ARLINGTON, TX — Every professional athlete endures an adjustment period when entering their respective league. We've seen it across sports. The WNBA is no different, as making the jump to the highest level of women's professional basketball is a challenging task. Dallas Wings rookies Jacy Sheldon, Sevgi Uzun, and Lou Lopez Senechal took some time to discuss the topic with ClutchPoints following the team's practice on Wednesday.
Wings rookies biggest challenges in WNBA so far
Dallas has five first-year players on the roster. Sheldon was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. A guard out of Ohio State, she has continued to improve as the season has progressed. What has been her biggest challenge in her rookie season so far, however?
“I would say just the overall adjustment… It's here whether people want to admit it or not,” Sheldon said. “The pace, how the game is played specifically. Just getting comfortable within it… I get more comfortable with every game. There is that adjustment at the beginning of the season… Having to learn things in such a short amount of time as well. You come right from college, right from training camp, and then you start games. That's been probably the hardest thing so far, but it's been a lot of fun to be apart of.”
Sheldon was a standout player on Ohio State before joining the Wings. The same can be said for Lopez Senechal when she was drafted out of UConn. She was also selected with the fifth overall pick by the Wings, but was drafted in 2023. An injury kept her off the floor last season.
“Getting used to the pace of the game,” Lopez Senechal said of her biggest WNBA challenge. “Obviously playing against really experienced players that have been here for many, many years. They know all the players, all the teams really well. So I think it's just the adjustment of getting used to the pace and also getting comfortable with our plays.”
A different transition
While Sheldon and Lopez Senechal made their transition to the Wings and the WNBA out of college, Uzun previously played overseas in Turkey. She explained her biggest WNBA challenge on Wednesday as well.
“The games,” Uzun said. “Sometimes we play back-to-back, travel, play next day, travel again. The schedule, it's so tough. It's not something that I'm used to overseas. Trying not to feel tired… mentally and physically it's been challenging.”
Another interesting topic that has been floating around the basketball world in both the WNBA and NBA is the style of play. European basketball is seemingly catching up to American basketball. Many of the best players are European. So has Uzun noticed any big differences in the styles of play?
“It's so fast here,” Uzun said. “Everybody plays the game so fast, the next possession comes so fast. Overseas it's more… I don't want to say in control, but here… how they can keep the game rhythm so high, I was like, ‘okay, this is something that I should get used to.'”
Taking steps forward
The Wings are hopeful that Uzun, Lopez Senechal, and Sheldon will all play impactful roles in the team's future. The same can be said for the Wings other first year players in Jaelyn Brown and Stephanie Soares.
Dallas has struggled to begin the 2023-24 season. Nevertheless, the future remains bright. Progressing and continuing to develop is priority number one for the Wings young players.
“I feel like between last season and this season, last year being injured, I think patience… Just trying to be more vocal,” Lopez Senechal said of her progression so far in the WNBA. “I think it's very important here to talk a lot and to obviously be open-minded. But I'm just trying to be very vocal and be very focused every practice and every game.”
All the Wings can do is continue to work hard and improve. At some point, the results will speak for themselves. Despite the team's current struggles, finding a way to progress is of the utmost importance.
“I think I've grown a lot,” Sheldon said. “It just goes back to being more comfortable in every aspect… Learning the system offensively and defensively and being comfortable within it. And I am. I think it's showing a little more so I can't wait to grow even more.”
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