Hartford's Hood Invited to WNBA Pre-Draft Camp in Tampa

Hartford's Hood Invited to WNBA Pre-Draft Camp in Tampa

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Hartford senior forward/center Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) will have the opportunity to train in front of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) coaches and scouts at the league's pre-draft camp in Tampa, Florida April 4-5. The league announced on March 31 the 40 prospects, including Hood, that would participate in the three-session camp at the Bob Martinez Center at the University of Tampa.

The WNBA Pre-Draft Camp will offer WNBA coaches and general managers from all 14 teams an opportunity to evaluate the skills of approximately 40 top global prospects. Players will participate in on-court sessions and compete against one another in hopes of improving their draft status.

The camp will take place the same week as the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four being held at nearby St. Pete Times Forum. The 2008 WNBA Draft presented by adidas will be held in Florida on Wednesday, April 9, as a conclusion to the week-long celebration of events surrounding women’s basketball. The draft will begin at 1 p.m. ET and be televised live on ESPN2. The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, owned by Washington Mystics President and Managing Partner Sheila Johnson and located in Palm Harbor, Fla., will host the draft.

Hood joins a select group of former America East women's basketball players who have participated in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp. Former student-athletes Cindy Blodgett, Jamie Cassidy and Kim Corbitt of Maine, and Vermont's Karalyn Church took part in the camp, while Blodgett and Cassidy went on to WNBA careers.

Hood will graduate as the second leading scorer in Hartford school history with 1,679 career points. She was named to the America East All-Conference First Team for the third time in her career in March and was also named to the America East All-Championship team after leading Hartford to its fourth America East Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

This season, Hood led the Hawks to a 28-6 overall record and the program’s second appearance in the NCAA Second Round, before falling to elite eight member Texas A&M. The Hawks 28 wins is a school record. Hood also helped lead Hartford to the 2007 Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic Championship, on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.