Lawcalcock is an awesome poster. And you're correct he was the only one confident we could beat UCONN. But I have to respectfully disagree about Davis. Here's a post I wrote back in November.
A'ja is really a center. That's the position she plays on Team USA and that's the position she'll play professionally. She's never truly reached her true potential here because she's been surrounded by non-shooters and she's played along side bigs who take up space in the lane (Coates, Welch). And despite those limitations, she was still the SEC Player of the Year.
I don't enough about the roster makeup to tell you what the team will look like next year; ideally, though, she would play the 5 and be surrounded by shooters. She would be completely unstoppable: too big for a quick defender; too quick for a big defender.
With Wilson at the 5, we won a national championship. And Davis was able to flourish without two centers on the court. She is not her best when she's regulated to being a spot-up 3 point shooter. She needs floor spacing to be able to drive, which will happen for her at the next level. Plus, she's an excellent defender (she completely owned Vivans this season). I think of Davis being like Julio Jones on the 2009 Bama team, he was an outstanding receiver on a team that ran the ball. The fit wasn't right. The fit wasn't right for Davis until Coates went down. Davis is ready to be WNBA player, IMO
As for the money issue, let's say she makes a million dollar over the next ten years. She can always go back to school. And her father's wealth made actually be a factor in her decision to leave. He may have told her that he will pay for her education if pro ball doesn't work out.
Also, next season's draft will include A'ja, DeShields, Mercedes Russell, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexi Brown, Azura Stevens. I'm not sure she's better than those players, but I would take her over Kelsey Plum.
I wished she would have stayed, but I get why she chose to leave. And we all agree it was her decision to make.
