Former Connecticut Sun guard signed with the Seattle Storm on Wednesday. Phillips was signed as an unrestricted free agent.

A year ago the Sun was close to trading Phillips' rights but the deal fell through. My understanding of Phillips' situation was that her rights would be owned by the Sun and she would be classified as a "reserve" player as long as they offered her a contract. Obviously that is no longer the case or Seattle would not have been able to sign her as an unrestricted free agent.

Before UConn's game against Oklahoma on Monday, Thibault, assistant coach Scott Hawk and general manager Chris Sienko will be sitting down with members of the media so we'll be able to find out the dynamics of Phillips' situation but the bottom line is she was not going to come back to Connecticut so good for her that she was able to sign up with the defending WNBA champions.

With the Sun getting nothing in return for Phillips and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota's decision to skip the upcoming WNBA season, it would appear as if Danielle McCray will be playing a rather crucial role for the Sun in the upcoming season.

McCray is playing well in Israel, averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Hapoel Rishon Lezion. She is one of three Connecticut Sun players in Israel as Kerri Gardin is averaging 16.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals for Elizur Holon and Renee Montgomery is averaging 18.4 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals for Maccabi Ashdod.

Staying on the subject of overseas basketball, the first round series in the EuroLeague are now all in the books.

Ros Casares, Cras Basket Taranto, Bourges Basket and four-time defending champion Spartak Moscow Region won the decisive third games on Wednesday. Former UConn star Sue Bird had 18 points, four rebounds and three assists in Spartak's 69-63 victory over Beretta-Famila.

The quarterfinals begin on Feb. 22 with Fenerbahce playing Spartak, UMMC Ekaterinburg (led by the Connecticut Sun's Sandrine Gruda) facing Cras Basket Taranto, Wisla Can-Pack meeting Halcon Avenida and Ros Casares playing Bourges Basket. A player to watch for Halcon Avenida is Alba Torrens, who is averaging 16.3 points per game. Her WNBA rights are owned by the Sun but there's no word about whether she plans to come over to the U.S. after playing for Spain in the EuroCup.

Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, who started 14 games and averaged 7.2 points per contest for the Connecticut Sun during the 2010 season, said in an interview that she is planning to skip the upcoming WNBA season.

I just got off the phone with Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault who said that "nothing is official yet" and that been in contact with Jekabsone-Zogota's agent but wanted to reserve further comment until the final decision has been made.

While the translation of the interview to English is a little choppy, it does seem as if the 27-year-old Jekabsone-Zogota isn't planning to return to the WNBA any time soon.

"It is a very valuable experience, there is a very good level of basketball," Jekabsone-Zogota said. "(They have) strong players, qualified coaches, a very good organization. It requires great strength (to play). It's all determined by my 'inner voice'. This time (it) is a feeling, after a year or two probably will be slightly different. Certainly not (going to) say (never).

"It is an honor to play there, no doubt," Jekabsone-Zogota said. "It is a new experience. Yes, the first year I've had times when I wanted to throw everything aside and go home."

Jekabsone-Zogota appeared in 46 games over the previous two seasons for the Sun, averaging 8.7 points per game.

The Sun just announced the signings of Tan White and Kerri Gardin and will be adding Danielle McCray, who was the second of the team's two first-round draft picks a year ago. McCray missed the entire 2010 WNBA season with a knee injury. McCray has been playing well with Hapoel Rishon Le-Zion in Israel as she has scored at least 20 points in each of her last three games. She will not be the 3-point threat that Jekabsone-Zogota was but has shown the ability to get to the free throw line during her time in Israel. Playing for Rishon Lezion, McCray is averaging 17.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.8 steals.

Thibault said it will be a wait and see approach with the other three Europeans whose rights are owned by the Sun as Sandrine Gruda, Alba Torrens and Johannah Leedham are expected to play for France, Spain and Great Britain respectively in the European Championships or EuroCup which will run from June 18-July 3 which would mean a mininum of nine Connecticut Sun games being missed if the three come over after the tournament is over. Gruda has played for the Sun in each of the last three seasons and is the most likely of the trio to come over. It would be a crushing blow if Gruda opted to stay in France after the conclusion of the EuroCup. However, the Sun have been patient in the past letting Gruda come over when her European playing commitments are complete and would be very surprised if Gruda simply skipped the entire WNBA season.

When I asked Thibault if the Sun would be more likely to pursue a free agent if the team got the sense that the other Europeans would be staying home, he said that he did not expect that to happen. Reading between the lines, I get the sense that there is a free agent the Sun is keeping on its radar but it won't be as easy to figure out who that is as it was when the team went hard after Kara Lawson a year ago. Considering that Thibault, assistant coach Scott Hawk and general manager Chris Sienko were all at the recent UConn/Duke game (scouting Jasmine Thomas I would imagine) I would think that it is more likely that the Sun would try to put together a package to move up into the first round in April's WNBA draft than it would be to add a free agent from another team.

Unlike a year ago when the Connecticut Sun pursued and landed Kara Lawson, Sun coach and personnel director Mike Thibault said on Tuesday that their main objective is getting unrestricted free agent Tan White under contract.

The Sun has the bulk of its 2010 team under contract including reigning WNBA rookie of the year Tina Charles, Lawson, Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, Kelsey Griffin, DeMya Walker and Allison Hightower. White expressed her desire to stay with the Sun at the end of last season when she was Connecticut's fifth-leading scorer and led the team in steals.

Although the Sun traded away its first-round pick in April's WNBA draft, Danielle McCray is expected to join the team. McCray was a first-round pick last season but missed the season while recovering from a knee injury. The Sun also have the rights to Spain's Alba Torrens and England's Johannah Leedham, Connecticut's third-round picks in 2009 and 2010. Both players could get pressure from their respective national team programs.

Although the Sun traded away what proved to be the fourth overall pick in the deal which landed them Griffin, Connecticut will pick 16th in what is being touted as a deep draft and never rule out the possibility of the Sun acquiring a first-round pick.

Finally, it will bear watching when France's Sandrine Gruda and Latvia's Anete Jekabsone-Zogota come over since they have become extremely valuable cogs for the Sun.

The period for speaking with free agents began on Saturday and February 1 is the first day to officially sign a free agent.

Former UConn stars Swin Cash, Svetlana Abrosimova and Ashley Battle are among those on the list of unrestricted free agents.

Here's a breakdown on how the Connecticut Sun players or those whose rights are held by the team are playing overseas

Player Team Country Notable statistics
Tina Charles Nadezhda Russia 19 points, 12.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks
Kerri Gardin* Elitzur Holon Israel 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals
Kelsey Griffin Mizo Pecs 2010 Hungary 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals
Sandrine Gruda Ekaterinburg Russia 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds
Allison Hightower Reze Nantes France 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota Fenerbahce Turkey 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Johannah Leedham* Gorzow Poland 9.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals
Danielle McCray* Rishon Lezion Israel 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds 3.2 assists
Renee Montgomery Maccabi Ashdod Israel 18.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.2 steals
Alba Torrens* Halcon Avenida Spain 17.2 points, 2.7 assists, 2.1 steals
DeMya Walker Adelaide Australia 13.1 points, 6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks
Tan White Burhaniye Bld Turkey 11.4 points, 4 rebounds
*-Sun own rights to Gardin, Leedham, McCray and Torrens. Jekabsone-Zogota spent part of EuroLeague season with Spartak Moscow Region. White is an unrestricted free agent

Former UConn star Tina Charles had 24 points and 13 rebounds but her Nadezhda team lost its Euroleague opener 76-68 to Ros Casares.

Ex-Husky Diana Taurasi had 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists in her first EuroLeague game with Fenerbahce after a sensational run with Spartak.

Charles' former UConn teammate Kalana Greene had two points, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in Gorzow's, Charde Houston had six points and two rebounds for Good Angels Kosice.


Here's a breakdown on how the Connecticut Sun players (or those whose rights are held by the Sun fared on opening day/night

Kelsey Griffin (Mizo Pecs 2010): 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
Sandrine Gruda (UMMC Ekaterinburg): 17 points, 8 rebounds
Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (Spartak): 6 points, 2 rebounds
Johannah Leedham (Gorzow): 8 points, 3 steals
Erin Phillips (Wisla Can-Pak Krakow): 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Alba Torrens (Halcon Avenida): 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Connecticut Sun trainer Jeremy Norman is certainly earning even bit of his paycheck.

When the season began, he diligently was working with perennial All-Star forward Asjha Jones who underwent surgery in February to clean up the area around her right Achilles tendon. Jones had to miss the first four games but has scored in double figures in three of the last five games.

At Friday's practice, Norman kept a watchful eye on injured guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, who is just 15 days removed from surgery on her right knee. Jekabsone-Zogota had the sutures removed from the knee five days ago and on Friday she was undergoing flexibility exercises and had the occasional short sprint up the court which is adjacent to the one her teammates were practicing on.

Norman said Jekabsone-Zogota is on schedule in her recovery from surgery.

"(It's) two weeks after surgery so we have two more weeks to get her up to speed," Norman said. "The first week, we wanted to work on her swelling and range of motion. That is coming along well. She had her sutures removed at 10 days so maybe she will start progressing. It's been two weeks as of (Thursday) so we've had a couple of days of jogging which is good. We'll keep progressing, barring any sort of setbacks and start getting her on the court shooting against someone and gradually progressing that into 4 on 4 and 5 on 5, full contact, full speed (drills). Hopefully it is soon but we have that time frame kind of established of 2-4 weeks so somewhere between there we shall get her back."

Norman is also keeping tabs on Kara Lawson's ailing right knee which forced her to sit out the second half and overtime in Tuesday's loss to New York. Lawson has been held out of the practices leading up to Saturday's game against Los Angeles with the hope that the rest will allow her to play.

"This just happened to be something that was a little more sort than usual but it is not any different than the problem that she came in that we were kind of dealing with all along," Norman said. "If you happen to get sore the day before a game than you are going to be sore the following day. Timing wise it is kind of tough, if we could predict when she is going to get sore, we'd take that day off."

Both Lawson and Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said they will be taking a wait and see approach in terms of her availability for Saturday's game.

"I am hoping (to return Saturday) just because there is a game," Lawson said. "It gets pretty sore and irritated and it is hard on the hard floor to play basketball, cut and do all those types of things. Hopefully, in the past I have given it a couple of days (off) and it has calmed down so I am hopeful that trend will continue and I will be able to play."

If Lawson can't go, Renee Montgomery will start at point guard with rookie Allison Hightower likely to take over Montgomery's role as the reserve point guard. Thibault had lofty praise for Hightower's work at point guard during practice this week.

"She has done a good job," Thibault said. "She is smart, she gets everything. She has never played point (guard) in her life but she is out there learning. It makes her more valuable over the long haul anyways because she gets some experience at what I think is the hardest position in the league."

DELLE DONNE, DELAWARE COMING TO CONNECTICUT
Elena Delle Donne, the former UConn recruit who lasted just two days on campus in the summer of 2008 before returning home to Delaware, will finally play a game in the state of Connecticut. However, it will not be against UConn at either Gampel Pavilion or the XL Center but versus Yale at Payne Whitney Gymnasium or John J. Lee Amphitheater, if you want to be more specific.

Delle Donne, a rising sophomore at Delaware, and the Blue Hens recently released their non-conference schedule which includes a Nov. 20 game at Yale at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 also happens to be the date of "The Game" between the Yale and Harvard football team. That game is being held in Cambridge, Mass. and will start at noon.

At some point (probably when I shake off the Monday doldrums and listen to my interviews with Geno Auriemma, Australia national team coach Carrie Graf and Carol Callan of USA Basketball) I'll get around to recapping a week's worth of USA Basketball coverage. In the meantime I thought I'd provide people with the most memorable and witty quotes of the week

"I met you mom and your dad, they are so nice. What, where you adopted?"

U.S. and UConn coach Geno Auriemma to Australian star Lauren Jackson before the U.S./Australia scrimmage on Sunday. Jackson responded with a playful jab to Auriemma's stomach.

"I wasn't nervous. I just felt like I took a nap. Thanks for the anesthetic, I went to sleep and when I woke up it (the surgery) was over."

Connecticut Sun coach Anete Jekabsone-Zogota on the recent surgery on her right knee.

"Yeah, blame the (lack of a warmup), that's what I am going with,"

former UConn star Sue Bird on her early exit from the 3-point shooting contest at Saturday's all-star game.

"I didn't get to watch them too much, there isn't CPTV in the South but I remembering going to the Final Four in Atlanta and watching them practice,"

UConn rising senior Maya Moore when I asked her if she idolized Diana Taurasi when she was at UConn.

"D (Diana Taurasi) said she'd give her $100 if she took a 3 so knucklehead took two of them and I yanked her,"

Auriemma on Tina Charles' two attempted and failed 3-pointers in Saturday's all-star game.

"They are taught sharing, they understand the game, they understand that sharing the ball is what makes this game so beautiful. It is just a common understanding that the whole is more important than the individual. That's as succinct as I can say what Connecticut is all about,"

DePaul head coach and U.S. national team assistant coach Doug Bruno when I asked him if players from the 2000-2002 era of UConn women's basketball and the more recent group have similar approaches to basketball.

"When I was in college, I would never have done that so I figured that now that I am out of college, I might as well be nice,"

Angel McCoughtry on what prompted her to send a thank you card to Auriemma after the national team camp in the spring.

"First when the freshmen got here before they experienced our strength and conditioning workouts, they were looking good in pick-up. It's a little tough now that they are coming from the workouts but I can see a good core of what they are. I am excited, I see the potential there,"

Moore on her impressions of the five incoming freshmen at UConn.

"We are pretty cool on and off the court. I guess we are both pretty playful so we can play together and nobody gets mad or anything,"

UConn recruiting target Betnijah Laney on her on-court chemistry with UConn commit Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.

"I am so happy with the decision I made and now I get to recruit people to come over with me. Just how hard I saw that everybody worked and how they were on the same page. They all wanted to same thing. They all had the same goals, they all worked hard. It wasn't like a team, it was like a family. I am huge on family and once I saw that, I said 'boom, that is where I want to be. I want to go to UConn'"

Mosqueda-Lewis, reflecting on her decision to commit to UConn in October.

"They can think that but I haven't decided to go anywhere,"

UConn recruiting target Breanna Stewart on the rumors that she'll commit to UConn once she receives a scholarship offer.

"UConn is a great program, they are undefeated two years (in a row) so I don't know who wouldn't want to go there. They are the best team in the country right now,"

one of the five members of rising high school juniors on UConn's recruiting radar I interviewed on Tuesday at the Flint Hill School (sorry, but you'll have to wait until my story on those five players runs in the paper since that quote and the person who said will be idenitified.

Connecticut Sun guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her right knee on Thursday. Here is the release from the team

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (July 9, 2010) – Connecticut Sun guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her right knee Thursday at Backus Hospital in Norwich.

Jekabsone-Zogota had torn cartilage removed by Sun orthopedic physician Ammar Anbar. Her recovery time is expected to be two to four weeks.

In her second year with the Sun, Jekabsone-Zogota is averaging 9.3 points with 23 made threes. She started the first 14 games of the season before experiencing discomfort in her right knee during the first half of a loss at New York on June 27th. She returned to Connecticut to have the knee examined, and has missed the last four games.

Connecticut Sun guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota is scheduled to undergo arthoscopic surgery on her right knee on Thursday and is expected to miss between 2-4 weeks. Here is the release from the team:


UNCASVILLE, Conn. (July 5, 2010) – The Connecticut Sun announced Monday that Anete Jekabsone-Zogota will undergo arthroscopic surgery on her right knee Thursday at Backus Hospital in Norwich.

The surgery to remove debris in the knee will be performed by Dr. Ammar Anbari, the Sun orthopedic physician. Jekabsone-Zogota is expected to be out for the next two to four weeks.

In her second year with the Sun, Jekabsone-Zogota is averaging 9.3 points with 23 made threes. She started the first 14 games of the season before experiencing discomfort in her right knee during the first half of a loss at New York on June 27th. She returned to Connecticut to have the knee examined, and has missed the last two games.

BIRD HONORED BY WNBA
Former UConn star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm received the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for the month of June for her charity work and specifically her efforts in the Jr. Storm Club.

Here's more on Bird's good work and a little more info on the Jr. Storm Club courtesy of the WNBA release

The Seattle Storm’s Jr. Storm Club is a free youth basketball program in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County that is open to Seattle-area boys and girls in grades K-6. Through clinics and special events, the Club provides aspiring youth basketball players with learning and development opportunities and the chance to spend time with Storm stars both on the court and off in an effort to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle. Bird hosted a clinic in June for more than 150 young members and worked with the group on basketball fundamentals while emphasizing the importance of physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet. She also visited with Jr. Storm members during the month, spending one-on-one time with the youngsters and signing autographs.

“I love being a positive role model for boys and girls and showing them that with hard work and dedication, they can achieve anything in life,” Bird said. “It feels great to have my work in the community recognized and I really hope that this award encourages others to lend a helping hand where they can.”

The WNBA Cares Community Assist Award is presented monthly throughout the season to the player who best reflects the league’s passion for making a difference in the community. In recognition of Bird’s charitable efforts, the WNBA is donating $5,000 to the charity of her choice.



WNBA ALL-STARS NAMED
Crystal Langhorne of the Washington Mystics, Izaine Castro Marques and Sancho Lyttle, both from the Atlanta Dream, Penny Taylor of Phoenix, Rebekkah Brunson of Minnesota and Indiana's Katie Douglas were named to the squad representing the WNBA in Saturday's all-star game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Connecticut Sun guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota has a bone bruise in her right knee while guard Tan White has a sprained right thumb.

Jekabsone-Zogota returned to Connecticut after being injured in the first quarter of Sunday's loss at New York and did not make the trip to Oklahoma for Tuesday's game against Tulsa so she obviously won't be playing today. White took part in a light practice session with the team on Monday and although she is also listed as being day to day by the team, she figures to play on Tuesday,

Just a reminder, the top 10 vote getters in the all-star fan voting will be announced during Tuesday's ESPN2 broadcast of the Indiana/Washington game.

UConn incoming freshmen Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley will head to UConn after earning their first gold medal in international competition.

Hartley, a 5-foot-10 guard from North Babylon, N.Y., had 11 points (on 5 of 9 shooting), four assists and four steals in 21 minutes while had two points, four rebounds and three blocks in 15 minutes as the United States defeated Brazil 81-38 in the championship of the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship for Women on Sunday night.

Hartley finished third in the tournament in assists per game and was seventh in steals while Dolson was third with a 54.2 field-goal percentage (trailing teammates Howard and Ogwumike) and eighth in blocked shots.

UConn recruiting target Malina Howard led four U.S. players in double figures with 12 points, Theresa Plaisance had 11 points and Diamond DeShields, who is also on UConn recruiting radar, had 10 points and seven rebounds as the U.S. finished the tournament 5-0 and had an average scoring margin of 55.8 points.

Stanford signee Chiney Ogwumike was the leading scorer for the U.S., averaging 13.2 points per game. Hartley, who led the U.S. with 20 assists and tied for the team lead with 12 steals, was the only other double figure scorer with an average of 10.6 points per game. Dolson was second on the team with five blocks while averaging 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.

MALOTT NO LONGER CONSIDERING UCONN
In my daily reports, I have been posting updates on not only Dolson and Hartley, but UConn recruiting targets Howard, DeShields and Ally Malott. While it is too early to tell if Howard, who is a rising high school junior, and DeShields, who will be a high school sophomore in the fall, will land at UConn, I can say with certainty that Malott will not be playing for the Huskies.

I spoke to Ally about an hour ago and after asking her about her experiences with the U-18 squad, I switched gears to talk a little recruiting. I started reading off the schools I thought were in the mix with the sweet shooting 6-foot-3 forward from Middletown, Ohio when she stopped me in mid sentence to tell me that she was no longer considering UConn and Xavier. She said location was the main reason as she wants to play "no more than three or four hours from home."

There will be more on Malott's decision in a story in Tuesday's edition of the Register although the focus of the article will be on Dolson and Hartley. I spoke with Bria following Saturday's semifinal win over Chile and chatted with Dolson after I got off the phone with Malott on Sunday.

WNBA UPDATE
Brian Agler of the Seattle Storm will be the head coach of the WNBA squad in the July 10 "WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun" All-Star game. UConn's Geno Auriemma will be coaching the U.S. squad. All-Star voting wrapped up on June 23 an the league will announce the top 10 vote getters on Tuesday. Those 10 players are guaranteed a spot in the all-star game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Speaking of the Connecticut Sun, guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota is on her way back to Connecticut to have her right knee examined. Jekabsone-Zogota hurt the knee in the first quarter of Sunday's loss to New York and did not return. Tan White hurt her hand in the game but is staying with the team as they head to Tulsa for the second game of a six-game road trip.

Balloting for the WNBA All-Star Game "WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun" began today at WNBA arena and online balloting will kick off on Wednesday.

Balloting will run through June 21 and the top 10 players will be announced on June 29 during ESPN2's broadcast of the Indiana/Washington game.

The Connecticut Sun are represented by Tina Charles, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota, Asjha Jones, Kara Lawson and Renee Montgomery. Former UConn stars Charles, Jones and Montgomery are joined by ex-Huskies Sue Bird (Seattle), Swin Cash (Seattle), Charde Houston (Minnesota) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix).

Shortly after the Connecticut Sun's 89-46 win over the Polish National Team, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota arrived at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Jekabsone-Zogota will practice for the first time on Sunday and will play in Tuesday's exhibition finale.

Following the game Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault also hinted that he may look at the waiver wire to add a player to the squad. Earlier in training camp Thibault said he wasn't planning to pick anybody up off waivers but he was singing a different tune on Friday night.

"I have maybe a couple of things to think about," Thibault said. "I kind of told you the other day that I wasn't really looking at other team's (cuts) but I am going to keep an open mind. I think I owe it to myself to look around a little bit. I am not sure I will do anything different. The big difference will be Sandrine (Gruda, expected to report in early June), Anete and Asjha (Jones, who missed her second straight game while recovering from surgery on her left Achilles tendon) and how it goes. It is trying to figure out how the last piece fits with the rest of it."

Rookies Tina Charles and May Kotsopoulos led the Sun with 15 points each while Kara Lawson had 14 points (all in the first quarter) and Tan White had eight points in a span of 51 seconds in the first quarter.

With Sha Brooks, who starred collegiately at Florida, being cut on Wednesday and Kaitlin Sowinski (Sacred Heart), Kailey Klein (Cleveland State) and Pauline Love (Southern Mississippi) being let go on Thursday, the fight for a temporary spot on the Connectict Sun is not quite a crowded.

Currently at the WNBA maximum of 11 players, another cut will need to be made before the start of the regular season since Anete Jekabsone-Zogota could report to the team as soon as Sunday. Sandrine Gruda is not expected to join the Sun until the first week of June meaning that the team will be able to keep either guard May Kotsopoulos, who played at Vermont, or former Columbia forward Judie Lomax until Gruda is added to the active roster.

Brooks seemed to be doomed to land on the waiver wire once she suffered a quadriceps injury during training camp. Sowinski would have been a great story had she made it but probably needs to get a little stronger before she makes a serious run at making a WNBA roster. Love is a little bit of a surprising cut. Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault sought her out during Tuesday's exhibition win over Atlanta for some extra instruction during the break in the action. Love and Lomax seemed to be the two most effective undrafted rookies during the exhibition game although cuts like these are made by evaluating all the practices and not just four quarters against an Atlanta team missing many of its top players.

The Sun will host the Polish national team on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then wrap up its preseason schedule with a game at New York on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

After leading Russian powerhouse Spartak Moscow Region to four straight EuroLeague titles, former UConn star Diana Taurasi will be playing in Turkey next winter.

Spartak did announce for former UConn star Sue Bird and the Connecticut Sun's Anete Jekabsone-Zogota are among the key players coming back while Taurasi, the MVP of the Final Four and leading scorer in the EuroLeague, and Sylvia Fowles will not be with the squad in its quest for a fifth straight title.


Also, I have it on good authority that Geno Auriemma will be making an appearance in Branford on May 17 for a charity basketball event to raise money for cancer research. The event is being organized by former Branford High girls' basketball coach and long-time CIAC girls' basketball state tournament director Dave Maloney, who has been working with Auriemma on various events in a partnership between the CIAC and Geno's Cancer Team. The format is similar to last year's event with team with representatives from WTNH News 8, the Branford Police and fire departments as well as squads of teachers and students at Branford High.

When more details become available, I will pass them on.

Tina Charles ushered in her professional career with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 blocks as she led the Connecticut Sun to an 86-79 win over the Atlanta Dream.

Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault was quick to point out that Charles didn't do her damage against Atlanta's dynamic frontcourt duo of Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle but on the other hand, UConn's all-time leading scorer and rebounder didn't have All-Star Asjha Jones and rising star Sandrine Gruda on the court to take some of the defensive attention off of her.

Charles' output is the most for a Connecticut Sun player in a preseason game since Nykesha Sales, whose UConn scoring record Charles broke, dropped 30 on Phoenix in 2006.

Charles took her impressive debut in stride.

"I was calm," Charles said. "I was fine, I came into the game like any other game I have been playing my senior year. I have teammates who have confidence in me and respect my game, know what I can do is a good thing and it makes me want to go out and perform my best. I feel like that is what I have been developing my game to be my whole life is to be a go-to player, somebody you can count on, somebody your teammate will have respect for and that is something that Coach (Geno) Auriemma taught me that it is not about the wins, it is about having the respect of your teammates."

Connecticut had four players score in double figures and three are rookies as fellow first-round pick Kelsey Griffin had 11 points and second-round selection Allison Hightower finished with 10. Second-year guard Renee Montgomery, acquired in a trade which netted the Sun the No. 1 overall pick in exchange for Lindsay Whalen and the second overall pick, had 12 points and four assists.

If it wasn't clear before, the roster situation is pretty easy to decipher for the Sun. Charles, Griffin, Hightower and Montgomery will be joined on the opening day roster by Jones, DeMya Walker, Kara Lawson, Kerri Gardin, Tan White and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota. Since Sandrine Gruda won't be reporting until early June, the Sun can keep one of its training camp invitees until Gruda is put on the active roster. If I was guessing, I would say it will come down to Pauline Love and Judie Lomax vying for that spot. Watching Thibault pull aside Love for an extended coaching session late in Tuesday's preseason game would lead me to deduce that Love, who had more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in three seasons at Southern Mississippi, is a frontrunner to make the cut but I thought 2009 second-round pick Lyndra Littles was going to be around longer than she was in the 2009 training camp.

The Sun will have an open practice from 5-7 p.m. at St. Joseph College in West Hartford on Wednesday. Fans can watch the practice for free and there will be an autograph session following practice.

This is a busy week for Charles. She will take the last of her college exams on Wednesday, have another exhibition game on Friday and graduate on Sunday. Charles spoke about what figures to be an emotional day on Sunday as graduation day will be her final official act of what has been a special four years for her at UConn.

"It is going to be really important because my family has (had) my back my whole four years at UConn and they see the basketball aspect but now they get to take in what I have been doing academically," Charles said.

Among the interest spectators at Monday's Connecticut Sun practice was Sacred Heart coach Ed Swanson who was on hand to watch his former player Kaitlin Sowinski take part in training camp as an undrafted free agent.

With Sacred Heart set to play UConn on Dec. 5, naturally I spent some time with Swanson before doing my interviews with Sun players to get his take on playing the Huskies for the second time (UConn won 82-40 on Dec. 31, 2006).

At least one high-ranking official at Sacred Heart basically asked Swanson
"are you nuts" when news surfaced that the Pioneers was facing UConn. But with a veteran squad capable to win the Northeast Conference title, Swanson believes the time is right to play the Huskies again.

"With a senior-laden backcourt, a couple juniors so I think we have some people who can handle that situation," Swanson said. "It's the best RPI game in the country and it is an experience. Our players want to experience it. They grew up watching UConn and watched it the last two years (when UConn won an NCAA Division I record 78 straight games). It is as much about the experience from the game and helping us grow a little and gain a little bit more exposure for our program.

"They call specific years but I don't think if a team is young ... We have Alicia Apo, Maggie Cosgrove, Mo Reilly will be seniors and Callan Taylor will be a junior, that will help them a little bit and help our program mature at a different pace."

Swanson has positive memories from that 2006 game against UConn.

"If you remember that game, we were up five with five minutes to go in the first half and from that point on, I wish the game could have ended then," Swanson said. "They were a top 10 program and we got something out of it. That was the game where we kind of gained a lot of momentum for the rest of the year.

"We got exactly out of it what we wanted to and hopefully next year we will take that same mindset into the game. They say that everything is great leading up to the game except for the game and I look at it the other way, I'm hoping we get something out of it that we can parlay (into the NEC season)."

Naturally Swanson was fired up to see Sowinski getting a chance to earn a spot on the Sun. While the odds are stacked against her, it was still a special moment for Swanson and his two assistant coaches who were also in attendance.

"It is exciting to see one of our players at this level," Swanson said. "I thought a couple years ago Amanda Pape could have been (in a WNBA camp). She played overseas and didn't have as good of an experience as Caitlin did but it is great to see a kid who came in and as a freshman averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds on our '06 (Northeast Conference championship team) and now is in a WNBA camp."


Now for a few notes from Monday's practice. Tina Charles was not there, she was back at UConn taking a final exam and will graduate on Sunday. Her fellow rookies will be bypassing their graduation ceremonies. Nebraska's graduation is Saturday but Kelsey Griffin is not planning to fly back for the ceremony. LSU's graduation is May 21 but rookie guard Allison Hightower will be in uniform with the Sun for a game at Atlanta that day rather than accepting her degree. Hightower did say that LSU was willing to allow her to walk across the stage during the graduation ceremony in the fall so her family can bask with her in her special moment.

Asjha Jones missed practice again as she recovers from surgery to clean out debris in her left Achilles tendon. She is hoping to be cleared to practice next week. Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault said she would probably need to practice at least twice before he would consider playing her in the May 15 season opener against Chicago.

"I don't want her playing until everybody is comfortable. I want her being comfortable, I want them to be comfortable with it," Thibault said. "If it is the first game, great. If it is the second game, OK, I'll live with that. It is the long haul that is important. The plan is still for her to practice next week, we'll see. I don't want her reinjuring herself because she came back too soon."

Thibault said Anete Jekabsone-Zogota could practice as soon as Sunday which means she could see time in the preseason finale against New York on May 11. Sandrine Gruda is still planning to stay in Europe for a bit and probably won't report until the first week of camp.

Kara Lawson, Renee Montgomery, Kerri Gardin, DeMya Walker and Charles is the expected starting lineup for Tuesday's 11 a.m. exhibition game against Atlanta. Guard Sha Brooks, slowed by a quadriceps injury, missed practice on Monday and is questionable for Tuesday's exhibition game.

Although Thibault doesn't have to make a cut until Jekabsone-Zogota reports, he said he may make some moves in the middle of the week. However, it will be a one-way street as a lack of cap space will prevent the Sun from claiming a veteran off waivers without cutting another veteran.

It seems rather clear that Connecticut's roster will consist of Montgomery, Lawson, Jones, Gardin, Walker, Charles, Griffin, Hightower, Tan White, Jekabsone-Zogota and Gruda. One spot is available until Gruda reports meaning one of the six free agent invitees (Sowinski, Brooks, former Columbia star Judie Lomax, ex-Vermont standout May Kotsopoulos, Southern Mississippi product Pauline Love and former Cleveland State star Kailey Klein) appear to be vying for the one roster spot available until Gruda is added to the active roster.

If the Sun is looking to add a candidate for the WNBA's All-interview team to the roster, it would be wise to put in a claim for former Penn State star Tyra Grant, who was cut by Phoenix on Monday.

Grant was the Mercury's second-round pick (No. 24 overall) in April's WNBA draft. During Grant's junior season, Penn State was playing UConn in the Maggie Dixon Classic. With Penn State having a home game against Dayton the same weekend that the Yale volleyball team was playing in the NCAA tournament at Penn State, my bosses sent me down there to cover the volleyball tournament while getting some advance stuff for the upcoming Penn State game. Talking to Grant was a memorable enough experience that when I was in Colorado Springs for the U.S. Basketball training camp, I mentioned to USA Basketball's Jenny Maag that if she was looking for a quotable player to focus on, she should consider interviewing Grant. She took my advice and was not disappointed.

The early returns from a hectic offseason spent making over the Connecticut Sun will be on display when the team plays its first exhibition game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday at 11 a.m. The following day there will be an open practice at St. Joseph College in West Hartford. There will be no admission for fans to watch the 5-7 p.m. practice at the O'Connell Center and an autograph session will follow.

The exhibition game figures to feature some of the talented newcomers brought in since perennial All-Star forward Asjha Jones is expected to be sidelined as she continues to recover from surgery to remove debris from her injured left Achilles tendon while European stars Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and Sandrine Gruda aren't expected to be in camp in time for the exhibition game.

When former UConn star Asjha Jones decided to leave her UMMC Ekaterinburg team shortly before Christmas, her hope was that the injured Achilles tendon injury would heal without the assistance of surgery.

Waiting for a couple months upon returning home, Jones and the Connecticut Sun medical staff finally scheduled a surgery. The result is that Jones is still a reluctant spectator as the WNBA franchise opened training camp on Monday.

Jones should miss at least the first half of training camp. She may be back in time to play in the final exhibition game at New York on May 11. Even if she has to skip all three preseason games, Jones is hoping she will be ready to go for the May 15 regular-season opener against Chicago.

"We waited," Jones said. "We didn't do it right away to see if it would heal on its own and it didn't. It didn't progress far enough, we waited as long as we could and it (the surgery) had to happen."

The injury forced Jones to miss the final 11 games of the season, the first time she was sidelined for a prolonged period during her WNBA career. After winning two of the first three games without Jones, the Sun predictably struggled without the All-Star forward to carry the offensive load. The Sun lost five straight games all by at least 10 points and missed the playoffs for the first time since relocating from Orlando before the 2003 season.

"It hard to look back on that," Jones said. "It drives you forward. Even little things, where to sit on the bench do you want to sit in the middle of the team, do you want to sit by the coaches? It is hard to figure all of that stuff out. You want to help but you can't. You have KG (Kerri Gardin) playing the 4 (power forward) and that is not where she belongs. I felt guilty because now they are being put in a position where they shouldn't be."

With Jones out of action and the trio of Tan White, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and Sandrine Gruda expected to be late arrivals, third-year forwad Gardin is the only person currently practicing with the team who has appeared in a game with the Sun. Lindsay Whalen is now in Minnesota after a trade which netted Connecticut former UConn teammates Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles. Amber Holt and Chante Black were traded to Tulsa (formerly Detroit), Tamika Whitmore was released while Erin Phillips and Kiesha Brown were not re-signed.

Former Sacramento Monarchs teammates Kara Lawson and DeMya Walker are among the new additions, joining Montgomery, Charles and fellow 2010 WNBA draftees Kelsey Griffin and Allison Hightower on a new-look Connecticut squad. Five training camp invitees including former Sacred Heart University star Kaitlin Sowinski were brought in. A sixth player, former Florida State guard Alicia Gladden, was not able to make it so a replacement for her is expected to be named shortly.

White, one of many travelers impacted by volcano in Iceland, could arrive by Wednesday according to Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault. Jekabsone-Zogota and Gruda are on opposite teams playing for Spartak Moscow Region and UMMC Ekaterinburg in the best of five Russian championship series. Jekabsone-Zogota could be in camp by the first week of May while Gruda is expected to miss at least the first five games before arriving in early June.

With the announcement of guards Sha Brooks (Florida), Alicia Gladden (Florida State) and May Kotsopoulos (Vermont), forwards Judie Lomax (Columbia) and Pauline Love (Southern Mississippi) and center Sarah Sowinski (Sacred Heart) being invited to training camp, it's fair to surmise that the Sun isn't planning to add a veteran off the waiver wire - at the current time.

With Sandrine Gruda not expected to join the Sun until early June because of her European and French national team playing commitments, two of the invitees could make the opening day roster. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota will also not be there for the start of camp.

There are some interesting stories among the invitees. I remember Brooks when Florida played at UConn in the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament. She is a player and I could certainly see her sticking around for a bit especially for a Connecticut team lacking for guards at the current time. If Kara Lawson isn't able to go at the start of training camp because of a previous knee injury she aggravated during the recent U.S. national team training session and Tan White trying to get a flight to the U.S. at the current time, that leaves Montgomery and rookie Allison Hightower as the only ballhandling guards for the start of camp. Gladden is also interesting since she is coming off a solid season playing for Energa Torun in Poland. Kotsopoulos is more of a wing player who was a productive scorer at Vermont who may hold the distinction of being the first player in league history to go from interning to the team one year to trying out for the squad the following year.

Lomax was the Ivy League Player of the Year while Love is the only one of the roster camp invitees currently listed on the Connecticut Sun's roster on the WNBA website, not that you can read too much into that. Both were very productive but undersized posts who averaged double-doubles in college. Sowinski is a player I know the Sun coaches and others in WNBA circles kept tabs on.

Many years these invited players are little more than warm bodies which allow coaches to run a training camp but this year the competition should be fierce with those players knowing that there are spots available for them to earn.

I should be able to learn more when I head down to the first day of training camp on Monday in New London. It should be noted that 13 of the 15 players on the training camp roster at the start of camp where not with the team when the 2009 training camp commences as the six invitees are joined by rookies Tina Charles, Kelsey Griffin and Hightower, offseason acquisitions Montgomery, Lawson and DeMya Walker while White was plucked off the waiver wire last year. Asjha Jones and Kerri Gardin are the only holdovers.

Diana Taurasi's reputation as the best women's basketball in the world at the current time certainly didn't suffer as a result of her performance in the semifinals of the EuroLeague semifinals on Friday.

The former UConn star had 37 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block to lead three-time defending champion Spartak Moscow Region to an 87-79 win over Russian rival UMMC Ekaterinburg. Sylvia Fowles had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota of the Connecticut Sun had 12 points and former UConn star Sue Bird added seven points, three rebounds and three assists as Spartak advances to meet Ros Casares in Sunday's championship game.

Candace Parker had 18 points to lead four players in double figures for UMMC Ekaterinburg while the Connecticut Sun's Sandrine Gruda had four points and 11 rebounds. Former UConn star Svetlana Abrosimova did not score and had one rebound in eight minutes for Ekaterinburg.

Ros Casares, playing at home in Valencia, Spain, defeated Wisla Can-Pack of Krakow, Poland 86-57 in the second semifinal behind a 23-point, 11-rebound effort from former Connecticut Sun forward/center Erika de Souza.