2013 WNBA Draft prospects from the Norfolk region of the NCAA Tournament

A look back at the seasons of a few 2013 WNBA Draft prospects in the Norfolk region of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

By Nate P@NateP_SBN Apr 4, 2013, 9:00pm EDT

Throughout the season we've been tracking draft prospects in our WNBA Draft prospects storystream, but we didn't actually get around to writing an analysis of every single player who could be a factor come draft day.

And, as much as I say that the NCAA Tournament shouldn't make or break a prospect, fear not: that's not how I identified people for this list; I just started organizing draft prospects by region this year for some reason and saved Norfolk and Spokane for later.

Anyway, I basically did two things:

1. I started with Ed Bemiss' draft ratings for every NCAA DI women's basketball player.

2. I compared the players he had rated as draft-worthy to the statistical red flags I've collected.

3. I included them on the list if they seemed to have a reasonable case for getting drafted compared to other players we've already discussed.

Without further ado, here's a list of players that we haven't talked about much previously on this site.

Chucky Jeffery, 5'10", G, Colorado Buffaloes

NSR rating: 3rd round | Profile

Jeffery is a player who has been on the fringe of our radar around here all season and we've talked about her in the comments on various posts a few times. The fact that she earned honorable mention AP All-America recognition for her efforts this season makes her hard to ignore.

What really stands out about Jeffery is versatility: she finished the season leading Colorado in scoring (13.7 ppg), assists (4.0 apg), rebounds (8.2 rpg) and steals (2.2 spg) while playing the point guard position for one of the Pac-12's four tournament teams.

As a point guard prospect, Jeffery fits the mold of a player who might actually become more efficient in the pros when she isn't forced to assume so much of the scoring load: although she has a low pure point rating of -1.07, her usage rate of 26.05% is extremely high - only exceeded by that of Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins (28%) - but she still managed a points per empty possession of 1.64, which really isn't a bad profile for a point guard.

The one question about Jeffery might be about what role she actually fits on a WNBA team: her assist ratio is still somewhat low (18.42%) even for a high scoring point guard. And while you have to think she could develop into a solid defender - a 20.98% defensive rebounding percentage and 4.05% steal percentage are indicators of excellent athleticism on the defensive end for a guard - her low 3-point percentage (28.4%) doesn't make her an immediate candidate for becoming an "antidote" type player. But Jeffery looks to be the type of player that you'd at least want to bring into training camp if you're looking for defense and guard help just to see what she can do.

Morgan Johnson, 6'5", C, Iowa Hawkeyes

NSR rating: 3rd round | Profile

Johnson is player who doesn't have any exceptional strengths statistically compared to her post prospect peers, but she also doesn't have any glaring red flags either: her scoring efficiency is solid (57.7% true shooting percentage, 31st in the nation), she has a solid offensive rebounding percentage (10.46%), she gets to the free throw line at a reasonable rate (41.5%), and she has a rep for having good hands.

The question for Johnson is where she stands relative to the rest of a field that includes a number of post players from better known programs in better conferences. But this is interesting to note: statistically, there's an argument that she's a better prospect than any of the center prospects in the draft last season, which is somewhat impressive.

Adrienne Pratcher, 5'7", PG, Texas A&M

NSR rating: 3rd round | Profile

What Pratcher has going for her is outstanding efficiency as a point guard on a SEC championship team. A pure point rating of 4.71 to go with a points per empty possession of 1.84 puts her firmly in the range of a successful (i.e. making a roster) WNBA prospect. Add to that a 38.9% 3-point shooting percentage and that's not a bad profile.

The problem in her numbers is a few very low stats that sometimes reflect a player who will struggle with the athleticism at the next level: her free throw rate of 10.56% is extremely low and her offensive rebound rate of 1.36% is actually an even bigger red flag, even as a point guard. Those numbers generally reflect a point guard who isn't often beating opposing defenders and getting into the paint very often, which makes chances of making a WNBA roster slim.