Victoria Dunlap has long dreamed about playing basketball in the pros. She’s imagined every shot, dribble and pass she’ll make in the WNBA.But she never prepared for the nerve-wracking path to the podium on WNBA Draft day. When Dunlap heard her name called with the 11th overall selection in the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft, she was admittedly nervous as she walked to greet the WNBA’s chief of basketball operations to receive her Washington Mystics jersey.In the moments leading up to the live broadcast from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., Dunlap said she was prepping for the 10-second walk of fame.”They were trying to give us a rundown,” a thrilled Dunlap said. “We did one yesterday, but we didn’t have on all of our clothes and our heels. When we got there, I was making sure I had the right path to walk up there to make sure I was going to walk the right way.”Dunlap, an All-American and Kentucky’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer, was selected by the Mystics on Monday. Dunlap is now the highest draft pick in school history and UK’s first draft selection since Shantia Owens was a third-round draft pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft. “We are just so proud for Victoria,” said UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell, who, along with Dunlap’s mother and former teammate Carly Morrow, was with Dunlap at ESPN headquarters. “She’s worked extremely hard and to be a first-round draft choice is a testament to how hard she’s worked and improved during her time at Kentucky. We are proud of her. It’s also a special day for our program. To have the first, first-round draft (pick) in school history is special. It’s been an incredible day.”Making the walk to the podium even more anxious were the moments leading up to her selection. What seemed like a few minutes to a nationally televised audience felt like hours for Dunlap. When it was Washington’s turn to pick, Dunlap said she was “semi-shocked” to hear her name called because she didn’t even think Washington was interested in her services.”It felt like it took forever just because I was sitting there waiting,” Dunlap said. “When I finally heard my name, I was like, ‘Finally.’ Now that I know where I am going to be playing at, I feel like a weight has been lifted. All of the girls I was talking to were anxious and nervous because you never really know where you are going to end up. I am just grateful for the opportunity.”Dunlap will be heading to a new city, but she’ll have a couple of familiar faces to show her the walk in streets of D.C. With a little good fortune and the blessing of Dunlap, she’ll head to the same city as former Wildcats John Wall and Jeremy Jarmon. Wall, currently with the Washington Wizards, and Jarmon, a defensive end with the Washington Redskins, both welcomed Dunlap to Washington via Twitter moments after the selection.”That’s one of the things I thought about when Washington chose me,” Dunlap said. “John actually texted me after I was drafted to tell me he was happy for me, and I saw a whole bunch of tweets from him and Jeremy Jarmon about me. I’m pretty excited about that.”Dunlap will also have some secondary experience in life in the pros. Her father spent three seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts and her oldest brother, King, is currently an offensive lineman with the Philadelphia Eagles.She’s hoping her family’s success in athletics (her mother was also a standout track star at Tennessee State) will pay off in the WNBA.
“I think it is more of comfort thing,” Dunlap said. “The fact that professional sports are a business, you have to make sure you have an agent and different contracts just from a financial standpoint. My brother and my dad knew a lot about that. They are very comfortable with what information needs to be known and what information needs to be within the business of the game.”Dunlap will walk into a pretty good situation in Washington. Despite playing the entire season without four-time WNBA all-star and starting guard Alana Beard, the Mystics posted a franchise-best 22-12 record last season en route to the Eastern Conference semifinals.With a bulk of last year’s team returning, it’s unclear whether or not Dunlap will get a lot of playing time early, but she appears to fit the description for a team that entered the draft in need of more scoring and rebounding.The two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year ended her illustrious Wildcat career ranking in the top 10 on numerous career lists, including No. 1 in games played (133) and No. 2 in scoring (1,846), rebounding (1,099), blocks (178), steals (307), free throws made (445), free throws attempted (714) and double-doubles (31). She was the first player in school history to chart more than 100 assists, 100 blocks and 300 steals in her career and just the second player with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.”I think it makes it easier for a team to get along more and get some momentum going into the season knowing that they did well last year,” said Dunlap, who also has plans to play overseas when the WNBA season is not in session. “Just coming in and knowing that they’re comfortable with themselves and with the team makes it a good situation.”Dunlap admitted she doesn’t know a ton about the Washington franchise, but she does remember watching Beard and Monique Currie play at Duke and played against former Tennessee forward Nicky Anosike her freshman year. She also said Washington has a huge fan base.Dunlap won’t have a lot of time between Monday and her first professional game. She said she’s already spoken to head coach Trudi Lacey and plans to talk to her in more detail once things settle down next week. Dunlap is scheduled to graduate from UK on May 8 before training camp starts around May 15.After that, it’s just a few short weeks until her first professional regular-season game against Connecticut on June 4. “When I was younger I wanted to be in the WNBA,” Dunlap said. “I liked playing basketball but I never thought it would be a possibility. I never thought I would be a first-round draft pick.” Albeit for a few anxious moments, that dream came true for Dunlap on Monday.