Locked on Women’s Basketball: The best frontcourt players in the WNBA Draft

Following up on last week’s episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball about the top guards in the 2023 WNBA Draft, our Em Adler, Hunter Cruse and Joshua Welch spend this week’s episode discussing the top frontcourt players.

First, Em reveals their top 12 overall prospects, starting with South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston. Then the hosts go into more detail about many of those prospects and other top frontcourt players outside the top 12. Here’s what Joshua thinks of Rickea Jackson, a forward who transferred from Mississippi State to Tennessee in the offseason:

“Her athleticism is just what stuck out to me on her film. It doesn’t feel like it’s fully come together … So I’m really excited [to see] her on this Tennessee team, where she’s going to have multiple playmakers and we’re going to really be able to see her full game, like just being able to play a specific role on this Tennessee team, rather than trying to take on more than she needed to with Mississippi State. So yeah, I just think the sky’s the limit for her.”

Win an autographed WNBA card!

During the month of November, new subscribers to The Next will be entered to win a signed trading card from six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Phoenix Mercury.

In addition to the chance to win an autographed card, you will also be supporting the vital work of our staff. Our staff of writers, editors and photographers provide 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage about the game we all love. Your subscription helps to ensure the pipeline of young, diverse media professionals to write, edit and photograph this great game, continues and grows.

Here’s Hunter’s take on another Lady Vol, Jordan Horston, whom Hunter calls a “funky forward” because of her unique skillset:

“What I see with her is just the pace-based creation. Super athletic, but sometimes she’s out of control … She just takes some wild shots. Trying to improve in that processing could be huge for her. But with Horston, I kind of see a lot of — I’ve used this comparison before, but Diamond DeShields is someone, another Tennessee prospect, to where they’re heavy shotmakers, but they … don’t have the recognition of defenders and at all times knowing where players are at. So it’s a tough bag, but I think the upside is there to be an interesting first-round prospect.”

Let’s watch some games together on Playback!

Join your favorite writers from The Next for live college game streams on Playback this season. Check the schedule for your favorite college or conference, or tune in when you have some free time. There is a pretty good chance we will be watching, too!

Bookmark this page so you can join the room. It’s free, it’s fun and it’s easy!

Other frontcourt players the hosts discuss include South Carolina’s Laeticia Amihere, Stanford’s Fran Belibi, Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley, Tennessee’s Tamari Key and 18-year-old Maia Hirsch from France.

To learn even more about the 2023 WNBA Draft, plus get previews of the NCAA season and so much more, don’t forget to subscribe to the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast!