Published: May 27, 2008 11:41 pm      

Sanni cracks lineup in WNBA

MORGANTOWN — Olayinka Sanni, erstwhile leader of the West Virginia University women’s basketball team, cracked the Detroit Shock’s starting lineup late last week in the WNBA.

The 6-foot-2 rookie center from Chicago Heights, Ill., earned the nod by proving to head coach Bill Laimbeer that she’s a quick learner, according to a feature story on the Shock’s Web site.

“We’re very impressed with Sanni, unexpectedly so,” Laimbeer said. “Her best trait is she finishes the shot with two hands, from around the basket, from six-to-eight feet out.”

Rick Mahorn, Shock assistant coach, became interested in Sanni’s talents when he saw her play last Dec. 17 in West Virginia’s 84-65 victory at Oakland University. She scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in that contest.

That eventually resulted in the Detroit franchise picking her in the second round of this year’s WNBA draft. After only the season’s third game, Sanni was inserted in the starting lineup against Indiana.

WVU coach Mike Carey isn’t surprised.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Yinka will have a successful professional career,” he said after she became the 18th overall pick of the 2008 draft. “With her international experience and what she did here, she should have a very productive career.”

Sanni scored 1,602 points and grabbed 773 rebounds during her four years as a Mountaineer. She holds the school field goal percentage records for a game, season and career.

Sanni has modest figures for five games in the WNBA, averaging 3.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per outing. Detroit owns a 4-1 record and is just a half game behind Connecticut in the Eastern Division standings.

The Shock’s next game isn’t until Saturday when it travels to Indiana. The first opportunity to watch Sanni on television will be Saturday, June 14, when Detroit plays Phoenix at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.