ARLINGTON, Texas — With draft day gone bye, we grow closer and closer to the start of the season. Only six players from last year’s training camp roster are returning from the previous season, apart from Liz Cambage whom we expect to trade and Skylar Diggins-Smith whom is out due to pregnancy. It’s that time of the year to sit back and examine the roster heading into training camp.
First things first, who will make the roster? With only 15 spots available and assuming Cambage will be gone, two of the players on the Dallas Wings current roster will not be with the team to begin the season. Last year the Wings drafted three players: Azurá Stevens, Loryn Goodwin and Natalie Butler. Stevens was the only rookie drafted of those three to make the team. Just based on last year’s final roster to start the season, you’d think we wouldn’t be keeping many rookies, but that likely won’t be the case this year due to a new coach and different situation. Six rookies are currently on the Dallas roster and it looks like we are going to need them all unless they are used in the possible Cambage deal.
The Rookie Draft Class
With the 5th pick in the WNBA draft, the Wings selected Arkie Ogunbowale. In her senior campaign she averaged 21.8 points, 3.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. After Arike surpassed Wings all-star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith to become the all-time leading scorer for Notre Dame, the writing was pretty much on the wall for her to be drafted to Dallas since that dynamic scoring will be much needed. Along with already being a champion, she is a huge lift in the scoring department as the new team will look to most likely have balanced scoring throughout the roster due to more depth and less star power. Fans should expect Arike to be a starter to begin the season, as she will likely make an instant impact.
“Arike Ogunbowale is one of the premier scorers in college basketball,” said Dallas Wings President/CEO Greg Bibb. “She’s obviously a clutch shooter. She loves to have the ball in her hands when the game is on the line. She can also create her own shot and she’s exceptional in transition. We’ve had a pretty good track record with Notre Dame guards, so I’m excited. I think she’s going to do really well for us.
The Wings got the steal of the draft when they were fortunate enough for the leading scorer in women’s college basketball this season, Megan Gustafson, happened to still be on the board when the #17 pick came up. Gustafson was most recently awarded the Honda Sports Award as the top woman in college basketball. She led Division l in scoring with 27.8 points per game on 69.6 percent from the field, which is outstanding efficiency. The senior forward from Iowa was also third in the nation in rebounding at 13.4 rebounds per game. She has the skill level and work ethic to be a starter right away in this league. Although I don’t believe if she were to come off the bench, that it would hinder her development in anyway. It may even be more of a benefit to at least begin the season off the bench to become comfortable and get used to the WNBA.
“To get a player of Megan Gustafson’s talent at No. 17 is a steal. You’re talking about a player who led Division I Women’s Basketball in scoring and field goal percentage this season,” Bibb said. “She has great hands, plays angles well and is a fierce competitor. I think she’s going to come into camp and show well. I am beyond thrilled that she was available for us at No. 17.”
Just five picks later came Dallas’ 22nd pick in the draft which was used to acquire Kennedy Burke of UCLA. Burke is joining the Wings as a guard with high rebounding ability as she brought in 6.2 rebounds per game this past season, as well as, the ability to score the ball if needed. She helped lead the Bruins to the Sweet 16 before they were eliminated by UConn in a close game where she posted a 14 point and 10 rebound double-double in the loss. Burke will be a good edition to the team and help add to the depth off the bench.
“I had the opportunity to watch a lot of Kennedy Burke’s games this year,” Bibb said. “I was impressed by how she led her team and helped UCLA improve significantly during the year. She is a player who does all of the little things and brings a well-rounded game to our training camp.”
As you get deeper in the draft, you don’t expect the top scorers in women’s college basketball to still be available. Fortunately for the franchise, the fourth leading scorer in women’s college basketball at 23.6 points per game, senior forward Megan Bertsch, was still available and was selected by Dallas with the 29th pick. She led UC Davis to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2019 but faced an unfavorable matchup in round one as they took on 2-seeded Stanford. Bertsch was the leading scorer in the game with 25 points in the loss. Her scoring came efficiently as she finished the season shooting 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from three-point range. She will be a nice addition to the front-court off the bench for Dallas and will do well adjusting to the WNBA.
“Morgan Bertsch was a top five scorer in the NCAA this season,” Bibb stated. “She is a four-player with tremendous offensive skill and excellent range. Her length and size will translate well in the WNBA and I’m eager to see her compete in camp.”
Early Rookie Signings
A couple of months ago, back in February, the Wings made some early signings to add to the roster and one of those was former longhorn guard, Brooke McCarty-Williams. Last season she was apart of training camp with the LA Sparks and played for Peli-Karhut of the Finnish Korisliiga most recently, averaging 17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and two steals per game. McCarty-Williams ranks second in Longhorn history for most three-pointers made (245). She will be one of the players fighting for a roster spot at the point guard position with the absence of Diggins-Smith.
The second addition made by the Wings in the offseason was signing Nicole Seekamp less than a week after signing McCarty-Williams. Originally from Renmark, Australia, Seekamp currently plays for the Adelaide Lightning of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). The new addition to the Wings averaged 12.2 points, five rebounds and six assists per game this season, helping the Lightning make the WNBL Grand Final. Seekamp also played alongside Wings center Cayla George in The 2018 Commonwealth Games when Australia took home gold. She comes into the league with an all-around game that just needs refinement and if she can showcase that during training camp, she can claim one of the roster spots available.
Projected Starting Lineup & Depth Chart
PG: Allisha Gray (starter) – Kaela Davis – Brooke McCarty-Williams/Skylar Diggins-Smith (pregnancy)
SG: Arike Ogunbowale (starter) – Tayler Hill – Nicole Seekamp
SF: Kayla Thornton (starter) – Azura Stevens – Kennedy Burke
PF: Glory Johnson (starter) – Megan Gustafson – Morgan Bertsch
C: Cayla George (starter) – Theresa Plaisanc
Many of you will check out these projections and have some questions, well lucky for you, I have the answers you seek.
First likely question, is “Why do you have Allisha Gray as the starting point guard?” Well, the answer to that is that Gray ran point overseas this offseason and averaged 21 points per game, dishing 2.3 assists per game and grabbing 7.7 rebounds per game. The assist numbers aren’t the highest, but I believe those would increase with the better shooting that will surround her this season as opposed to what was available overseas. The move is also beneficial to Arike since she is a better shooter on spot-up attempts than many realize and that the numbers show. Another question you may have, is “Why is Glory Johnson back in the starting lineup?” It is because her veteran presence can help set the tone early and for the rest of the game. She brings incredible energy and effort, as well as being a former all-star, her presence on-court will be extremely important this season as both a leader and veteran. That start also gives the opportunity for players like Azura Stevens and Megan Gustafson to shine coming off the bench.
