HONOLULU — Amy Atwell knew a potentially life-changing moment was moments away.
The Hawaii women’s basketball standout got a heads-up call from her agent minutes before third-round coverage of the WNBA Draft on ESPN was set to begin. She still had no idea who might pick her in the 12 remaining draft slots.
So when “PICK IS IN: AMY ATWELL, G, Hawaii, 2021-22 Big West Player of the Year” flashed with Los Angeles Sparks colors in the third pick of the round, and 27th pick overall, it still qualified as a shock to the system.
Rainbow Wahine teammates with her at a players’ watch party screamed and mobbed her on the couch.
“My stomach kind of dropped,” Atwell told Spectrum News in a phone interview. “Before that, all week, it was hit and miss. I could potentially get drafted, I might not. So it’s kind of been all over the place. I was hoping for the best but also didn’t want to get my hopes up at the same time.”
When the moment arrived, the response from friends and family locally and from her native Australia was — and continues to be — overwhelming, she said. As of 5 p.m., she said that she and her agency, The Fam, were standing by to learn her next move with the Sparks.
Sparks coach and general manager Derek Fisher said in a post-draft video press conference that Atwell was noticed for her shooting ability and speedy release.
“You don’t find that very often,” said Fisher, who was known as a sharpshooter with a quick trigger in his lengthy NBA career.
However, Fisher cautioned it will be an uphill battle for Atwell to earn a regular-season roster spot coming out of upcoming training camp. The 36-game 2022 season begins May 6.
“She’s earned the opportunity to have a chance, come in and prove that she’s capable,” Fisher said. “And in this league, sometimes that’s still not enough, just due to roster construction, the limited roster spots. You may come in and have a great training camp and still not be on that 12-player roster. But that doesn’t mean you don’t go out and still leave everything out there. That’s what Amy will do, we believe, and has to do, just like we believe in all of our players to do so.”
Atwell called the Sparks “one of the best and most professional organizations in the world,” but was level-headed about personal expectations and realizes her pro future might still reside in an overseas league.
“Super grateful that they’ve picked me up and are taking a chance on me,” Atwell said. “It’s just all about putting my best foot forward and showing what my strengths and assets are, and what I can potentially bring ..."
Atwell became just the second Rainbow Wahine hoops player ever drafted into the WNBA and the first since 1997, when Judy Mosley-McAfee was picked in the league's inaugural draft seven years after her collegiate career ended.
Atwell, of Perth, Australia, returned for a sixth Rainbow Wahine season in 2021-22 with the benefit of a free COVID year of eligibility supplied by the NCAA and went on to enjoy one of the finest individual seasons in program history to go with some unprecedented team success in a 20-10 year.
The 6-footer, always a talented outside shooter, dedicated herself to conditioning and her all-around game in the offseason — and it showed. Atwell averaged 17.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and set the Wahine single-season (76) and career (205) 3-point records, finishing as the program’s No. 7 all-time scorer (1,270 points). She was UH’s first conference player top award recipient since Raylene Howard in 1999-00, and led the program to its first-ever pairing of conference regular-season and tournament titles in the same season.
Getting drafted was a childhood dream, Atwell said, but was not a personal goal in coming back for her final season at UH.
“This is just the icing on the cake,” she said.
On March 18, Atwell put on a show in the NCAA Tournament first round against powerhouse Baylor. She scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in an 89-49 loss to a team that placed two players, NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, in the top 10 of Monday’s draft.
That performance on a national stage almost certainly helped her draft stock.
Atwell thanked The Fam — which specializes in women’s basketball players — for going “above and beyond” in making her visible since signing with them a week and a half ago. WNBA teams conducted remote interviews with Atwell since then, but no in-person workouts.
UH coach Laura Beeman was driving Monday afternoon and heard her phone going “absolutely nuts” and realized what must have happened.
“Unbelievable. I’m incredibly thrilled for Amy in this opportunity for her to live out her lifelong dream of playing in the WNBA,” said Beeman, who previously had former players drafted after they moved on to another collegiate stop, but none directly like Atwell.
Beeman is a former assistant coach (2008-09) with the Sparks, but said Sparks connections were not a factor in Atwell’s selection as the franchise has had significant turnover since her time there.
Beeman thought the Baylor game helped Atwell’s profile, but it also came down to body of work — a reminder that you never know who might be watching in person or remotely in any given game. Atwell, who over the weekend was named the team’s Ah Chew Goo Award recipient as the season’s most outstanding player, was consistent for the most part in compiling 13 20-point games and seven double-doubles in 2021-22.
On Atwell’s chances of latching on long term with the Sparks, Beeman said, “She’s going to have to be at her best every time she tries out … physically and mentally. It is a stronger, faster game. The mental aspect of the game is unbelievably fast.”
The Sparks, the three-time WNBA champions who have made the playoffs in 20 of 25 seasons of existence, are coming off a 12-20 season. They have already had a busy offseason with new player acquisitions that could signal a return to being a playoff contender, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Sparks picked up Tennessee guard Rae Burrell with their first-round selection Monday at No. 9. They went on to grab Louisville guard Kianna Smith with the 16th pick and forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa of Connecticut with the 19th pick.
UH does not have an extensive history of WNBA connections in the league’s 26 years of existence.
The only other UH player drafted was the late Mosley-McAfee in the initial WNBA draft of 1997. Mosley-McAfee, the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder who finished her college career in 1990, was selected sixth in the WNBA “Elite” draft for players who previously played professionally in other leagues. Mosley-McAfee went on to play 13 games for the Sacramento Monarchs in just one season.
Atwell is the first player to be taken in the draft directly from UH. Former Wahine forward Megan Huff spent her first two years at UH then transferred to Utah for the remainder of her college career. Huff was taken 26th overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft and played sparingly for the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces in 2020.
UH great Nani Cockett made the LA Sparks’ reserve team in 2000, but was never called up to formal duty.
Former Wahine guard Amy Sanders went undrafted after finishing her college career in 2006. After a year overseas, she was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Shock and appeared sparingly in six games.
Former Konawaena High and Washington State standout Lia Galdeira was drafted No. 16 in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics but went to play overseas.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.
Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version. (4/11/22)