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Sky-Sun Preview

May 14, 2010 - 5:40 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Chicago (0-0) at Connecticut (0-0), 3:30 p.m. EDT

After missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years, the Connecticut Sun traded one of their most popular players in a surprise offseason move.

In return, however, they got some in-state talent from one of college basketball's most successful programs, and that could key their return to the postseason.

With three UConn players on the roster, the revamped Sun will try to put last season's disappointing finish behind them when they open against the Chicago Sky on Saturday.

Connecticut went 16-18 last season, failing to earn a postseason berth for the first time since 2002 when the franchise was still in Orlando.

Looking to reload, the Sun made one of the WNBA's biggest offseason moves, trading former first-round draft pick Lindsay Whalen to Minnesota. In exchange for Whalen, who helped lead Connecticut to two WNBA finals appearances, the team received former UConn player Renee Montgomery.

Montgomery, who averaged 9.0 points and 2.1 assists last season, won't be the only in-state college product joining the team. The Sun also received former Huskies player Tina Charles, the top pick in the draft, as part of the deal for Whalen.

"The best players from the best programs, they have expectations that are placed on them about how you act, how you compete every day," coach Mike Thibault said. "UConn kids are used to competing every minute of every day."

Asjha Jones rounds out the list of former Huskies that Connecticut will showcase. Jones, who led the Sun in scoring with 16.7 points per game last season, was limited late in the year with a strained left Achilles' tendon.

She underwent surgery in February to remove debris and it's uncertain when she'll be ready to play, though the initial timetable suggested she would miss six to eight weeks. Jones did not participate in preseason action.

Thibault, who signed a contract extension through 2012, told the Sun's official website that getting all the pieces of the team to align will be key to bouncing back.

"I'm not as concerned with the youth as I am with learning to play together," he said. "I think any time you have half of your team being new, it has more to do with that than inexperience."

Thibault and the Sun will open the season against Chicago, which won a franchise-high 16 games last year and is hoping to go a step further by earning its first playoff berth this season - its fifth in the league.

The offseason saw the Sky send leading scorer Candice Dupree to Phoenix in a three-team trade. They also gave up a second-round pick in that deal, but acquired All-Star forward Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld from New York.

Christon averaged 16.1 points last season and was named to her first All-Star Game. She joins a team that is hoping for a healthier year from Sylvia Fowles, who missed 10 games last season. Fowles averaged 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 24 games in 2009.

Chicago also hopes to be helped by the addition of Epiphanny Prince, the fourth overall pick in this year's draft. Prince spent last season playing in Europe after three years at Rutgers.

The Sun won three of four against the Sky last year to improve to 9-2 all-time against Chicago.