One of the players who we've been aware of but haven't discussed much around here as a 2014 WNBA draft prospect is 6-foot-6 post Astou Ndour, who won the 2013 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year and 2013-14 Spanish League MVP.
From an older FIBA Europe release about the 2013 Player of the Year award:
Undeterred by narrowly missing out on a spot on the Spanish national team roster that won gold at EuroBasket Women in France in June, Ndour still got the chance to play her role in the summer of Spanish women's basketball.
The 19-year-old, appearing at her second U20 European Championship Women, was an unstoppable force in the paint in Samsun, Turkey, finishing the tournament with a close to double-double average of 17.3 points and 9.8 rebounds an outing, leading her countrywomen to gold and, at a personal level, earning herself tournament MVP honours as well as a place on the All-Tournament team.
There have been rumors about Ndour being a first round pick floating around for some time, but with the draft occurring tomorrow the latest published statement from Ndour was non-committal as reported by Julian Felipo of MundoDeportivo.com recently (excuse the choppy translation from Google):
Did you come interest from teams in other countries?
Yes How do you know have called me but I have not decided anything because we now have the mind in the playoff. After that and decide what to do.
How U.S. also? There are many young players who have opted in recent years to continue their careers at American universities.
Yes, also. I have options and I have not yet decided if I will stay or not. Anyway, whatever happens, Gran Canaria and I can be my home I can always come back here.
Seeing as how Ndour's Gran Canaria squad lost just yesterday, it remains to be seen whether she'll end up in the WNBA this season.
For more on prospects for the WNBA, check out our 2014 WNBA draft prospect watch storystream.