Brittney Griner, Senior, Center, Baylor
Overview:
Griner came to Waco with the all the hype, accolades and the ability to dunk, which is virtually impossible to find in the women’s game. With 52 dunks in high school, it was pretty clear that the dunk was at least going to appear in the college game with Griner. As a freshman in 2009-10, Griner had an eye-popping 223 blocked shots which led the nation, along three triple doubles and was named Second Team All-American while scoring a very impressive 18.4 points per contest.
In her sophomore season of 2010-11, The Griner legend grew as she was a clear first team all-American, the best defensive player in the country and she raised her scoring average up to 23 points per contest. Also, her dominance in the paint made it a very difficult task for any team to try and score inside on the Lady Bears and it took a fourth meeting between Baylor and Texas A&M for the Aggies to finally solve Griner and the Lady Bears but it was not easy at all as it was a narrow three point loss. Griner led Baylor to a record breaking 34 wins and set the stage for a preseason number one rating for 2011-12.
Final Projection:
Brittney has lived up to the hype and then some at Baylor. Early entrants to the WNBA Draft are pretty rare but Griner is a rare combination of height, athleticism and commitment. If Baylor were to win a national title this season, I would be hard pressed to see her return for a senior season as she would have accomplished everything possible in Women’s College Basketball. Griner is definitely a potential franchise changer for the WNBA squad that drafts her.
