Evina Westbrook was selected 21st overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm. The Oregon native moved across the country to play college basketball. She played her first two years at the University of Tennessee before transferring to the Connecticut Huskies to finish her career.
Westbrook’s versatility may be her best asset. Not unlike another UConn player, the Storm acquired this off-season - Gabby Williams. Westbrook averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.3 APG her sophomore season at Tennessee. During her junior season at UConn, she continued to develop her overall game averaging 9.4 PPG on 58% FG shooting from two-point range. She also averaged a college career-best 5.3 RPG and 1.7 SPG. Her numbers dipped a little bit her senior season but were still similar to the year before.
While attending a couple of practices during training camp it’s been pretty apparent that Westbrook is working hard and doing her best to give off a strong first impression. She was running the backup point guard position behind Sue Bird on the very first day of camp. That impressed me as the point guard position is arguably the most difficult position to play in basketball. She has also been the last player on the court after practices have ended continuing to get additional shots up and working with coaches.
On Saturday, Westbrook was the first guard reserve off the bench and played for nearly 15 minutes. She spent time playing both the point guard and wing positions in the game. She did not have a great shooting night, going just 1-5 FG from the floor. But she did connect on her first three-point attempt. Evina also had an impressive steal after Los Angeles had just collected a defensive rebound. She got the ball to Breanna Stewart who converted the layup.
Prior to Saturday’s game, I got to sit down and speak with Evina Westbrook after practice this past Thursday. You can listen to that interview at the podcast link above or read the transcript of the interview below. Enjoy!
Evina Westbrook Training Camp Interview
Jeff Brown: Take me back to your draft day experience. How was that for you? Did you get a call before seeing your name on TV?
Evina Westbrook: I did not get a call so I had no idea where I was going to end up. Throughout the day the anticipation was killing me. Most of the day my family was really excited. I don’t think it hit me until the draft actually started. The best thing for me was for my family to be there and just love on me. They hyped it up, they had me walk out and have my brother announce me. It was really nice. Once my name got called to the Storm, I dreamed of playing here! It’s close to home. I haven’t been close to home for 4-5 years. Being in the same time zone as my family for the first time (in a long time). I definitely didn’t think it’d be this soon but I’m in a great organization and for this to be my first year, my rookie year, it’s beyond a blessing, to be honest. My draft night experience was good, the anticipation killed me, but the way it all turned out was pretty great.
JB: You did mention this was a perfect situation for you. Obviously, being closer to home but anything beyond that?
EW: I’m really used to the weather, the rain that people talk about and they might not like. I’m really used to it being from Oregon. I just think the pace of how everything is compared to the east coast. In the New York area, everything is in a rush, in a rush, in a rush. Back home on the west coast it’s real chill. Calm, cool, collected, it’s really smooth. I’m glad to be back in my element.
JB: How would you compare this experience in training camp with your first year at UConn and any major differences?
EW: I would say it’s pretty similar. You don’t know what to expect coming in. It’s different because I didn’t have an official visit here. It’s kinda like the recruitment process but backward. I’m not looking at schools. You have coaches calling me to see how good of a person you are. Other than that, you just gotta go out and play. Obviously, the pace and the things we try to do in practice are a little bit different. I said on the Zoom, I don’t want to but I do thank him because I did feel really prepared (for the WNBA).
JB: What would you say is the biggest takeaway or thing you’ve learned from training camp so far?
EW: My biggest takeaway is to just go with the mess-ups. I feel like every drill, I know we’re not, but I feel like every drill we’re messing up. We’re messing up something, we didn’t move in the right place or set the right screen. Our veterans are super helpful. It’s cool to see how they lead the team. Sue is obviously a big voice, Stewie, Jewell, and even Jantel. It’s her first year (with the Storm) but she’s considered a veteran on the team. We have some that are super quiet on the sidelines like Ezi or Steph but they will communicate stuff in different ways if we have questions. They’ve been amazing helping us navigate through our mess-ups. Really just go out and play basketball. I think people can be like “Oh my god, you’re playing with Sue, Stewie, and Jewell - you have three GOATS on your team.” and it’s like yeah, I have the utmost respect for all of my teammates but you can’t come out and play scared especially as a rookie. That’s not what they want, that’s not what they expect. You can’t come out and play scared. You just have to come out and play basketball.
JB: Touching on that, were there any moments of being awe-struck or star-struck like “That’s Sue Bird!”, “That’s Breanna Stewart!” or is it more “Hey, I got drafted for a reason too! I went to UConn too.” having more of that confidence?
EW: I’ve seen Sue and Stewie. They’ve come out to school, to our games. We’ve already had a relationship, I’ve met Jewell a couple of times before as well. I’ve known everybody pretty much before I got here. Just coming out here, watching them workout first was kinda crazy. I was like “I’m going to be on the court with Sue, Stewie, Jewell, or Piph.” - I think that “in awe” moment took place while watching them work out. Tomorrow in practice, I just want to be locked in. I don’t want to be that one person they have to drag along. I try to be as locked in as possible and at the same time, I’m trying to be aggressive with them. If I’m guarding them I’m trying to show them that I may be a rookie but I’m no punk either. I try to get in there as much as I can and learn from them, be a sponge as much as possible and soak up whatever they can give me.
JB: With the WNBA, it’s well-known it’s extremely hard to make rosters in the league, it’s very limited. At-most 144 (players) and realistically not even that many spots. Did the organization talk to you about that, give you any expectations or any advice on what to expect?
EW: Not really, you just gotta go out and carve out your spot on the team. You have to try and make that happen. For playing here, they’re known for being a really good basketball team. They have a lot of returners coming back and a lot of pieces in the right places. It’s just your job at the end of the day, everyone knows this is a job. You have to come out and play basketball, play hard, and figure out what your role is within the system. I just try to show to do the little things to show the team I’m committed. At the same time, it’s kind of weird now. I say weird because I’m still getting used to it. It’s pretty surreal that this is MY job. After practice, I go home and I have nothing to do. I have no homework. What do I do with my time? It’s really just basketball. It’s really fun, I’m really falling in love with getting better at my job. Staying late after practice or arriving early. Whatever it may be, taking care of my body now. It’s still surreal to me that this is MY job.
JB: For those that didn’t get a chance to watch a ton of UConn games over the past few years what is your self-scouting report on what you do best out on the court?
EW: What I did at UConn, I was very versatile. I wasn’t as consistent from the three-point line. Just a do-everything player. The player here, I’m just trying to do whatever I can. Put me in any spot besides ya know, down low banging with the big guys. I’m very versatile, able to shoot, able to come off the ball screens, I’m able to run the team, running the one (point guard) is where I feel really comfortable at. Just taking turns bringing up the ball with whoever is in the game. Just relieving pressure giving them time to breathe as well, push the ball. It feels good, I’m getting back to just playing free and they really encourage me to do that.
JB: I was here on Sunday and saw you running the one as the primary backup point guard (behind Sue Bird), is that where you’re most comfortable at or is it really 1 through 3 (point guard, shooting guard, small forward) that you can play any of those positions?
EW: I feel really comfortable with the ball in my hands and making sure we get a good shot. Making sure we get the ball into whoever’s hands we need to at the time. I feel very comfortable there, the one, the two, or the three. I wasn’t able to show my ability to bring up the ball as much at UConn as I did at Tenneessee. At Tennessee, I was pretty much just the one. When I got to UConn, it transformed me and that’s where I got my versatility from. I wasn’t put at the one spot to bring the ball where my team needs me to be. One through three or even one through four I’m able to switch off both offensively and defensively. We’ll see what happens.
JB: Last one from me, do you have any message to the Storm fans, they call them the Storm Crazies, do you have any message to them?
EW: To the Storm Crazies, the Storm is coming! That’s all I’ve got to say, the Storm is coming!
Notes: This audio podcast interview and transcription is a perk for paid subscribers. It may be unlocked for those signed up for the free newsletter at a later date (a minimum of several days later). I greatly appreciate the support of my coverage.
Photo Credits: Neil Enns/Seattle Storm photography.
Evina Westbrook Feels at Home with the Storm