WBB: Herbert Harrigan, Harris drafted back-to-back

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Tyasha Harris went back-to-back in the WNBA draft. Herbert Harrigan was drafted by Minnesota with the sixth pick and Harris went to Dallas with the seventh pick.

Herbert Harrigan was a wild card entering the draft, with mocks having her anywhere from the late first to late second round, but nobody expected her to go as high as sixth.

Just a year ago, Herbert Harrigan put her name in the transfer portal, frustrated by what she perceived as uncertainty about her role with the Gamecocks. Staley and Herbert Harrigan met to clear the air, with Staley reaffirming Herbert Harrigan’s importance. The resulting confidence and comfort led to the best season of Herbert Harrigan’s career, and she went from an afterthought to one of the Gamecocks’ most reliable players and a clutch performer, culminating with the SEC tournament MVP award. That put her on the radar of WNBA coaches.

“I think her stock rose all season,” Staley said.

Herbert Harrigan led the Gamecocks in scoring as a senior, averaging 13.1 points per game. Herbert Harrigan shot 50.6 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three. She also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and finished third all-time in blocked shots, one of just three players with 1,000 points and 200 blocks in her career.

Herbert Harrigan,was a stretch four in college and will likely have to transition to the three in the WNBA. That is where Herbert Harrigan’s steadily improving three-point shooting and deadly efficient baseline jumper will come into play. Staley is confident Herbert Harrigan will have no problem transitioning to the wing.

“Her three-point shooting percentage, her overall percentage, her ability to be efficient, the times that she did get a chance to shoot the basketball, more often than not she made it, and they were from all over the place,” Staley said. “That’s appealing to the next level. I had a couple of conversations with coaches about can she play on the perimeter or is she strictly a four. When I compare her to some of the other players at her position, I think she can slide over and play the three. She had plenty of opportunities to play against small lineups.”

Minnesota is coached by Cheryl Reeve, who once coached Staley as an assistant with the Charlotte Sting and is currently an assistant on Staley’s USA basketball staff. Although the Lynx are in a rebuilding mode, they have been extremely successful, just two years removed from their last championship, which capped a run of four titles in seven years.

Virtually every mock draft had Harris going either fifth to Dallas or sixth to Minnesota, but she was jumped by her teammate. Dallas got a second shot at Harris with the seventh pick, and pulled the trigger on Harris. In Dallas, Harris will join a pair of former teammates.

Dallas drafted former Gamecocks Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis following the 2017 national championship season. Gray went on to win rookie of the year that season, and both were named to the all-rookie team. Dallas finished with the second worst record in the league last season, but Harris joins a talented young nucleus that includes Gray, Arike Ogunbowale (who made the all-rookie team last season), and this year’s second pick Satou Sabally, who some regard as having the highest upside in this year’s draft. Dallas also picked Bella Alaire, another big, athletic wing with the fifth pick. Staley said recently that Harris is at her best when she has talent around her.

“I really don’t think Ty has reached her full potential. I think the better players Ty is surrounded by, the better she plays,” Staley said. “When Ty’s able to lead, when she’s able to be heard, she plays her best.She understands that now. She’s empowered by what she’s been able to do in her four-year career and dissecting where she can be successful.

Harris averaged 12.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds as a senior. She finished as the Gamecocks’ career leader in assists, but it was a 19-point, 11-assist, 0-turnover performance in a rout of UConn that vaulted her up draft boards. Staley thought the recognition was overdue.

“I think the WNBA and their style of play is very beneficial to her style of play,” she said. “I think the sky is the limit. It wouldn’t be surprising if she is up for rookie of the year.”