Monika Czinano: ‘I’m excited to go out there, have fun and show what I can do’ in the WNBA

IOWA CITY — Medical school, Monika Czinano said, “will always be there.”

This chance, though, is once in a lifetime.

“This is an opportunity that so few people get,” Czinano said Tuesday, referring to her selection in Monday’s WNBA Draft. “My brain won’t tire as fast as my body will.”

Czinano, who blossomed into one of the top posts in Iowa women’s basketball history, was picked 26th by the Los Angeles Sparks.

“If you asked me where I’d get picked, I would have told you Los Angeles would be at the bottom,” Czinano said Tuesday. “I’ve never even been to California.

“I’m excited to go out there, have fun and show what I can do.”

Czinano was with her family in her hometown of Watertown, Minn., during the Draft.

“We were grilling, and when my name popped up, not all of us were fully paying attention,” she said. “Then, it was like, wait a minute ...

“Everybody went crazy. My mom was crying. I think she was more excited that Magic (Johnson) tweeted about me.”

Now comes the tricky part — making the roster.

“It’s hard to make it,” Iowa assistant coach Jan Jensen said. “But the fact that she has defeated everything as part of her journey, nobody can take can of that away from her.

“What’s so cool about Monika is her story from obscurity to becoming a Power Five post.”

Training camp begins April 30. Preseason games begin May 5, with the final roster cut-down date to 12 players on May 18.

The regular season begins May 19.

ESPN gave the Sparks a B-minus for their draft. As far as the Czinano pick:

“She also made scouts give her a second look by helping Iowa reach the NCAA championship game. She has great hands and footwork, but her style of play might not translate as well to the WNBA.”

Czinano is the 14th Hawkeye to be drafted. She completed her five-year career with 2,413 points (third all-time at Iowa) and 787 rebounds (13th).

In her final season, she averaged 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest as the Hawkeyes (31-7) advanced to the NCAA final. They were Big Ten tournament champions for the second straight year.

“The last month has been crazy, the highs and the lows. It’s hard to leave behind the fans and the friends I have in Iowa City,” she said, adding that she intends to play overseas ball in Hungary.

Czinano was the NCAA Division-I leader in field-goal percentage in 2021 (.668) and 2022 (.679) She was fourth this season (.674) and finished her career at 67.1 percent (1,031 of 1,537).

“From Watertown to Hollywood, it’s the stuff of dreams,” Jensen said. “It’s one of the coolest things of my career.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com