Brittney Griner is ready for that NBA tryout after season in WNBA

Brittney Griner, the All-American center for the Baylor women’s basketball team, and an NBA tryout: It’s the story that won’t go away anytime soon. The media won’t let it, not at the pinnacle of the college basketball season.

This became a story when Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was talking last week about the NBA draft and told reporters he’d already given thought to using a second-round draft pick on the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Griner. Cuban even sent out the word via Twitter.

Griner says she’s ready for a tryout, particularly after she hones her game in the WNBA this summer.

“I was like, ‘Wow, Mark Cuban. He tweeted me?’� Griner said. “It definitely made me feel good, feel special. I tweeted him back, ‘When is tryouts?’ I can hold my own. I’ll try too. I’m not going to back down from a challenge.�

Now this story is getting more play during Final Four weekend, when Griner was selected the college player of the year again.

“When are tryouts?� Griner said Saturday afternoon in New Orleans, site of the women’s Final Four. “The WNBA is where I’m at. That is where I’m going. After that, if I get a shot, why turn down something like that? That’s big, even if you don’t make it. Hey, at least you tried. Somebody pushed the envelope.�

The problem for Griner, who is expected to be the first overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA draft April 15, is that she has the skills of a center but she’s the size of an NBA small forward. If she had more muscle and mass, she might be a power forward, but she’d then be more of a combo forward, which is a kind way to say a little too big and slow for small forward and not quite big and strong enough to play power forward.

“They are strong, definitely bigger than me,� Griner said of NBA players, particularly centers. “I would have to, as you say, man-up. But I’ve never backed down from a challenge, and I never will. If I get an elbow to the chest from one of those big guys, hey, at least I can say I was there and tried it.�

When Griner was asked about playing against someone such as the Lakers’ Dwight Howard, one of the most physically gifted NBA centers at 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds, she said she knew what would probably be in store for her.

“I would finally see what everybody feels like against me, a taste of my own medicine, I guess,’� Griner said. “But I’m not going to change my shot. If he blocks it, whatever.�

Many women -- including Nancy Lieberman, the first woman to actually play in a men’s pro league, and Ann Meyers Drysdale, who was given a tryout by the Indiana Pacers but didn’t make training camp -- have advocated giving Griner and other top female players a chance to compete on the NBA level.

Two of the top coaches in the college women’s game are decidedly against it -- Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma, who came out earlier this week and said Cuban’s genius would take a hit, and Duke’s Joanne P. McAllie.

“Ha, ha, funny, funny, that was my reaction,� McAllie said. “No way. I respect the strength and speed of those guys. There is simply no way on Earth that will happen. It’s a silly thing. Let’s be who we are. Let’s be really good at who we are. And your validation does come through Mark Cuban’s offer. I appreciate Mark Cuban watching the game but let’s not forget who we are.�

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