Sun’s Turner trying to expand her game.

“I’ve always had to fight for a job, ever since my rookie season,” Turner said. “I don’t know anything but fighting for my job. I know what hard work is.” And shooting, too. Turner spent the 21⁄2 weeks prior to camp reviving her workouts with former NBA coach John Lucas in Houston, making sometimes 500 [...]

Sun have much to accomplish during shortened camp.

In past training camps, Mike Thibault would teach as much as he would coach in certain sets or drills. Then he’d have to do it again. And again. “I always felt like I taught the same thing three times because they (the players) came in three stages,” the Connecticut Sun coach said. There’s no need [...]

Rested, Whalen ready for Sun’s season.

Coming off one of the best seasons the WNBA has ever seen, Whalen has made the most of the league’s modified offseason schedule the last six weeks, mixing weekend trips with individual workouts and even chores back home in Hutchinson, Minn. The 5-foot-8 guard wrapped up her season in the Czech Republic with a league [...]

Long offseason nearly over for Sun’s Thibault.

“Seven months,” the Connecticut Sun coach said, counting the time off his fingers to remind himself. “That’s a long time. It’s almost double your season.” But come Sunday, when Thibault holds his first official team meeting, and then Monday, when training camp opens with the team’s annual media day, the 2009 WNBA season will be [...]

Black, Littles bring a lot to the Sun.

“You dream of this as a child, so to come out and be known to be one of the top (picks) in this group, it is a great recognition,” Black said. “I was 10 or 11 when the WNBA came out, and I always wanted to be like Lisa Leslie. When I arrived at college, [...]

Depth at guard could help Sun land forward in Draft.

“Between (Angel) McCoughtry and (Renee) Montgomery, (Marissa) Coleman and (Kristi) Toliver, and Briann January … there’s going to be a fair amount of perimeter players taken in the (early picks),” Thibault said. “So hopefully, there will be some pretty good post players there for us to choose from.” For now, Thibault’s keeping his wish list [...]

Thibault Finds His Niche In WNBA.

Although he was as confounded as anybody late Saturday night by a playoff game — heck, an entire season — that almost slipped away, Sun coach Mike Thibault knows his X’s and O’s as well as anybody on either side of the gender fence. That’s why Jerry West recommended him for his job. That’s why [...]

Sun’s playoff run starts, ends with Thibault.

“I think we’re a bit surprised how well and how quickly it all happened,” Sun general manager Chris Sienko said. “But Mike has really good control of what he wants to do. He’s very, very tactical. The Coach of the Year thing, which is good, I think people do that based on results instead of [...]

Sun’s Thibault not panicking yet.

“If we don’t hold up our end of the bargain over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be concerned,” said Thibault, whose team next plays Sunday at Washington. “But we have some winnable road games if we play well the next couple weeks, and we have to take care of business at home.” [...]

Sun’s Jones and Raymond: A Perfect Fit.

A decade later, Jones and Raymond are back together, 40 minutes from Storrs at Mohegan Sun Arena. When one isn’t busy calling the other Peanut-Head or Big Cuz or Little Cuz or some other nickname, they’re reconnecting after six years apart, singing on the back of buses or leading the WNBA’s top team, the Connecticut [...]