MINNEAPOLIS — When the Lynx picked Notre Dame forward Devereaux Peters with the No. 3 pick in the 2012 WNBA draft, the 22-year-old couldn't hide her surprise. She had no idea she'd be selected that high, but with as wide-open as this year's field was, Peters was a logical top choice for Minnesota. She's known for her selfless game -- playing alongside 2012 No. 8 pick Natalie Novosel and Skylar Diggins, who will be a senior in 2012-13 -- which made her a perfect fit for the Lynx, who have no shortage of stars already.
Just two weeks into Lynx training camp and five days from the team's first regular-season matchup, Peters is still a new face. To many fans, she's little more than a collection of statistics. She's the 2012 Big East Defensive Player of the Year. She played in -- and lost -- two NCAA championship games. She averaged 11.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in her senior season.
That's a whole lot of information absent any personality, any hint at who Peters really is. To learn a little bit more about the newest member of the Lynx, I talked with Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, who spent five years with Peters in South Bend.
FSN: Have you and Devereaux kept in touch since she was drafted?
MCGRAW: I've talked with her a couple of times. We text and talk on the phone and just try to keep in touch. After only a week, she just said she loves it. It feels good. It's a good fit. She likes the staff and coaches, and everything's going well.
FSN: What stood out to you about Devereaux throughout her college career?
MCGRAW: You know, I think probably the thing that showed most was how incredibly unselfish she is. She's such a team player. In five years, we didn't run one play for her. Maybe a last-second, out-of-bounds lob play was about it for five years. She didn't care about that. She never wondered where her opportunities would come from and when she was going to score. It was never about her. She just loved being able to rebound and block shots, anything she could do to help the team. And also, she celebrated the other players. She was always, always the happiest for somebody else when they had a good game or something good happened to them. That was kind of the intangible things.
In terms of the basketball part, I think her ability to go get a rebound -- her wingspan is really, really big. Seventy-two inches or something like that. Some crazy number. (Note: It's actually 77 inches.) There was one play at home, she missed a free throw and got her own rebound, shot it for a layup. She just beat everybody and got it and put it up. She did things like that and blocked shots; she had such an amazing athletic ability. You had to stop and just kind of admire her for what she was.
FSN: She seemed very surprised to have been picked so high (Peters was the No. 3 overall pick). Did you talk much about draft projections before that day?
MCGRAW: You know, we didn't talk about it. We've never really been the kind of coaches that talk to the players about that. It's always about the experience and trying to just stay positive. We didn't want to put any numbers on what we think, if you'll be top five. Then it sets an expectation, and if you don't realize it, you think you've already not met your potential. Now, we (thought she was) going to go in the first round, we're so excited, and then she goes third. We really didn't have any idea of (who'd be picked) second through 12. We just didn't have any idea. We were just so happy she got Minnesota because of the team, the teamwork, the players. I think if she had to pick a team, that would have been the one -- not because they won the championship, but because they seem to be unselfish and everybody gets along well.
FSN: Obviously, you've coached players who've gone to the WNBA before and are familiar with that transition. What advice did you have for Devereaux about the transition?
MCGRAW: One of my assistants, Niele Ivey, played in the league (with Indiana, Detroit and Phoenix) for five years, and my other assistant, Carol Owens, knows so many more people in the league than I do. . . . I talk more about what to expect and things like that from the basketball perspective, but they can talk more about just what it's going to be like with the players in that league, what you need to know. They're pretty honest and up front with them, so I think they're ready when they get there.
FSN: So as far as the on-court aspects, what do you see for her as things to improve upon and what her strengths might be at this level?
MCGRAW: She's got great potential at that level to expand her game to being more of a face-up player. For us, she was -- she had a lot of assists, she was a really good passer, she rebounded at both ends, she brought the shots. For us, she started out with defensive rebounding, and then she averaged in double figures. I think for her, the face-up, because she can do it, but for us we didn't have her out there as much.
FSN: The Lynx have only been practicing for about two weeks now, and it's still only been a month since Devereaux was drafted, so I'm sure the people of Minnesota don't know much about her besides her statistics from college. What else aside from the numbers really strikes you about her?
MCGRAW: I love her passion and how excited she gets for big plays and the game. She really has a lot of emotion, and I think that's a really good thing. I like players that show their enthusiasm and their emotion on the floor. And that passion, I think the fans really liked it at Notre Dame, and I'm sure that (Lynx) fans will enjoy that, too.
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