WNBA Mock Draft Big Board 3.0: Knock-on effects as free agency arrives

BRISTOL, CT - APRIL 11: Elizabeth Cambage and Maya Moore pose for a photo during the 2011 WNBA Draft Presented By Adidas on April 11, 2011 at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. 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 2011 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Potthieiser/NBAE/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, CT - APRIL 11: Elizabeth Cambage and Maya Moore pose for a photo during the 2011 WNBA Draft Presented By Adidas on April 11, 2011 at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. 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 2011 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Potthieiser/NBAE/Getty Images)
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TOLEDO, OH – DECEMBER 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) drives to the basket 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)
TOLEDO, OH – DECEMBER 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) drives to the basket 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)

4. Chicago Sky: Arike Ogunbowale, 5’8 G, Notre Dame

This isn’t an easy pick to peg—there’s no obvious place for a rookie to come in and start, with Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot (should they re-sign, Vandersloot, at least, is now cored) at the guard positions, Gabby Williams and Diamond DeShields at the wings, and Stef Dolson occupying the middle. But let’s think through what adding Ogunbowale would mean. It gives James Wade an anchor playmaker who can both create her own shot and has found another level as a passer in 2018-19 (20.3 assist percentage after 13.6 in 2017-18). She’s got a national profile, thanks to all those game-winning shots you might have heard about. Her steal rate is up near three percent, too, so she can create extra possessions either coming off the bench or as part of a three-guard quickness lineup nightmare next to Quigley and Vandersloot (if we don’t see that trio with Williams and DeShields at least a bit, America loses). Put her next to Cheyenne Parker, should the restricted free agent return, and that’s an imposing second unit.