Hunkered down in the Atlanta Dream’s war room for her first WNBA Draft as a head coach in the league, Nicki Collen had two targets.
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The first was a broad one. Collen simply wanted the best available post player with pick No. 15. The rookie head coach and the Dream feel like they accomplished that goal when UCLA forward Monique Billings — a two-time All-PAC-12 selection and the Bruins’ all-time leader in blocks — fell into their laps early in the second round.
Then, at No. 16, Collen wanted to draft Baylor guard Kristy Wallace, someone she had targeted since 2013, when she was an assistant coach for her husband Tom at the University of Arkansas.
Back then, Wallace opted for the Big 12 instead of the SEC, but Collen continued to follow her career. Near the end of this past season, her senior year, Wallace tore her ACL, which may have scared off some teams from taking her early in the draft, but not Collen.
This was a chance for her to work with a player she’s been a fan of for several years.
“It was a consensus on our staff, before she got injured, that she was arguably in the mix to be the best point guard in the country, with her combination of size and skill,” Collen told High Post Hoops following the draft.
But because of the timing of her injury, the Dream will likely have to stash Wallace for the season. Collen said that she and her staff knew they could get her with their original pick at No. 16, but they also wanted a player who could play right away and add some depth to the roster.
Atlanta already knew they’d be without Bria Holmes, who will sit out the season due her pregnancy.
So, the Dream struck a deal with the Connecticut Sun, sending Holmes back to her native home for a pair of second round picks, one of which was this year’s No. 15, which turned out to be Billings for Atlanta.
“I knew (Wallace) was first round value when she got injured, and we were in a position with our roster where we could wait on her for a year (while she recovered),” Collen said. “We knew we wanted to do that, but that put us in a situation where we weren’t going to get a player in the second round that could come to camp. So, moving Bria was kind of the first step (Thursday). We had Billings going late in the first round and she dropped and we felt genuinely lucky to end up with her.”
In short, Collen got exactly what she wanted in her first WNBA Draft.
With Billings, Atlanta got a talented forward who can help the Dream be better than they were last year, where they went 12-22, their worst record since becoming a franchise in 2008.
And with Wallace, Collen nabbed a player she’s always wanted to work with, and someone who can be a starting guard for the Dream in the future.
Collen said she saw the draft shifting a bit when former Duke and UConn forward Azura Stevens announced she would come out a year early for the draft. Stevens, with a few other early entrants, forced exceptional collegiate forwards like Billings into the second round.
Without a first round pick, the Dream felt like they had to make a move to get an additional second round selection, hoping that someone like Billings would fall to them.
“We thought we would get a really good post player at (No. 15), and someone who could kind of finish out our roster,” Collen said.
With forwards already on the Dream’s roster like Angel McCoughtry, Jessica Breland, Damiris Dantas, Elizabeth Williams and Imani McGee-Stafford, it seems unlikely that Collen will ask Billings to take on a big role with the Dream as a rookie. But Collen thinks that will be a positive and give Billings a year to transition into the WNBA game and develop more as a forward who can do a little bit of everything.
“She has incredible upside and just gives us really good depth,” Collen said. “I think she adds toughness to our team. She’s an unbelievable athlete – as good an athlete in the draft. She’s very springy, quick off her feet, rebounds out of her area, runs the floor relentlessly and I just think she’s a competitor when she steps on the floor.”
Billings was a stellar player for the Bruins, averaging double digits in points and near double digits in rebounds in each of the past three seasons.
The 6-foot-4 Californian played center mostly at UCLA, but also showed the ability to run the floor and hit a mid-range jumper. Collen said she sees Billings more as a stretch-four in the WNBA.
Wallace was the next pick, and Collen thought that if the Dream didn’t scoop her up at No. 16, then surely Phoenix’s Sandy Brondello would have. Brondello coaches the Australian national team and had three picks between Atlanta’s second and third round choices.
When the 5-foot-11 Australian guard finally is healthy, Collen thinks she’ll scoring ability and a winning attitude to the Dream.
“You know, Kristy Wallace can score, and she proved that in those two games against Texas, but she was also someone who did whatever it took to win at Baylor,” Collen said. “She just played her role and winning is the most important thing to her. When her team needed her, she put them on her back.”
Wallace really did stomp the Longhorns in her senior campaign, tallying 50 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and four steals in a pair of victories for the Bears.
“She’s a humble kid and just really excited this opportunity is still in front of her, so I feel blessed to get the opportunity to coach her in the future,” Collen said.
With their final draft pick, the Dream added a homegrown talent in Mackenize Engram, a 6-foot-2 forward from the University of Georgia, and a native of nearby Powder Springs.
Engram led the Bulldogs in minutes played this past season and also averaged 12.9 points and seven rebounds per-game while shooting 35.4 percent from the three-point arc. Athletic ability runs in her family, as her brother Evan is a tight end for the New York Giants.
“No one stood out more at the combine to our staff than Mackenzie,” Collen said. “She plays the stretch-four, but I think she’ll project more out to a three in our league. She shot the three-pointer really well this season and at the combine. She gives you that big three player, who can switch on screens and is a really good athlete.”
With the draft over, Collen now has a roster that is hers to mold.
Atlanta’s first preseason game is May 6. She’s ready to hit the hardwood with the players.
“I’m just looking forward to start putting the pieces together on the floor and really start coaching basketball,” Collen said. “When you’re a basketball coach, there’s nothing better than getting back on the court and teaching X’s and O’s.