Will defections dim the Sun?

This is not the Sun team that has been a perennial playoff contender. With Katie Douglas and Nykesha Sales gone to trade and “time off,” the shooting guard and small forward spots will be filled by experiment rather than proven results.

And it is hoped, by Sun fans at least, that the experiments will produce positive answers to the following three questions: Where is the outside shooting coming from? How will the team replace 30 points a game? And what about was once was great perimeter defense?

The Sun, like it or not, are rebuilding, and only Lindsay Whalen and Asjha Jones return from last season’s starting lineup. It would be silly to underestimate Connecticut, however, as improvements in the paint and a change in chemistry could keep the Sun in contention in the East.

Still, with a pile of new players and rookies, there is no certainty about what kind of team the Sun will put on the court. Here‘s one take: “We thrive by passing the basketball,” coach Mike Thibault said after the Sun’s second preseason win (over Houston). “One-on-one is not the strength of our team.”

Also, Connecticut has managed to be pretty successful without being particularly athletic for its entire history, and Thibault has shown he can develop a disciplined, winning team from whoever is available. He has rebuilt his team to compete with the teams in the East (“the West will take care of itself”), and he is optimistic about Connecticut’s chances in conference.

“I can’t understand why everyone is picking Indiana as the clear favorite,” Thibault mused recently, “They have holes like everyone else.”

While the Sun have lost some great players, they also have shed some chemistry issues that affected their late season performance. A big part of that process was bringing in the Two Tamikas (Whitmore and Raymond), veterans who are experienced in team building, to mentor all the other newcomers. Add these players to the returning starters, and the picture is not all that bleak.

It is not, however, anywhere close to last spring’s snapshot.

Point guard: Lindsay Whalen, Ketia Swanier, Jamie Carey. Whalen is recognized as a creative, scoring point guard, and is the most important member of the team to keep healthy. “Lindsay, (Sue) Bird, (Becky) Hammon, maybe Kelly Miller -- those are the elite point guards in the league,” Thibault said, and the Whalen’s selection to the U.S. National Team pool bears him out. Whalen scored 13.3 ppg, and boasted better than 2.25 assists per turnover. She was eighth in the WNBA efficiency ratings, easily the best of any point guard, and she has learned to be a more demonstrative leader. With Douglas gone, her leadership is unquestioned. Thibault spent one of his first round draft picks on Ketia Swanier from UConn, who has lots of experience as a backup, and also has the quickness to help the team, much as she did for Geno Auriemma. The coach is also personally fond of Jamie Carey, and will keep her as the other point guard at least through the Olympics.

Shooting guard: Well, here’s the real question. This was so much Katie Douglas’ spot for years, that no heir was apparent. Greek Evanthia Maltsi will be the first choice, at least at the beginning. She is not an Olympian, so she will be available all season. Maltsi is “an experienced, high-energy player, very savvy” according to Thibault, and she did score 12 points per 40 minutes with the Sun in 2007. She also shot better from the arc (.416) than overall (.379), so she is not going to draw a lot of double-teams. She is a good passer and an average defender, and she will play a lot of minutes, because no one else has all the skills needed at the two. The Sun will keep either Jolene Anderson (a scorer) or Cori Chambers (a defender) on the roster at this position, and hope Maltsi and whoever can hold out until Erin Phillips joins the team post-Olympics. The Sun rolled off a 12-game win streak with Phillips at the two in 2006. It is also possible, though unlikely, that, in a league with lots of shooting guards, a player cut elsewhere could end up with Connecticut.

Small forward: Another newcomer will start at this position in place of Nykesha Sales, who officially took the year off, but effectively has retired from the league. It is Barbara Turner’s spot to lose. Connecticut picked up Turner for free from Houston (in a trade for Megan Mahoney, who has already been jettisoned by the Comets), and she has reportedly been taking 2,500 shots daily during the offseason in hopes of becoming an outside threat. If she can hit the three consistently, Turner brings a toughness and winning mentality that can only help the team. Backing her up will be first round pick Amber Holt out of Middle Tennessee State, the NCAA’s leading scorer last year (27.4 ppg). Holt, however, does not shoot the three well, relying on quickness to the hoop and a reliable mid-range jumpshot. Her preseason has been mixed: great one day, invisible the next. Thibault, though, is excited about her future, calling her “a system player who needs to learn it’s just good to come and play basketball sometimes.” Kamesha Hairston, last season’s number one pick, is on the roster in this position, but she has disappointed regularly, and will probably be cut once she recovers from a knee injury in a few weeks (WNBA rules ban cutting an injured player). Her roster spot will probably go to Kerri Gardin, now in her third attempt to find a place in the league. Gardin could be the most athletic player in camp, and has been impressive both offensively and defensively, showing a lot of energy while on the court.

Power forward: Here, the Sun have a wealth of talent. Asjha Jones is the returning star, and is likely to continue her incremental, though steady, growth into an all-star at a position stacked with great players in the league. She steadily offers 15 points and six rebounds, and does so injury-free. After a long season overseas, Jones will arrive next week “worn out,” according to her coach, who “ may give her some time off” before playing her many minutes. Tamika Whitmore came to the Sun in the Douglas trade, and is flexible enough to play either forward spot. The eight-year veteran can score from anywhere, and brings enthusiasm to a team that is sometimes too restrained. Whitmore is tied for second (with Lisa Leslie) in playoff game appearances, just one shy of Vickie Johnson’s record. Also in the mix at both power forward and center, is Tamika Raymond (nee Williams), a solid veteran, but never a star. Thibault says Raymond “only needs to play ten minutes a game,” but is invaluable asset in many intangible ways, not least of which is locker room chemistry. Gardin, if she is retained, can also fill in at power forward when Jones or Raymond shift to center.

Center: Sandrine Gruda is “almost 6-5 with a 6-8 wingspan,” according to her coach, who has high expectations for the 20-year-old. Gruda “has back-to-the-basket skills, a nice little turn-around, and can shoot out to 15 feet.” While she is only an average rebounder, and will not block shots like the departed Margo Dydek, she does actually play defense, and is capable of playing with any center in the league. Thibault is “not going to put her in a position where she has to be the star right away,” but believes she has the potential to be one of the league’s best. (The French national team, which Gruda has played for since 2002, is not in the Olympics.) Both Raymond and Jones can play center when needed, though both are undersized to try to match up with the big girls out West. Over all though, Gruda has skills and great potential, and is an improvement over last season.

---

/Jim Clark is a career prosecutor in the New Haven Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office. He has tried 34 murder cases, and dozens of other felonies. He officiates high school volleyball and basketball, and is a triathlete. He has written for Full Court Press since 1997.