“I can relate it back to my freshman year when you aren’t the star player,” said Augustus of her new role as a rookie with the Lynx. “You need to get into a comfort zone, need to learn your teammates, their personalities, see where you fit in – and mainly just find out what you can do, what you can’t do and what is good for the team.”
Her selection by Minnesota capped off an emotional week that began with the LSU Lady Tigers reaching the NCAA Women’s Final Four, only to fall to Duke in the semifinal round.
“After the semifinal loss, I mainly just went back to my room and read books to try and keep my mind off of what had just happened,” said Augustus. “Once we transferred hotels and I got with the WNBA staff, it was focusing on trying to be prepared for the draft, getting ready for my career and my future.”
The Phoenix Mercury selected Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers University with the second overall pick. Pondexter, a four-time AP All-America, averaged 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists throughout her career at Rutgers.
After Augustus had been selected with the top pick and Pondexter with the second, the Rutgers product relayed a conversation the two players had earlier in the day.
“Seimone and I are really good friends; we talk all the time,” said Pondexter. “We were just talking about expressing how we would feel today. We knew we’d enjoy the day because this experience will never come around again.”
Charlotte had two picks in the first round, selecting Duke University guard/forward Monique Currie with the third overall pick and Tennessee center Tye’sha Fluker with the 10th pick. Both will team up with Sting’s Janel McCarville, who was the number one overall pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft.
The Chicago Sky with its first selection in franchise history and the sixth overall pick in the draft, selected Temple University guard and two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Candice Dupree.
The other first round picks were Baylor center Sophia Young (fourth, San Antonio); UCLA guard Lisa Willis (fifth, Los Angeles); Utah guard Shona Thorburn (seventh, Minnesota); Miami guard/forward Tamara James (eighth, Washington); North Carolina guard/forward La’Tangela Atkinson (ninth, Indiana); Connecticut guard/forward Barbara Turner (11th, Seattle); Georgia guard Sherill Baker (12th, New York); Utah forward Kim Smith (13th, Sacramento); Louisiana State University guard Scholanda Hoston (14th, Sacramento).
A flurry of activity in the second round saw the Houston Comets trade the draft rights of Ann Strother (15th pick overall from the University of Connecticut) to Phoenix in exchange for Liz Shimek (18th pick from Michigan State) and Mistie Williams (21st pick from Duke).
The Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx also were active in the second round. Detroit traded the draft rights of Ambrosia Anderson (17th pick overall) and their second round pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft to Minnesota in exchange for Jacqualine Batteast and the Lynx’s third round pick next year.
The WNBA’s 10th anniversary season tips off on Saturday, May 20, 2006 and will include ABC’s broadcast of the defending WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs as they commemorate their 2005 WNBA title by raising the championship banner prior to squaring off against All-Star guard Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury at ARCO Arena beginning at 4 p.m. EDT. The league’s 10th season also will feature appointment viewing on Tuesday nights as ESPN2 will televise 14 WNBA games – including five doubleheaders – on Tuesdays this spring/summer. For more information on the WNBA, visit WNBA.com.
Below are the complete results from the 2006 WNBA Draft.
2006 WNBA DRAFT ORDER
FIRST ROUND
1) Minnesota (14-20) Seimone
Augustus
2) Phoenix (16-18) Cappie Pondexter
3) Charlotte (6-28) Monique
Currie
4) San Antonio (7-27) Sophia Young
5) Los Angeles from Washington
(16-18) 1 Lisa Willis
6) Chicago Candice Dupree
7) Minnesota from Detroit
(16-18) 2 Shona Thorburn
8) Washington from Los Angeles (17-17) 3 Tamara James
9)
Indiana from New York (18-16) 4 La’Tangela Atkinson
10) Charlotte from
Houston (19-15) 5 Tye’sha Fluker
11) Seattle (20-14) Barbara Turner
12)
New York from Indiana (21-13) 6 Sherill Baker
13) Sacramento (25-9) Kim Smith
14)
Sacramento from Connecticut via San Antonio (26-8) 7 Scholanda Hoston
1
On March 1, 2006 the Washington Mystics traded Temeka Johnson, Murriel Page and
the Mystics’ first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Los Angeles Sparks
in exchange for Nikki Teasley and the Sparks’ first round pick.
2 On July 30, 2005 the Detroit Shock traded Chandi Jones and Stacey Thomas and the Shock’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Katie Smith and the Lynx’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
3 On March 1, 2006 the Washington Mystics traded Temeka Johnson, Murriel Page and the Mystics’ first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Nikki Teasley and the Sparks’ first round pick.
4 On February 24 2006 the Indiana Fever traded Kelly Schumacher and the Fever’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the New York Liberty in exchange for the Liberty’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
5 On August 1, 2005 the Charlotte Sting traded Dawn Staley and the Sting’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Houston Comets in exchange for Adrienne Goodson and Kristen Rasmussen and the Comets’ first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
6 On February 24, 2006 the Indiana Fever traded Kelly Schumacher and the Fever’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the New York Liberty in exchange for the Liberty’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
7 On May 18, 2005 the San Antonio Silver Stars traded a first round pick (acquired from Connecticut) in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Chantelle Anderson. (On April 16, 2005 the Connecticut Sun traded the rights to Katie Feenstra and Sun’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to San Antonio in exchange for Margo Dydek.)
SECOND ROUND
1)
Houston from Charlotte (6-28) 8 and 14 Ann Strother
2) San Antonio (7-27) Shanna
Zolman
3) Detroit from Minnesota (14-20) 9 and 15 Ambrosia Anderson
4)
Phoenix (16-18) 14 Liz Shimek
5) Washington (16-18) Nikki Blue
6) Chicago
Jennifer Harris
7) Phoenix from Detroit (16-18) 10 and 14 Mistie Williams
8)
Los Angeles (17-17) Willnett Crockett
9) New York (18-16) Brooke Queenan
10)
Houston (19-15) Renae Camino
11) Seattle (20-14) Dalila Eshe
12) Indiana
(21-13) Kasha Terry
13) Charlotte from Sacramento (25-9) 11 LaToya Bond
14)
Connecticut (26-8) Debbie Merrill
8 On August 1, 2005 the Charlotte Sting traded Dawn Staley and the Sting’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Houston Comets in exchange for Goodson and Rasmussen and the Comtes’ first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
9
On July 30, 2005 the Detroit Shock traded Chandi Jones and Stacey Thomas and the
Shock’s first round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx in
exchange for Katie Smith and Minnesota’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA
Draft..
10 On June 29, 2005 the Detroit Shock traded Andrea Stinson and the Shock’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Plenette Pierson
11 On March 3, 2005 the Charlotte Sting traded Nicole Powell, Olympia Scott-Richardson and Erin Buescher and the Sting’s second round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft to Sacramento in exchange for Tangela Smith
14 On April 5, 2006 the Houston Comet traded the draft rights of Ann Strother to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the draft rights of Liz Shimek and Mistie Williams
15 On April 5, 2006 the Detroit Shock traded the draft rights of Ambrosia Anderson and the Shock’s second round pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Jacqueline Batteast and the Lynx’s third round pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft
THIRD
ROUND
1) Houston from Charlotte (6-28) 12 Tiffany Stansbury
2) San Antonio
(7-27) Khara Smith
3) Minnesota (14-20) Megan Duffy
4) Phoenix (16-18) Crystal
Smith
5) Washington (16-18) Miriam Sy
6) Chicago Kerri Gardin
7) Detroit
(16-18) Zane Teilane
8) Los Angeles (17-17) Tiffany Porter-Talbert
9) New
York (18-16) Christelle N’Garsanet
10) Indiana from Houston (19-15) 13
Jessica Foley
11) Seattle (20-14) Erin Grant
12) Indiana (21-13) Marina
Kuzina
13) Sacramento (25-9) Lamisha Augustine
14) Connecticut (26-8) Marita
Payne
12 On March 30, 2006 the Houston Comets traded Edwige Lawson to the Charlotte Sting in exchange for the Sting’s third round selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
13 On April 22, 2005 the Indiana Fever traded Rasmussen to the Houston Comets in exchange for the Comets’ third round pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.