Power Forward Prospects

Istanbul has been great, though today is the first day with sunshine, and my innovation suite is empty as people head out to bask in the sun.

Ashley Walker
California, 6'1"
I really prefer my forwards to be taller, but Ashely led the pack of PF's last season for shooting efficiency (FL:57%, eFG:51%, TS: 57%), BoxScores (8.24), rebounding (DR:14%, OR:11%, R/40:12), adjusted individual rating (61.94) and adjusted WinScore (6.54). Her ability to translate to the pros may rely on her size and strength to play as an undersized post or her athletic ability and outside shot to slide to the perimeter as a decent sized small forward.

Lindsay Wysdom-Hilton
Purdue 6'2"
Lindsay offers a little more height, solid shooting (FL:53%, eFG:56%, TS:57%) BoxScore (7.95), rebounding (OR:8%, DR:10%, R/40:10), adjusted individual rating (54.91) and adjusted WinScore (6.34). Like Walker, she has a fairly low offensive rating (76.25) which is likely due to the style of play at Purdue. Additionally, her usage rating is only 24%, which is a bit low for a player to break the first round in the draft.


Devanei Hampton
California, 6'3"
Hampton has the size to play the post in the pros, but her shooting efficiency is low for a post (averaging in the low 40's). Her usage is very high, at 34%, which means that California depends on her presence in the post to succeed, even more than the more efficient Walker. Her low assist ratio (45%) may indicate that the ball rarely leaves her hand once she gets it, or that she does not do a good job at finding open shooters when double teamed, but her solid turnover ratio (6%) means she isn't making mistakes with the ball. She is a decent defensive rebounder (11% of available defensive rebounds) but below average on the offensive end of the floor. She also offered the lowest BoxScore, adjusted individual rating and WinScore of my top prospects at this position. I suspect that Hampton is a defensive player that could be a good complement in the post to a more offensive minded player like Sophia Young, Lauren Jackson or Tina Thompson.

Candyce Bingham
Louisville, 6'1"
Bingham is a better shooter than Hampton, and offers an average BoxScore rating. She has a decent assist ratio (assisting on 56% of her possesions to 16% turnovers). From a rebounding perspective she does well at both ends (DR:11%, OR:9%, R/40:10). She offers the second best offensive rating (85.59) of my top five PF, and decent adjusted BoxScores (4.69), adjusted individual rating (59.95) and adjusted WinScore (5.37).

Marshae Dotson
Florida, 5'11
Dotson's height means she will have to play the three in the pros or be very overmatched. I think this will prevent her game from translating to the pros in the end. She does look good by the numbers however, as the second best overall offensive rated power forward (98.57). She is a solid shooter (FL:53%, eFG:53%, TS:58%) and rebounder (DR:11%, OR:9%, R/40:12).

Honorable Mentions: Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska), Lade Akande (Butler), Kemie Nkele (UC Riverside), Star Allen (Ohio State, and Ashley Paris (Oklahoma).

Remaining Prospects: Shawn Goff, Demetress Adams, Lauren Lacey, Whitney Thomas, Amber Jackson, Rachel Allison, Marlies Gipson