Lynx select Maryland guard Diamond Miller with No. 2 pick in WNBA draft

After the Lynx chose Diamond Miller in Monday's WNBA draft, Miller was asked how she might handle the leap from college to the pros. The Maryland guard showed she's as quick with a quip as she is on the court.

"Well, I am pretty good in transition,'' Miller joked.

That's just the start of her skill set. With the No. 2 pick in the draft, the Lynx got a player with size, versatility and defensive prowess, described as one of the best pure athletes in the draft. Miller headed a list of five players selected by the Lynx on Monday, as the team undergoes a transition of its own after missing the playoffs last season and losing Sylvia Fowles to retirement.

The Lynx had one other first-round pick, taking French center Maïa Hirsch at No. 12. In the second round, they selected UConn forward Dorka Juhász at No. 16 and South Carolina guard Brea Beal at No. 24. Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule was chosen in the third round with the 28th pick.

There's been much discussion this year about how hard it is to make a WNBA roster. But Cheryl Reeve, the Lynx coach and president of basketball operations, said all the picks except Hirsch — who will not play in the WNBA this year — will have a shot.

"It felt like a particularly solid draft for us,'' Reeve said. "To have a really competitive training camp was a big-time goal of ours. I think we accomplished that.

"Maybe unlike some years past, we are incredibly open-minded about who is on our roster and why. I think all of the prospects should feel really good about coming to the Minnesota Lynx training camp. They will be given a very good look and chance to be on our team.''

The 6-5 Hirsch was the first European player selected in the draft. Reeve said the 19-year-old was "a great value'' who gives the Lynx an asset for the future. Juhász is a skilled post player who can pass and rebound, while Beal is known as a superb defender.

A second-team All-America selection, Miller said she became familiar with the Lynx by watching Maya Moore. But she is not aiming to be like her, or any other previous players. During a Zoom news conference, Miller repeatedly said she wants to make her mark on the WNBA by being her best self, staying true to who she is as a player and person.

"I think I'm just never satisfied,'' she said. "Even now, I know I have so much more to develop. The player you see right now, or the last game I played, I'm not going to be in another two years. I'm just constantly trying to develop and be a sponge to the game.''

Like several other players in the draft, Miller chose to end her college career after four seasons, forgoing the extra season of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the pandemic. She said she was ready for a new challenge.

One part Miller expects to feel familiar: the coaching. She said she has had "great talks'' with Reeve, and she sees the same passion in the Lynx coach that she saw in Brenda Frese, her coach at Maryland. Frese was always pushing her to get better, Miller said, and she is ready for the same intensity with the Lynx.

That was one of many selling points for Reeve.

"Diamond Miller has a tremendous work ethic, by all accounts,'' she said. "If you have that, and if a player will listen, you have a great opportunity to improve.''

•  Monika Czinano (Watertown-Mayer) was drafted with the second pick (26th overall) in the third round by the Los Angeles Sparks. A 6-3 forward for Iowa, Czinano and her Hawkeyes teammates ended the season with a loss to LSU in the women's Final Four championship game.

•  Former Gophers forward Kadi Sissoko, who transferred to USC and had a career-best 15.4 points per game last season, went 29th overall to the Phoenix Mercury.