WNBA scout Mark Schindler talks Georgia Amoore, other potential pros for Kentucky WBB

Following the 2023-24 season, Georgia Amoore could have entered her name in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and more likely than not, she would have been a first-round pick (and if you don’t know, there are only 12 picks each round, unlike the NBA where there are 30 picks each round).

However, after an amazing four-year run at Virginia Tech, Amoore decided to return to the collegiate level for another year to hone her skills even further. WNBA scout Mark Schindler talked with KSR about how the 5-foot-6 guard would fare in the upcoming draft and why her abilities will be so attractive for teams at the next level.

Schindler himself thinks that Amoore would have been a first-round pick this year, but she still needs to prove that she can get to the basket and score inside at an elite level.

“I think she could have gone in the lottery,” Schindler explained. “She would have made a lot of sense for the [Los Angeles] Sparks. In my opinion, I think taking Rickea Jackson made sense for them, but they’re a team that very much needs a guard, and I think that she’s somebody who could have maybe been in play there.”

The Sparks took Jackson with the fourth pick in the draft after taking Stanford forward Cameron Brink with the second pick as well. Amoore has the potential to maybe get in that conversation to be a top-five pick, but again, she still needs to improve in some areas offensively.

“So much of this next year to me is seeing how she can elevate — what is kind of going to be the next stage for her,” Schindler added. “I want to see how she can keep improving in the mid-range and how she gets to the rim. Obviously, she’s phenomenal getting to the rim, but [I want to see her] become more efficient there and find more ways to leverage her quickness.”

Every year, Amoore has continued to improve, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case in her lone season at Kentucky.

“She’s gotten better every single year,” Schindler noted. “She and Kenny [Brooks] obviously put in tremendous work together and it shows. I think that it wouldn’t be unreasonable if people were talking about her as a lottery pick again this year.”

Despite Amoore needing to show some improvement, she already has a skill set at the point guard position that has teams gawking at what she can do.

“It’s just the aspect of having a guard who can create with the ball in their hands,” Schindler said. “The league is progressively (kind of like what happened in the NBA about a decade ago) like, every guard needs to be able to dribble, pass, shoot and play off the ball, and I think Georgia brings that at a high level.”

Her height may be a turn off to a lot of folks around the league, but Schindler thinks that Amoore is so good that it almost negates that issue.

“I think that one of the things that people will sometimes disagree with me about is like well, you know, she’s 5-foot-5 or 5-foot-6, and sure. There are just so few players in the WNBA who have her dynamic quickness and ability to be such a threat without the ball. It’s not easy to find players like that. Her shooting ability, what she can do coming off screens and operating with the ball in her hands, that’s what makes her such an intriguing prospect.”

While there are the South Carolina’s and UConn’s of the world, who constantly churn out pros year after year, there are also schools like Kentucky. The ‘Cats have a small history of producing pros with Rhyne Howard being the most recognizable and most recent player to go pro from Kentucky back in 2022, but Kentucky just isn’t there comparatively.

However, Schindler believes that (while it will be practically impossible for Kentucky to replicate what South Carolina and UConn have done for years now) under Brooks, Lexington can start to become a destination spot for more future pros.

“With what Kenny’s been doing, it’s easy to forget because they just did so well this last year, but the last year or two is the first time that they really started to pull in high-level recruits — talking five stars. Virginia Tech’s not an easy place to recruit too, so I think that’s part of what’s exciting about Kenny coming to the SEC. Kenny and his staff coming to the SEC — it seems like there’s a pretty big commitment now moving forward with women’s basketball from Kentucky, which I’m excited about. They clearly always have had the resources and ability and that history on the men’s side. I think it’s about continuing to pull it on the women’s side.”

He continued, “I think if [Kentucky] comes in and starts hitting the ground running and continuing to build something up, like, it’s not going to happen overnight, obviously, but I think that there’s a chance that they could really develop into a real power.”

Of course, recruiting is one thing, but trying to navigate the transfer portal is a whole other thing. Schindler believes that Brooks did an excellent job of mixing both high school players and transfer players this offseason. He even suggested that they could all be impact players this year as well.

“They brought in a really good transfer group,” Schindler said. “Maybe every name doesn’t pop for people in a star sense, but I think there’s a lot of players that make sense for how Kenny’s teams have traditionally played. The recruits they have coming in have a chance to be pretty impactful right away and be long-term producers. And you have Georgia, who I think hinges on everything. I think that this team has a real chance to be something pretty good immediately and obviously grow from there.”

Along with Amoore, there are several players on this Kentucky team that Schindler can see eventually turning pro.

“[Clara Silva] is a phenomenal talent. When you look at a player like Clara Strack, it’s obviously going to depend on how she continues to develop, but she’s shown a lot of positives already, like just being productive. Being 6-foot-5 is going to get you opportunities, and she seems to really show a passion for wanting to get better, and I’m interested to see what that looks like for her this year, but I think the sky’s the limit for her and what she can do.”

However, it isn’t just the centers that Schindler can see making that jump to the next level.

“I really like Dominika Paurová. I was a big fan of her as a freshman at Oregon State. A player with size on the wing who can come off screens and shoot, play really well and be an elite role player — it’s going to take time when we can see, but she has real potential to get in that lane.

“I’m always interested in Teonni [Key]. She’s struggled with injuries, and that’s been a part of what’s held her back from getting more time on court, but I’m excited about her playing in a new system that’s going to play with more pace and more energy. I think that you can see some exciting stuff from her. Keep an eye out on Lexi Blue and what she does too.”