Seattle Storm add Jordan Horston, Madi Williams in WNBA Draft

Draft night went better than expected for the Seattle Storm.

Nervous excitement filled the Seattle Storm draft room. Something unexpected was happening. Seattle’s pick was just a few selections away and one of the top prospects was still available. Atlanta is on the clock with their first of two picks before the Storm. Haley Jones out of Stanford is the selection. Next up is the Fever with the 7th overall pick, they select hometown hero Grace Berger from Indiana. Jordan Horston, a consensus Top 5 prospect, is still available. Just one more pick between her and the Storm. The Dream are back on the clock again. Will they take her? No. The selection is 6’4” Power Forward Laeticia Amihere out of South Carolina.

Excitement is at a fever pitch now. The Seattle Storm are on the clock. Talisa Rhea calls the league offices up and makes the selection. Jordan Horston from the University of Tennessee. Rhea hangs up the phone. Elation fills the room. Cheers, high-fives, and fist pumps all around.

Seattle just got the steal of the draft!

Jordan Horston Scouting Report

6’2” Guard/Wing
2023 Stats: 15.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.3 APG
Career Stats: 12.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.0 APG

I was able to watch Horston play during the Sweet 16 when the NCAA March Madness tournament took place in Seattle last month. These were my initial impressions getting to watch her up close.

“Horston is also 6’2” like her teammate Rickea Jackson but definitely plays much more like a guard. She could certainly play either the two or the three at the next level. I liked her jumper. Despite not shooting the ball particularly well (6-16 FG) it is a smooth shot and her athleticism allows her to get up with a high release point.

Horston did a lot that you like to see. She led her team in scoring (17 points) and assists (3). She also had three steals and a blocked shot. However, there are things she’ll need to continue to work on. She had a game-high seven turnovers and was not as efficient with her shot as you’d like her to be.”

Horston was consistently mocked to go within the Top 5 picks in the 2023 Draft; almost always showing up somewhere between the 3rd and 5th overall pick in numerous mock drafts. She has the potential to be a very good player in the WNBA and a building block for the Bird-and-Stewart-less Storm.

Jordan’s size, wingspan, and athleticism are all plus-plus attributes. She is a very well-rounded player with the ability to run the pick-and-roll and be a scorer or facilitator. She rebounds extremely well for a guard. With her physical gifts, she’s able to defend multiple positions (likely 2-4). The biggest knock to her game is that she isn’t an elite outside shooter. Horston has a sub-30% (28.5) career shooting percentage from the three-point arc. She also averaged over 3.5 turnovers per game and will need to continue to work on that.

Head Coach Noelle Quinn gave her initial reaction to the selection.

“Jordan is an amazing talent. A very versatile wing player. Can defend multiple positions. Can score on multiple levels. Just an all-around good fit for us. We want to play an up-tempo, fast-paced offense. To have an athlete like her to run the lanes or initiate the offense, it’s very important; she has that skill set. She can pass the ball, play multiple positions, especially on the defensive end. We like to trap a lot and be active and she fits the bill.” Quinn added.

After Seattle had a disappointing start to the new league year once Breanna Stewart opted to sign with the New York Liberty and Courtney Vandersloot followed her there instead of joining her hometown team, it is nice to see the franchise rewarded with a bit of luck in the WNBA Draft. They say good things come to those who wait and the Seattle Storm were rewarded with their patience on Monday night.

The Rest of the Draft

While working on my pre-draft article, I didn’t bother to even discuss Jordan Horston because no one expected her to still be around where Seattle was selecting. However, I did talk about another player they ended up drafting. That would be Oklahoma’s, Madi Williams.

Below was my summary of Madi Williams from my pre-draft article.

Madi Williams - F, Oklahoma

2023 Stats: 15.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.8 APG
Career Stats: 16.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 APG

Madi Williams is one of the better scorers from this group. Williams uses her athleticism to get to the rim frequently. She honestly plays a little bigger than her 5’11” size would indicate. She consistently drives into the paint with relative ease.

Williams is a strong rebounder averaging nearly seven rebounds per game throughout her career. She is also a solid passer.

I feel she is a similar player to Jordan Horston who is likely a lottery pick (around the Top 5). However, Williams doesn’t have Horston’s size (6’2”) and isn’t quite as athletic. She is a more efficient shooter connecting on over 51% of her field goals this season.

If the Storm are looking for an athletic wing that can play the SG/SF position then they might select Madi Williams from Oklahoma.

It is a little ironic that I compared Madi Williams to Jordan Horston and then the Storm ended up drafting both of them. After losing both Gabby Williams and Stephanie Talbot in Free Agency, the team needed more players that can fill the wing positions.

Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn gave her thoughts on the selection.

“Madi is a great personality, she’s a dog! That mentality that we like that works very hard, goes hard in everything that she does. She has a very mature presence about her game. She can do a lot of things on both ends of the floor. She can shoot the three. She’s very good in the mid-range and she’s very strong. Finishing around the rim is one of her strong points. Defensively, her game is very physical. To be able to defend in the post or on the wing. She has that versatility as well” Quinn stated.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu - PF, South Florida

2023 Stats: 16.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.3 APG
Career Stats: 13.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 0.8 APG

Per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou her pre-draft analysis:
“A 6-foot-4 double-double machine in college who was incredibly efficient at the rim, where she shot nearly 70% this season, she emerged as one of the best rebounders in college…”

Coach Noelle Quinn had this to say about Dulcy:
“Dulcy is very physical, very strong. A solid screen setter. In her collegiate career, she played in a pro-like offense so she understands spacing, movement, and where to be. And she’s a very good rebounder.”

Jade Loville - G, Arizona

2023 Stats: 9.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.6 APG
Career Stats: 10.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.8 APG

“A big guard, very physical within her game she can score in the mid-range. She’s a lefty which is great! She can shoot the three. She can get to the free throw line. A multi-level scorer. Defensively, because she’s big (5’11”) her versatility allows her to guard multiple positions. Rebounding is key, especially from the wing spot - she fits that bill.” Quinn answered.

Final Thoughts

I think Storm fans should be ecstatic that Seattle was able to draft Jordan Horston. Sometimes I watch drafts from multiple sports and then wonder why teams didn’t select the obvious standout player when they had the chance.

Fortunately in Seattle, we’ve had recent scenarios where our General Managers have made the most obvious choice instead of overthinking or second-guessing their decisions.

During the 2022 NHL Draft, Shane Wright was projected to go #1 overall. And if he didn’t, then he would certainly be selected with the 2nd overall pick. Except he wasn’t. The Montreal Canadiens selected Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky first overall after he had an outstanding performance in the 2022 Olympic Games. The New Jersey Devils apparently already had other top prospects at Shane Wright’s position so they opted for a defenseman instead. Then the Arizona Coyotes selected Logan Cooley, who was long-believed to go 3rd overall behind Wright and Slafkovsky. The Coyotes had likely scouted Cooley for a long time and were more comfortable keeping him as their selection.

This all led to the top-rated player, Shane Wright, still available for the Seattle Kraken with the 4th overall pick. Ron Francis, Kraken’s General Manager, didn’t second-guess their approach. They saw the most talented player on the board, surprisingly, and selected him.

During last year’s NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks were in a similar situation. They desperately needed a new Left Tackle. One of the premier positions needed to build a successful NFL team. There were three elite Offensive Tackle prospects in the draft projected to go in the Top 10. The Seahawks had the 9th overall pick. Once Seattle was on the clock, only one of the top linemen remained available. John Schneider, the Seahawks’ General Manager, didn’t get cute and try to trade back. They didn’t think outside the box. There was an elite Offensive Tackle available in a position of need and they selected him. The Seahawks drafted Charles Cross and he went on to start every game at Left Tackle this past season and helped keep Geno Smith protected as the Hawks surprisingly made the playoffs.

And on Monday evening, Talisa Rhea was presented with a similar situation. A consensus Top 5 talent in the draft was still available for Seattle when they were on the clock. Seattle’s front office didn’t reach for a position of need. They didn’t second-guess why Horston had fallen to them. They eagerly called Jordan Horston’s name into the league office and the rest is history.

Occam's razor - sometimes the simplest most-obvious choice is the correct one. The Storm made the right choice during the draft.

Notes: Thanks to all my paid subscribers, your support means everything to me! The WNBA season is a little over a month away and this one should be really interesting here in Seattle. Make sure you’re subscribed to keep up with all my latest work!

Credit to Sports-Reference.com for the College Stats data.