty: Marquesha Davis, G, Ole Miss
Atlanta Dream (via Las Vegas Aces): Nyadiew Puoch, F, Australia
After each player got drafted they went to the media room as we waited for them on Zoom. I got to ask questions to number 12 overall draft pick by the Atlanta Dream Nyadiew Puoch from Australia. I asked her what is she most looking forward to playing with the Atlanta Dream and first impressions of the place.
Here is my interview with Nyadiew Puoch https://youtube.com/shorts/oc9rmUvyA6c?si=TNAbZM2sceuyf-WW
Story On Nyadiew Puoch
One of the 7 children of a South Sudanese single mother, Nyadiew Puoch was born in Tasmania and was raised in Melbourne’s Cranbourne East suburb in Victoria. The 6-foot-3 forward/ center’s journey started at a young age with her representing the Dandenong Rangers from under-12 level to under-18. Thereafter, playing in the Australian Junior Championships, Puoch represented the fsVictorian Metro. Her championship runs in 2019 and 2021 earned her 2 gold medals, 1 in each championship. Similarly, she won a silver medal in the 2022 Australian Junior Championship. These medals led her to the MVP honors in all three seasons.
Puoch received the 2023 NBL1 South Youth Player of the Year honors after playing for the Dandenong Rangers for two consecutive seasons. In the 21 games she played for the club, she averaged 21.6 points and 8.6 rebounds.
You can find full story on Nyadiew Puoch right here https://www.essentiallysports.com/wnba-basketball-news-who-is-atlanta-dreams-nineteen-yo-star-nyadiew-puoch-know-all-about-12th-wnba-draft-pick/
The Caitlin Clark effect continues to reverberate. On Tuesday, ESPN announced that the 2024 WNBA Draft had set a new record for being the most watched draft in the league's history with 2.45 million viewers which is awesome, great, fantastic and amazing to see the growth of this game.
I just want to give a huge shout out to my friend Courtney from the Real Deal/BS3 Network/Radio, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Sam Tager for setting this up, I really appreciate the opportunity ans it was a remarkable experience.
Photo Credit 📹 Atlanta Dream
Photo Credit 📹 Atlanta Dream
