8. Indiana Fever: Victoria Vivians, 6’1 G/F Mississippi State
Understand this about Victoria Vivians: she is a scorer, but she isn’t purely a scorer. Anyone who watched her defend and rebound against Notre Dame in Sunday night’s championship game came to know two things: she will do what it takes to win a game, and she saves her best for some of the biggest moments. Here’s how her coach, Vic Schaefer, described her pro potential this past weekend: “Number one, she’s going to be a great pro. When all she’s got to do is worry about wake up in the morning take care of her body and eat right and go work out and not have to worry about—right now she’s up at seven every morning and dealing with one-year-olds. Been doing it all semester. That’s part of her internship.
“She tells me she’s not changing diapers but she’s doing everything else. You know, she does that all day until she gets to practice this semester. But just being able to focus on her job. I think she’s still a long way from being the player that she can be. I think she’s really good right now. I think she’s going to be a heck of a pro.
“The longer she’s been with me, she’s gone from being that volume shooter and gotta score to now understanding what shot selection is and enjoying the pass and the assist and being able to make it.”
If you want to see Victoria Vivians smile, just picture her after she gets the green light in Pokey Chatman’s up-tempo offense. Going to be fun for all of us to watch.