July 20, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Revisiting the 2023 WNBA draft class
By The Next
How are players like Aliyah Boston, Jordan Horston and Diamond Miller faring in Year 2?
In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Hunter Cruse, Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer look back at their 2023 WNBA draft board, which ranked the prospects for that year’s draft based on their projected future value.
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Their top four players were Aliyah Boston (future value of 70, or All-WNBA level), Jordan Horston (50, average starter), Diamond Miller (45, top-end backup) and Haley Jones (40, rotation-caliber player). Adler reflects on how that looks now:
“When it comes to Aliyah Boston No. 1, I think we really nailed it. … She’s an All-Star. She’s great. She’s an excellent defender. She’s becoming a solid short-roll passer. Things you love to see. It’s really panned out for us.”
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Shafer talks about how Houston and Miller have developed as prospects:
“[Horston has] shown everything that we kind of saw and kind of that we projected as this connective piece, this defensive playmaker. … She’s really showing that she can grow in that role as kind of the fourth [or] fifth offensive option and one of the top defenders for Seattle. …
“With Diamond, a lot of the questions that we had have really glared through: the finishing problems with the same kind of underhand scoop that she likes to get to. The shooting touch has not been there. It could all be better if she had more time on the floor, if she could find consistent playing time, consistent health. But she’s just really struggled with lower-body injuries.”
Related reading: ‘I can, I will’: Inside Jordan Horston’s sophomore season leap
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