Brittney Griner arrives in Valley, introduced by Mercury
Apr 20, 2013, 9:47 PM | Updated: 9:47 pm
And you thought you had a busy week.
Five days after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, Brittney Griner finally made her way to Phoenix, where she was formally introduced by the Mercury at a Saturday press conference.
“I’m excited to be here,” she said with her mom and dad in attendance. “I’m ready to start; wish I could move in tomorrow and start playing. Hope I can live up to everything that everybody is expecting me to live up to. Hope I can bring those alley-oop dunks, block shots and just give you all a good season.”
Griner, a three-time All-American and two-time national player of the year out of Baylor, has been the center of attention — quite literally given her 6-foot-8 frame and 7-4 wingspan — since Monday when the Mercury drafted her No. 1 in the most anticipated draft class in league history.
“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” she said.
Here’s but a snapshot of her week’s worth of appearances:
Monday
ESPN “Car Wash” (Mike & Mike, SportsCenter four times, ESPN Films, ESPN Deportes, First Take, The Mag, Executive Lunch, Coach and Company Radio Show, ESPN.com Chat)
Tuesday
Lunch at the NBA offices, NBA TV
Forbes magazine interview
Diamondbacks game at Yankee Stadium, where she was presented with a personalized D-backs jersey during batting practice prior to appearances on both the TV and radio broadcasts
Wednesday
Huffington Post, NY Times, AP, NBC Sports, SI, SI.com, SI Kids interviews
Knicks game vs. Hawks at Madison Square Garden
Saturday
10:30 a.m. land in Phoenix
11:30 a.m. press conference
Mercury fan rally
Two-hour video/photo shoot at arena
Coin flip at Rattlers game
Sunday
Celebrity judge at Mercury Hip Hop Squad auditions
Evening sports shows tour
Monday
Morning news hits
11 a.m. leaves for L.A. for more media, meetings and Clippers playoff game
“Every single day and every single time I think it might be too much, she’s great,” Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas said. “She’s really having a lot of fun and just enjoying the process.”
And Griner never got tired?
“She’s leaving all of us in the dust,” said Colas, who noted Griner drinks a lot of Red Bull. “She sets the pace and you’ve got to keep up.”
The first NCAA player to record 2,000 points and 500 blocks in a career has enjoyed every minute of the attention.
“I definitely took it all in,” Griner said. “At one point there wasn’t this much coverage so I was definitely just soaking it in, just keeping a smile on my face. I’m just happy that ESPN and everybody were covering the girls, so definitely happy.”
