As one of the best players to ever play college basketball at UConn, Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi is thankful for where she came from and is proud to represent her alma mater in any way she can.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With the 2024 NBA Draft tonight, the next class of talent will soon have their dreams come true of becoming professionals. Huskies center Donovan Clingan, guards Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton are all projected by multiple mock drafts to be selected in either the first or second rounds after they were all crowned as the 2024 NCAA Division I Tournament winners.
Since being at the helm, both UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley and women’s Geno Auriemma have built a dynasty as a whole in Storrs, Connecticut. Auriemma has guided the lady Huskies to 11 national championships while Hurley led the men’s team to back-to-back title wins.
Taking notice of the university continuing to develop high-level talent in both men’s and women’s basketball, Taurasi praised what the college has done to help so many UConn players, like herself, become prepared for the next level.
“There is just something there that produces tough kids that want to play at the highest level,” Taurasi said. “Whether it is on the men’s side or the women’s side, when you get to Storrs, it is all about basketball and the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter. You’re going to be a champion, the best teammate and best player you can be.”
Diana Taurasi (@DianaTaurasi) on how UConn continues to produce #NBA and #WNBA talent, with the NBA Draft tonight.
“Theres just something up there.” #ValleyTogether pic.twitter.com/p2XGD6sEYI
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) June 26, 2024
Taurasi played at UConn for four years (2000-04) in which she was a three-time NCAA champion following her freshman year. She was also a back-to-back Naismith College Player of the Year in 2003-04 and received many Big East Conference honors along her journey.
After taking the college basketball world by storm, the WNBA superstar was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft by the Mercury and it has been history ever since.
Clingan and Castle are both projected to be top 10 picks in the first round of tonight’s NBA Draft. Spencer and Newton are presumably landing as second round picks whose stocks can rise as teams continue deliberating who they’ll go for.
Having the championship experience and going through some of the highest-pressure moments during “March Madness,” this is yet another class of UConn stars that will be turning pro and there will be more where that came from in the future.
The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft commences at 5 p.m. PT tonight, with the second round beginning Thursday at 1 p.m. PT.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
