JMU basketball star Dawn Evans was not chosen by any team at Monday’s 2011 Women’s National Basketball Association Draft.
It comes as a big surprise, considering she was projected to go in the late first round or early second round, according to a number of experts. ESPN women’s hoops analyst Chris Hansen had Evans as the No. 10 ranked prospect in the draft out of 20.
Head basketball coach Kenny Brookes put the JMU nation’s frustration into words via Twitter during the draft, saying, “Some things make no sense at all,” and, “I have no idea what they were thinking! She got to use it as motivation!”
When determining possible reasons why Evans wasn’t drafted, experts have cited three main explanations.
First, teams could have been afraid to assume the risk of drafting a prospect with a history of kidney disease.
Since the end of 2009, Evans has been playing with a kidney defect known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. There is no cure approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so Evans dealt with FSGS in the past by usingblood pressure medication, and currently uses sodium bicarbonate to raise her blood pressure.
“I am extremely upset because I feel slighted… whether it be because of my illness or whatever, I thought I at least deserved a chance,” Evans said.
Though a health problem such as FSGS might turn some teams away, a number of experts didn’t believe it would play into the draft.
“If you’re interested in Evans, you’ll do your homework and you’ll learn about what her physical condition is and what the concerns are,” Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said in a pre-WNBA draft teleconference in March.
The second possible reason that teams did not draft Evans could be due to the abundance of point guards that were available in the draft, and the fact that many teams were looking for post-players, according to coach Jennifer Gillom of the Los Angeles Sparks.
“I think this is definitely a guard-heavy draft and there are definitely some talented players out there at the guard position,” Gillom said.
There were eight post players taken in the first round out of a possible 12. The trend continued in the second round, as nine of the players picked were either centers or forwards.
The last factor that might have had an impact on Evans’ draft viability was WNBA teams’ inability to classify her as a shooting or point guard. At 5-foot-7, her size was also a factor that WNBA teams had to consider.
“Dawn Evans is a player that’s shown a great ability to score the basketball, a high-volume shooter, which is what’s asked of her for that team and she’s taken on that role well,” Gillom said. “From a size standpoint, there’s probably some concern there.”
Evans is now waiting for an invitation to a WNBA training camp in the coming weeks. But with only 12 teams and 11 roster spots on each, an opening will be hard to come by.
“Nevertheless, I don’t plan to quit. I still have a chance at free agency so I’ll try that and if not, I’ll definitely play Euro ball and maybe try it [the draft] again next year,” Evans said.
Evans often proved her ability to overcome adversity during her JMU career, and only time will tell if the young star continues to do so.
