The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Former stars set to honor Sun
Douglas, Sales helping franchise celebrate 15 years in state
No, it is not turn-back-the-clock night and there won’t be an alumni game during halftime of the Connecticut Sun’s nationally-televised game against Seattle on Thursday night (8 p.m., ESPN2), but two central figures behind the franchise’s remarkable early years will be in town as the Sun pay homage to the first 15 seasons of WNBA basketball in Connecticut.
Nykesha Sales is the Sun’s career leader in games played, minutes played and points scored. Katie Douglas is ranked either third or fourth in each of those categories. They were two major reasons why the Sun reached the WNBA championship series in the second and third seasons after the Orlando Miracle moved to Connecticut. The 52 combined regular-season victories during the 2005 and 2006 campaigns are the most recorded in back-to-back seasons in franchise history.
“It is obviously very special,” Douglas said. “Kesha is a Connecticut legend so when I came up to Connecticut for her to put me on her shoulders, show me the ropes the first couple of years, she was a huge mentor for me. Somebody I looked up to and somebody who showed me the ropes of being a professional athlete. She’s somebody I loved playing alongside on the wing with. It will be nice to see her. I don’t think I have seen her in about two years, so to see her again and also see Rebecca (Lobo, a member of the 2003 Connecticut Sun team) who I played with and shared some memories with her as well, I think it should be a really nice time.”
Douglas, taken 10th overall by the Orlando Miracle in the starstudded 2001 WNBA Draft, retired from the WNBA after the 2014 sea-
son. She still ranks 11th in WNBA history with 5,563 points. Two of the players ahead of her (Tamika Catchings and Lauren Jackson) were also selected in the ’01 draft, Douglas is also sixth in league history with 727 3-pointers and holds the team career record with 383 3-pointers.
After returning to Connecticut in 2015 to be honored, Douglas will be back at Mohegan to help throw out t-shirts and give fans a chance to take a trip down memory lane. Lobo, a member of the ESPN2 broadcast team, will also be on hand for the festivities. Unlike Sales and Lobo, Douglas doesn’t get back to Connecticut very often.
“It’s like a second home,” Douglas said. “From a fan standpoint, some of the fans have been there since day one, so it is really nice to reconnect . ... It is a lot of fun to see a lot of familiar faces.
“The best memories would be the (playoff) runs that we made for sure, to play in the finals with that team was special. I think moreover, just the relationships that I built out there in Connecticut, people I talk to today and have strong relationships with.”
Douglas isn’t as connected with the happenings of the current Connecticut Sun, but she was thrilled to read of the exploits during a recent five-game winning streak put together by a team with three of its leading scorers being just second-year pros.
“I know they have put together some runs, I do know that they have won (against the New York Liberty) at Madison Square Garden and I did see that,” Douglas said. “Sometimes I try to tune in. I have a lot going on, but I watch scores more than actual games from afar. I’m happy for that organization, they deserve the best. They are a first-class organization and they deserve a lot of success. I am definitely cheering for them from afar. Hopefully they can put it together even though they are extremely young.”
Douglas’s post-WNBA life consists of owning one Orangetheory Fitness franchise in her hometown of Greenwood, Indiana with another location opening in downtown Indianapolis.
“I opened my first studio four months ago and I am working on my second studio,” Douglas said. “I am kind of busy, but love what I can do. I found my passion.
“I kind of fell in love with it (total body workout systems) when I was injured (in the 2012 playoffs as a member of the Indiana Fever) and trying to work my way back after a couple of injury setbacks. I thought it was something that really interests me and I could have a lot of fun doing it. It’s a new chapter in my life but I’m really enjoying it.”