Athletes Unlimited (AU) was launched in March 2020 as a new player-centric network of women’s pro sports leagues in softball, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse. AU’s second basketball season kicks off on Feb. 23 in Dallas and concludes on March 19.
The first draft of the new season was held Sunday, Feb. 19 and guard Allisha Gray was the first player selected. Each Sunday a draft will be held, and the top four players on the individual leaderboard will serve as team captains.
“We have more depth this season in our talent from top to bottom in the league,” declared Sydney Colson, the AU player executive committee chairperson. She, fellow players Lexie Brown and Layshia Clarendon, along with Head of Sport-Basketball Ilene Hauser and AU CEO and Co-founder Jim Patricof spoke with reporters Tuesday during a pre-season virtual press conference.
Colson is one of 21 returning players from a year ago. Each of the four teams’ 11-player rosters includes 10 Black females. “The games will be competitive like last season,” stressed Colson, “but I think you’ll have a chance to see some players from overseas that you haven’t seen. Maybe some players in the WNBA that you didn’t get to see a ton and just get to see what they could do.”
But when asked if AU could one day become the WNBA’s own G League, similar to the NBA’s minor league setup, Colson told the MSR, “By no means are we trying to make this a G League. It’s not a mini-WNBA.
“This is to give more women opportunities to play in the States,” continued Colson. “So it’s very important to us as a PEC (player executive committee) to not turn this into just another league for WNBA players to come in and overtake. So for us, it is very important to our core of this league to keep it that way, and to always give more people opportunities.”
Said Brown, “There’s no GM, no owners—you’re playing for yourself. You’re playing for your team, and then it switches to the next week.”
This week’s four team captains: Natasha Cloud, Odyssey Sims, Courtney Williams, and Taj Cole filled out their rosters by selecting 10 other players and there are no limits on the number of players at a specific position.
Clarendon, who is playing in the AU for the first time, said, “I will say one of the unique things I’ve seen so far is the way players get to be captains.”
All games will be played at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays beginning Feb. 23 and will end on March 25, and 25 of the 30 matchups will be available through WNBA League Pass, CBS Sports Network, Bally Sports regional networks, and the Women’s Sports Network.
“The skill level of our roster[s] will sure to impress all fans of basketball,” said Hauser.
“It’s an exciting time for Athletes Unlimited,” concluded Patricof.
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