There are countless talents in this year's 2012 WNBA Draft, with Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike leading the headlines.

Other talents like Shenise Johnson are also expected to add major value to teams upon being drafted, as Johnson is a type of player that will improve a team quickly.

This is the mock draft for this year's draft, with special mention to those three players, like Johnson, who will be of major value heading to the pros.

No. 1: Los Angeles Sparks - Nnemkadi Ogwumike, F, Stanford

Easily the most talented of this year's class, there is no question Ogwumike goes No. 1 in the draft come selection time.

Ogwumike is one of the more valuable players the draft has seen in recent seasons, boasting a strong inside game. With the Cardinal, Ogwumike averaged a double-double with the team and proved her worth as a top-notch scoring threat at over 22 points per game.

Expect big things from the Stanford talent, as she has one of the smoother touches offensively the game has seen.

No. 2: Seattle Storm - Shenise Johnson, SG, Miami

Easily one of the more under-appreciated talents in the class, Johnson will hands down be taken at No. 2.

Johnson is an all-around threat, boasting strong defensive ability as well as a knack to score the rock consistently offensively.

Is Shenise Johnson worthy of the No. 1 pick?

Is Shenise Johnson worthy of the No. 1 pick?

Yes50.7%

No49.3%Total votes: 71

This talent is the entire package to say the least, as the Storm make a strong move if they go with the former Miami star.

No. 3: Minnesota Lynx - Shekinna Stricklen, G/F, Tennessee

Stricklen will be a a major threat inside, boasting 6.6 rebounds and 15.4 points per game her senior season.

No. 4: Tulsa Shock - Devereaux Peters, F, Notre Dame

The Shock are outright winners at the No. 4 spot if they take Irish superstar Peters, as she is a force on the interior, averaging two blocks and just under 10 rebounds per game last season.

No. 5: San Antonio Silver Stars - Glory Johnson, F, Tennesse

Glory Johnson has the talent to be selected among the top-three, as she has shown major strides since starting her college basketball career.

This past season, Johnson posted 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest, both career-high numbers.

There is no question that Johnson will become one of the stronger forwards in the WNBA from the second she steps on the court.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

No. 6: Phoenix Mercury - Samantha Prahalis, PG, Ohio State

The most promising point guard in the draft lands on a team that could use a boost in the backcourt.

No. 7: New York Liberty - Riquna Williams, F, Miami

Williams may have been suspended this season, but there is no doubting the type of talent Williams boasts.

No. 8: Washington Mystics - Natalie Novosel, G, Notre Dame

Novosel is a critical component of a Notre Dame team that has dominated women's Division I basketball the last several seasons.

No. 9: Connecticut Sun - Sasha Goodlett, F, Georgia Tech

Goodlett boasts a plethora of skill and size, and is set to give Connecticut a major presence inside.

No. 10: Washington Mystics - LaSondra Barrett, G/F, LSU

LSU's All-SEC talent had 24 games in which she scored at least 10 points last season.

No. 11: Indiana Fever - Tiffany Hayes, G, UConn

Breaking the tradition of nearly every UConn talent going to Connecticut, Hayes makes her way to Indiana to help a Fever team win big in 2012.

No. 12: Minnesota Lynx - Lynetta Kizer, F/C, Maryland

Kizer is a player with a plethora of potential and it will be interesting to see her game develop in the pros. At her time with the Terps, she proved she was a talent to reckon with in the post.

The 2012 WNBA draft is nearly here and a number of top prospects are preparing for a new life as professional basketball players.

While Brittney Griner—hands down one of the best players we have seen in recent years—decided not to declare early, there are still a number of great prospects who are eligible.

Let’s take a look at where the draft is, when it takes place and how to watch it.air max 2012 Keep reading for a draft order and a brief peak at some of the top picks.

Where: ESPN Studios, Bristol, CT

When: Monday, April 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN2 (first round), NBA TV and ESPNU (second and third rounds)

Live Stream: ESPN3

Round 1 Draft Order

Pick – Team – 2011 Record

Los Angeles got the first pick despite having the smallest chance to win it in the lottery.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

No. 1 – Los Angeles – 15-19

No. 2 – Seattle (via Chicago) – 21-13

No. 3 – Minnesota (via Washington) – 27-7

No. 4 – Tulsa – 3-31

No. 5 – San Antonio – 18-16

No. 6 – Phoenix – 19-15

No. 7 – New York – 19-15

No. 8 – Washington (via Atlanta) – 6-28

No. 9 – Connecticut – 21-13

No. 10 – Washington (via Seattle) – 6-28

No. 11 – Indiana – 21-13

No. 12 – Minnesota – 27-7

Players to Watch

Nnemkadi Ogwumike, F, Stanford

Nneka has a great chance to become the No. 1 overall pick and certainly deserves that honor. She’s definitely ready for the challenge, according to Tom FitzGerald of The San Francisco Chronicle.

"I can still elevate my game at this point," Ogwumike said on a conference call Wednesday, "but I think it will be good to see what I can learn from people that have played at the highestcollegelevel and also played at the highest (pro) level at this point. And I look forward to seeing what I can learn from veterans of the game."

Shenise Johnson, F, Miami

Who Will Have the Best WNBA Career?

Who Will Have the Best WNBA Career?

Nneka Ogwumike69.2%

Shenise Johnson8.7%

Glory Johnson22.1%Total votes: 104

This Hurricanes star is definitely going early in the draft and probably cannot wait to get out of South Beach. The team had an extremely disappointing end to her senior season with a loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the tournament.

Glory Johnson, F, Tennessee

Johnson was one of the three Lady Volunteers invited to the 2012 WNBA draft. She’s likely to be one of the top three or four picks with teammate Shekinna Stricklen going right before or after.

Glory was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and had a heck of a career at Tennessee.

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Washington, DC – Angel McCoughtry scored a game-high 26 points to go with eight assists, as the Atlanta Dream downed the Washington Mystics, 82-74, on Friday.

Lindsey Harding donated 19 points, while Erika de Souza added 12 points for the Dream, who have won six of their last seven.

Monique Currie poured in 20 points,cheap Air Max 95 Matee Ajavon followed with 15 and Jasmine Thomas chipped in 13 points, as the Mystics dropped their 10th straight game.

Washington held a 42-32 advantage at the break, but shot just 33 percent in the third stanza, allowing the Dream to trim the margin to 56-54 heading into the final frame.

McCoughtry took over from there, as she tallied 12 of Atlanta's 28 fourth- quarter points to complete the come-from-behind victory.

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With their 81st victory — and 13th in a row in extra innings — the Orioles are assured no worse than a .500 record for the first time since 1997. “There’s a bigger goal in mind,” manager Buck Showalter said. “That wasn’t the goal from Day One this spring. Really, Day One of the offseason. It’s watching other teams for years and saying, ‘We want to do what they’re doing. We’d like to get a chair at the dance, you know?’” It’s been an incredible season for the Orioles, who finished in the cellar in each of the previous four years. Baltimore (81-62) started the day in a first-place tie with the New York Yankees, who faced Boston on Thursday night. After briefly celebrating a victory that capped a 5-2 homestand against the Yankees and Rays, the Orioles packed in the clubhouse for a trip to Oakland. “It makes that West Coast trip a little easier when you win,” said closer Jim Johnson, part of a bullpen that kept Tampa Bay scoreless on four hits over the final 6 2-3 innings. “You can enjoy it for a little bit, the five hours you’re on the flight, but that’s about it.” The Rays fell four games back in the division by virtue of yet another one-run defeat punctuated by a lack of offensive punch. Tampa has lost 13 of its last 16 one-run games, including a 3-2 decision Wednesday night. “It’s just the same old story: We can’t score enough runs,” manager Joe Maddon said. cheap Air Max 95“We pitched extremely well, we played well in the field overall, loved the effort.” But the Rays stranded 10 and went 1 for 7 with runners with scoring position. Tampa Bay left Camden Yards for Yankee Stadium to play a three-game series that begins Friday night. Sixteen pitchers took part in the game, which lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes. Tampa Bay used a club-record 26 players, including nine pitchers. After the Orioles squandered a bases-loaded, no-out threat in the 13th, Chris Archer (0-3) got the first two outs in the 14th before Adam Jones walked and Endy Chavez singled. Machado followed with a soft liner toward the line that Joyce trapped. “I know it hit my glove on the bottom,” Joyce said. “It was hard to tell what exactly happened. Only thing I can tell you is I didn’t come up with it.” Machado, a 20-year-old rookie, scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday night. “I’m having a blast,” Machado said. “This team is great to be around. It’s a great group of guys. We’re all excited. We’re all having one goal, which is make the playoffs.” The Orioles’ success in extras this season matches the longest in the majors since Cleveland won 13 straight extra-inning games in 1995. Randy Wolf (2-0) earned the win by striking out Joyce with two on in the top of the 14th. Baltimore has won 14 of 19 overall and is 26-11 since Aug. 3.

“I’ll try to give as much as I can despite the fact the doctor has told me not to play,” said the right-handed del Potro, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last week. “This is a chance to play in front of family and friends and people close to me who can never see me play. “If this were not a semifinal, perhaps I would have thought more about it.” The second singles match on Friday will pit Argentina’s Juan Monaco against Tomas Berdych on clay at a sold-out Parque Roca on the outskirts of the Argentine capital. The doubles on Saturday will be Argentina pair Carlos Berlocq and Eduardo Schwank up against Ivo Minar and Lukas Rosol. The reverse singles, if necessary, will be played on Sunday. Argentina captain Martin Jaite says he’s happy del Potro will play. “Obviously our team with Juan Martin is stronger than our team without him,” Jaite said. Berdych lost to eventual champion Andy Murray in the U.S. Open semifinals. “Berdych is a player who comes here with lots of confidence,” Monaco said. Cheap Nike Air Max“But he’s not Andy (Murray), he’s not (Roger) Federer.” The Czechs have won three of four head-to-head matches against Argentina in the Davis Cup. In the two most recent, the Czechs defeated Argentina in the 2009 quarterfinals in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Argentina won in 2005 in a first-round match in Buenos Aires. The Czechs won the Davis Cup in 1980 playing as Czechoslovakia. The United States plays Spain in the other semifinal in Gijon, Spain. ___ Follow Stephen Wade at http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Watkins, who tended to Ayrton Senna after the three-time champion’s fatal crash at Imola in 1994, was at the forefront of F1 safety for 26 years and served as medical delegate from 1978 to 2004. “Many drivers and ex-drivers owe their lives to his careful and expert work, which resulted in the massive advances in safety levels that today’s drivers possibly take for granted,” McLaren chairman Ron Dennis said. “No, he wasn’t a driver. No, he wasn’t an engineer. No, he wasn’t a designer. He was a doctor and it’s probably fair to say that he did more than anyone, over many years, to make Formula One as safe as it is today.” As a trackside doctor, the man known as “The Prof” was credited with helping save the lives of Finland’s two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, Austrian Gerhard Berger and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, among others, after crashes. “It was Sid Watkins that saved my life in Imola 94. great guy to be with, always happy...tks for everything u have done for us drivers. RIP,” Air Max 95Barrichello tweeted. Senna was the last F1 driver to die during a race, with Watkins’ tireless safety campaigning and push to improve the standard of medical facilities widely regarded as the main factor behind the improved measures since then. There are now universal standards in medical centers at circuits and a medical helicopter is mandatory at all F1 races. “RIP Prof. Sid Watkins,” Senna’s nephew, Bruno, who races for Williams, tweeted. “Sad news for us who stay behind.” Watkins became a professor of neurosurgery at London Hospital in 1970. After his F1 medical career, Watkins retired in 2005 but continued to campaign for safety improvements in motorsport through his role as the first president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety. He stepped down from that post in 2011 and retained an honorary role. The FIA said Watkins made a “unique contribution to motor sport.” “This is a truly sad day for the FIA family and the entire motor-sport community,” FIA president Jean Todt said. “We will always be grateful for the safety legacy that he has left oursport.” Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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