{"id":19960,"date":"2021-04-16T20:12:35","date_gmt":"2021-04-17T01:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19960"},"modified":"2021-04-16T20:12:35","modified_gmt":"2021-04-17T01:12:35","slug":"charli-collier-selected-no-1-overall-by-the-dallas-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19960","title":{"rendered":"Charli Collier selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"<header id=\"main-header\" class=\"main-header\">\n<div class=\"sport-navigation\" role=\"navigation\">\n<div class=\"component c-navigation c-navigation--sport relative c-navigation--desktop\" data-bind=\"css: xlargeUp() ? 'c-navigation--desktop' : 'c-navigation--mobile'\">\n<div class=\"row pad flex flex-align-center\">\n<ul class=\"c-navigation__level-1 flex flex-align-center flex-item-1\" data-bind=\"foreach: data\">\n<li class=\"additional-links c-navigation__additional c-navigation__parent c-navigation__item c-navigation__item--level-1\" style=\"list-style-type: none;\" data-bind=\"attr: {class: class_name}, css:{ 'c-navigation__sport-home': class_name === 'sport-home', 'c-navigation__additional': class_name === 'additional-links', 'c-navigation__parent': (items != null &amp;&amp; items.length &gt; 0), 'c-navigation__item c-navigation__item--level-1': true}\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<header class=\"article-header\">\n<h1>Dallas Wings take Charli Collier, Awak Kuier with top two picks in 2021 WNBA draft<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div data-story-vm-id=\"63725\">\n<article class=\"article-wrapper news row pad x-large-flex\">\n<div class=\"article-main\">\n<div class=\"article-image\">\n<div class=\"article-image-container relative\" data-bind=\"stopBindings:true\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/dxa7m90h2v1am.cloudfront.net\/images\/2021\/2\/10\/EGG09000_1.jpg?width=1128&amp;height=635&amp;mode=crop\" media=\"(min-width:768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/dxa7m90h2v1am.cloudfront.net\/images\/2021\/2\/10\/EGG09000_1.jpg?width=768&amp;height=460&amp;mode=crop\" media=\"(min-width:540px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/dxa7m90h2v1am.cloudfront.net\/images\/2021\/2\/10\/EGG09000_1.jpg?width=540&amp;height=324&amp;mode=crop\" media=\"(min-width:0px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dxa7m90h2v1am.cloudfront.net\/images\/2021\/2\/10\/EGG09000_1.jpg?width=1128&amp;height=635&amp;mode=crop\" alt=\"Collier selected No. 1 overall in 2021 WNBA Draft\" \/> <\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"article-date-sport\"><strong><time class=\"article-date\">04.15.2021<\/time> | <span class=\"article-sport\">Women&#8217;s Basketball<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"article-headline\"><strong>Collier selected No. 1 overall in 2021 WNBA Draft<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"article-subheadline\"><strong>The Women\u2019s Basketball standout becomes the second Big 12 player taken No. 1 overall in WNBA Draft history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p><strong>AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Texas Women&#8217;s Basketball standout <dfn><a class=\"sidearm-roster-link-normalized\" href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/roster.aspx?rp_id=9965\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"9965\">Charli Collier<\/a><\/dfn> was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft on Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Collier&#8217;s selection makes her just the second player in Big 12 history to go No. 1 overall (Brittney Griner, Baylor \u2013 2013) and the 13th Longhorn picked in the WNBA Draft. She is also the third junior entrant to go No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft, joining Jewell Lloyd (2015, Seattle) and Jackie Young (2019, Las Vegas).<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m now a professional. It&#8217;s really crazy.&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportsiren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sportsiren<\/a> speaks with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/charlicollier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CharliCollier<\/a> after she was drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2HaHKqbtxA\">pic.twitter.com\/2HaHKqbtxA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LonghornNetwork\/status\/1382838847051022339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Collier, a Mont Belvieu, Texas native, wrapped up one of the most dynamic seasons in school history last month as she helped the Longhorns make a run to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2016. During her final collegiate season,\u00a0Collier\u00a0averaged 19.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, making her just the second Longhorn to average a double-double in multiple seasons (Retha Swindell; 1976-77 &amp; 1977-78). She recorded 19 double-doubles, the second-most of any Division I player, and ranked in the top-15 nationally in field goals made (211), final points (590), free throws made (153), minutes played (1010:31), offensive rebounds per game (4.4) and rebounds (35).\u00a0Collier\u00a0also scored at least 20 points on 17 occasions, the second-most of any Big 12 player. Included in some of her standout performances were a 44-point outing (No. 4 in school history; most by UT player since 1994) against North Texas on Nov. 29, and a 20-20 game (23 pts, 20 rebs) vs. TCU on Jan. 20 \u2013 the first 20-20 game by a Longhorn since 2012.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the Texas record book,\u00a0Collier&#8217;s 19.0 points per game rank her ninth in school history while her 11.3 rebounds per game is the third-best on UT record. Her 153 made free throws rank third, and are the most by a Longhorn in a season since Edwina Brown made 172 during the 1999-2000 season.\u00a0Collier averaged 6.9 defensive and 4.4 offensive rebounds per game as a junior. Her 4.4 offensive rebounds per game is tied with Nneka Enemkpali for the best average over a season by a Longhorn, while her 6.9 defensive boards are tied for second \u2013 trailing only the school-record mark of 7.0 defensive rebounds per game she set during the 2019-20 campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Collier&#8217;s individual accolades during the 2020-21 season were numerous. She was a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award (nation&#8217;s top center), selected to the Wooden Award National Ballot and chosen as a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the year, in addition to All-America honors from the Associated Press and United States Basketball Writers Association.\u00a0Collier\u00a0was also a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection and picked for the league&#8217;s All-Defensive Team. She was named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice this past season (Nov. 30; Jan. 25) and the Jersey Mike&#8217;s Naismith National Player of the Week once (Jan. 26).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Before Collier&#8217;s selection as the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night, Edwina Brown held the distinction as being the fastest Longhorn off the board in the WNBA Draft. Brown was chosen third overall by the Detroit Shock in 2000.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The WNBA&#8217;s 25th regular season is slated to tip-off on Friday, May 14, with all 12 teams in action that weekend. Collier and the Wings will be in Friday&#8217;s nightcap, visiting the Los Angeles Sparks in a matchup that is scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. CT tip.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-m0bqgq r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@charlicollier<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Charli Collier<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"mw-body-content\">\n<div id=\"siteSub\" class=\"noprint\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19964\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CHARLI.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div id=\"contentSub\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"jump-to-nav\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title fn summary\"><strong>Charli Collier<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Dallas Wings<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Position<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data role\"><strong><a title=\"Center (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Center_(basketball)\">Center<\/a> \/ <a title=\"Power forward (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Power_forward_(basketball)\">Power forward<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"WNBA\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WNBA\">WNBA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>September 22, 1999<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a021)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Mont Belvieu, Texas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mont_Belvieu,_Texas\">Mont Belvieu, Texas<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Nationality<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>American<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed height<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>6\u00a0ft 5\u00a0in (1.96\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>High school<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data plainlist\"><strong><a title=\"Barbers Hill High School\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Barbers_Hill_High_School\">Barbers Hill<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(Mont Belvieu, Texas)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>College<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data plainlist\"><strong><a title=\"Texas Longhorns women's basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Texas_Longhorns_women%27s_basketball\">Texas<\/a> (2018\u20132021)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"WNBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WNBA_draft\">WNBA draft<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"2021 WNBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_WNBA_draft\">2021<\/a> \/ Round: 1 \/ Pick: <a title=\"List of first overall WNBA draft picks\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_first_overall_WNBA_draft_picks\">1st<\/a> overall<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Selected by the <a title=\"Dallas Wings\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dallas_Wings\">Dallas Wings<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Playing career<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>2021\u2013present<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career history<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"2021 WNBA season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_WNBA_season\">2021<\/a>\u2013present<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Dallas Wings\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dallas_Wings\">Dallas Wings<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Charli Collier (born September 22, 1999) is an American <a title=\"Basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Basketball\">basketball<\/a> player for the <a title=\"Dallas Wings\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dallas_Wings\">Dallas Wings<\/a> of the <a title=\"Women's National Basketball Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Women%27s_National_Basketball_Association\">Women&#8217;s National Basketball Association<\/a> (WNBA).<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> She was a First-Team All-<a title=\"Big 12 Conference\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Big_12_Conference\">Big 12 Conference<\/a> selection in 2020<sup id=\"cite_ref-2\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup> and is considered to be one of the top players in women&#8217;s college basketball.<sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-4\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup><sup id=\"cite_ref-5\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>She earned a bronze medal while playing for the United States in the <a title=\"2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_FIBA_Under-17_World_Championship_for_Women\">2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-6\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-6\">[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Collier is one of five finalists for the 2021 <a title=\"Lisa Leslie\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lisa_Leslie\">Lisa Leslie<\/a> Award, which recognizes the top center in women&#8217;s college basketball.<sup id=\"cite_ref-7\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> She is a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy<sup id=\"cite_ref-8\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-8\">[8]<\/a><\/sup> and is one of 15 finalists for the Wooden Award.<sup id=\"cite_ref-9\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-9\">[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ESPN projected Collier to be the No. 1 pick in the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"2021 WNBA Draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_WNBA_Draft\">2021 WNBA Draft<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-10\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charli_Collier#cite_note-10\">[10]<\/a><\/sup> She was drafted by the <a title=\"Dallas Wings\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dallas_Wings\">Dallas Wings<\/a> as the first overall pick of the 2021 WNBA Draft<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Texas\u00a0Women&#8217;s\u00a0Basketball\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0WNBA\u00a0Draft<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1999 \u2013\u00a0Edna Campbell (1st Round, 10th overall \u2013 Phoenix Mercury)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2000 \u2013\u00a0Edwina Brown (1st Round, 3rd overall \u2013 Detroit Shock)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2004 \u2013\u00a0Stacy Stephens (3rd round, 37th overall \u2013 Houston Comets)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2005 \u2013\u00a0<dfn><a href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/staff.aspx?staff=310\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"310\">Jamie Carey<\/a><\/dfn> (3rd round, 31st overall \u2013 Phoenix Mercury)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2005 \u2013\u00a0Heather Schreiber (3rd round, 39th overall \u2013 Los Angeles Sparks)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2007 \u2013\u00a0<dfn><a href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/staff.aspx?staff=380\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"380\">Tiffany Jackson<\/a><\/dfn> (1st round, 5th overall \u2013 New York Liberty)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2010 \u2013\u00a0Brittainey Raven (3rd round, 33rd overall \u2013 Atlanta Dream)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2015 \u2013\u00a0Nneka Enemkpali (3rd round, 26th overall \u2013 Seattle Storm)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2016 \u2013\u00a0Imani McGee-Stafford (1st round, 10th overall \u2013 Chicago Sky)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2018 \u2013\u00a0Ariel Atkins (1st round, 7th overall \u2013 Washington Mystics)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2020 \u2013\u00a0<dfn><a class=\"sidearm-roster-link-normalized\" href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/roster.aspx?rp_id=9110\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"9110\">Joyner Holmes<\/a><\/dfn> (2nd round, 19th overall \u2013 Seattle Storm)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2020 \u2013\u00a0<dfn><a class=\"sidearm-roster-link-normalized\" href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/roster.aspx?rp_id=9112\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"9112\">Sug Sutton<\/a><\/dfn> (3rd round, 36th overall \u2013 Washington Mystics)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2021 \u2013 <dfn><a class=\"sidearm-roster-link-normalized\" href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/roster.aspx?rp_id=9965\" rel=\"smarttag\" rev=\"9965\">Charli Collier<\/a><\/dfn> (1st round, 1st overall \u2013 Dallas Wings)<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Awak Kuier<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-m0bqgq r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@KuierAwak<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"mw-body-content\">\n<div id=\"siteSub\" class=\"noprint\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-19963\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier-1080x608.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awak-Kuier.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title fn summary\"><strong>Awak Kuier<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Awak_Kuier.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/7f\/Awak_Kuier.jpg\/220px-Awak_Kuier.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/7\/7f\/Awak_Kuier.jpg 1.5x\" alt=\"Awak Kuier.jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"278\" data-file-width=\"295\" data-file-height=\"373\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Dallas Wings<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Position<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data role\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Forward (basketball)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Forward_(basketball)\">Forward<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>League<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"WNBA\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WNBA\">WNBA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>19 August 2001<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a019)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Cairo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cairo\">Cairo<\/a>, Egypt<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Nationality<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>Finnish<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Listed height<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>6\u00a0ft 5\u00a0in (1.96\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><a title=\"WNBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WNBA_draft\">WNBA draft<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"2021 WNBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_WNBA_draft\">2021<\/a> \/ Round: 1 \/ Pick: 2nd overall<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Selected by the <a title=\"Dallas Wings\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dallas_Wings\">Dallas Wings<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career history<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>2020\u2013present<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>Passalacqua Ragusa<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Career highlights and awards<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"FIBA U18 Women's European Championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_U18_Women%27s_European_Championship\">FIBA U18 Women&#8217;s European Championship Division B<\/a> <a title=\"Most valuable player\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Most_valuable_player\">MVP<\/a> (<a title=\"2019 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_FIBA_U18_Women%27s_European_Championship_Division_B\">2019<\/a>)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-below\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-below\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\">\n<div>\n<div><strong>Medals<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible-content\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"Basketball\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Basketball\">Basketball<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"adr\" colspan=\"3\"><strong>Representing <span class=\"country-name\"> <span class=\"flagicon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbborder\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/bc\/Flag_of_Finland.svg\/23px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/bc\/Flag_of_Finland.svg\/35px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/bc\/Flag_of_Finland.svg\/46px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"23\" height=\"14\" data-file-width=\"1800\" data-file-height=\"1100\" \/>\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Finland\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Finland\">Finland<\/a> <\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"FIBA U18 Women's European Championship\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIBA_U18_Women%27s_European_Championship\">FIBA Under-18 European Division B Championship<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2019 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_FIBA_U18_Women%27s_European_Championship_Division_B\">2019 North Macedonia<\/a> <\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Finland women's national under-18 basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Finland_women%27s_national_under-18_basketball_team\">Team<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Awak Kuier (born 19 August 2001) is a Finnish women&#8217;s basketball player with <a class=\"new\" title=\"Virtus Eirene Raguse (page does not exist)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Virtus_Eirene_Raguse&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1\">Virtus Eirene Raguse<\/a> and the <a title=\"Finland women's national basketball team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Finland_women%27s_national_basketball_team\">Finnish national team<\/a>. She was a second pick in 2021 WNBA draft, drafted by Dallas Wings <a title=\"2021 WNBA draft\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2021_WNBA_draft\">2021 WNBA draft<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>She was born in <a title=\"Cairo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cairo\">Cairo<\/a>, <a title=\"Egypt\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Egypt\">Egypt<\/a> and is of <a title=\"South Sudan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/South_Sudan\">South Sudanese<\/a> origin. She moved to <a title=\"Finland\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Finland\">Finland<\/a> as a refugee with her family when she was two years old.<sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Kuier, 19, plays professionally for Ragusa in Italy, where she has averaged 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season and won a playoff game Thursday before getting drafted. She doesn&#8217;t turn 20 until August.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kuier was born in Cairo after her parents fled war-torn South Sudan. When she was 2 years old, her family immigrated to Finland. She becomes the first Finnish player drafted in WNBA history and the seventh international player who did not play U.S. college basketball to have been selected in the top five of the draft.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Dallas went 8-14 and missed the playoffs at ninth place in last year&#8217;s condensed season in Bradenton, Florida. Like the rest of the WNBA teams, the Wings will be back in their home market this season, playing at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"small-12 medium-10 large-8 columns article__text\">\n<article class=\"article__content\">\n<div class=\"prospect-card\">\n<div class=\"prospect-card__details\">\n<h1 class=\"prospect-card__title\"><strong>Awak Kuier<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"prospect-card__detail\"><strong>College\/Country: Finland<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-card__detail\"><strong>Position: Center<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-card__detail\"><strong>Height: 6-4<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-card__detail\"><strong>Birthdate: Aug. 19, 2001<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-card__detail\"><strong>Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-bio\">\n<p><strong>NOTES: A 6-4 center widely regarded as most talented and promising Finnish player of all time. Product of NBA Academy program and member of Finland\u2019s National Team program. Has dual citizenship in Finland and Egypt \u2026 BASKETBALL BACKGROUND: In 2017 at age 15, dunked at an NBA Basketball Without Borders camp in New Orleans during NBA All-Star. In Aug. 2018 dunked in the BWB Europe All-Star Game. At age 17 had 2 dunks in a 2-minute span of a game. First played high school ball in Kotka section of southern Finland, then for Helsinki Basketball Academy\u2019s HBA Marsky. First pro experience came in summer 2020 with Virtus Eirene Ragusa of Sicily in the Italian Serie A. \u2026 PERS: The 5th of 6 children, was born in 2001 in Cairo, Egypt, where her South Sudanese parents had fled during the Sudanese civil war and famine. Moved at age 2 with her family to Finland.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prospect-stats\">\n<h2><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"article-related\">\n<div class=\"article-related__ad\">\n<div data-bind=\"component: { name: &quot;dfp-component&quot;, params: DFPParams }\">\n<div id=\"iab-300x250---story-1-1-3835b20\" class=\"dfp-ad sidearm-accessible-dfp\" data-bind=\" attr: { id: id, 'class' : (sidearm_dfp ? 'sidearm-dfp-ad' : 'dfp-ad') }, style: { width: width() + 'px', height: height() === 0 ? 'auto' : height() + 'px', 'background-color' : window.site_in_dev_mode === 'true' ? 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AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Texas Women&#8217;s Basketball standout Charli Collier [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,330,11,8,1314,1456,1156,13,14,104,187,1,7,9,1114,10],"tags":[3945,3944],"class_list":["post-19960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-basketball-sports","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-most-commented","category-ncaa","category-ncaa-basketball","category-news","category-sports","category-us","category-wnba","category-world","tag-2001-birthplace-cairo","tag-awak-kuier-college-country-finland-position-center-height-6-4-birthdate-aug-19","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}