Lisa Willis’ eyes lit up at the mention of the WNBA Draft,
and she repeatedly said that it didn’t matter where or when
she was drafted. The chance to play professional basketball would
take her to Europe if she had to go there, nevermind moving across
the country.
As it turns out, she won’t even have to change ZIP codes.
Willis was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the fifth
overall pick in the draft at the ESPN Zone in Boston on Wednesday.
Nikki Blue was the other half of the senior guard tandem to be
taken off the board, as she was drafted by the Washington Mystics
with the 19th overall pick at the top of the second round. Willis
and Blue are the first UCLA women’s basketball players to be
drafted since Maylana Martin was the 10th pick in 2000.
Willis, the senior guard out of Narbonne High School in Long
Beach, was amazed at how perfectly the pieces fell into place.
“It’s crazy,” Willis said. “I almost
can’t believe it. To say I am excited is an understatement.
I’m just thanking God to be in the WNBA and stay at home and
be with the ones who love me.”
Willis, UCLA’s all-time 3-point leader, has shown an
ability to fill a specific role as a sharp shooter with excellent
on-ball defense. She was projected as one of the three best pure
shooters in the draft, along with Utah’s Shona Thorburn and
Connecticut’s Ann Strother.
“She can drain shots from the parking lot,” Sparks
general manager Penny Toler said. “Not many players can shoot
the 3-ball like her.”
Toler sees Willis as filling an immediate need as a 3-point
shooting specialist. Willis will start the season second on the
depth chart behind Chamique Holdsclaw, a first team All-WNBA
selection who played on national championship teams for Tennessee.
What made Willis a top-five selection, however, is her
potential.
“I have had the luxury to watch Lisa for four
years,” Toler said. “I have seen her go from 7 points a
game to 17 points a game. She has continued to develop at every
level, and I have no doubt that Lisa will become a star in this
league with time.”
Toler has kept her eye on the trio of Willis, Blue and junior
Noelle Quinn and each player’s development. Willis has made
the deepest impression over that time.
“It didn’t start out as the triple threat,”
Toler said. “Lisa was thought of as second to Nikki and
Noelle, but she pushed herself and took her play to another
level.
“That’s what we look for in the draft.”
The draft concludes a two-month run for Willis in which she
elevated her game on the biggest possible stage and most opportune
moment. She earned the Pac-10 Tournament MVP, helping the Bruins
win the title that secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Willis shined brightest against Purdue in the first round of the
tournament on national television.
Her late-season surge and an impressive workout at the WNBA
scouting combine results in a meteoric rise up the draft board. She
started the season projected as an early second-round pick but
consistently gained more and more recognition among pro scouts.
“I knew I had to finish the season with a bang. I had the
opportunity to play well in the Pac-10s and the NCAAs, and I
did,” Willis said.
“But I still didn’t think that anything like this
would happen. It’s a blessing. Who wouldn’t love
this?”