MONTVILLE, Conn. — A team never can have too many experienced players, and the Connecticut Sun have more than their share of them.
With many Sun players returning for their fourth of fifth seasons with the team, chemistry and a family mentality have become pillars for the WNBA club. There aren’t too many new faces on the Sun to start the 2019 season, but that doesn’t mean the team’s newest members can’t learn new things.
After being knocked out of the postseason by the Phoenix Mercury for the second year in a row, however, the Sun hope this is the season they break out of the single-elimination early rounds. And they will look to their veterans for help.
But just what kind of advice do some of these veterans have for the newbies?
“The main thing I’ve been telling them, just coming in, play your game,” guard Shekinna Stricklen said May 8 at Sun media day. “I know they’re going to be a little nervous because they’re going from college to the WNBA, but basically we’re just like you. It’s basketball.”
Stricklen told her teammates to play to their strengths.
“If you’re a shooter, shoot. If you rebound, rebound. If you set screens, set the screen. Do what you’re best at and you’ll find you’ll be successful.”
Forward Alyssa Thomas urged newer players not to allow all the information bombarding them to overwhelm them.
“It’s a lot of information your first couple of days at training camp, so with us being a core team, we’re just trying to bring them along and keep them up to speed with us,” she said.
Guard Jasmine Thomas was a little more blunt: compete.
“The level of competitiveness just makes everyone better, it makes our team better,” she said. “So the more we can do that, I think that helps us have that championship team.”
After all, getting to the championship is the goal.
