Mercury select Willoughby in 2020 WNBA Draft, trade to New York
Apr 17, 2020, 5:21 PM | Updated: 6:05 pm
Virginia Cavaliers guard Jocelyn Willoughby (13) drives around Syracuse Orange guard Kiara Lewis (23) during the ACC Women's Tournament game between the Syracuse Orange and the Virginia Cavaliers at Greensboro Coliseum on March 5, 2020 in Greensboro, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Phoenix Mercury selected Virginia forward Jocelyn Willoughby with the 10th overall selection in the 2020 WNBA Draft, only to trade her to the New York Liberty for guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.
Walker-Kimbrough is a three-year WNBA veteran for the Liberty. Over her career, she has averaged 5.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game with the Washington Mystics. Walker-Kimbrough was just acquired by the Liberty on Wednesday in a deal involving All-Star Tina Charles.
In her senior season, Willoughby had a huge jump in scoring to 19.2 points per game, a mark that led the ACC. On top of 7.7 rebounds a game, she can stretch the floor, where Willoughby shot 41.6% from three-point range on nearly three attempts per game.
Willoughby is the first player to be selected in the WNBA Draft out of Virginia since 2010.
The Mercury traded DeWanna Bonner to the Connecticut Sun, only to quickly recover from that move by remaining in win-now mode and acquiring All-Star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith. The Mercury made that deal possible by trading the fifth and seventh picks in this draft, as well as their 2021 first-round pick.
Diggins-Smith forms a new big-3 with long-time veterans and all-time greats Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.
Baylor guard Te’a Cooper at 18th overall and Rider guard Stella Johnson in the third round were the other two selections made by the Mercury.
In a statement on April 3, the WNBA announced that it was postponing the start of training camps and the regular season, which was previously set for tip-off on May 15.
Friday’s draft took place virtually to maintain social distancing guidelines set in place due to COVID-19.
