VCU's 'Q' hopes to have right answers at WNBA tryout

Quanitra Hollingsworth gobbled up more rebounds than any player in Virginia Commonwealth history, led the Rams to the NCAA tournament and became a first-round draft pick in the WNBA - all before her 21st birthday.

Now comes the really hard part: actually making a WNBA team.

That's not a knock on Chesapeake's Hollingsworth, who April 9 was selected with the ninth overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx. The precocious center - she graduated from Great Bridge High at age 15 and is currently working on her masters degree in computer science - stands a legitimate 6-foot-5 and has the wingspan of someone even taller. And at a mere 20 years old, Hollingsworth has that most enviable of sports attributes - upside potential.

"When I first got to college, I considered myself a shot blocker, but now I consider myself a shot alterer," said Hollingsworth, last season's Colonial Athletic Association's Defensive Player of the Year. "But I can definitely contribute at both ends, and not everyone can say that."

Even so, the numbers game is making things difficult even for first-round picks. With some of the teams struggling under the economy, rosters have been trimmed, and the league has even lost one of its flagship teams. This year's WNBA camps may be the toughest auditions in sports.

During the offseason, four-time league champion Houston went out of business, dropping the number of teams from 14 to 13. Team rosters also were reduced from 13 to 11, siphoning off another 26 jobs.

At last weekend's NFL draft, top picks are virtually assured roster spots and will be guaranteed millions. The WNBA's rookie pay scale tops out just under $45,000. Even elite prospects like Hollingsworth will have to battle their tails off to get that.

Three weeks ago, Atlanta Dream general manager Marynell Meadors speculated that half of this year's first-rounds may not make their teams. And while Lynx coach Don Zierden clearly is bullish on Hollingsworth, even he isn't making promises heading into the start of next month's training camp.

"People keep saying we had a great draft, but that's not going to mean much on May 17," he said. "Because of the roster sizes, we're not in the development business. She's going to have to come in and show the coaching staff she can play right away.

"Is she a lock to make the team? Absolutely not."

Meanwhile, Lynx fans are still trying to figure out who is this player known as "Q." Virtually all of Hollingsworth's collegiate brilliance came under the radar at mid-major VCU.

But when finally given the spotlight in the NCAA tournament last month, Hollingsworth showed what all the fuss was about. Matched against star Rutgers center Kia Vaughn - who subsequently went eighth in the draft - Hollingsworth held her own. She scored 16 points and added 11 rebounds in a six-point loss.

"She's got legit size and length, and she also has a real back-to-the-basket skill set, the kind we're lacking," Zierden said. "I liked her a lot."

So when Minnesota's selection came up, the post-starved Lynx pulled the trigger.

"To start with, when you have a first name like Quanitra, it's like having a last name like Zierden," the coach said. "No one knows who you are.

"And I wasn't watching the TV, but apparently, the ESPN folks were saying we were going to take (Duke's) Chante Black. So there was a lot of questioning going on."

A person who prides herself on being a hard worker, Hollingsworth plans on answering those questions and any lingering doubts beginning May 17.

"The thing about Quanitra is, she has a very high basketball IQ," Zierden said. "It's going to be tough. But I'm very confident that in time, she'll show we made the right decision."

Paul White, (757) 222-5119, paul.white@pilotonline.com