WNBA
Snubbed, Mendiola will try another way

By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Giuliana Mendiola was a star at Washington, but was passed over on draft day by the WNBA.
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As 15 guards were selected yesterday in the WNBA draft and the phone at the Mendiola household remained so eerily silent it might as well have been disconnected, she had to consider the possibility.

And when the Minnesota Lynx took West Virginia guard Kate Bulger with the last pick in the last round, Giuliana Mendiola — arguably the best player in the history of Washington women's basketball and a former Pac-10 player of the year — had to consider the reality.

In order to play in the WNBA this season, she will have to make a roster as an undrafted free agent.

"I'm very disappointed," Mendiola said. "I feel pretty disrespected right now. And motivated, too."

All hope is not lost, although the odds against Mendiola playing in the WNBA next season grew larger yesterday.

She talked to her agent shortly after the draft, and three teams — Sacramento, Los Angeles and Seattle — are interested in inviting her to training camp. The first two would be closer to her hometown of Lake Forest, Calif. The last would be in the same place where she captured the hearts of women's basketball fans over the past four seasons.

Mendiola said Storm coach Anne Donovan called her yesterday and invited her to training camp. Stung by the events of draft day, she choked back tears talking about the next step.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," Mendiola said.

"I don't really feel like talking about (the Storm). If they wanted me, they could have drafted me. I'm not too interested, but I'm keeping my options open."
 
This draft was widely considered the deepest in league history. The first four picks were guards, counting Stanford's Nicole Powell, who can play multiple positions and was the highest Pac-10 player selected when Charlotte took her third. Of the 38 total selections, 15 were guards.

Mendiola expects to be in a training camp before the season starts, but making a team is another matter. The majority of third-round selections don't usually make WNBA rosters.

But the 5-foot-11 guard notes that people have doubted her at every level. So she changed her glass from half empty to half full at the thought of proving them wrong again.

"That's the only choice I have right now," she said. "I'm going to go to a camp where I have an opportunity to make a team.

"My whole career, my whole life, I feel like I just have to keep proving myself over and over. I have to face those doubts again in training camp. But I feel ready. And motivated, too."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company