WNBA Draft
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
TV: ESPN2
Ally Malott has developed into a bona fide WNBA prospect, but few would have seen a pro future for the senior forward during her early years at Dayton.
Even Malott figured back then she’d be putting her Exercise Science degree to work after UD, not playing for pay.
“I’ll be honest, the first couple years I was at Dayton, I was like, ‘No way. I’m not going to play after college. I love being at Dayton. I love the team. I love playing. But I don’t see anything after that,’ “she said.
“But then after the season we had, how it ended on such a high note, I was like, ‘If I have the opportunity to keep playing, that’s what I want to do.’”
Malott was a major part of the Flyers’ exhilarating run to the Elite Eight, and the 6-foot-4 star almost assuredly will parlay that exposure and her all-around game into a spot on a WNBA roster.
The Middletown native and Madison High School graduate has been pegged by DraftSite.com as the seventh overall prospect, while CollegeMadness.com ranks her as the 25th-best available player.
Teammate Andrea Hoover, a Spring Valley Academy product, also could hear her name called when the 12 WNBA teams hold their three-round draft at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. CollegeMadness.com has the 5-9 guard from Bellbrook rated as the 32nd-best prospect.
“I’ve gotten a couple calls from coaches, and I’m trying to find an agent right now,” Malott said. “It’s kind of been a whirlwind. The season ended, and I relaxed for a couple days. And now it’s like the recruiting process to a certain extent, except I have a lot less control on where I’m going. We’ll see what happens.”
The WNBA has been around since 1996, but the league is still trying to find its niche in the sports landscape, and salaries reflect that. The top pay in 2014 was $107,000, and the league minimum was about $38,000.
But Malott and Hoover would be eager to test their games against the likes of Candace Parker and Sue Bird when the season kicks off June 5, and the money is secondary.
“It’s nothing as extravagant as NBA salaries. If you’re looking at the money standpoint, it’s probably not the best area to go,” Hoover said. “But for me, it’s for the experience of being able to say I played with the best of the best.
“The greatest players who ever played have gone through that league. To be able to try out for a team and get any opportunity to play for a while, that would be a really humbling experience.”
Hoover, who finished second in the women’s State Farm three-point contest at the Final Four, finished her career No. 4 on the all-time UD scoring list with 1,838 points. Malott, the only McDonald’s All-American ever to sign with the Flyers, is sixth in school history with 1,504 points.
“They’re incredible teammates, first and foremost,” UD coach Jim Jabir said. “Unselfish, hard-working — those guys are the best.
“In both, you’re going to get a lot of skill, a lot of heart and an understanding of the game. The way they play — for certain teams — is perfect.”
While Malott has the size and skill set that pro teams covet, it may take more of a discerning eye to see Hoover’s value.
“She’s not a pure point guard, and it would have to be a situation where she finds a team that has a system where she really fits,” Jabir said. “I’m hopeful she gets a chance. If she gets an opportunity, people will be really happy to have her.”
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