UConn in the WNBA: Former Huskies on the up-and-up after injuries, settling into new teams and adjusting to pro ball ahead of opening weekend
When the 2020 WNBA season tips off this weekend, a host of former UConn players will be taking the court in Bradenton, Fla. and beginning the next chapter in their professional careers. Fifteen former Huskies across seven of the league’s 12 teams are currently in the WNBA “bubble” at IMG Academy preparing for the season’s start. Another four (Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes) have opted out of the season for varying reasons, while Megan Walker is expected to travel to Florida after she recovers from COVID-19.
After an injury-riddled 2019, a riveting free agency period, the introduction of an exciting draft class and whole lot of uncertainty over what this season would look like, there’s plenty to look out for from former UConn standouts playing this summer. Here’s an overview of some of those storylines.
On the up-and-up
An extended quarantine period without full access to treatment or medical professionals isn’t necessarily ideal for any athlete coming back from an injury, but some players did benefit from a few extra months of rest during the WNBA season’s postponement. Breanna Stewart said that the time off since March gave her extra time to fully heal her Achilles and work on building her calf strength. Azurá Stevens, newly traded to Chicago from Dallas, is also finally healthy coming off a foot injury that sidelined her for all but nine games last year.
“We’re happy to have her in our organization,” Chicago coach James Wade said of Stevens. “We think that she’s going to be Chicago Sky player for a long time to come. We don’t see her going anywhere... It’s good to see her healthy. I think the best of her is yet to come, and I think people are going to be surprised by what they see.”
Stefanie Dolson, who battled COVID-19 towards the beginning of the pandemic, said that it took her a month and a half to start feeling like herself again physically and that it took some time for her to overcome her fatigue and shortness of breath. She was able to make it to Chicago for individual workouts before heading to Bradenton, and though she’s “not in the best shape of my life” still feels good all things considered.
No one may be happier to return to the court than Moriah Jefferson, who after missing significant time in both 2017 and 2018 due to injuries sat out the entirety of 2019 to fully rehab her knee. Dallas is thrilled to have her back, too, not just because of what Jefferson offers as a floor general but because it will allow Arike Ogunbowale to play in a more natural role off the ball.
“I feel great about her being on our team and running the show for us,” Dallas coach Brian Agler said about Jefferson. “She’s competitive, she’s smart. She can create for her teammates, she can create for herself. She and Arike are playing very well together right now. They both can make plays off the bounce. She recognizes and learns quickly what the strengths of her teammates are, which is very important as well.”
Of course, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are back from injuries after entirely (Bird, knee) or mostly (Taurasi, hamstring/back) missing the 2019 season. Both were eager to return to the court, knowing that sitting out this season and further delaying their comebacks could have realistically resulted in the end of their careers.
Adjusting to new teams
Five former Huskies — Stevens, Morgan Tuck, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Katie Lou Samuelson and Bria Hartley — are adjusting to new teammates, new coaches and new systems in the bubble with the start of the regular season rapidly approaching. So far, the prevailing notion among them is that they’re meshing well and are optimistic about how they’ll fit into their squads. Hartley is excited for the opportunity to play alongside some of the best players in the world in fellow guards Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith as well as Brittney Griner. Mosqueda-Lewis never thought she’d end up back in Connecticut, but knows she has the chance to be a key contributor off the bench for a Sun team that lost its best three-point shooters in the offseason.
Tuck and Samuelson see their trades as new starts. Tuck said that she was looking to leave Connecticut and that, much to her excitement, Seattle was interested in bringing her into the fold.
“I got a little bit of insight because of [Stewart], but anytime you see a team that wins a championship or has the history of winning championships, you know that they do things a certain way. I think we kind of got that feel being at UConn — there’s a way to do things to be successful,” Tuck said. “I knew that, I knew that they had great leadership, that as a team they got along really well... You can see why they’re a good team and why they’ve won championships in the past, so I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Samuelson, who had an up-and-down start to her professional career that included missing some time with a hand fracture, said she already feels more comfortable on the Wings. It helped too that she was able to get the lowdown on what Agler is like from her sister, Karlie, who’s played for his WNBA teams off and on over the last few seasons.
“I feel like I have a coach who’s behind me and believes in me 100 percent. He’s been very open and honest about what I need to do every day, and that’s something that I’ve been asking for and wanted coming into the league,” Samuelson said. “And so I’m excited to finally get that and really be able to feel confident on the court out there with someone that’s backing me up every day.”
Rookie transition
Between the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament in March, the WNBA Draft being held virtually in April and the two-month delay of the WNBA season, it’s been a bumpy few months for Crystal Dangerfield and Walker. Walker’s official introduction to the league will come a bit later, as she tested positive for COVID-19 and must undergo protocol before entering the bubble.
Meanwhile, Dangerfield is learning the ropes with the Minnesota Lynx, where she says she’s already seeing parallels in the winning cultures of 11-time national champion UConn and four-time WNBA champion Minnesota with the intensity of practices, attention to detail from the coaching staff and push for perfection. Lynx head coach/general manager Cheryl Reeve admits that Dangerfield won’t necessarily see a ton of playing time right away, but added that “we know we want Crystal Dangerfield in the Minnesota Lynx franchise” and that she believes the rookie will, at minimum, be a steady backup point guard in the league.
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com
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