Quinn, Murphy drafted by Minnesota of WNBA
While enduring six hours of flight delays Tuesday in Los Angeles and Chicago en route to Cleveland for Wednesday’s WNBA draft, Noelle Quinn of UCLA and Shay Murphy of USC wondered what the future might hold for them, discussing a variety of scenarios.
Except one.
The friendly rivals, who butted heads for four seasons in the Pacific 10 Conference, never considered that they might wind up on the same team.
But that’s what happened when the Minnesota Lynx made Quinn the fourth pick in the draft and, a short time later, made Murphy the 15th.
Both are shooting guards.
“I think it’s awesome since we’ve known each other forever,” said Murphy, who roomed with Quinn last week when the two participated in a three-point shooting contest in Atlanta. “We’ve always played against each other, but we were on the same team last summer and it was awesome....
“Everybody thinks we’re going to collide because we play the same position, but we were the best of friends playing against each other in college.”
Said Quinn: “I think we complement each other very well.”
Quinn and Murphy will be joined in Minnesota by No. 1 overall pick Lindsey Harding, a point guard from Duke who was selected by the Phoenix Mercury before being traded to the Lynx for veteran forward-center Tangela Smith.
The No. 2 pick, center Jessica Davenport of Ohio State, was traded after being selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars. The three-time Big Ten Conference player of the year was moved to the New York Liberty for two-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon.
The Sparks, who traded their first-round pick to the Connecticut Sun in February in exchange for veteran forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin, selected 6-foot-3 Tennessee forward Sidney Spencer with the 25th pick and 6-4 Penn State center Amanda Brown with the 38th.
Spencer scored 11 points Tuesday night in Tennessee’s 59-46 victory over Rutgers in the championship game of the NCAA tournament.
“She’s a championship player and brings a championship mind-set to Los Angeles,” Sparks co-owner Kathy Goodman said. “She’s a spectacular three-point shooter, stretches the defense.”
The Sparks on Wednesday also made it official that they had fired Coach Joe “Jellybean” Bryant and rehired Michael Cooper, who led the team to WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002. Cooper agreed to a one-year deal with options.
“We are delighted to have Michael coming back to a place where he has enjoyed so much success,” Sparks co-owner Carla Christofferson said in a statement. She and Goodman bought the team in December.
Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant, had one year left on his contract. He led the Sparks to a 25-9 record last season, but the team failed to make it past the conference finals, where they lost to the Sacramento Monarchs.
In Minneapolis, Lynx Chief Executive Roger Griffith said he was delighted to acquire Quinn and Murphy, adding that he expected them to easily mesh.
“We look at Noelle as one of the best passers in college,” he said in a phone interview. “Shay is more of a shooter.”
Quinn, a three-time All-Pac-10 selection, averaged 17.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists last season. Murphy, a two-time all-conference pick, averaged 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Lyndsey Medders of Iowa State, who played at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake and Oak Park high schools, was the 22nd pick, going to the Indiana Fever.