The WNBA Draft will be virtually held on April 17, and two Duke basketball players are expected to be selected following outstanding careers in Durham.
The first virtual draft will be held on Friday night as the WNBA will set the stage for the NFL and potentially the NBA, MLB, and NHL.
As teams prepare to make their selections with no in-person meetings or workouts, a major factor in deciding who gets picked in the three rounds will be game footage, and that’s very good news for two Duke stars.
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Both Haley Gorecki and Leaonna Odom are expected to be drafted according to the latest mock draft from ESPN.
The World Wide Leader in Sports has Odom heading out to Los Angeles with the No. 20 overall pick, in the second round to the Sparks, while Gorecki is the second-to-last pick in the draft, No. 35 overall to the Connecticut Sun.
Gorecki and Odom were on their way leading the Lady Blue Devils (18-12, 12-6 ACC) to what would have been the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2017-18 season.
Duke was upset in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament by Boston College, which prematurely ended the careers of the graduate student Gorecki, who was looking to make her first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the senior Odom.
The Blue Devils and head coach Joanne P. McCallie have had at least one selection in four of the past six WNBA Drafts, with two players getting taken in 2018 (Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell).
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Brown and Greenwell were the last Lady Blue Devils selected in the WNBA Draft as no Duke players were selected in 2016 or 2019.
Haley Gorecki and Leaonna Odom were the only players to average more than eight points per game for Duke as Gorecki led the team with 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.4. assists per game while Odom posted 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest.
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The 2020 WNBA Draft will be broadcasted on Friday, April 17, by ESPN at 7:00pm EST as the league has postponed the start of training camp and the regular season because of COVID-19.