Lynn Pride doesn’t know much about the upcoming WNBA draft.
Pride, Kansas University’s senior basketball guard-forward, can’t pronounce the name of the town in which it will be held Tuesday, and she has no idea how quickly she’ll go.
“I just know,” Pride said with a smile, “that I’m on a plane with coach.”
Pride and KU coach Marian Washington will head to Seacaucus, N.J., Monday for the draft. Pride, a smooth 6-foot-2 native of Arlington, Texas, is projected as an early pick. Unless she’s not.
“I really haven’t discussed it with anyone,” Pride said. “I honestly don’t know. There’s a lot of talk here and there, but I couldn’t tell you straight out. When we get there, there will be more talk.”
An honorable mention All-American as a senior, Pride led the Jayhawks last season in scoring (17.4 points per game), steals (2.5), blocks (.7) and was second in rebounding (7.9 per game) and assists (2.8). She concluded her KU career fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,774 points and third in rebounding with 863 boards.
“Hopefully I’ll go in the first or second round,” Pride said. “But I really don’t know, truthfully. ” Just the fact that I’ll be picked up is exciting.”
Bogged down in school work, Pride opted out of last weekend’s pre-draft camp. But she doesn’t think that should hurt her draft stock as much as attending and playing poorly would have.
“There’s a lot of talk saying it’s a possibility (it could hurt),” Pride said, “but if you look at it logically, if you go in and have a bad session, that could hurt you. It could hurt what you’ve done for four years building a reputation.”
Pride — the first female athlete in KU history to take advantage of the NCAA’s insurance program for likely future pros — has hired an agent.
If drafted Tuesday, Pride would become the third former Jayhawk in the WNBA, joining Tamecka Dixon (Los Angeles) and Angela Aycock (Seattle).
“I don’t think I’m scared,” Pride said. “Just to know you will picked up relieves a lot of the pressure. It’s just anticipation to see where I go. I like Los Angeles and I like New York, but I don’t think realistically they’ll pick me up. It really doesn’t matter where I go. I just know I’ll be playing professionally.”
