Chanelle Molina’s predraft schedule hasn’t exactly gone as planned.
Molina — a 2016 Konawaena High School graduate — has seen her preparation for the upcoming WNBA draft upended in the past few weeks.
Molina departs Washington State after a four-year college career that saw her dish out 429 assists – second in school history – and break the 1,000-point plateau as a senior. Over the course of the 2019-20 season, she led the team in assists, rebounds and steals, and she was second in scoring with 14.6 points per game.
Late in her senior campaign, a swollen knee bothered Molina. Instead of jumping directly into the predraft preparations, Molina was told by her doctor to rest in order to get her knee back to 100%.
“The first two weeks, I didn’t really do anything,” Molina said. “After that, this whole quarantine thing happened. The facilities are closed, so I can’t really go in the gym and shoot hoops. I’m just trying to find what I can do stay active.”
After her knee healed, Molina was ready to prep for the WNBA Draft — scheduled for Friday— but difficulties in finding an open gym forced her to become more inventive with her workouts.
“I need to be more creative — finding an outdoor court, finding hills,” Molina said. “Our coach has a whole plan of everything we can use. He sent bands to all of us on the team; we got to bring in some weights to take home.”
A three-time Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year who led the Willdcats to two HHSAA championships, Molina has been balancing classes and workouts since Washington State’s season finale on March 5.
Though the draft hasn’t been postponed, it will be held virtually for the first time in the league’s 24-year history.
Molina isn’t certain what to expect come draft night, but she plans on watching the ESPN-televised broadcast in hopes of hearing her name called. Teams haven’t given much of an indication as to where they see Molina being selected in the three-round draft.
Wherever she lands, Molina’s schedule is likely to remain uncertain in the near future. The WNBA has postponed the start of its season — originally scheduled for May 15 — and has not made an announcement regarding a new start date.
Molina insists that whatever happens, she’ll be prepared for the next step.
“I’m just taking it day by day,” Molina said. “This whole thing, with everything going on in the world, it kind of ruined everybody’s routine. It’s really important to me to stay active and do what I can, so when the day that training camp comes or if I go to play overseas, I’ll be ready.”
