2019 WNBA Mock Draft Big Board: Version 1.0
6. Minnesota Arike Ogunbowale, 5’8 G, Notre Dame
It’s a big offseason ahead for Cheryl Reeve and the Minnesota Lynx, with Lindsay Whalen departed and a number of their other vital players of the past decade still uncertain in both future and role. Still, if Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles are resting and returning, the future is hardly bleak. Still, if there’s anything Minnesota struggled with in 2018, it was not having enough players who could put the ball in the basket. Now, you may remember a couple of times when Arike Ogunbowale did this, but her Final Four drama was no fluke. She shot 38.2 percent from deep, can get to the basket with a strong 5’8 frame, and though her facilitating needs work—the 13.6 assist percentage is low for a guard, even in a Muffet McGraw system that spreads the wealth on sharing—Reeve and guard whisperer Walt Hopkins are the ideal situation to maximize her ability in that area. It’s not going to be as simple as replacing the Lynx of the dynasty, but Ogunbowale is the closest thing in this draft to a Seimone Augustus successor, and it is easy to see them working in tandem, with Ogunbowale providing second unit scoring the Lynx need right away.