The Sun have been pushed around inside by the Comets en route to a 39-33 halftime deficit here at Mohegan Sun Arena. Tamika Whitmore missed most of the second quarter after picking up her third foul, though she netted nine of the Sun's 12 points in the first quarter, several on long-range jumpers. With her out, Marcedes Walker, Latasha Byears and Mistie Williams have combined for 18 first-half points.
The Sun's offense has also looked out of sync, even with Lindsay Whalen back in the fold. The point guard, who is celebrating her 26th birthday, did have a pretty lay-up, though, in which, with one hand, faked a pass to the wing and rolled in a lay-up. Danielle Page, who hit a jump shot at the halftime buzzer, imitated the move on the bench to Tamika Raymond, moving her hands around to mimic the point guard's fake. "That's sick," Page said.
Former Rutgers guard Matee Ajavon leads all Houston players with nine points, hitting 4-of-7 shots.
A note: Three WNBA teams have scouts here, including the New York Liberty (with three) and the Atlanta Dream, who'll be here next Saturday for the regular-season opener.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Final tune-up
The Sun and the Houston Comets tip off in about 40 minutes here at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut's final preseason game. With 12 players in camp, this is the last in-game tryout several hopefuls will have before the team takes a retreat to Boston for three days to practice with cuts to follow later next week before the regular-season opener against Atlanta on May 17.
At the moment, 10 players seem like or are locks for the team: G Lindsay Whalen, G Evina Maltsi (yet to arrive), G Ketia Swanier, G Jamie Carey (hurt at the moment, strained Achilles), G/F Amber Holt, G/F Barbara Turner, F Asjha Jones (yet to arrive), F Sandrine Gruda (yet to arrive), F Tamika Whitmore, and F Tamika Raymond.
Erin Phillips won't be in Connecticut until after the Olympic break and remains "suspended," meaning she counts against the cap in terms of dollars but not as far as numbers.
Kamesha Hairston is currently injured, and under the old Collective Bargaining Agreement (which her rookie contract falls under), she'll remain on the team as long as she isn't playing. Once she is eligible to return, the Sun can opt to cut her, though at this point it's hard to tell which way they go considering they invested a first-round draft pick in her last season and thought of her pretty highly entering the season. Hairston, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus today, is slated to return within two to three weeks.
So, that in turn, leaves four players fighting for two spots: Danielle Page, Jolene Anderson, Kerri Gardin and Cori Chambers. Page, despite a very strong training camp, is at a disadvantage because her position (power forward) is probably the deepest on the team. Chambers is the only returner among the group, but has seemed slightly overshadowed by her other competitors. That said, the Sun will need another true off-guard (Maltsi is the other one), and Chambers will have another opportunity to prove herself tonight. She is starting alongside Whalen (her first preseason game), Holt, Raymond and Whitmore (making her Sun debut).
Gardin has had a strong camp thus far, and Sun coach Mike Thibault likes her athleticism and her defense. Anderson, though short at 5-foot-8, has also impressed with her shooting and rebounding. Thibault touted this as a competitive camp, and it seems at least someone worthy of spot won't make a cut.
As for tonight, here are Houston's starters: G Matee Ajavon (rookie out of Rutgers), Ercia White (rookie out of LSU), Mwadi Mabika (an 11 year-pro), Latasha Byears (a nine-year pro) and Marcedes Walker (rookie out of Pitt).
Some notes left-over from the week: Tamika Whitmore had quite the time making it to Connecticut, but here are some details that didn't make it into the story.
Always an intriguing personality, Whitmore owns five cars: a Tahoe, which she drove to Connecticut, with 22-inch rims, "a turbo-charger, a few good sounding pipes, an air intake," among other things; a 1977 Nova, a 1980 CJ5 Jeep Wrangler, an El Camino, and an Avalanche, though she's selling the Avalanche to her older sister. She also a French bulldog named Buddha who stayed with her mother while she played overseas in the Czech Republic.
"I took him out for about an hour, ran with him a little bit," Whitmore said of her routine Wednesday morning. "(My mother), she made him a little fat. I have to make him a little skinny again."
Whitmore weighed in on several other things, including her newest team.
"People say sometimes you need a change and I just think Connecticut needed a change, and they chose to bring me in," she said. "They actually chose to almost redo the whole team. There's only one way to go from here. You can't go down. We gotta prove everybody wrong."
Whitmore is also expected to be a leader by example. Whalen, Jones and Raymond will carry more of the vocal burden.
"I've never been the type of player that's too vocal about anything," Whitmore said. "I just feel like if everybody comes in, do what you're supposed to do day in and day out, there's nothing else to be said."
Check back here around 8 p.m. for a halftime update.
At the moment, 10 players seem like or are locks for the team: G Lindsay Whalen, G Evina Maltsi (yet to arrive), G Ketia Swanier, G Jamie Carey (hurt at the moment, strained Achilles), G/F Amber Holt, G/F Barbara Turner, F Asjha Jones (yet to arrive), F Sandrine Gruda (yet to arrive), F Tamika Whitmore, and F Tamika Raymond.
Erin Phillips won't be in Connecticut until after the Olympic break and remains "suspended," meaning she counts against the cap in terms of dollars but not as far as numbers.
Kamesha Hairston is currently injured, and under the old Collective Bargaining Agreement (which her rookie contract falls under), she'll remain on the team as long as she isn't playing. Once she is eligible to return, the Sun can opt to cut her, though at this point it's hard to tell which way they go considering they invested a first-round draft pick in her last season and thought of her pretty highly entering the season. Hairston, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus today, is slated to return within two to three weeks.
So, that in turn, leaves four players fighting for two spots: Danielle Page, Jolene Anderson, Kerri Gardin and Cori Chambers. Page, despite a very strong training camp, is at a disadvantage because her position (power forward) is probably the deepest on the team. Chambers is the only returner among the group, but has seemed slightly overshadowed by her other competitors. That said, the Sun will need another true off-guard (Maltsi is the other one), and Chambers will have another opportunity to prove herself tonight. She is starting alongside Whalen (her first preseason game), Holt, Raymond and Whitmore (making her Sun debut).
Gardin has had a strong camp thus far, and Sun coach Mike Thibault likes her athleticism and her defense. Anderson, though short at 5-foot-8, has also impressed with her shooting and rebounding. Thibault touted this as a competitive camp, and it seems at least someone worthy of spot won't make a cut.
As for tonight, here are Houston's starters: G Matee Ajavon (rookie out of Rutgers), Ercia White (rookie out of LSU), Mwadi Mabika (an 11 year-pro), Latasha Byears (a nine-year pro) and Marcedes Walker (rookie out of Pitt).
Some notes left-over from the week: Tamika Whitmore had quite the time making it to Connecticut, but here are some details that didn't make it into the story.
Always an intriguing personality, Whitmore owns five cars: a Tahoe, which she drove to Connecticut, with 22-inch rims, "a turbo-charger, a few good sounding pipes, an air intake," among other things; a 1977 Nova, a 1980 CJ5 Jeep Wrangler, an El Camino, and an Avalanche, though she's selling the Avalanche to her older sister. She also a French bulldog named Buddha who stayed with her mother while she played overseas in the Czech Republic.
"I took him out for about an hour, ran with him a little bit," Whitmore said of her routine Wednesday morning. "(My mother), she made him a little fat. I have to make him a little skinny again."
Whitmore weighed in on several other things, including her newest team.
"People say sometimes you need a change and I just think Connecticut needed a change, and they chose to bring me in," she said. "They actually chose to almost redo the whole team. There's only one way to go from here. You can't go down. We gotta prove everybody wrong."
Whitmore is also expected to be a leader by example. Whalen, Jones and Raymond will carry more of the vocal burden.
"I've never been the type of player that's too vocal about anything," Whitmore said. "I just feel like if everybody comes in, do what you're supposed to do day in and day out, there's nothing else to be said."
Check back here around 8 p.m. for a halftime update.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Whalen here, Whitmore needed spare
Lindsay Whalen made her first appearance with the Sun Tuesday, participating in an open practice at St. Joseph College. The 5-foot-9 point guard, starting her fifth season with Connecticut, arrived in Connecticut earlier Tuesday afternoon, took a physical and then jumped on the team bus bound for West Hartford
Whalen signed a new three-year deal with Connecticut on the first day of the free agency period this offseason and is largely regarded as the face of the franchise now with Katie Douglas and Nykesha Sales gone. She and Asjha Jones are the only returning starters from last year's squad, though Whalen is the longest tenured player on the team.
Simply put, the Sun were glad to have her.
"I think she's one of the best players in our league," coach Mike Thibault said. "You build around great point guards. You look at the NBA and how that's dominating good teams or a playmaker of some sort. You have to have someone who can make everybody else better and can contribute themselves, and she obviously she does felt.
"She doesn't even know half our plays ye," he continued. "She's kind of figuring 'em out as she goes. She's seen them, but she hasn't really run them. So for the first day, all the players that haven't played with her are like, 'Ooh. This is pretty good.' The whole level of training camp goes up the minute she's on the floor."
Tamika Whitmore, who also added to the active roster, wasn't in attendance. On her drive up from Mississippi, she got a flat tire and had to wait for several hours in Washington, D.C., to get a new tire. She was scheduled to get in Connecticut by morning. She instead got to her apartment sometime around 6 p.m. and spent the night resting at home. Thibault said she'll practice Wednesday with the team.
"She's here, that's all I care about," Thibault said.
As for Whalen, she was visibly drained following the hour-and-a-half workout and the jeflag and the 4 a.m. wake-up, but appeared as quick and confident on the court as she was last season for the Sun when she set a career-best average in scoring (13.4 points) and led the WNBA in assists (169).
"They're really fast," Whalen said of the players in camp. "I had put on the jets a few times today to keep up."
Here is Whalen's take on few topics for the upcoming season:
(On the trade of Katie Douglas) "I didn't really have any idea. When I had first heard, I didn't know going into the offseason that that was something that might happen. When you leave here and go overseas, you kind of switch gears. You still keep in touch with everybody but you're not in the day-to-day talk with the team and the coaches, so you wouldn't really know until somebody tells you.
"I was kind of surprised. I didn't know that was coming. I knew already with Margo( Dydek) being out (with her pregnancy), I knew there were going to be some changes. …So you could kind of tell there were going to be some changes, like every year, but I wasn't really expecting going into the offseason the amount of changes we were going to have. But that's the way it is. I try to come in with a great attitude and do what I can to try to help everything."
(On excitement of all that change) "There's definitely a lot of excitement, a lot of young players here, lots of people trying to make the team. There's definitely that good, young, right-out-of-college energy that's really cool. I went to the practice in Minnesota last week and then I went to the game, and you can feel the energy.
"It was kind of funny walking on the bus today, I kind of felt like I was the one (that was new). I knew like Tamika (Raymond) and Barbara (Turner) and obviously Cori (Chambers), Kamesha (Hairston) and Jamie (Carey) from last year. And I knew the coaches and Bill (Tavares) and Bill Tinnel. But it kind felt like coming on that I was one of the new kids. I was like, 'This is my fifth year here, I'm the one who has been here the longest.' It was kind of a funny feeling but everyone I met of the new girls has been great and I know they're really excited. I'm excited."
(On her and Asjha Jones being the only returning starters left) "Me and her now can kind of take the reins and be the veteran leaders of the team. I know I'm going to do that to my fullest and Asjha, too. We're the two starters now from last year and we're going to try to continue to bring everybody else along."
(On being the face of the franchise) "I think that's something that I definitely want to embrace. I'm going to try to be a good leader, a good role model. If I'm put in that position, that's an honor and do what I can to fulfill that role. I haven't really thought about that a whole lot. I knew that as one of the ones coming back that people kind of look at you as a familiar face. "
Hairston injury update
As Kamesha Hairston feared, the pain in her right knee is due to a torn lateral mensicus, an MRI revealed, and she will undergo arthoscopic surgery on Friday (or Monday, if scheduling conflicts). She is expected to only miss two to three weeks, however, and will start working the Sun's physical therapy staff as soon as 24 hours after the procedure.
"You can get back pretty aggressively," said Jeremy Norman, the Sun's head athletic trainer. "You can start doing exercises within 24 hours after the scope. The procedure can be 20 or 30 minutes. In and out and rehab right away. "
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Hairston can't be cut while rehabbing and will remain with the team "at least for a while," Thibault said. "We don't have a choice anyway regardless (to keep her)."
In turn, it essentially means there is one fewer spot for players like Jess Foley, Danielle Page, Kerri Gardin, and Tracy Gahan, among others, to compete for.
"It depends on how you look at it — 'Have to' is a relative word," Thibault said. "We get to (keep her) also. She might be in our top 10 players, so we have to wait. It makes my decision come later than I want it to come."
Late arrivals
As for other players who are not in camp at the moment, Asjha Jones (currently playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg) may return early next week, depending on how her series in the Russian League pans out. The five-game playoffs can run as late as May 13, but with a sweep (Thibault believes Jones' team should), the All-star forward can make it to Connecticut by Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Her Ekaterinburg teammate and Sun rookie Sandrine Gruda, however, won't join the team until after the first two games of the season, Thibault said.
"She has an appointment in Paris at the consulate next week to get her work visa and then we're sending her home," Thibault said. "She hasn't been home in I don't know how long. I need her at the end of the year. I don't need her at the start. We'll work her in gradually."
Thibault gave target dates for her arrival at May 21 or 22, "maybe even a day or two beyond that," he said.
Evina Maltsi may make it in time for the first game, but Thibault said the 20th is more likely. She also has issues to take care of back home in Greece, including meeting the government to discuss her responsibilities with the national team.
It all leaves the Sun with several decisions to make even after they "set" their roster for the season opener May 17 against the Atlanta Dream.
"We may investigate keeping one or two extra people," Thibault said. "You don't have to put Gruda or Maltsi on our active roster untill they get here. So they really don't count until they get here. I don't know if we'll do this, but it's possible we'll put someone in the roster for the first two games and then cut them after that and just tell them that's the deal. I don't know. We just haven't go to that point yet.
"It's salary cap issues more than anything else," he continued. "We've allowed for 14 salaries right now. When Erin (Phillips) comes in (after the Olympic break), we'll have to let somebody go, but we'll be paying them by (then). Erin does count toward our salary cap the entire year, but not numbers wise (only in terms of salary). She's on suspension (still). We can technically suspense Maltsi and Gruda until they show up (to keep them off the active roster as well)."
(Note: Don't be fooled by the word "suspend." None of these players have done anything wrong. It's simply for numbers issues. )
Whalen signed a new three-year deal with Connecticut on the first day of the free agency period this offseason and is largely regarded as the face of the franchise now with Katie Douglas and Nykesha Sales gone. She and Asjha Jones are the only returning starters from last year's squad, though Whalen is the longest tenured player on the team.
Simply put, the Sun were glad to have her.
"I think she's one of the best players in our league," coach Mike Thibault said. "You build around great point guards. You look at the NBA and how that's dominating good teams or a playmaker of some sort. You have to have someone who can make everybody else better and can contribute themselves, and she obviously she does felt.
"She doesn't even know half our plays ye," he continued. "She's kind of figuring 'em out as she goes. She's seen them, but she hasn't really run them. So for the first day, all the players that haven't played with her are like, 'Ooh. This is pretty good.' The whole level of training camp goes up the minute she's on the floor."
Tamika Whitmore, who also added to the active roster, wasn't in attendance. On her drive up from Mississippi, she got a flat tire and had to wait for several hours in Washington, D.C., to get a new tire. She was scheduled to get in Connecticut by morning. She instead got to her apartment sometime around 6 p.m. and spent the night resting at home. Thibault said she'll practice Wednesday with the team.
"She's here, that's all I care about," Thibault said.
As for Whalen, she was visibly drained following the hour-and-a-half workout and the jeflag and the 4 a.m. wake-up, but appeared as quick and confident on the court as she was last season for the Sun when she set a career-best average in scoring (13.4 points) and led the WNBA in assists (169).
"They're really fast," Whalen said of the players in camp. "I had put on the jets a few times today to keep up."
Here is Whalen's take on few topics for the upcoming season:
(On the trade of Katie Douglas) "I didn't really have any idea. When I had first heard, I didn't know going into the offseason that that was something that might happen. When you leave here and go overseas, you kind of switch gears. You still keep in touch with everybody but you're not in the day-to-day talk with the team and the coaches, so you wouldn't really know until somebody tells you.
"I was kind of surprised. I didn't know that was coming. I knew already with Margo( Dydek) being out (with her pregnancy), I knew there were going to be some changes. …So you could kind of tell there were going to be some changes, like every year, but I wasn't really expecting going into the offseason the amount of changes we were going to have. But that's the way it is. I try to come in with a great attitude and do what I can to try to help everything."
(On excitement of all that change) "There's definitely a lot of excitement, a lot of young players here, lots of people trying to make the team. There's definitely that good, young, right-out-of-college energy that's really cool. I went to the practice in Minnesota last week and then I went to the game, and you can feel the energy.
"It was kind of funny walking on the bus today, I kind of felt like I was the one (that was new). I knew like Tamika (Raymond) and Barbara (Turner) and obviously Cori (Chambers), Kamesha (Hairston) and Jamie (Carey) from last year. And I knew the coaches and Bill (Tavares) and Bill Tinnel. But it kind felt like coming on that I was one of the new kids. I was like, 'This is my fifth year here, I'm the one who has been here the longest.' It was kind of a funny feeling but everyone I met of the new girls has been great and I know they're really excited. I'm excited."
(On her and Asjha Jones being the only returning starters left) "Me and her now can kind of take the reins and be the veteran leaders of the team. I know I'm going to do that to my fullest and Asjha, too. We're the two starters now from last year and we're going to try to continue to bring everybody else along."
(On being the face of the franchise) "I think that's something that I definitely want to embrace. I'm going to try to be a good leader, a good role model. If I'm put in that position, that's an honor and do what I can to fulfill that role. I haven't really thought about that a whole lot. I knew that as one of the ones coming back that people kind of look at you as a familiar face. "
Hairston injury update
As Kamesha Hairston feared, the pain in her right knee is due to a torn lateral mensicus, an MRI revealed, and she will undergo arthoscopic surgery on Friday (or Monday, if scheduling conflicts). She is expected to only miss two to three weeks, however, and will start working the Sun's physical therapy staff as soon as 24 hours after the procedure.
"You can get back pretty aggressively," said Jeremy Norman, the Sun's head athletic trainer. "You can start doing exercises within 24 hours after the scope. The procedure can be 20 or 30 minutes. In and out and rehab right away. "
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Hairston can't be cut while rehabbing and will remain with the team "at least for a while," Thibault said. "We don't have a choice anyway regardless (to keep her)."
In turn, it essentially means there is one fewer spot for players like Jess Foley, Danielle Page, Kerri Gardin, and Tracy Gahan, among others, to compete for.
"It depends on how you look at it — 'Have to' is a relative word," Thibault said. "We get to (keep her) also. She might be in our top 10 players, so we have to wait. It makes my decision come later than I want it to come."
Late arrivals
As for other players who are not in camp at the moment, Asjha Jones (currently playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg) may return early next week, depending on how her series in the Russian League pans out. The five-game playoffs can run as late as May 13, but with a sweep (Thibault believes Jones' team should), the All-star forward can make it to Connecticut by Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Her Ekaterinburg teammate and Sun rookie Sandrine Gruda, however, won't join the team until after the first two games of the season, Thibault said.
"She has an appointment in Paris at the consulate next week to get her work visa and then we're sending her home," Thibault said. "She hasn't been home in I don't know how long. I need her at the end of the year. I don't need her at the start. We'll work her in gradually."
Thibault gave target dates for her arrival at May 21 or 22, "maybe even a day or two beyond that," he said.
Evina Maltsi may make it in time for the first game, but Thibault said the 20th is more likely. She also has issues to take care of back home in Greece, including meeting the government to discuss her responsibilities with the national team.
It all leaves the Sun with several decisions to make even after they "set" their roster for the season opener May 17 against the Atlanta Dream.
"We may investigate keeping one or two extra people," Thibault said. "You don't have to put Gruda or Maltsi on our active roster untill they get here. So they really don't count until they get here. I don't know if we'll do this, but it's possible we'll put someone in the roster for the first two games and then cut them after that and just tell them that's the deal. I don't know. We just haven't go to that point yet.
"It's salary cap issues more than anything else," he continued. "We've allowed for 14 salaries right now. When Erin (Phillips) comes in (after the Olympic break), we'll have to let somebody go, but we'll be paying them by (then). Erin does count toward our salary cap the entire year, but not numbers wise (only in terms of salary). She's on suspension (still). We can technically suspense Maltsi and Gruda until they show up (to keep them off the active roster as well)."
(Note: Don't be fooled by the word "suspend." None of these players have done anything wrong. It's simply for numbers issues. )
Sun waive Berglin, Alexis to make room for Whalen, Whitmore
To make room for veteran starters Lindsay Whalen and Tamika Whitmore, who'll make their first appearance tonight at the Sun's open practice at St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut waived guard Natalie Berglin and Meredith Alexis
Berglin was signed to a training camp contract on March 3 and had a combined four points in the team's two exhibition games. In both games and in the practice made open to the media, she often deferred over shooting. The 6-foot-4 Alexis was signed on Friday and played in Sunday's exhibition win over Phoenix, collecting eight points and four rebounds. They both seemed like the logical choices to be cut with Whalen, the team's starting point guard, and Whitmore, its most significant offseason acquisition and a power forward, coming into camp for the first time. At times in Monday's practice, coach Mike Thibault had Ketia Swanier running the point for one scrimmage team and second-round pick Jolene Anderson, naturally an off-guard, playing the one spot on the other.
The open practice, which also features an autograph session immediately afterward, runs from 6-8 p.m. at the West Hartford-based campus.
Update: No word on Kamesha Hairston, who was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday. She has been dealing with pain in her right knee since last week. Trainers told her there's a possibility it could be a torn meniscus, though Thibault said he thinks it just may be irritation from the "wear and tear" of training camp. There may be more information tonight.
Berglin was signed to a training camp contract on March 3 and had a combined four points in the team's two exhibition games. In both games and in the practice made open to the media, she often deferred over shooting. The 6-foot-4 Alexis was signed on Friday and played in Sunday's exhibition win over Phoenix, collecting eight points and four rebounds. They both seemed like the logical choices to be cut with Whalen, the team's starting point guard, and Whitmore, its most significant offseason acquisition and a power forward, coming into camp for the first time. At times in Monday's practice, coach Mike Thibault had Ketia Swanier running the point for one scrimmage team and second-round pick Jolene Anderson, naturally an off-guard, playing the one spot on the other.
The open practice, which also features an autograph session immediately afterward, runs from 6-8 p.m. at the West Hartford-based campus.
Update: No word on Kamesha Hairston, who was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday. She has been dealing with pain in her right knee since last week. Trainers told her there's a possibility it could be a torn meniscus, though Thibault said he thinks it just may be irritation from the "wear and tear" of training camp. There may be more information tonight.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Carey to sit out Sunday
Jamie Carey won't be available for Sunday's game exhibition home-opener against the Phoenix Mercury (12 noon, Mohegan Sun Arena). The fourth-year guard suffered a strained Achilles' tendon during Connecticut's 68-57 loss at Minnesota Thursday, and there is no definitive timetable for her return.
"She’s going to be out for a little while," Sun coach Mike Thibault said. "Her Achilles’ (tendon) is strained, not torn. It’s swollen and sore, and we probably won’t put her back on the court until the majority of the soreness goes away. I have no timetable. Based on past history on that stuff, you’re looking at a week to 10 days probably."
The Sun training staff has experience with this type of injury. Nykesha Sales was hampered the past two seasons with Achilles' tendon problems.
Also, on first look, the Sun's loss to the Lynx lacked bright spots, but after re-watching the tape, Thibault wasn't so negative.
"I was pleased with our execution, I was pleased with our overall defense," he said. "Our rebounding wasn’t great (Minnesota outrebounded Connecticut, 36-25), but our defense was pretty good. I just didn’t like a few of the turnovers that we had, and we didn’t shoot the ball well — in the first half. I’m sitting there watching the tape, saying that we’re playing well and you look up and you still only got six points."
As for Sunday's game, the defending-champion Mercury will be without the majority of its regular team, including stars Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor, who like fellow Aussie Erin Phillips, won't return to the WNBA until after the Olympic break.
"They’re missing everybody," Thibault said. "I think the only person in their top 10 that is here is (Jennifer) Derevjanik."
UConn fans will see one familiar face, though: Former Husky Willnett Crockett is playing on a training camp contract for Phoenix.
"She’s going to be out for a little while," Sun coach Mike Thibault said. "Her Achilles’ (tendon) is strained, not torn. It’s swollen and sore, and we probably won’t put her back on the court until the majority of the soreness goes away. I have no timetable. Based on past history on that stuff, you’re looking at a week to 10 days probably."
The Sun training staff has experience with this type of injury. Nykesha Sales was hampered the past two seasons with Achilles' tendon problems.
Also, on first look, the Sun's loss to the Lynx lacked bright spots, but after re-watching the tape, Thibault wasn't so negative.
"I was pleased with our execution, I was pleased with our overall defense," he said. "Our rebounding wasn’t great (Minnesota outrebounded Connecticut, 36-25), but our defense was pretty good. I just didn’t like a few of the turnovers that we had, and we didn’t shoot the ball well — in the first half. I’m sitting there watching the tape, saying that we’re playing well and you look up and you still only got six points."
As for Sunday's game, the defending-champion Mercury will be without the majority of its regular team, including stars Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor, who like fellow Aussie Erin Phillips, won't return to the WNBA until after the Olympic break.
"They’re missing everybody," Thibault said. "I think the only person in their top 10 that is here is (Jennifer) Derevjanik."
UConn fans will see one familiar face, though: Former Husky Willnett Crockett is playing on a training camp contract for Phoenix.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Lynx link
For more reaction from the Sun's preseason opening loss to Minnesota, here's a link to the post-game quotes, courtesy of the Lynx's web site.
Off on the wrong foot
The Sun opened their preseason in ugly fashion with a 68-57 loss at the Minnesota Lynx Thursday. They opened the game 5-for-31 from the field, and had no one in double figures, getting eight points from Kerri Gardin and seven from four others. Here are some key things to know:
(1) "I expected it to be rugged,”Sun coach Mike Thibault said, adding with tongue in cheek,“and it exceeded my expectations.”The Sun improved in the second half, notching 39 points, but just for a point of reference, the 57 points would have been a season-low last season. In Connecticut's defense, it played all 14 players, never allowing anyone to get a solid rhythm, and the results don't differ too much from last year's preseason. The Sun finished 1-2, never scoring more than 61 points.
Other problems areas: The Sun committed 22 turnovers, were whistled for 25 fouls and were outrebounded, 36-25.
(2) Amber Holt, Barbara Turner, Kamesha Hairston and Danielle Page each had seven points. Asked if there were any positives he could point to, Thibault hesitated before saying,“Uh, I don't know. There wasn't anything special about it.”
"I thought as a group, Cori Chambers and Barbara and Amber Holt, they were in together as a group for a while and they did a pretty good job for a little stretch,” Thibault offered. “There was just no consistency. You shoot the ball that badly, it kills any momentum you need to get going.”
The point of these exhibition games are also to help coaches get a better idea of who looks capable of sticking around to help the team. Thibault said that was even difficult to determine Thursday.
"That's the frustrating part,”he said. "Maybe a little bit (I got a better idea). Maybe. But not enough to make an overall judgment based on one game.”
(3) Jamie Carey is scheduled to visit with doctors Friday after sustaining what Thibault described as an Achilles' tendon injury. "But I don't want to say, I don't know enough about it," Thibault said. "She played the game, but we're sending her to see the doctor (Friday). It was during the game, and she didn't think it was that bad but it got worse.”
It's unclear how serious it's going to be, but it's unexpected, especially for Carey. The fourth-year guard said on Tuesday she was feeling as good physically as she's felt in her professional career.
(4) Lindsay Whalen, a Minnesota native, was on hand for the game, watching from the Sun bench in street clothes. Her ZVVZ USK Prague team's season is over, and Thibault said he expects the All-star guard in training camp by Tuesday, along with offseason acquisition Tamika Whitmore.
The arrival for Asjha Jones and Sandrine Gruda is less certain. Their UMMC Ekaterinburg team lost in its league's semifinals, but they are required to play in a third-place game,“which is crazy," Thibault said. The coach said the series may run until May 13 or 14, putting the pair's arrival very close to the season opener on May 17. If it does run that long, Gruda may miss that game against Atlanta as she has personal matters to attend to at home in France before coming to Connecticut. The same goes for Evina Maltsi, whose Spanish league team is still alive in its playoffs. She has personal business to take care of back home in Greece after her season's end, and she has yet to sign a contract.
(1) "I expected it to be rugged,”Sun coach Mike Thibault said, adding with tongue in cheek,“and it exceeded my expectations.”The Sun improved in the second half, notching 39 points, but just for a point of reference, the 57 points would have been a season-low last season. In Connecticut's defense, it played all 14 players, never allowing anyone to get a solid rhythm, and the results don't differ too much from last year's preseason. The Sun finished 1-2, never scoring more than 61 points.
Other problems areas: The Sun committed 22 turnovers, were whistled for 25 fouls and were outrebounded, 36-25.
(2) Amber Holt, Barbara Turner, Kamesha Hairston and Danielle Page each had seven points. Asked if there were any positives he could point to, Thibault hesitated before saying,“Uh, I don't know. There wasn't anything special about it.”
"I thought as a group, Cori Chambers and Barbara and Amber Holt, they were in together as a group for a while and they did a pretty good job for a little stretch,” Thibault offered. “There was just no consistency. You shoot the ball that badly, it kills any momentum you need to get going.”
The point of these exhibition games are also to help coaches get a better idea of who looks capable of sticking around to help the team. Thibault said that was even difficult to determine Thursday.
"That's the frustrating part,”he said. "Maybe a little bit (I got a better idea). Maybe. But not enough to make an overall judgment based on one game.”
(3) Jamie Carey is scheduled to visit with doctors Friday after sustaining what Thibault described as an Achilles' tendon injury. "But I don't want to say, I don't know enough about it," Thibault said. "She played the game, but we're sending her to see the doctor (Friday). It was during the game, and she didn't think it was that bad but it got worse.”
It's unclear how serious it's going to be, but it's unexpected, especially for Carey. The fourth-year guard said on Tuesday she was feeling as good physically as she's felt in her professional career.
(4) Lindsay Whalen, a Minnesota native, was on hand for the game, watching from the Sun bench in street clothes. Her ZVVZ USK Prague team's season is over, and Thibault said he expects the All-star guard in training camp by Tuesday, along with offseason acquisition Tamika Whitmore.
The arrival for Asjha Jones and Sandrine Gruda is less certain. Their UMMC Ekaterinburg team lost in its league's semifinals, but they are required to play in a third-place game,“which is crazy," Thibault said. The coach said the series may run until May 13 or 14, putting the pair's arrival very close to the season opener on May 17. If it does run that long, Gruda may miss that game against Atlanta as she has personal matters to attend to at home in France before coming to Connecticut. The same goes for Evina Maltsi, whose Spanish league team is still alive in its playoffs. She has personal business to take care of back home in Greece after her season's end, and she has yet to sign a contract.
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