Athletes Unlimited basketball has been everything expected and more.
The women’s sports league created to turn the power back to the players and give them an option to remain in America now has a player who has earned a WNBA contract.
Taj Cole, a former Louisville, Georgia, and Virginia Tech guard, signed a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun on Feb. 2, Just Women’s Sports‘ Rachel Galligan reported. The transaction came after teams inquired about Cole, whose scoring ability stood out in week one of Athletes Unlimited basketball.
“All I can do is thank [Athletes Unlimited],” Cole said in a post-game Zoom call on Feb. 2. “I remember when I went to Atlanta for the tryouts for this league, and now I’m signing a WNBA contract.
“I would say stay your course, run your own race, trust God and it’s all about timing.”
With only 12 teams in the WNBA, the league only has 144 exclusive roster spots. Athletes Unlimited is also exclusive in its own right with only 44 players.
“You have a lot of players like [Taj] who are very talented and should be in the league,” Isabelle Harrison told rolling out during the Zoom call, “but it’s just that the spots are limited. There are only 144, which sucks because you’ll have a league like this and see people coming out killing it. She should’ve been had a contract, and that [goes] for a lot of other players, too.”
Harrison then looked at Cole, who was on the same Zoom call, despite being the AU opponent who helped sweep Harrison’s team on Feb. 2.
“Of course, Taj, I’m happy for you, but unfortunately, that’s the story for a lot of women’s basketball players,” Harrison said.
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