Eastern Michigan Athletics
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Tavelyn James Considered a Top WNBA Prospect
4/10/2012 3:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The 2012 WNBA Draft will be held in Bristol, Conn., April 16
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University's Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) is considered a top prospect at the guard position in the upcoming 2012 WNBA Draft according to several WNBA player personnel departments.
The 2012 WNBA Draft will be held at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., April 16. The first round which begins at 3 p.m. will be shown on ESPN, while the second and third rounds will be shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.
"I didn't expect my career to go this way," James said. "I've always been underrated from middle school to high school to college. When I broke the freshman (scoring) record, I thought, 'All right, this is cool.' It's tougher each year because everybody knew me so they had a bigger strategy to stop me. But, I don't know if I'm playing harder or they haven't been playing hard enough. It just shows my hard work has paid off. I've worked hard since I was at Eastern."
James is projected as the eighth overall pick by the Washington Mystics according to ESPNW's Michelle Smith, meanwhile she is the No. 12 pick by the Minnesota Lynx in a mock draft by Draftsite.com
James is looking to become just the second Eagle in the 15-year history of the professional league to be picked up by a team. Former standout Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-Comm. & Media Arts) signed a free-agent training camp deal with the Detroit Shock in 2006, but never saw action in a regular season game.
James was also recently named the recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding NCAA Division I female basketball player who stands 5-foot-8 tall or under and attends a NCAA Division I institution. Fourteen of the last 16 award winners since 1997 have been drafted and seven are currently on WNBA rosters, including last season's No. 3 draft pick Courtney Vandersloot.
A native of Detroit, Mich., James led the Eagles in scoring with 23.8 points per game this season, while also ranking first on the team in field goals made, three-pointers made, free-throws made, steals and minutes played. She ranked third in the nation in scoring average, and also ranks among the top-50 in the country in free throw percentage (19th) and three-point field goals made (42nd).
The WBCA Honorable Mention All-American selection finished her career as Eastern Michigan's all-time scoring leader, and ranked second in MAC history with 2,470 career points. She also holds the EMU career records for three-point field goals made (291) and games played (129). James ranks third in conference history in field goals made, three-point field goals made and scoring average.
The senior broke the EMU women's career scoring record against the University of Michigan, Dec. 11, and became the first player in Eastern history to score more than 500 points in three consecutive seasons. James also set the single-game record for three-point buckets with 10 triples against Kent State University, Feb. 11, which is also tops in a single-game for MAC-only tilts. She was named MAC Player of the Week six times this season.
The 2012 WNBA Draft will be held at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., April 16. The first round which begins at 3 p.m. will be shown on ESPN, while the second and third rounds will be shown on NBA TV and ESPNU.
"I didn't expect my career to go this way," James said. "I've always been underrated from middle school to high school to college. When I broke the freshman (scoring) record, I thought, 'All right, this is cool.' It's tougher each year because everybody knew me so they had a bigger strategy to stop me. But, I don't know if I'm playing harder or they haven't been playing hard enough. It just shows my hard work has paid off. I've worked hard since I was at Eastern."
James is projected as the eighth overall pick by the Washington Mystics according to ESPNW's Michelle Smith, meanwhile she is the No. 12 pick by the Minnesota Lynx in a mock draft by Draftsite.com
James is looking to become just the second Eagle in the 15-year history of the professional league to be picked up by a team. Former standout Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-Comm. & Media Arts) signed a free-agent training camp deal with the Detroit Shock in 2006, but never saw action in a regular season game.
James was also recently named the recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding NCAA Division I female basketball player who stands 5-foot-8 tall or under and attends a NCAA Division I institution. Fourteen of the last 16 award winners since 1997 have been drafted and seven are currently on WNBA rosters, including last season's No. 3 draft pick Courtney Vandersloot.
A native of Detroit, Mich., James led the Eagles in scoring with 23.8 points per game this season, while also ranking first on the team in field goals made, three-pointers made, free-throws made, steals and minutes played. She ranked third in the nation in scoring average, and also ranks among the top-50 in the country in free throw percentage (19th) and three-point field goals made (42nd).
The WBCA Honorable Mention All-American selection finished her career as Eastern Michigan's all-time scoring leader, and ranked second in MAC history with 2,470 career points. She also holds the EMU career records for three-point field goals made (291) and games played (129). James ranks third in conference history in field goals made, three-point field goals made and scoring average.
The senior broke the EMU women's career scoring record against the University of Michigan, Dec. 11, and became the first player in Eastern history to score more than 500 points in three consecutive seasons. James also set the single-game record for three-point buckets with 10 triples against Kent State University, Feb. 11, which is also tops in a single-game for MAC-only tilts. She was named MAC Player of the Week six times this season.
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