In 2021, she helped lead Mali to its first semifinal appearance in the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.Īccording to her agent, Mike Cound, Koné is hoping to get from New York to Minnesota early Friday morning to play in the Sky’s season opener against the Lynx at 7 p.m. Selected 29th by the New York Liberty in the 2022 draft, Koné developed remarkably with the Mali national team. In April, the Mercury had 239,648 total followers combined on Instagram (148,606) and Twitter (91,042). The 20-year-old already has excelled on the world stage but has yet to play in a league as competitive as the WNBA. After making the final roster with the Mercury, Cunningham would play under head coach Sandy Brondello and alongside the likes of Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner, and Diana Taurasi. Wade is in a win-now mindset, bringing into question if developing a player such as Koné will be a priority. Phoenix Mercury (2019) Cunningham was selected as the thirteenth overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury. Koné could be a foundational piece, but only if Wade and his staff are able to develop her, which is a big ask. Signing Koné could end up paying dividends now - preventing disaster from taking place this season - and in the long run as the franchise tries to return to championship contention. But as Wade has proved in the past, the league’s last remaining coach/GM always has something up his sleeve. Harrison’s absence threatened to derail what was already shaping up to be a precarious first season in the Sky’s rebuild era. In addition, the women’s basketball team has established its own official Facebook (/ArizonaWomensBasketball), Twitter and Instagram (ArizonaWBBall) accounts.Regardless, one of the pieces tasked with replacing a championship frontcourt that included Candace Parker and Azurá Stevens will not see the court for the foreseeable future. 14.įans can keep up with the latest in Arizona athletics by following us on Facebook (/ArizonaAthletics), Twitter Instagram (azathletics) and (/ArizonaAthletics). 10 with an exhibition contest at home against Eastern New Mexico before playing the regular season opener at Toledo on Nov. The Wildcats will kick off the 2015-16 campaign on Nov. Phoenix is off to a good start this season, as it’s just one of four squads to have a perfect home record thus far. “As a practice player, I’m prepared to do whatever I have to do to help this organization win.” “The whole point of the practice squad is to make the team better, not to show off your individual talent,” Tepedino added. “I’ve had to adapt my game and learn the tendencies of our opponents for three years and I think that experience will help me as I try to help the Mercury defend its championship.” “Being a part of the UA practice squad has been so valuable for me and is a huge reason why I was able to get this opportunity,” said Tepedino. The three hope to provide that same positive impact for Phoenix. The three practice players dedicate a countless amount of hours each week running drills and participating in intense scrimmages to make sure the Arizona women’s basketball program is prepared as much as possible for its upcoming opponent. “Now it’s our job to do whatever we can to help this team defend its title.” “Lucky for us, coach Butts helped us out in terms of getting a tryout and the Mercury liked what it saw,” Dawicki added. “During the school year we found out the Mercury was having tryouts for the practice squad and then got into contact with some people over there. “It was a really cool process,” said Dawicki. The three Wildcats will get a chance to work with some of the most talented players in the world, as the Mercury begin its quest for a second consecutive WNBA championship and the fourth in franchise history. TUCSON, Ariz.- Current Wildcat practice players Anthony Tepedino, Phillip Barrett, and Kyle Dawicki have all earned coveted spots on the Phoenix Mercury’s practice squad for the 2015 season the organization announced last week.
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