Sky’s Pokey Chatman elated to snag Courtney Vandersloot

• Reprints

Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

The Sky selected Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot, considered the top point guard in the country, with the third pick in the WNBA draft Monday at ESPN ­studios in Bristol, Conn.

The Minnesota Lynx had the first pick and chose Connecticut forward Maya Moore. The Lynx also had the fourth pick and selected Xavier forward Amber Harris, who was widely speculated to go to the Sky at No. 3.

But Vandersloot was too enticing to Sky first-year coach/general manager Pokey Chatman.

“She’s the total package at the premier position,” Chatman said. “Many play the point. Courtney owns it. Her ability is not only being able to finish the break, but how she initiates it. She can be a deep, moving outlet, peek at the rim and still be in total control.”

Vandersloot averaged 19.8 points last season, among the highest in the country. She also recorded 10.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Vandersloot was a three-time West Coast Conference player of the year and earned a spot on the Wooden All-America team this year.

“I went into it with an open mind, and I think the shock factor came from being picked so high,” Vandersloot said. “I was hoping that this would be the pick, and I’m just happy on all levels.”

Vandersloot also is looking forward to working with Chatman, a former point guard at LSU from 1987 to ’91. The Sky has a point guard in Epiphanny Prince, but she also has played shooting guard, and that could help Vandersloot make an immediate impact.

“I kept hearing that [Prince] isn’t a true point guard and is playing second to her strengths,” Vandersloot said. “If that is the case, then I can step into a bigger role. But she does a great job of running that ballclub.”

In the second round, the Sky took Carolyn Swords of Boston College, a 6-7 center, and guard/forward Angie Bjorklund of Tennessee. In the third round, the team chose Northwestern’s Amy Jaeschke, who played her high school ball at New Trier. Jaeschke is the first Northwestern player to be drafted in the WNBA.

The only other local player picked was DePaul’s Felicia Chester, who went to the Lynx in the second round.

The Sky has been in the league since 2006, and Chatman is its fourth coach. The team never has made the playoffs, but it came close in 2009, when it was eliminated in the last week of the season. The Sky finished last in the Eastern Conference last season at 14-20.

This marked the first time a professional sports league held its draft at ESPN headquarters.