Good news: An NBA team is talking about drafting a female college basketball star.

[KamaAina]

Bad news: You can probably guess who it is. Hint: Her Baylor Lady Thugs just choked in the round of 16.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/an-nba-team-is-talking-about-drafting-a-female-college-baske

It's long been known that whenever Griner left college, she would be the number one pick in the WNBA draft, an honor that this year falls to the Phoenix Mercury.

Except, Phoenix might not get Griner after all. Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks is talking about drafting Griner into the NBA this June. And he sounds serious....

And he has a point. In the last 10 NBA drafts, only 68% of second round picks have even actually played in an NBA game. So if it's a crapshoot, why not go for someone who has a chance to be a historic figure in sports? At the very least it will be awesome to see the 6'8" Griner get her shot.

Hmmm... In the MNBA , 6'8" is a small forward these days. Does she have enough actual skill to play against people her size and even taller?

[Scuba]

1. Yawn ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Meyers

Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers March 26, 1955 in San Diego) is a retired American basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels.

Meyers was the first player to be part of the U.S. national team while still in high school. She was the second woman to be signed to a four-year athletic scholarship for college, at UCLA.[1] She was also the only woman to sign a contract with a National Basketball Association team, the Indiana Pacers (1979).[2]

[aaaaaa5a]

2. I really hate to burst your bubble. But you must really not follow sports.

There is no way she could play in the NBA. The physical difference between men and women on that level is just too great. It will NEVER happen. Even the best women's teams in the Olympics, the WNBA and College would get wiped out by a boy's high school team. There are even very good boys middle school teams that could do it.


Griner has had a great career. But she plays "at the rim." The NBA players play "above the rim." Not to get to technical in what is a non-sports forum, but there is a big difference. The physical and athletic difference at this level is just too great to even attempt it.

Griner will do well in the WNBA. The WNBA is a league which has struggled mightily since its creation in 1997. But it now appears here to stay and recently linked a very good 10 year TV deal with ESPN. I wish her all the best.

As for Mark Cuban (The Mavericks Owner), he is just looking for publicity. Its almost an unfair patronizing stunt. Both Cuban and everyone who follows sports know it will never happen. His comments are very unfair to Griner and put her in a bad spot.

[KamaAina]

7. I already pointed out that she doen't match up well with MNBA players

Besides, she kept beating UConn, so I hate her with the white-hot intensity of ten thousand suns.

[aaaaaa5a]

9. Fair point! I like UConn too.

They are my favorite women's college basketball team. Diana Taurasi is my all time favorite player.

[joeybee12]

11. Only twice...in 2009 UCONN beat her....

She's good, but without the height we wouldn't be talking about her.

[JonLP24]

15. Cuban's point about 2nd draft picks makes sense

They rarely make it to the NBA as it is. Why not use a pick on Griner (if she is the best player available according to Cuban)? At-least for a tryout, 2nd round picks typically don't make it so it wouldn't be a big deal if she didn't make it. If she can't do it, then let her tryout, nothing changes -- that is if Cuban is serious. If not, I agree about it being a stunt.

I disagree about the claim, at-least when it comes to team USA team. That team is loaded with talent, I think only nationally ranked high school boys team could compete, definitely not middle schools. But I think it's pointless to argue over scenarios that would never happen.

Not saying whether I think she could or couldn't make it. She saying I don't see the harm with a tryout if it isn't a stunt. Personally, if a woman is like a Ray Allen accurate type of shooter than I could imagine her making it in that case as the physical stuff won't matter too much.

[aaaaaa5a]

16. I don't want to come off the wrong way in this thread.

I am a big lover of women's athletics. I am the biggest Serena Williams fan in the world. I love the WNBA. And I am just now getting home from work and I plan to watch the first round of the LPGA tournament (Women's first golf major of the season) which has been recored on my DVR.


But a quick question?


Have you played basketball against even division 1 basketball talent? (Lets just forget the NBA.)

Well I have. And I can tell you factually, that even on the perimeter it is far more athletic and physical than it comes across on TV. For anyone, but a highly tuned athlete, even getting a shot off in a standard half court set is a major challenge. The players are so big, so quick and are so long.... even the idea of a wide open shot is largely a myth. Shots that appear wide open on TV are not that free when you are on the court.

The women's game uses a smaller basketball, and shooting is much easier. To compare any player to what Ray Allen does is ridiculous and simply unfair to both parties. They are literally two completely different sports. I can assure you, even someone like Griner, would not even be able to get a shot off in standard half court set against NBA caliber players. I won't even go into what happens on the defensive side of the ball.

Comparing men and women at this level never makes sense. Both genders work hard at their sport. And both should be admired and appreciated for their accomplishments. As someone who is a great lover of all sports, I honestly think it does women a dis-service, when in our society every time we get a good women's player... the first thing anyone asks is "how would they do against men?" Mark Cuban was wrong for even venturing into a topic he knows could never be a reality.

[joeybee12]

20. I agree...I think Cuban did it for the publicity...nt

[JonLP24]

22. I didn't compare anyone to Ray Allen

I said if a woman was an accurate shooter such as Ray Allen or let's say simply a player that hangs around the perimeter that can shoot accurately(Ray Allen is more of a player than that) then I could imagine her making it into the NBA w/ that skill-set. Not so much a post player.

I wasn't disputing Div I. but high school & middle school teams against Team USA. I never played against Div I, but Shane Battier has and is predicting they'll be a female athlete in the NBA in his lifetime. All I'm arguing for is the right to tryout. If a woman can't ever a play, then a tryout shouldn't effect anything.

[aaaaaa5a]

23. Agreed. She should absolutely have the right to try out. nt

[Yavin4]

24. Slightly OT: The Fact That 2nd Round Draft Picks Don't Make It In The NBA...

should inform you that there's not enough quality NBA talent for all teams to compete effectively. In sum, there are too many damn teams.

[Botany]

3. Please meet OSU's Evan Ravenel

6'8" and 250 LBS he would beat Griner like a rag doll ..... and he has zero chance to make the NBA



Dwight Howard 6'11" and 270 LBS

The difference in size, speed, and strength is huge between men and women @ the top level of basketball

This Mark Cuban getting some pub.

[El Supremo]

4. I bet she could help the Charlotte Bobcats.

Probably a lot!

[Kingofalldems]

5. Publicity stunt.

[joeybee12]

12. Exactly...nt

[Liberal_Dog]

6. Griner Just Got Pushed Around By Louisville

And that is nothing compared to what she would get in the NBA.

I don't see it happening.

[Renew Deal]

8. I don't know if she will be able to handle the physicality of the NBA

I know that some of the players are smaller than her, but many are bigger. She is tall, but very skinny. I think that part of the reason she dominated womens college basketball is she was bigger than everyone else. She doesn't have that advantage in the NBA.

I hope she plays in the D-league so we can see what she's got.

[joeybee12]

14. Take away her height and we wouldn't be tallking about her...

She'll get tossed from practice, as soon as she doesn't like a shove or a move, she lashes out...

[chelsea0011]

10. Why do you refer to them as "Lady Thugs"?

[joeybee12]

13. Watch one of their games...they're thugs...and cheaters...

Praise Jebus they lost!

[sadbear]

17. Someone posted this in Latest Breaking News...

and this is what happened:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=442621

[trumad]

18. Pure publicity stunt by Cuban..

She would be so mismatched it would be embarrassing.

This piece says it all: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/04/3324223/greg-cote-mark-cubans-comments.html

[Iggo]

19. She'd get eaten alive in the NBA.

She's not big enough or strong enough to play with those dudes.

[KamaAina]

21. If a woman ever does make it in the MNBA, she'll likely be a point guard

a position where height and physicality are less important than quickness. Remember Muggsy Bogues?