When Maite Cazorla saw her name flash across the screen, she was in her home with her teammates Oti Gildon, Nyara Sabally and Ruthy Hebard. The Atlanta Dream had just drafted her in the 2019 WNBA Draft.
“They got so excited and started yelling,” Cazorla said. “It’s a dream since growing up, having a chance to go to the WNBA, get drafted. I just remember when I started playing, and the love of basketball. Having this chance, it’s a dream come true.”
Oregon women’s basketball’s senior point-guard was drafted to the Dream in the second round as the overall No. 23 pick on Wednesday evening.
“In all honesty, we think she might be the greatest value in this entire draft,” Atlanta head coach Nicki Collen said. “She’s a player who, analytically, is as good as anybody in the league in terms of her percentages and her points per shot.”
Collen said she was drawn to Cazorla’s defensive hustle and her expertise in a pick-and-roll offense. Oregon head coach Kelly Graves thinks Cazorla’s matchup with the Dream is perfect.
“I am so happy and excited for Maite,” Graves said in a press release. “She has been so good and so consistent for this team for four years. I think Atlanta is a perfect fit for her, and she’s going to love playing for Nicki Collen. She has a real chance to be a factor in the league for a long time.”
At Oregon, the guard played a critical role in Oregon’s backcourt and was in the top 10 in the nation for assist-to-turnover ratio. She went to the program’s first-ever Elite Eight her sophomore year and returned to the Elite Eight her junior year.
Her senior year, she led the Ducks to their first-ever Final Four run. She earned two All-Pac-12 team honors and was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman team her first year.
Cazorla ends her Oregon career with 1,474 points, 691 assists and owns the program record with 146 games played with 146 starts. She also shares the program record for most wins with fellow senior Oti Gildon, finishing their careers 113-35.
“I just hope I can help,” she said. “Whatever the coach wants me to do to help the team, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just excited to start practicing.”
Cazorla will start training camp on May 5, where she’ll contend for a spot on the Dream’s roster, and said she will work with her professors to finish classes.
“She just can be that player that makes everybody better, that everybody likes to play with,” Collen said. “There isn’t anyone associated with the media or the staff or anyone that just doesn’t rave about her as a human being.”
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