If Teaira McCowan doesn’t get a double-double, something is amiss. The 6’7 center, who was selected No. 3 overall by the Indiana Fever averaged 18 points, 14 rebounds (the second most in the nation), and 2.5 blocks per game. When things are going right, she can draw all the defenders to her so that teammates can score, or grab their rebounds and bat cleanup — or just toss up layups over almost everyone’s head. She can mostly out-rebound entire teams on her own. This is exactly what the Indiana Fever need.
Teaira McCowan is a true center ready to take over the Indiana Fever
The double-double machine was the No. 3 overall pick in the WNBA draft.
In short, McCowan is the kind of player who appears specifically tailored for the WNBA hardwood. But it didn’t necessarily come easily — like so many people of extra-impressive height, when she was growing up in Brenham, Texas, McCowan started playing basketball more or less as a matter of course, not thanks to extraordinary passion for the sport. When she arrived at Mississippi State, she was tall and strong, but almost completely raw.
“Coming in my freshman year, I was average for a post player,” McCowan told 24/7 Sports. “When I got here, I didn’t know a lot of the terminology. [Mississippi State assistant coach Johnnie Harris] took a lot of time out of her schedule to make sure that I knew all of the fundamental things and I was mastering the skills she was trying to teach.”
That extra time and increased knowledge paid off.
”She’s the most improved player I’ve ever coached from where she was when she got here to where she is now,” Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer told ESPN recently. “Her growth, on and off the court, and her development as a basketball player. She’s taught me patience. She’s emotional like her head coach, and I have a real appreciation for her because of that.”
Now, along with her obvious size advantage, McCowan has made herself indispensable as both a scorer and a facilitator. She’s a true center, but her efficiency — second best in the nation at 1.25 points per play — makes her a tantalizing prospect for the Fever. An AP poll of WNBA coaches and GMs named her the top WNBA prospect of the 2019 draft back in January, presumably betting on the fact that as much as she’s progressed so far in Vic Schaefer’s program, she’ll learn and develop even more at the pro level.
