There’s just under two months until the WNBA holds their annual draft, where teams select the best of the best from the college level to help bolster their rosters and championship hopes. This year, Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies haven’t been the same type of team as the one that built the program, but they still have a lot of talent on the roster. Connecticut has the most players in the WNBA of any university and ESPN’s M.A. Voepel projects this list to grow. In her first round mock draft, she predicts two Huskies will be picked. UConn has a slew of players who will be eligible, but just two true seniors are likely to leave, since with NIL, playing at UConn can be more lucrative than the WNBA. Who are these players and what will they bring to the WNBA? Let’s discuss.
Dorka Juhasz, 6’ 5’’ forward
From an upside perspective, Juhasz has to be one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft. She’s 6’ 5’’, which is reasonably tall for the WNBA, and can shoot. Although she’s among the oldest players in the pool having stayed for her fifth year, that shouldn’t be a deterrent. She only shoots 27% on the three triples she takes per game, but this number will be higher at the next level. She’ll be less of a focus for the defense, which will leave her open, where she excels. Her stroke is impressive from a visual perspective and this will really open up the floor. Having your center able to hit threes is incredibly important and makes it so much easier for the guards to drive in the lane.
Looking at her abilities as a scorer otherwise, she’s solid. Juhasz can shoot it from all three levels, which teams will love. She’s also great in the post, although she did struggle when facing a stacked South Carolina lineup. Juhasz really helps teams out on the glass. She’s averaging better than 10 boards per game, two of which come on the offensive end. The Hungary-native really demonstrated her abilities in the Georgetown win, where she grabbed five offensive-rebounds that led to a number of valuable second-chance points. She’s also a capable shot blocker, only doing so around once per game, but her presence inside deters opposing players from challenging her.
Overall, there’s a lot to like for WNBA teams looking to select Juhasz. She checks a lot of boxes and has been a big proponent of a successful UConn team’s effort. Voepel has her at No. 9, which would give her a chance to stick in the league.
Lou Lopez-Sénéchal, 6’ 1’’ guard
The fifth year transfer has been one of the few players alongside Juhasz who has really shouldered the team’s load amidst all of the injuries they’ve suffered. It’s difficult to predict where the Huskies would be without Lopez-Sénéchal. She’s had a truly special graduating year, scoring 16 points on 45% from deep.
Her three point and points numbers were higher before the last five games, but Lopez-Sénéchal has really hit a wall with all the minutes she’s been forced to play. In that span, she’s shot 2-15, which pales in comparison to her 55 makes in her previous 110 tries. She will likely never be asked to be anywhere near as much of a workhorse as she has been now though. This means that her numbers in the WNBA will be more reflected in the way she started this year rather than how it’s been recently, which makes her more attractive to draft.
As impressive as her skillset is, the one issue with Lopez-Senechal is that she’s not unlike many other players in the league. She’s an exceptional scorer, but past that, nothing stands out. She’s an average passer and she doesn’t look terrible in any categories, but there aren’t other areas that are in the same ballpark as her shooting. In the WNBA context you’re likely drafting Lopez-Sénéchal as a great sparkplug off the bench, but the question is how high would you draft that type of player?
