NBA team owner says he could take Baylor star in the second round of the draft, ‘just to see if she can do it’
Sam Blum in New York
Wed 3 Apr 2013 14.54 EDT
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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has announced that he will consider taking the women’s college basketball star Brittney Griner in the 2013 NBA draft, if not giving her a spot on his team’s summer-league squad. Cuban told reporters Griner represented a feasible prospect in the draft’s second round, citing the relatively low-level of players remaining after the first round.
“Right now, I’d lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it,” he said. “You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it’s not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it.”
Griner is arguably the most dominant female college basketball player of all time. Her athleticism and physicality – she is 6ft 8in and has an 88in wingspan – has helped her earn three consecutive Big 12 player of the year awards and she is the second all-time leading scorer in women’s NCAA Division One basketball. This season she scored 50 points on Baylor University’s senior night, effectively outscoring the rest of her team by 10 points.
But Griner has often been criticised for the same qualities that make her such a standout on the court. An ESPN.com piece written last month details how Griner’s prowess is often likened to that of a man, casting a negative light on her dominance and success on the court.
Even if Cuban is only attempting to draw media attention with a potential move to select Griner, he wouldn’t be the first leader of a major sports organization to consider gender-mixing. If given the chance to join the Mavericks, Griner would follow the likes of the NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and the golfer Michelle Wie, who played briefly on the men’s PGA tour.
And Griner seems to like the prospects of trying out for the Mavericks, tweeting in response to Cuban: “let’s do it.”
