The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sun rookies adjusting on the fly
Relatively speaking, the Connecticut Sun made a minor move in signing Beatrice Mompremier. The 6-foot-4 forward was a double-double machine at the University of Miami, but could find herself fighting for minutes on a WNBA team loaded with veterans.
Just don’t tell that to the Sun’s other rookie, Kaila Charles.
To Charles, a second-round draft pick out of Maryland, Mompremier is another shoulder to lean on during her acclimation to the pro game.
“I’m not the only one,” Charles said of being a rookie. “It’s somebody I can kind of go to who’s new, completely new to the league. We do a lot of stuff together, learn together. (She’s) another familiar face on the team, kind of going through what I’m going through.”
Rarely has the concept of familiarity been more important. This training camp figures to be a blur, especially for first-year players like Mompremier and Charles, who must grasp new concepts and terminologies on the fly before the abbreviated season tips off next weekend amid the pandemic.
The last time Diana Taurasi slipped on a WNBA uniform, the whole experience was one that she wanted to forget. It appears that she has done exactly that.
The former UConn star and the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer told a group of media over video conference call that she missed the last two seasons. The reality, however, is that the future Hall of Famer and a player most certainly to be included on the Mount Rushmore of women’s basketball,
Fortunately for the Sun, who have had only three practices since arriving at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., both players appear to be fast learners.
Head coach and general manager Curt Miller said that Charles, while still getting adjusted to playing primarily the wing, has displayed flashes of being a “real good pro” on the defensive end because of her athleticism, physicality and motor.
“Offensively, she had been at Maryland where they utilized her both at the three and four,” Miller said. “We’ve not played her a rep yet at the four; we’ve played her all at the wing position. There’s an adjustment to what is being asked of her offensively in that aspect, but she has a really high ceiling.”
Like Charles, Mompremier’s intangibles are evident to Miller.
“The impressive things are little things,” Miller said of Mompremier, who was a two-time Associated Press and WBCA AllAmerica Honorable Mention with the Hurricanes. “You can tell she’s wellcoached. She has good Xs and Os knowledge. She takes coaching and applies it.”
Mompremier, a secondround pick of Los Angeles, has had little time to integrate herself with Miller’s system. She was signed June 23 as an insurance policy in the frontcourt after All-Star center Jonquel Jones opted out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus fears.
In that aspect, it’s helped being around Charles, whom she played against in college, and well-regarded teammates like Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner.
“Everybody was welcoming. They were happy to see me,” Mompremier said. “I felt welcomed, I felt as if I was on this team previously. It felt like I had been here for years, like they welcomed me like I was family.”
Upon arrival, players were required to quarantine. But life’s starting to get closer to normal, maybe even a bit eye-opening, for some inside the league’s bubble.
“As the day goes by, we get to see other teams, past teammates, players that I played against,” Charles said. “It’s really cool being in the same area as players that I watched or played against. The other day I was running into the hotel to use the bathroom and I ran into Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Brittney Griner. I was kind of shocked, but I just made sure I’m saying hi to everybody, trying to get to know everybody. I want to learn from everybody.”