Lynx in background in Griner draft, looking for ball-handling guard

This is a blog I wrote Sunday, correctly guessing the Lynx's top two picks in the WNBA draft. When they are No. 12 and 14, that's hard to do. I am even surprised.

Here is the blog. with comments on the Lynx top two picks -- before they were chosen:

Brittney Griner of Baylor will change the WNBA. She is a 6-8 shot-blocker and dunker whom the Phoenix Mercury will take with the No. 1 pick.

After that 6-5 Elena Delle Donne of Delaware and guard Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame will be taken next. Although the order could be reversed.

Chicago, which has 6-6 Sylvia Fowles and might pass on Delle Donne, has the No. 2 pick. Diggins might spark more fan interest, too. Since she played for the Irish in nearby South Bend, Ind..

Tulsa, which picks No. 3, would probably prefer Delle Donne after 6-8 Elizabeth Cambage, an Aussie, said she would not return to the team this season. She played in China over the winter, which is a lot closer to home for her and her Chinese team pays her a lot more money, too.

The Lynx, after going 27-7 for the second year in a row in the regular season, will pick last, or No. 12, in the first round because they had the best record in the league.

So now the only players listes at guard only on their roster are Lindsay Whalen and unproven rookie Jacki Gemelos, who has a history of torn ACLs. Seimone Augustus and Monica Wright are both listed as G/F. They are both more shooting guards than ball-handlers.

So who will the Lynx take?

Draftsite.com says Alex Bentley of Penn State. So does Dish & Swish.

Swish Appeal says the Lynx will pick Sugar Rodgers of Georgetown. Kevin Pelton of ESPN says it will be Lindsey Moore of Nebraska. Doug Feinberg of Associated Press predicts Layshia Clarendon of California.

In other words, nobody knows.

The truth of the matter is, even the Lynx can't say who they will pick. It depends who is still available when their turn comes on Monday night. Some of the players they want will be gone.

Rodgers is picked as high as No. 5 in the mock drafts, Bentley as high as No. 7, Moore as high as No. 9.

So who will be on the board when the Lynx's turn comes?

Probably not Tayler Hill, a guard for Ohio State who played for Minneapolis South. She is picked as high as No. 4 in one mock draft. In the middle of the first round, in several other mock drafts.

One other guard from Minnesota is also expected to be drafted. That's Brittany Chambers of Jordan. She played for Kansas State. Two mock drafts have her going early or in the middle of the second round..

1. Phoenix

2. Chicago

3. Tulsa

4. Washington

5. New York

7. New York, second pick in first round

8. San Antonio

9. Indiana, the WNBA champion

10. Los Angeles

11. Connecticut

Here is who draftsite.com, Swish Appeal and ESPN expects those teams to pick:

1. Phoenix: Brittney Griner

2. Chicago: Diggins, Delle Donne, Delle Donne

3. Tulsa: Delle Donne, Diggins, Diggins

4. Washington: Markel Walker, UCLA; Tayler Hill, Ohio State; Tianna Hawkins, Maryland

6. Seattle: Angel Goodrich, Kansas; Kayla Alexander, Syracuse; Hill

7. New York: Hill; Toni Young, Oklahoma State; Alex Bentley, Penn State

8. San Antonio: Hawkins; Hawkins, Carolyn Davis, Kansas

9. Indiana: Alexander, Kelly Faris, UConn; Walker

10. Los Angeles: Davis; Lindsay Moore, Nebraska; A'dis Mathies, Kentucky

12: Lynx: Bentley, Rodgers, Moore

Besides Diggins, Hill is probably the second most coveted guard. So the Lynx, unless they can pull off a late pre-draft swap have no chance at drafting her.

Here is her college bio and those of some real possibilities for the Lynx:

Hill: 5-10 guard from Minneapolis, played for South High. State's all-time leading scorer. ... Led Big Ten in scoring as senior, avg., 21.1 points. Twice all-Big Ten first team, three times on all-Big Ten defensive team. ... Had 88 assists, 66 steals as senior, shot 31.7 percent on three-pointers.

Alex Bentley, Penn State: 5-7 point guard from Indianapolis, avg. 14.1 points, 3.5 assists ... all-Big Ten first team three times, on all-Big Ten defensive team twice

Lindsay Moore, Nebraska: 5-9 point guard from Tacoma, Wash. Led Big Ten in assists to turnovers ratio, avg. 15.1 points, had 195 assists, 60 steals, shot 38.2 percent on three-pointers.

Layshia Clarendon, California: 5-9 guard from San Bernardino, Calif. Led Bears to first 30-win season as senior. ... Avg. 16.4 points, had 100 assists in 25 games, 61 steals, all-Pac-10 first team.

Angel Goodrich, Kansas: 5-4 point guard from Glendale, Ariz. ... Native American. ... All-time assists leader at Kansas, all-Big 12 first team, led conference with three steals per game, second in assists per game (245 total). ... Avg. 14.1 points.

Brittany Chambers, Kansas State: 5-8 from Jordan. All-state volleyball player four times. ... All-Big 12 first team three times, avg. 21 points, had 281 rebounds, 122 assists and 46 steals as senior.

Forward

So who will the Lynx take? I like Sugar Rodgers. She can pass and wreak havoc on defense. And has good size. But she will probably be gone. ... My next choice would be Lindsay Moore because she takes care of the ball so well and is such a good thrree-point shooter.