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Gorecki, Odom Prepped for WNBA Draft
4/16/2020 3:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women's basketball tandem of Haley Gorecki and Leaonna Odom are prepped and ready for the 2020 WNBA Draft, which will be held in a virtual format Friday, April 17 and aired live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN with top prospects taking part remotely. The draft will also be available on the ESPN App.
"The WNBA Draft is a time to celebrate the exceptional athletes whose hard work and dreams are realized with their selections in the draft," said Engelbert. "Safeguarding the health and well-being of our prospects, players, employees, and everyone connected to our game as well as the general public is paramount. With that in mind, we will work diligently with our broadcast partner, ESPN, to create a memorable but virtual event that appropriately honors these accomplished athletes."
A 2019-20 USBWA All-America, Gorecki is coming off a season where she averaged 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals. She collected seven double-doubles and 12 contests with 20 or more points for the Blue Devils, which ranked second in the ACC. The 6-0 guard was the only student-athlete in power five conferences to average over 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Gorecki, who is from Palatine, Ill., was an All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Defensive Team honoree, while being named one of five finalists for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the top shooting guard in the nation. In the ACC statistics, she ranked second in scoring (18.5), second in steals (2.1), seventh in assists (4.4), third in free throw percentage (85.6), 18th in rebounds (6.6), third in minutes played (36.4), eighth in three-point field goals made (2.0) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (33.7).
After being injured for the majority of her first three seasons at Duke, Gorecki turned in two of the most impressive years in Duke history in 2018-19 and 2019-20. She became the first Duke player to average over 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in back-to-back seasons, while also becoming the second ACC player to lead her team in back-to-back seasons in scoring, rebounding and assists. Gorecki was just the sixth Blue Devil to notch back-to-back 500-point seasons. Over her final two years, she notched 23 games with 20 or more points, which was the most in the ACC and reached 1,000 points in only 77 games, which was the 10th-quickest Blue Devil to do so.
A native of Lompoc, Calif., Odom started 99-of-125 games as a Blue Devil and finished her career ranking 16th in points (1,387), 10th in field goals made (599) and 10th in minutes (3,716). As a senior, she averaged 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 assists, while earning All-ACC Second Team accolades.
In the ACC statistics, Odom ranked fourth in field goal percentage (54.7), 14th in scoring (14.3) and fifth in steals (1.9). She added four double-doubles and six games with 20 or more points.
The league is conducting ongoing scenario planning around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the upcoming season, including the currently scheduled start of training camp on April 26 and the scheduled tip of the WNBA season on May 15, and will provide updates regarding any changes to key dates.
Duke has featured 24 student-athletes drafted since 1999 in the WNBA, including 10 players over the last nine years. The Blue Devils have also collected 11 first round draft selections. Duke currently features five alumnae in the league including Lexie Brown (Minnesota), Karima Christmas (Minnesota), Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles), Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta) and Jasmine Thomas (Connecticut).
New York owns the No. 1 selection in the 2020 draft, followed by Dallas, Indiana, Atlanta, Dallas, Minnesota, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and New York closes out the 12 picks in the first round. The draft will feature three rounds and a total of 36 selections.
#GoDuke
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN with top prospects taking part remotely. The draft will also be available on the ESPN App.
"The WNBA Draft is a time to celebrate the exceptional athletes whose hard work and dreams are realized with their selections in the draft," said Engelbert. "Safeguarding the health and well-being of our prospects, players, employees, and everyone connected to our game as well as the general public is paramount. With that in mind, we will work diligently with our broadcast partner, ESPN, to create a memorable but virtual event that appropriately honors these accomplished athletes."
A 2019-20 USBWA All-America, Gorecki is coming off a season where she averaged 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals. She collected seven double-doubles and 12 contests with 20 or more points for the Blue Devils, which ranked second in the ACC. The 6-0 guard was the only student-athlete in power five conferences to average over 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Gorecki, who is from Palatine, Ill., was an All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Defensive Team honoree, while being named one of five finalists for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the top shooting guard in the nation. In the ACC statistics, she ranked second in scoring (18.5), second in steals (2.1), seventh in assists (4.4), third in free throw percentage (85.6), 18th in rebounds (6.6), third in minutes played (36.4), eighth in three-point field goals made (2.0) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (33.7).
After being injured for the majority of her first three seasons at Duke, Gorecki turned in two of the most impressive years in Duke history in 2018-19 and 2019-20. She became the first Duke player to average over 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in back-to-back seasons, while also becoming the second ACC player to lead her team in back-to-back seasons in scoring, rebounding and assists. Gorecki was just the sixth Blue Devil to notch back-to-back 500-point seasons. Over her final two years, she notched 23 games with 20 or more points, which was the most in the ACC and reached 1,000 points in only 77 games, which was the 10th-quickest Blue Devil to do so.
A native of Lompoc, Calif., Odom started 99-of-125 games as a Blue Devil and finished her career ranking 16th in points (1,387), 10th in field goals made (599) and 10th in minutes (3,716). As a senior, she averaged 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 assists, while earning All-ACC Second Team accolades.
In the ACC statistics, Odom ranked fourth in field goal percentage (54.7), 14th in scoring (14.3) and fifth in steals (1.9). She added four double-doubles and six games with 20 or more points.
The league is conducting ongoing scenario planning around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the upcoming season, including the currently scheduled start of training camp on April 26 and the scheduled tip of the WNBA season on May 15, and will provide updates regarding any changes to key dates.
Duke has featured 24 student-athletes drafted since 1999 in the WNBA, including 10 players over the last nine years. The Blue Devils have also collected 11 first round draft selections. Duke currently features five alumnae in the league including Lexie Brown (Minnesota), Karima Christmas (Minnesota), Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles), Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta) and Jasmine Thomas (Connecticut).
New York owns the No. 1 selection in the 2020 draft, followed by Dallas, Indiana, Atlanta, Dallas, Minnesota, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and New York closes out the 12 picks in the first round. The draft will feature three rounds and a total of 36 selections.
#GoDuke
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