Locked On Women’s Basketball: Breakout WNBA draft prospects for the 2024-25 college season

Cruse and Adler start with NC State senior guard Aziaha James, who they ranked as the No. 27 prospect on their preseason draft board. Adler explains why James could rocket up the board this season:

“She is right now a jack of all trades, master of none. She has some really standout abilities when it comes to sort of midair finishing [and] when it comes to, I think, just a steady internal tempo on both ends. But she, I think, is one of those players that we put in at the tail end of the board. We usually have close to 10 of these players, maybe, who we’re looking for one or two things to click. …

“She’s got a really high baseline. And I think, again, she’s someone who has taken really strong strides forward every year, and I think she’s someone who we’ve seen a really strong flash, especially in the NCAA Tournament last year. And basically, if there’s anyone from the class this year that I think [is] suddenly gonna have some things click and really jump onto people’s radars in a way that she currently isn’t, I’m looking at Aziaha James.”

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Later in the episode, Cruse and Adler discuss the challenges of evaluating UConn sophomore guard KK Arnold while she’s playing next to redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers. Bueckers is the No. 1 prospect on The Next’s preseason draft board and often has the ball in her hands. Adler explains:

“KK Arnold technically ran point on a lot of sets, but would we call her a point guard last year? I have her as a combo. What what will she look like in two seasons, when Paige is gone, as a primary ball-handler? Or is this like a Christyn Williams situation, where we’re asking what she looks like as a primary ball-handler [and it] turns out she’s just not? … Which is fine. Christyn Williams was a very good two-guard next to Paige Bueckers, and I still think minus, without the ACL tear, she would have been a really interesting ninth player in the [WNBA].

“But KK Arnold is such a good point-of-attack defender that, hit the open threes and we’re talking money. I think that she has a really, really good feel for getting to the rim. She’s got good playmaking vision. It’s just how you round it out.”

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