2019 WNBA Mock Draft: Big Board 2.0 is wide open

2019 WNBA Mock Draft Big Board 2.0: Wide open field at top and bottom of first round

NEW YORK - APRIL 1: WNBA President Val Ackerman announces the Houston Comets have received the number one overall pick in the upcoming Draft during the 1997 WNBA Draft Lottery on April 1, 1997 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1997 NBAE (Photo by Chuck Solomon/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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TOLEDO, OH – DECEMBER 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Jessica Shepard (32) looks to shoot over Toledo Rockets center Kaayla McIntyre (15) during a regular season non-conference game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Toledo Rockets on December 8, 2018, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

6. Minnesota Lynx: Jessica Shepard, 6’4 F, Notre Dame

The only question, in the eyes of multiple WNBA talent evaluators I spoke to about Jessica Shepard in 2017, was whether she could get into elite professional shape. 38 pounds later, that’s not in dispute. And neither is the skill set or the basketball IQ, the national champion can do it all. We even know her skills extend beyond the incredible passing (her outlet passes are the best I’ve ever seen from a collegiate prospect), the strong defending, ability to rebound—we saw her hit threes back in her Nebraska days, only forsaking them because of role with Muffet McGraw. Put her alongside Sylvia Fowles, and Cheryl Reeve has herself the kind of player she attempted (and to her credit, successfully) to make out of late-career Rebekah Brunson, but for the long-term. That is a high ceiling I’m calling for, but I don’t doubt this projection.

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