WNBA Draft Central
PALM HARBOR, Fla. -
Maryland's Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne were among the 20 top players in the world to be invited to the 2008 WNBA Draft, which takes place on Wednesday, April 9 at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla.
The draft will cap a week-long celebration of events surrounding women's basketball in the Tampa area, which has been host of the NCAA Women's Final Four. Expected to be one of the deepest classes in league history, the draft begins at 1 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will provide exclusive first-round coverage, with coverage of the second and third rounds continuing on ESPNU and NBA-TV.
Both Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) and Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) have just completed their playing careers at the University of Maryland. They helped the Terrapins make their second NCAA Elite Eight appearance in three years, also helping the team record a 33-4 record.
The 2006 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Harper has capped her career with her best season as a Terp, becoming the program's all-time leading shot blocker. She scored her 1,000th-career point and leaves College Park ranked 14th all-time in scoring, netting 1,407 points, also recording her first-career 500-point season. She also ranks fourth all-time in the program with 873 career boards. Harper averaged career-highs of 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 60.3 percent from the floor. She was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and third-team All-ACC this season.
Langhorne is Maryland's most decorated women's basketball player with a long list of accomplishments. The Terps' only multiple All-American, she received the national honor from the AP and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) three times. She was twice named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America, as well. The program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, she is one of only 27 players in NCAA history to tally 2,220 points and 1,200 rebounds. She also is the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in field goal percentage three times, finishing her career with a 65.2 shooting accuracy, which ranks fourth all-time in NCAA history.
Langhorne was this season's ACC Player of the Year and is one of only four players to win the award after earning league Rookie of the Year nods, earning the freshman accolade in 2005. She is Maryland's only four-time All-ACC honoree and is one of only 10 players in league history to be named to the first team three times. She is the only Terp to be named to the All-ACC Tournament team four times and was the 2006 Albuquerque Regional Most Outstanding Player. Langhorne is a two-time ESPN The Magazine/Co-SIDA Academic All-American and the 2008 ACC Scholar-Athlete for women's basketball.
The Terps currently have one former player playing in the WNBA in Shay Doron, who was the first Terp under head coach Brenda Frese to be drafted into the league. She was picked early in the second round of last year's draft by the New York Liberty.
Also invited to the WNBA Draft were Matee Ajavon (Rutgers), Nicky Anosike (Tennessee), Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M), Essence Carson (Rutgers), Quianna Chaney (LSU), Sylvia Fowles (LSU), Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee), Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee), Charde Houston (Connecticut), Tasha Humprhey (Georgia), Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky), Erlana Larkins (North Carolina), Candace Parker (Tennessee), LaToya Pringle (North Carolina), Khadijah Whittington (NC State), Candice Wiggins (Stanford), Tamera Young (James Madison) and Sharnée Zoll (Virginia).
