WNBA Dallas Wings Draft 'Generational' Star in Germany's Satou Sabally
DALLAS - The Dallas Wings picked Oregon’s Satou Sabally, a German basketball star – with the WNBA’s No. 2 overall pick ... and in doing so brought "another'' piece of Germany back to the Metroplex.
“I hope I can put Dallas on the map and get some wins like he did,” Sabally said, referencing of course countryman Dirk Nowitzki, the now-retired Dallas Mavericks icon. “He really inspired German basketball tremendously and I hope to be the same influence for German and European basketball players in America.
“I can’t wait to go to Dallas and just start practicing and playing with my new team. I know coach Brian Agler is a great coach and I believe with the coaching staff and our new players, we will achieve great things.”
Sabally is one of three Ducks (along Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard) chosen in the first round of the WNBA Draft. Sabally averaged 16.2 points and career-bests of 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season. Her 1,508 points rank seventh in Oregon history. Despite having another year of eligibility, the 6-4 small forward – who turns 22 on April 25 – has tremendous upside and straight-to-the-League potential with height, speed and athleticism.
“She has the potential and opportunity to be a generational-type player,” said Wings GM Greg Bibb. “In another draft she would have been the No. 1 pick.”
Bibb touts Sabally’s versatility, her ability to shoot and drive to the basket and finish, as well as her improved defense among the many reasons why they chose her.
“We were fortunate to get a player of her talent at No. 2.”
Additionally, Sabally has something in common with another Dallas player. Like Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis, her nickname is “The Unicorn.”
No. 5 Bella Alarie - Princeton
With their No. 5 pick the Wings shocked many and picked Bella Alarie out of Princeton, only the third Ivy League player to be selected over the first 23 WNBA drafts - and just the second ever from Princeton.
“The Ivy league is underestimated, especially in athletics,” Alarie told me shortly after being drafted. “We don’t get a lot of recognition like the players around me but I am really glad the Wings saw potential in me.
I’m hoping I can rep Princeton and the Ivy League well.”
Others might not have realized her talent but Bibb and the Wings did.
“We’ve been watching her for some time. She’s been under the radar because she plays in the Ivy League. She can play two maybe three different positions and,” Bibb said. “Versatility was the theme of the draft and consistent, better shooting was priority (specifically) for us. She’s a very long, very smart player.”
The 6-4 Alarie became just the third player in Ivy League history to win Player of the Year honors for three consecutive years, joining Harvard’s Allison Feaster and Penn’s Diana Caramanico. She was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American for the second straight season – becoming the first Ivy League women’s player to do so.
“I can stretch the floor and I have good footwork, so I can play inside or outside and I can play around this young, exciting team that plays basketball at a really fast pace,'' she said. “I’m excited to defend, to play great team basketball and be what help I can be on the court.”
There’s one additional pedigree Alarie brings to Dallas: her dad is former NBA player Mark Alarie (Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets).
No. 7 – Tyasha Harris
With the 7 pick in the draft the Wings selected another Gamecock out of the renowned Dawn Staley-led South Carolina program. She’ll join former college teammates Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis –now both Dallas Wings players. All three won the 2017 NCAA title – which happened to be held in Dallas.
“It’s going to be nice,” the 5-10 guard said of reuniting with Gray and Davis. “I’m just excited because we played together for a year and I know them, so I’ll get accustomed really well.”
Harris, the winner of the Dawn Staley Award recognizing the nation’s best guard in Women’s Division I college basketball, was South Carolina’s starting point guard for 3-plus years and was a key component of the Gamecock’s No. 1 national ranking this year. She owns South Carolina’s career marks for assists and Asst./TO ratio. She is the only USC player with 1,000 points and 700 assists. She was a finalist for the Wade and Naismith Trophies as top D-1 player and the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard.
The addition of Harris filled another priority for Dallas, Bibb said - that of the point guard position.
“We have a very deep talent pool at the guard position now,'' he said. "She’s the quintessential floor general. Playing under Dawn (Staley) has benefitted her greatly. She is a super smart player with great size.”
When asked about why the addition of another Gamecock, Bibb said simply: “They are winners, coming out of a winning program. She grew up in that culture and with that expectation of winning.”
Harris said she is ready for the “grind” being a WNBA point guard brings. “I’m a very competitive person. I super excited for the grind and to finally play somewhere that I’ve always dreamed of playing.
“I’m excited to be a Dallas Wings player,'' Harris said. "We will have a fun season and I hope this is a new era coming up for the Wings.”
Dallas also selected 6-3 center Luisa Geiselsöder, another German, with the 21st overall pick in Round 2; she'll likely continue to play overseas. Oregon point guard Sabrina Ionescu, Sabally's teammate, went No. 1 overall to the New York Liberty. Flower Mound's Lauren Cox of Baylor was drafted No. 3 overall by the Indiana Fever. Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M (and Mansfield Timberview) was picked by the Atlanta Dream at No. 4.
