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Haley Gorecki Has Been Waiting For Her Moment

(Photo by Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Haley Gorecki is used to waiting. After opening her freshman season on the bench, she started for the first time in the ninth game of the season, only to go 0-for-6 against UMass. Five games later, she suffered a season-ending hip injury.

Over the summer, she experienced a setback, and she waited out the entire 2016-17 season on the sideline. Returning in 2017-18, Gorecki flourished as a sharp-shooter, notching a career-best 42.3% from behind the arc, but this season was once again cut short by another injury to the hip. And the waiting continued.

Her second return from injury, in 2018-19, marked one of the best individual seasons in Duke history. Gorecki averaged 17.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.6 steals while starting all 30 contests and tying the program single-season record with 36.0 minutes per game. But Duke, after making the NCAA tournament in 2017 and 2018 when Gorecki was sidelined with hip injuries, missed out in 2019. So Gorecki waited for a shot in her fourth year of eligibility, as a graduate student.

Once again, Gorecki impressed. She was named to the All-ACC first team and defensive team. AP recognized her as Honorable Mention All-America and she was one of five finalists for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the top shooting guard in the nation. The stats speak for themselves, but the wins against Florida State and NC State down the stretch left many with the impression that Duke might sneak into the tournament.

Gorecki played 40 minutes and scored at least 20 points in both those games, including the final four against Florida State and the final five against NC State. Of course, instead of waiting for her team’s name to be called on selection Monday, Gorecki is waiting for a tournament bracket that will never be released, much less played.

“Obviously, that would have been my first tournament to play in, which was special to me,” Gorecki told Just Women’s Sports. “The way it ended, there was no closure in a sense. It was just sad.”

Nevertheless, Gorecki could look forward to the WNBA draft. Universally, Gorecki was viewed as a prospect, but there was little unanimity on where she might end up.

“I got a lot of phone calls from coaches in the WNBA who expressed interest in drafting me, so that helped to calm my nerves,” Gorecki said. “It made me feel a lot better knowing that I was being looked at as a prospect in the draft and that there was potential for me to be selected.”

Still, not knowing where she would be selected, Gorecki was antsy until draft day. Even then, she was left waiting.

“From talking to coaches, my name was always mentioned in the second round, early second round,” Gorecki said. “It was never in the third. When all of the names were being called, I kept thinking, ‘Okay, where’s my name?’”

With the 31st pick, the Seattle Storm drafted Gorecki. Even Storm head coach Dan Hughes thought Gorecki would be taken sooner, as his staff projected an alternate team to snatch her in the second round.

“Finally, my name popped up and I was relieved,” Gorecki recalled. “It’s funny because Seattle’s coach was actually the last coach I spoke with and now that’s where I’m headed. It all ended up working out in the end.”

As a third round pick and a rookie, nothing is guaranteed for Gorecki. The roster of 15 will need to be culled down to 12 spots.

“First and foremost, I want to make the team,” Gorecki said. “Then, I want to learn as much as I can because you never know how the team is going to be next year. Trades happen, people retire, things change. I want to learn from the people that have been playing in the league for the longest.”

That would be Sue Bird. The 39 year old guard and oldest active player is coming off a lost season due to a left knee surgery. Without her or 2018 League and Finals MVP Breanna Stewart for the 2019 season, the Storm were unable to defend their title. Still, Seattle was a playoff team last season, and the return of Stewart and Bird makes a crowded roster even more tight.

“Being in Seattle, I’ll be learning from the best. Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart — so many legends are on that team,” Gorecki said. “I’m excited to be a sponge and take in their experience and their advice. The coach is great. The organization is awesome. I’m ready to learn and compete.”

The guard position is especially packed. Last year, Jordin Canada emerged as a rising star averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 assists per game, good for third and first on the team, respectively. Former first overall pick Jewell Loyd made her second All-Star appearance and finished second on the team in scoring. Sami Whitcomb can play at the two, and last year was sixth on the team in scoring and third in assists. On top of it all, Bird is coming back.

Gorecki will face steep competition in training camp, whenever it starts. It is indisputable, however, that she will bring a lot to Seattle. Last year, her 166 made free throws were ninth in the college game, and at an efficient 85.6%. Her 554 points were 38th in the country.

“Haley is one of the most productive players in America in the college game,” Hughes said. “She has good size… she gets to the foul line about as well as any player in college basketball a year ago and she has high skill. With all that skill, there’s a toughness about her that was very, very attractive.”

Gorecki’s final college game, an ACC tournament quarterfinal loss to Boston College, epitomized her tenure in blue. She collected 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and a steal. She hit a three-pointer in her 17th straight contest and went 8-for-8 at the foul line. The game has also marked the beginning of her wait.

“There’s no definitive answer for when this is all going to start,” she said. “It’s all still up in the air and nobody has an answer.”

Until then she will, as always, stay ready. With her trainer over Zoom, Gorecki has been lifting, doing core and band work, and working on ball handling.

“You never know when they are going to say, ‘Okay, it’s time to come to training camp.’”

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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