February 10, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Analyzing draft prospects for Kamilla Cardoso and Alissa Pili
By The Next
On the latest episode of Locked On Women's Basketball, the hosts discuss draft predictions for Kamilla Cardoso and Alissa PIli
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Hunter Cruse is joined by Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer to break down the WNBA draft prospects for South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and Utah’s Alissa Pili.
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
For starters, Lincoln begins, Cardoso is “exactly what you want a WNBA center to look like,” which is “a huge plus for her in terms of what she’s going to be in the WNBA.” The hosts break down her career, in which she went from a starter at Syracuse to a second-stringer for two straight seasons at South Carolina. But she’s a “good athlete” who has “improved at defending in space this year,” remarks Lincoln, and Em adds that she has “a lot of dexterity,” and “she’s really good at solving problems” on the court, especially when it comes to moving her body through space. Hunter points out, though, that compared to other prospects, Cardoso might not match up on the offensive side of things. Her coordination needs improvement, which, according to the hosts, might create problems – will WNBA teams want to put time into solving that? The hosts see Chicago or Phoenix as potential destinations for Cardoso, both teams that would benefit from her athleticism.
The hosts then moved onto making draft predictions for Utah’s Alyssa Pili. Pili, whom the hosts have watched at USC and now Utah, is a player who has been up and down during her college career. But she’s found her groove this year at Utah, and is, according to Hunter, having “one of the most efficient high volume scoring seasons in the history of women’s basketball.” She’s making 39% of her threes, 64% of her shots, and 60% of her rim shots – there’s not much she could be doing better. The hosts see Washington as a good landing spot for Pili, as they would benefit from her good defensive structure and off-ball movement. As Lincoln puts it, Pili needs defensive structure, and “Washington needs a bucket.”
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