The Indiana Fever made the most of the team's three draft picks Monday night when the team selected Vanderbilt's Justine Pissott as the No. 25 overall pick in the second round. Pissoitt, who transferred to Vanderbilt from Tennessee, is a sharpshooter who averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for the Commodores and started in all 34 of the team's games.
Pissott, who was part of the Commodores' Sweet Sixteen team this season, brings a lot to the Fever that will complement the team's existing roster. She's a strong 3-point shooter (Pissott was second in the SEC in 3-point percentage) and is 6'4", which gives her length to get shots up and over the heads of her opponents. Vanderbilt's whole-team approach this season strengthened her passing and rebounding, and she's tall enough to effectively block shots.
Her size will be an asset to the Fever, especially since the team needed to bring in taller players. Bringing her to the team may be an indication that Stephanie White wants to emphasize scoring above all else — which could create a dynamic that sees the Fever racking up multiple games at or over 100 points, if Pissott contributes to the team the way she can.
The Indiana Fever had a strong draft night
Though the team was relatively quiet about it ahead of time, the Fever came away from the WNBA Draft with a solid class in place. In addition to Pissott, the Fever drafted South Carolina's Raven Johnson as the No. 10 overall pick.
The selection surprised Johnson, who felt she might be drafted later in the cycle. The Fever's GM Amber Cox made it clear the team was surprised that Johnson was still available, and knew they wanted to draft her immediately. “She is defensive player of the year. She is a leader. She's a competitor on one of the greatest programs in college basketball,” Cox told reporters following the draft.
Johnson is definitely all of those things. She made it to the Final Four every season with the Gamecocks and won two national championships — including one with her former South Carolina teammate and now Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston.
Johnson told reporters she hopes to learn a lot from Boston, as well as from Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. She'll also be available to come off the bench if Clark needs to rest during a game, and the two could build a strong defensive game together if they're on the court at the same time.
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