Week 4 Draft Takeaways: Charles Builds on Proven Chemistry
Tina Charles has already brought extensive experience to her first Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball season. For her very first time serving as team captain, she drafted a roster to match that experience level.
Charles climbed into the top four on the league leaderboard just in time for the final week of competition. She selected Alysha Clark with her first draft pick—a player whose natural veteran leadership has made her one of the most sought-after competitors across all four drafts. Clark brings another trusted voice of authority alongside coach Zak Buncik.
“Not just on the court, but off the court,” Charles said of Clark’s impact. “In practice, attention to detail, accountability, being productive … I’ll give a lot of leeway to Zak, give a lot of leeway to Alysha, who’s done it before, who’s also played here before, knows how it goes. So I’m very much like, ‘Hey, you do your thing. I’ll do my thing.’”
Adding to that experience are players like Kia Nurse, Shey Peddy, and Mercedes Russell, a league-leading center who will give the squad a leg up in size. Charles and Russell teamed up for Week Two on then-captain Clark’s Eclipse team and took full advantage of the two centers’ versatility.
“Going back to that Week Two with the Eclipse, you know, Russel was a five, I was a four, and so it just worked out. That was our first time really playing together, and I really enjoyed it,” Charles said.
Charles’ roster is a close replication of that Week Two Eclipse squad, which featured Charles, Russell, Clark, Peddy, Alissa Pili, Jaylyn Sherrod, and JoJo Lacey and went 3-0. Now, all seven of those Week Two Eclipse members, with the addition of Nurse, Aerial Powers, and Sequoia Holmes, are poised to take their chemistry back to the court for Champions Week.
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Sims Makes Repeat Selections
Odyssey Sims, the league leader heading into Week Four, snagged some of the same players she selected in Week Three to return to her Gold Rush group. She once again claimed Kiah Stokes as her first pick and brought back Aneesah Morrow, Te-Hina Paopao, Lexie Brown, and Bree Hall.
Although this is her first time leading the pack heading into the final week, Sims is no stranger to the top of the leaderboard. She has occupied one of the top three spots entering the final weeks of the last three seasons. For this week, she’ll be fighting for the crown alongside teammates she’s already built trust with.
In Week Three versus Team Rhythm, Sims recorded a 30-point performance and combined with Morrow (25) and Paopao (15) for 70 total points. Her collaboration with the two rookies could be the key to earning valuable Win Points for her final leaderboard total.
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Gardner Gets the Hometown Hero
Rebekah Gardner’s Week Three Rhythm team claimed two wins, breaking the winless streak for the blue jersey. A big part of that success was Nashville native Isabelle Harrison, who bounced back from injury and jumped straight into the action.
In her first two fully active appearances since suffering an injury in Week One, Harrison put up double-figure performances with 10 points versus Gold Rush and 17 against the Eclipse. She meshed well with Zia Cooke, who recorded her ninth straight double-figure performance. Both return to Gardner’s squad for Week Four.
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Bell Scores Proven Game-Changers
Kierstan Bell scored one of the most coveted guards of the season when she claimed Kaitlyn Chen with the first overall pick in the Week Four Draft. She followed that selection with Sarah Ashlee Barker, who has been turning heads in her AU debut.
Chen, who is fifth overall in the league in scoring, is coming off a season-high 32-point performance with the Rhythm last week. With her league-second-best assist numbers, she’ll be the perfect teammate to dish it out to Bell, the league’s leader in three-pointers.
Barker has been showcasing a game consisting of pure hustle while averaging 11.5 points per game. She joins forces with NaLyssa Smith, who came up in clutch moments in Week Three, and Kayana Traylor and Emma Cannon, who have both been rising up the league ranks throughout the season.
Week 4 Begins Wednesday
Week Four begins on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with games between teams Rhythm and Glow, and Gold Rush and Eclipse, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT, on ESPN and the ESPN app.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
