It's another day that ends in "day" which means it's also another day that Hailey Van Lith remains one of the top prospects for the Golden State Valkyries.
After TCU's 85-70 win over the Louisville Cardinals Sunday night, Van Lith has left little room to question whether or not she's WNBA material — it's just up to teams to draft her. The Cardinals spent most of the game double-teaming Van Lith, an apparent attempt to slow her game, and the 5'9" point guard simply passed the ball, over and over again, accounting for the double-double she ended the night with.
Now that the WNBA Draft is mere weeks away, let's look at Van Lith's Valkyries appeal.
Hailey Van Lith belongs at Golden State
There have been a few different names floated as potential first-round picks for Golden State, but the possibility that some of them (like Dominique Malonga and Kiki Iriafen) will be drafted to other teams before the Valkyries get a chance at drafting them is high.
If there is one thing Van Lith has proven this season, it's that she has the perseverance to push ahead even in the face of tremendous doubt from outsiders, a mental strength that will help her if she's part of a brand-new expansion team. Outside of her proven skills on the court, adding that kind of internal strength would only help Golden State in the long run.
That mental fortitude is also what helped Van Lith lead the Horned Frogs to the Big 12 championship this year. "Listen, they were doubling me on every ball screen, they were face guarding me when I was off the ball, they didn’t want me to have the ball, that’s okay," Van Lith said in a postgame interview with ESPN. "I made passes, and the time came to get shots off in the second half and I took them."
Van Lith will also bring a lot of fans with her
Van Lith also brings a sizeable fan base and years of marketing, NIL experience, and exposure with her. She's an Olympic champion with over 1 million followers on Instagram. Her fans and followers are loyal, and would likely delight in seeing Van Lith drafted anywhere, especially at a team being built from the ground up. In return, the Valkyries would benefit from her built-in audience, particularly in terms of merch and ticket sales, and her unique experience as an Olympics veteran, something that sets her apart from most of the upcoming draft class (and shows that both her game and her mindset can translate successfully to professional basketball).