Two former stand out basketball players reached new pinnacles in their respective careers as Whitney Boddie and DeWanna Bonner were drafted into the WNBA on April 9.
The two players helped lead the Auburn women's basketball team to an 30-4
record and its first SEC title in 20 years.
Bonner was selected fifth overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. In her debut, Bonner accumulated 16 points and 11 rebounds, one of the best rookie debuts in WNBA history.
Nell Fortner, coach of the Auburn women's basketball team, said that Bonner was an all-around outstanding athlete on both ends of the court.
"She has a great build. She's skinny, yet so durable and versatile on the court," Fortner said.
Boddie, a scoring-point guard, was drafted 20th-overall by the Sacramento Monarchs. Unlike Bonner, however, it appears that Boddie will start her career overseas, playing in Europe before potentially re-entering the WNBA.
"Overseas is where the real money is in women's basketball," Fortner said. She also said that Bonner may even spend some time playing overseas.
Both Bonner and Boddie posted record setting numbers while at Auburn. Boddie, with her 603 career assists, became Auburn's all-time assist leader. She also finished the 2008-09 season with the nation's best assist-to-turnover ratio.
Bonner also left her mark on the record books finishing with 2,162 career points, shattering the previous Auburn all-time points record by 100. She also accumulated 1,047 rebounds, which is second most in Auburn history. She is also listed in the top 10 in every other major statistical category.
The departure of the two stellar seniors has some fans questioning their chances to compete next year. Blake Mottesheard, a junior in supply chain management, said he attended every women's basketball game last year. "The women's basketball team had an amazing year. It will be pretty hard to repeat their performance next year."
Fortner acknowledged the importance of her star players, but refused to show any lack of confidence. "We'll definitely miss them bad. They accounted for a lot of our points." Fortner said. "But we have a great freshman class coming up. We'll do a lot more scoring by committee next year."
Johnny Green, Dean of Students at Auburn, said that he enjoys hearing of the success of our student athletes. "You're always excited and hopeful. Excited that they are getting the opportunity they deserve, and hopeful that they have long successful careers," Green said. "Naturally we would also like to see them finish college first."
While Boddie and Bonner are each thriving in their personal careers, the team looks to move forward and try and fill some of the voids left by these players. Another SEC title for 2009-10 season? Coach Fortner thinks so. "That's always the plan. We think we're going to win it every year."
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