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| Posted on Thursday, May 09 @ 00:00:07 PDT |
Read full article The Day, New London, Conn. Sun now have veterans Banham, Jefferson, Mitchell in an ode to the draft class of 2016 vickie fulkerson, the day, new london, conn. Thu, May 9, 2024, 3:37 AM · 4 min read Link Copied
May 8—MOHEGAN — The 2016 WNBA Draft was held at Mohegan Sun Arena and Rachel Banham went fourth overall to the Connecticut Sun , who make their home in the arena.
The Sun , in fact, had three of the first six picks, choosing UConns Morgan Tuck third, Minnesota s Banham fourth and George Washingtons Jonquel Jones sixth, getting two of those selections via trade.
Banham played four seasons for Connecticut, starting five games in 2018, before being traded back home to the Minnesota Lynx . It was prior to this season, with Banham a free agent, she remembered the good memories she had with the Sun ... and the New England clam chowder.
Its like a second home, for sure, Banham said this week, back at Mohegan Sun, having signed a two-year contract with the Sun on Feb. 1. Thats why I felt so good about coming back here because I felt comfortable, I felt familiar with it.
I knew the people. I knew the system. I knew the organization was really, really good, so it was, like, an easy transition.
The Sun, who have a veteran group of core players, were 27-13 a year ago finishing the season in the semifinals of the WNBA Playoffs against the New York Liberty . Connecticut plays its only preseason game at 7 p.m. Thursday against New York at Mohegan Sun Arena.
In the offseason, the Sun brought in a few more veterans to complement the core group of Alyssa Thomas , DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones , who have 11 All-Star honors among them.
Connecticut, in fact, recreated that 2016 draft class, somewhat, trading for Moriah Jefferson and Tiffany Mitchell , in addition to signing Banham.
Jefferson, a UConn grad, was the second pick in 2016 after fellow UConn alum Breanna Stewart . Jefferson was drafted by Atlanta , but arrived in Connecticut after spending time in Phoenix. Mitchell, meanwhile, out of South Carolina, was selected ninth by the Indiana Fever , coming to the Sun by way of Minnesota where she was teammates with Banham.
To recap: Stewart and Jonquel Jones now play for the Liberty, with Jefferson, Banham, Mitchell and Tuck — now Connecticuts director of franchise development/assistant general manager — with the Sun organization, making Thursdays game a bit of a reunion for the Class of 2016.
The Sun were pleased to add more of a veteran presence in camp after losing Tiffany Hayes to retirement and Bec Allen, who was traded to Phoenix.
I think what happens when you become a veteran in this league is you understand, Sun head coach Stephanie White said. You try to fine-tune the things you really do well. You understand the bigger picture and how important the intangibles are just as much as the things that show up on the stat sheet.
Having players who are experienced, who understand that they dont have to play outside of themselves ... playing with a core group they can complement.
Mitchell said that going somewhere new gives her anxiety. She has played for White previously, however, with White serving as head coach of the Fever when Mitchell was drafted, and for Sun general manager Darius Taylor, formerly an assistant coach at South Carolina.
Banham was a prolific scorer in college at Minnesota, leaving as the Big Tens all-time leading scorer with 3,093 points, while Mitchell was the two-time SEC Player of the Year at South Carolina. Jefferson won four national championships at UConn along side Stewart and Tuck.
All three were first team All-Americans. And all three continue working to elevate their play, what White calls the standard for a hard-working Sun roster.
Banham coached at Minnesota during the offseason, leaving her with an insight that gives White confidence.
This team is completely different from other personnel that Ive been with on other teams, Mitchell said. So theres All-Stars on this team, with Steph and how she coaches, youre just constantly figuring out more things to your game, adding things to your game and just building on that.
I was pretty open-minded to exploring other options (when it came to signing), Banham said. I feel like Ive gotten so much better over the last few years and I found myself and Im super confident and playing with these women has been really fun. They believe in me and Steph believes in me and lets me just rock out and take shots and do my thing. However I can help ...
The Sun are still paring their roster down to the 12-player limit for WNBA teams, although Connecticut will likely need to get to 11 due to the salary cap. Prior to Thursdays preseason game theyre still at 15, having traded for Washingtons Queen Egbo on Tuesday to accent their frontcourt.
Connecticut opens the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against the Indiana Fever at Mohegan Sun.
v.fulkerson@theday.com
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