Evaluating Lou Lopez Sénéchal's and Dorka Juhász’s fit at their WNBA draft destinations
Evaluating Lou Lopez Sénéchal's and Dorka Juhász’s fit at their WNBA draft destinations
How will UConn's 2023 draftees fit at their new destinations factor into their ability to make a WNBA roster this season
Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.
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Headlines
From The UConn Blog:
Chasing Perfection: UConn’s non-conference schedule coming into focus
UConn women’s basketball enters four-year series with Louisville
Last week’s Weekly:
Elsewhere:
A Q&A with Kingston basketball star Aaliyah Edwards (The Kingston Whig)
Evaluating Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász’s fit at their WNBA draft destinations
In a league as small as the WNBA, no draft position is guaranteed a roster spot. The Indiana Fever just waived the No. 4 pick from the 2022 draft, Emily Engstler, on Wednesday ahead of the start of training camp. A player’s fit at their draft destination matters as much, if not more than, their position in the WNBA draft.
Both Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász have landed in franchises where they have a chance to make an impact this season. Here’s a look at how UConn’s latest draftees fit in with their WNBA squads ahead of training camp, which begins Sunday.
Lou Lopez Sénéchal (Dallas Wings)
Despite the Fever’s move on Wednesday, it’s unlikely that a franchise would use a top-five pick on a player they don’t anticipate making this season’s final roster. Dallas has a relatively young roster entering training camp, and just five protected contracts on the books per Her Hoop Stats. With most teams carrying 11 players on their roster, that leaves about six spots up for grabs in training camp.
The Wings seemed to target shooting in this year’s draft, acquiring Maddy Siegrist (Villanova), Abby Meyers (Maryland) and Ashley Joens (Iowa State), in addition to Lopez Sénéchal. That focus makes sense as Dallas ranked eighth out of the 12 WNBA teams in perimeter shooting last year, and their best 3-point shooter Allisha Gray signed with Atlanta in the offseason. It’s also an area where Lopez Sénéchal, who shot 44 percent from deep this season at UConn, can clearly help the Wings.
In addition to her perimeter scoring, Lopez Sénéchal has proven her ability to score at all three levels at UConn. That skill set can be useful to help bolster a Dallas backcourt anchored by Arike Ogunbowale, and also help space the floor to allow a frontcourt of Teaira McCowan and Natasha Howard to excel inside.
Dorka Juhász (Minnesota Lynx)
As a second-round pick, roster fit is increasingly important for Juhasz’s chances of landing on a WNBA roster to start the season. There aren’t many places that would have served as a better landing spot than Minnesota. The Lynx missed the postseason in 2022 for the first time since the 2010 season, and are entering a rebuilding era following the retirement of Sylvia Fowles.
The Lynx are now looking to build around former Husky Napheesa Collier as their star, and in particular, have openings in their frontcourt following the end of Fowles’ career. On the current roster, Natalie Achonwa gives the Lynx a veteran post option and No. 2 overall draft pick Diamond Miller helps strengthen Minnesota’s wing position. Juhász will have an opportunity to earn a spot to help strengthen the team’s post depth in training camp.
With Minnesota using their late first-round pick on Maia Hirsch (France), a draft-and-stash pick not expected to join the league this season, Juhász has a better opportunity to make this season’s roster. While the competition in training camp will be tough, Juhász’s skillset could make her a great fit in Minnesota. Juhász has demonstrated her ability to play alongside an elite big in Aaliyah Edwards this season at UConn. Her ability to pass out of the low post and to step out and knock down looks from the perimeter could make her an intriguing bench piece for the Lynx this season.
Best of social media
Twitter has temporarily banned Substack from embedding Tweets in newsletters. Until that’s fixed, the social media recap will be limited.
UConn’s WNBA pipeline continues to be strong after adding two more draft picks this season:
Lou Lopez Sénéchal is having some fun in Dallas:
Nika Mühl posted some memories from this season on Instagram:
Switching subjects here’s a couple of questions for the group:
There’s much to accomplish if it wants to take over as THE women’s collegiate basketball program but it looks like Mulkey has become the Auriemma of the 80’s/90’s and has embarked on making LSU as the dynasty that UConn held onto for decades. How did this happen? It happened from a coach who has fire in her gut kind of reminds you of the Auriemma of old. (No matter if you like her or not, just watch her on the sidelines and tell me she doesn’t command -and get - respect from her players - and officials?)
On paper at least with the transfers of VanLith from Louisville and Morrow from DePaul along with the returning starters from last year, LSU clearly looks to be the consensus favorite #1.
1. Will UConn be able to match up?
2. Has the transfer portal and NIL changed the landscape so that UConn no longer is considered the premier team that recruits want to go to?
3. Has UConn WBB been replaced?
4. Is UConn WBB destined to repeat it’s record or like the great men’s teams of UCLA under Wooden are we witnessing the end of a dynasty to be replaced by an LSU, SC and others like Duke, KY, NC and KS replaced UCLA in MBB after Wooden retired?
5. Post Auriemma who would you see as someone able to restore &/or retain UConn WBB dominance?
Brilliant, Megs - just brilliant. Thank you. And, wrt Dorka's time in MN - it probably helps that she's used to cold weather?