By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
PHOTOS: Dallas Wings
There are three new Wings in town.
In Monday night’s 2022 WNBA draft, the WNBA’s Dallas Wings selected Northwestern guard Veronica Burton (Round 1, 7th overall); Delaware guard Jasmine Dickey (Round 3, 30th pick) and North Florida forward Jazz Bond (Round 3, 31st pick) with the 31st pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft.
Burton, a three-year starting point guard for Northwestern University became the first player in program history to be named to an AP All-America team, earning a spot on the Third Team in 2022.
She was also the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year three straight years from 2020-22, which was only the second time in Big 10 history this had been accomplished (Tanisha Wright, Penn State, 2003-05). During her senior year, Burton averaged 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and dished out 6.4 assists while swiping 4 steals, all career highs for the four-year standout, and was one of just four NCAAW players to average at least 17 points, five assists and five rebounds per game last season.
“I have been following Veronica for several years. I would say the last two years probably is when she was someone that really piqued our interest and coming into this year she certainly was at the top of our board as we started to think about how we would execute this draft,” said Wings GM Greg Bibb.
“What I love about her is she is super smart on the court and super smart off the court. She is the consummate teammate. She is a leader. She is in my mind, I think in all of our minds here in Dallas, what a point guard is all about. For us, I think she is going to come in – she is going to be a defensive presence from Day 1. She is going to be a floor general for us and she is going to make our potent offense even more dangerous.”
The Wings also added Dickey, who was the third-highest scoring player in the NCAA last year, averaging 25.2 points per game at Delaware. The 5’10 combo guard averaged 17.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game in her four years as a Blue Hen and was named the CAA Player of the Year in back-to-back years in 2020-21 and 2021-22. She was also named to the CAA All-Defensive Team, CAA All-Tournament Team and led the CAA with 67 steals. She her collegiate career with 1979 points.
Bond is a 6’4 forward who averaged 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists across her four years as an Osprey. She earned a spot on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team, the All-Academic Team and All-Tournament team. She was also the Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and is the UNF career leader in blocks, rebounds (since the program became Division One) and free throws made. Bond shot 46.5 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three in her 103 career games.
The Wings open training camp on Sunday at College Park Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington. They open the 2022 season on May 7 at 7 p.m. at UTA.
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