Since the 2001 WNBA Draft is being televised live for the first time, the Storm is hosting a Draft party at the Furtado Center. One half of the practice floor is filled with chairs, a big screen TV turned to NBAtv, and smaller monitors on either side show the Storm management “war room.” When I first get there, it seems like that Storm personnel outnumbered the fans, but that changes. By 8:30 when the pick is announced, there are at least 100 people in attendance. But that’s getting a little ahead of the story.

At 8:10, Q13 does a live spot on their morning show from the war room. Coach Dunn talks about how having the first pick will bring excitement to the team and help define the future personality of the team. She says that the decision has been narrowed down to three players, Lauren Jackson, Tamika Catchings and Jackie Stiles. She also says that the fact that the draft is being televised live is a good sign that the popularity of women’s basketball is on the rise.

At this point, you can believe that the pick is still being discussed. From the view of the war room on the monitors, the group is engaged in a fairly intense conversation (there is no audio on these monitors). The table is covered with paper and coffee cups. Karen Bryant, Coach Dunn, Wally Walker and three other people I don’t recognize are seated around the table.

At 8:20, Doppler arrives on the scene to a subdued “yea.” He proceeds to move around the room trying to energize the crowd and promptly sits on someone’s donut. He walks past me and I say, “Dude, you’ve got donut on your butt.” He stops, tries to reach around and brush it off, and then sticks his rear in my direction. I’m not proud to admit this, but I wipe Doppler’s butt — clean of donut. Coach steps out of the war room, which is actually a small room right off of the practice floor, and says “Y’all should be at work.”

There’s just a few minutes to go. No one is paying very much attention to Doppler, so he is going around and messing with people. We find out that each team will have 3 and a half minutes to pick.

8:27. Seattle has to pick. Everyone gets quiet and watches the TV and monitors. It looks like the management is still talking. Is there any doubt?

8:30. Here we go…

…and Seattle’s first pick is Lauren Jackson. The crowd at Furtado cheers. Lauren is at the draft, she hugs someone (her mom?) and goes up to the podium with Val Ackerman, holds up a Storm jersey and gets her picture taken.

Coach Dunn says that 9 teams had contacted Seattle about trades for the Lauren, but that no trades are being entertained. She now sounds like Lauren was the plan all along (and how could the Storm have really passed her up). Coach says she expects Lauren to average a double double, 20 points and 20 rebounds if possible.

At 8:50 the Storm personnel hand out press releases and put out a “Welcome Lauren” sign for people to write messages on. It is a vinyl sign that was obviously pre-made. Unless they made alternates that said “Welcome Jackie,” this pick was a done deal for awhile.

A few minutes later, the Storm’s next pick, the 17th, is Semeka Randall. Coach comes out to address the crowd (like I said, more than a hundred), and says that she was thrilled to be able to pick Lauren, that of all the elite players she has by far the most experience playing against the top players. She says that Lauren has already proven that she could compete, and that the team would be built around her. Semeka was picked to provide help on the perimeter.

Since our next pick isn’t until the fourth round, and I have a job to get too, I leave after Coach Dunn finished her statement (as did most of the other fans).