Sun veteran Faris fighting for her spot

Mohegan — Kelly Faris was asked to name the longest-tenured player on the Connecticut Sun.

It didn't take the third-year guard long to figure out that it was her.

“I'm the only left from when I was drafted (2013),” Faris said. “It's kind of crazy.”

It's absurd that Faris is the only Sun player left over from the 2013 season, yet provides insight as to why the franchise has spent the last three seasons in WNBA purgatory as winning and continuity go hand-in-hand.

Connecticut has had an exodus of players over the past few years (Asjha Jones, Kara Lawson, and Olympian Tina Charles all demanded trades) and is on its third coach in five seasons (Curt Miller). That, along with an abnormal number of injuries, have resulted in three straight lastplace finishes.

“‘Challenging' is the best word that I can use to describe it,” Faris said.

The Sun begin their exhibition season tonight as it plays host to the Chicago Sky and the San Antonio Stars on Thursday. Both games are at 7 p.m.

Connecticut has a little over a week for everyone to get acclimated to the new faces and a new system before its season opener on March 14 at Chicago (8 p.m.)

Faris, a 5-foot-11 guard, has been a reserve player for most of her time with the Sun. A fan favorite, the UConn grad has been a reliable defender with offensive limitations (she's a career 34.9-percent shooter). She'll once again be challenged to earn a roster spot as the league has a 12-player limit.

Odds are that 11 players are a lock to make Connecticut — veterans Alex Bentley, Kelsey Bone, Camille Little, Chiney Ogwumike, Shekinna Stricklen, Alyssa Thomas, and Jasmine Thomas, veteran newcomer Aneika Henry-Morello, and rookies Rachel Banham, Jonquel Jones and Morgan Tuck.

That leaves five players vying for the last spot — rookie Jamie Weisner (the 17th overall pick in April's draft), training camp invitees Brandie Baker (guard), Victoria Macaulay (center), Jennifer O'Neill (guard), and Faris.

“I've said it every year. … I come in thinking I have to

make them keep me on this team,'” Faris said. “The uncertainty kind of wears on you a little bit, but, at the same time, there's always going to be pressure and there's always going to be nerves. At the end of the day, you let all of that stuff go and just know that when you're playing basketball, everything else goes to the side. Worry about it afterwards. ‘Right now, on the court, it's all basketball. Play your game.'”

Henry-Morello and Little haven't arrived at training camp yet. Henry-Morello's overseas commitments ended Saturday when Mersin, her Turkish team, lost in the KBSL semis.

Little plays for Ragusa in the Italian League. It won Tuesday to tie its best-of-three semifinal series.

The absence of those players could allow Faris or another bubble player to stick around longer.

“Kelly has been great,” Miller said. “She plays so hard and is dependable, and she doesn't try to do things that she's not capable of doing. With these last roster spots, sometimes it's not the plays you make that keep you on the team, it's the plays that you don't make negatively that get you on the team. That's one of the things that young people have a hard time with at their first camp. n.griffen@theday.com