UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The plan worked to perfection for Jewell Loyd. Even if she didn't actually say that the chance to go No. 1 in the WNBA draft was her plan.
Seattle picked the Notre Dame guard first Thursday night here at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Loyd will start her professional career on the Pacific Northwest with a future Hall of Famer, Sue Bird, as a guard mentor, and with a former college rival, No. 3 pick Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, as her new Storm teammate.
"I think it was a great move for Jewell Loyd," said former WNBA standout and current South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. "I think you're going to see it a little bit more. Players are getting a lot better, and they want their dreams to come true sooner."
By "it," of course, Staley means players leaving college early to go to the WNBA if they have the opportunity. Not everyone does, even if she's good enough. In the case of both Loyd and the No. 2 pick, Minnesota's Amanda Zahui B., the reason they could declare for this draft is that they are turning 22 this calendar year.
While saying she expects early departure to be a bit more of a factor to deal with for women's college coaches, Staley also said with a smile that she was glad her junior star, Tiffany Mitchell, is still only 20. She doesn't turn 21 until September.
So Mitchell didn't even have the opportunity to make the decision that Loyd, her All-American counterpart in the recent South Carolina-Notre Dame national semifinal, made. That fact that Loyd did have that chance, though, put her in an awkward position with her college team and coach, Muffet McGraw.
That turned into one of the subplots, if you will, to this draft: How/when Loyd's decision was made and McGraw's reaction to it. On a story posted on Notre Dame's website last week after Loyd declared for the draft, McGraw said in a statement: "We appreciate all that Jewell has done for our program during her time here. We understand this was not an easy decision. We wish her nothing but happiness and success at the next level."
But then this week at Notre Dame's basketball banquet, McGraw told reporters that she felt blindsided. She said Loyd had told the Irish staff a few weeks ago that she was staying, but then told McGraw shortly after the April 7 national championship game loss to UConn that she would leave. McGraw also said she thought it was a bad decision, and that she was "incredibly disappointed."
"They're just seizing the moment. We're learning a lot about branding at a younger age. I think they are very smart for doing this, because they're going to be very big franchise players." Chiney Ogwumike on Jewell Loyd and Amanda Zahui B.
Loyd said repeatedly Thursday night that she and her family had prepared extensively for taking this path to professionalism, just as she has prepared for every other step she has taken in her life.
However, Loyd didn't say exactly when she knew for sure that she was leaving. It seems pretty clear, though, that she knew or at least seriously was considering it even before the NCAA tournament. We can piece together what seems to have happened: Loyd thought it best not to reveal to McGraw what she was really thinking.
Loyd has a very tight-knit family and is closely advised by her older brother, who played basketball professionally. Surely, they looked at the distinct possibilities that going into the draft this year presented to Loyd, and decided they were too good to pass up.
Which is very understandable. Loyd had to know she had an excellent chance to go No. 1 this year, and that wouldn't have happened next season with UConn's Breanna Stewart essentially a lock in that spot. Further, Loyd knew that her destination as No. 1 this year would be Seattle, a franchise that has traditionally made the postseason and has two WNBA titles, but is in a rebuilding/reshaping phase now. It should be a very good fit to help Loyd grow and prosper as a professional player.
What seems a bit odd is that Loyd said Thursday that neither of those things -- going No. 1 or going to Seattle -- really impacted her decision.
"You think of any possibility ... you just want a chance, you want a door to open," Loyd said of entering this draft.
Um ... really? Surely Loyd knows she has been one of the best players in college the last three years, and that, for her, a "chance" at the WNBA was a given either this year or next.
Last year's No. 1 pick, Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike was at the draft Thursday and was asked about the early departures being the top two picks this year.
"I've talked to both of them individually, and they both said they are still getting their degrees," Ogwumike said of Loyd and Zahui. "These are two young women who have capitalized on the draft. I think they're just seizing the moment. We're learning a lot about branding at a younger age. I think they are very smart for doing this, because they're going to be very big franchise players.
"At the same time, I'm telling them, 'Ya'll better [finish] school; I'm going to check.' We need our degrees."
Loyd, who wrote in an article for the "The Players' Tribune" on Thursday about coping with dyslexia, is close to her degree from Notre Dame and says she is committed to getting it. In terms of making a choice that was best for her, it seems that she weighed the options and came up with a reasonable decision that is not difficult to defend.
"I think it was a great move for Jewell Loyd. I think you're going to see it a little bit more. Players are getting a lot better, and they want their dreams to come true sooner." South Carolina coach Dawn Staley
But it also seems she opted to leave McGraw out of that loop until the choice was already made. That's probably because Loyd was navigating a touchy situation that's still unusual in women's hoops. On the men's side, every coach who recruits a star-level male player just expects that early departures will happen. Those conversations aren't difficult for the coach and player to have; to the contrary, they're a standard part of the process now.
It's kind of a shame how this situation with Loyd went down, because this actually should have been a fun night for Notre Dame and McGraw to celebrate with her. It's a testament to the level that McGraw's program has reached that the Irish had first-round draftees the past few years like Devereaux Peters, Natalie Novosel, Skylar Diggins, Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa. And now a No. 1 pick in Loyd.
Loyd said she expects everything to smooth over eventually. She compared McGraw's reaction to her leaving early to the feeling some parents have when their kids go to college and then feel they're losing their connection to them.
"Everything kind of heals with time," Loyd said. "It will be all right. It was different; women's players haven't done this much before."
Maybe what bothers McGraw the most isn't that Loyd is leaving, but that she wasn't told until right after a painful, season-ending loss. But Loyd didn't want McGraw to try to talk her out of it, so she didn't give her that opportunity. I can understand the point of view of both sides here, but it's too bad there wasn't a clearer line of communication.
Did it hurt Loyd somewhat that McGraw wasn't at Thursday's draft?
"Not really," Loyd said, then referenced her family again. "I have the people who love me here."
Loyd didn't say that in a flip way, nor did it seem she was taking a jab at McGraw. I think Loyd wants this to blow over as soon as possible. Now, her focus goes to getting ready for a new level of competition.
And college coaches really will have to think a little more about the fact that the difference between a potentially losing a star before her senior year and not really having to worry about it simply might come down to that player's birth date.