Connecticut Sun Training Camp Notebook: Stephanie White getting creative with veteran squad in Year 2

In her second year at the helm of the Connecticut Sun, coach Stephanie White is ready to hit the ground running.

White took over a team last season that was staring down a rebuilding year after the team traded former MVP Jonquel Jones to the New York Liberty and coach Curt Miller left to lead the Los Angeles Sparks. Instead, White’s squad went 27-13 and reached the second round of the postseason for a seventh consecutive year, though they came up short in their semifinal series against the Liberty.

“We’ve had a year to build trust … so now I can push them a little bit further out of their comfort or challenge them a little bit to do things that we might have wanted to do but weren’t quite ready to do a year ago,” White said. “Now that we have an idea of what our pieces can do … the approach is more like stacking bricks. We’ve got what we want here, so let’s see how creative we can be, how much we can challenge them and how much we can get everyone, including ourselves (as coaches), outside of our comfort zone to get over the hump to the next level.”

Connecticut entered training camp with a complete 18-player roster, fully healthy for the first time in years. Star forward Alyssa Thomas, the 2023 MVP runner-up, is coming off of a career season where she set the WNBA record for single-season triple-doubles and became the first player in league history to log more than 600 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists in a season.

White enters the 2024 season with a better understanding of how to utilize the superstar, and Thomas’ fiancée and fellow standout forward DeWanna Bonner. Bonner and Thomas are entering their 15th and 11th seasons in the WNBA respectively, and White said using the duo more effectively might mean using them less, especially with plenty of veteran depth behind them.

Bonner and Thomas led the team in minutes last season after Brionna Jones’s season-ending Achilles rupture on June 20, each averaging more than 30 per game.

“I think from our coaches’ perspective with those two in particular, having the depth so that we can actually get a rotation is going to be important,” White said. “We’ve got to find ways to conserve for them … so they can get rest and be as efficient as possible. They were efficient for most of (last) year, but by the time we hit September and October, they weren’t as efficient. Part of that is just the hand we were dealt, and part of that was us as coaches not finding the right rotation.”

Brionna Jones close to return from Achilles rupture

Jones wasn’t a full participant in the first day of training camp, but White expects the forward will be cleared to play by the team’s season opener against the Indiana Fever on May 14. Before her rupturing her right Achilles tendon a month into last season, the 6-3 forward was on a meteoric rise earning Most Improved Player in 2021 and Sixth Player of the Year in 2022. She started 2023 on pace for her best season as a pro, averaging a career-high 15.9 points plus 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals over her 13 starts.

It was gutting for Jones to watch last year’s postseason loss to the Liberty from the sideline, and the seven-year veteran returns this season hungry to push the Sun towards the elusive goal of winning a WNBA championship.

“I had a lot of unfinished business. I’ve been here for seven seasons, and we’ve always been so close,” Jones said. “To not be able to be on the floor with them last season and watching those semifinals was tough … and I love the team. I love being here and playing with this group.

Jones has been cleared for most basketball activities for approximately a month, and she felt her confidence in the ankle begin to return when she was allowed to start running on it several months after surgery.

“Getting up and down I feel a little winded, and finding my rhythm again, but for the most part, physically, I feel pretty good,” Jones said. “When I first started running, I feel like that was when I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m getting closer.’ It’s just been a day-by-day kind of thing, remembering that last week maybe I wasn’t walking and now I’m running. Little things like that have just gotten me through the process.”

White said she’s unsure whether Jones will be available for Connecticut’s preseason game against the Liberty on May 9, but the Sun coach is optimistic about getting her at least some limited minutes before the opener. She said the key with Jones is patience and preventing the forward from rushing herself back onto the court.

“She’s excited to be out there, and they’re excited to have her out there, but we’ve got to play the long game,” White said. “We know that she’s not in basketball shape, and the timing, rhythm, all that stuff, is going to take some time to get back. We’re being intentional about the reps that she’s getting and how long she’s goign so we can make sure we best position her and our team for long-term success.”

How the rookies fared on Day 1

Two of the Sun’s four 2024 draftees, Arizona guard Helena Pueyo and Kansas forward Taiyanna Jackson, are participating in training camp this season. Both were second-round selections, Jackson at No. 16 overall and Pueyo at No. 22, and the pair will compete for just two available spots on the final 12-player roster. Connecticut has seven veterans signed to protected contracts, and at least two of the unprotected returners are expected to make the team without much question.

Pueyo looked a bit more confident during the Sun’s 30-minute open practice period, snagging a steal against Bonner on the perimeter during a five-on-five drill. White said the pace was a bit more challenging for the 6-6 Jackson, particularly with three returners on the roster that can contend comfortably with her size at 6-4 or taller.

“They look like eyes wide open. It’s all a little different,” White said with a chuckle. “I think Helena’s done a really good job of blending in and picking things up. For Taiyanna, like it is for most young players, it’s fast, and you can see that it’s fast. You can see that the wheels are turning, but she brings to the table things you can’t teach with her size and her length.”

White said the biggest priority in filling out the roster is finding complementary role players for the veterans’ skillsets. The team’s biggest losses from 2023 were Natisha Hiedeman and Rebecca Allen, though White felt the Sun effectively replaced Hiedeman with the addition of Tiffany Mitchell in the trade with the Minnesota Lynx. Her biggest question marks are in the defensive back court and in creating a second string that can maintain a high level of play.

“Bec was an underrated defender. She I think led the league in blocks from the perimeter position, so where does that come from? I’m not sure yet,” White said. “We’ve got to complement our core group, but we also have to then be able to have a second unit that doesn’t fall off … You either have to maintain or you have to be better, and that’s production, that’s energy, that’s efficiency. I think adding veterans in those positions is key, so it might not just be the best player.”