Alanna Smith Is A Perfect Modern Big

This piece does not reflect the views of the Minnesota Lynx 

Alanna Smith: 6’4, F, Stanford

College Stats in 2018-19 (as of Feb. 27, 2019): 

27 games, 28.5 MPG, 20.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 2.5 BPG, 52.1 FG%, 41.3 3P%, 72.7 FT%

Where she’ll go: 

Smith will be a first-round pick.

The Rundown:  

Bigs who can shoot are all the rage, and in Smith, the WNBA may get its next great floor-spacing forward.

Smith is shooting a ridiculous 41.3 percent from range this season on 5.7 three-point attempts per game. She’s scoring 20.1 points per game at 52.1-percent shooting from the field overall. What’s even more impressive is that Smith is putting up these numbers as the central figure of one of the NCAA’s best teams in a tough Pac 12. She also played very well for the Australian national team in last fall’s FIBA World Cup.

The way Smith scores will translate to the WNBA immediately. While there may be players that present more exciting unknowns, Smith’s floor is ridiculously high because of her shooting ability. If she can maintain the three-point shooting numbers she’s currently putting up she would immediately be a top-10 three-point shooter in the league by percentage. Smith is definitely more than a shooter, but she’ll stick in the league right away because of that one simple skill.

However, is Smith is going to truly reach her potential, she’ll need to do more than jack up threes. There’s a lot of reason to be optimistic about Smith’s game. Though she’s not an elite passer, she’s a plus playmaker and her rebounding on both ends of the floor is very strong. She’s also very efficient and she can get to the line, too.

On defense, there’s good reason to believe Smith can become a good shot-blocker at the next level. Her block rate in college is elite, and she averages about a steal per game. She does have a tendency to pick up fouls, but if she plays with a defensive-minded center who can give her more help, that could change. Smith probably projects as a power forward in the WNBA, but it’s certainly possible that if she gets stronger she could be floor-spacing center in some lineups as well.

It’s tough to predict where Smith will go in the draft, but it’s fair to say it will probably after the top three and before the end of the first round. She might be in the mix for the Lynx at No. 6. If the Lynx do bring Smith to Minnesota, her shooting out of the power forward spot would help the Lynx immediately and she could probably play a substantial role right away provided she’s able to learn the Lynx’s system. She would be a phenomenal fit next to Sylvia Fowles if the two were to play together and she could help the team’s rebounding as well.

Check out the rest of our prospect profiles, plus more Lynx-related draft coverage at lynxbasketball.com’s Draft Central.