As Expected, Long Beach Takes Griffith in Draft

With the first pick in the women’s American Basketball League draft Monday morning, the un-nicknamed Long Beach team chose Yolanda Griffith, a 6-foot-4 veteran of European basketball.

The 1993 NCAA Division II player of the year at Florida Atlantic University, she has played in Germany the last four seasons.

Before the ABL’s combine workout two weeks ago in San Francisco, many thought Old Dominion University’s 6-5 Final Four standout, Clarisse Machanguana, would be the first pick.

But Griffith lit up the 55-player combine with her aggressive play and shot-blocking. Machanguana wound up as the sixth pick Monday, by San Jose.

Portland made Florida’s 6-2 DeLisha Milton the draft’s second pick. Connecticut’s 6-7 Kara Wolters and Stanford’s 6-2 Kate Starbird went next, as territorial picks by New England and Seattle, respectively.

Atlanta next made 6-3 Tracy Henderson of Georgia a territorial pick. San Jose was next with Machanguana. Seattle, on a pick obtained from Colorado, took Alabama’s 6-3 Shalonda Enis; Richmond made Georgia’s 6-3 La’Keshia Frett a territorial choice; and New England, after a trade with New England, made St. Joseph’s 6-1 Dale Hodges the last pick of the first round.

Long Beach’s remaining four picks, in order:

* Beverly Williams, 5-9, a guard on Texas’ 1986 NCAA championship team and a veteran of pro ball in Italy and Turkey.

* Necole Tunsil, 6-1, former Iowa forward who played in France the last two seasons.

* Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil, 6-1, a 1989 Texas player who played for New England last season.

* Dena Evans, 5-5, a 1993 Virginia guard on Richmond’s roster last season.

Griffith, 27, joins a team that has three other veteran front-line players: Venus Lacy, 6-4; Cindy Brown, 6-2; and Trisha Stafford, 6-2. They were left unprotected by their ABL teams last season and assigned by Long Beach.

The backcourt players are Williams, Michelle Marciniak, Nicky McCrimmon and Jenni Ruff.

ABL Notes

USC’s 6-5 center, Michelle Campbell, was the 26th pick, in the third round, by Richmond. . . . Linda Hargrove of Wichita State will be announced as the Long Beach coach this week, an ABL source said.