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2015 Record:
15-19
T-5th in Eastern Conference

Key Offseason Moves:
Hired Sparks assistant Curt Miller as head coach
Traded Elizabeth Williams for No. 4 pick in Draft (Rachel Banham)
Acquired No. 6 pick in Draft (Jonquel Jones) for Chelsea Gray
Signed free agent Aneika Henry-Morello

Draft Picks:
R1, P3: Morgan Tuck, F, UConn
R1, P4: Rachel Banham, G, Minnesota
R1, P6 (via trade with LA): Jonquel Jones, F, George Washington
R2, P5 (via trade with LA): Jamie Weisner, G, Oregon St
R3, P3: Aliyyah Handford, G, St. John’s

The 2015 WNBA season saw the Connecticut Sun finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the third straight season with a record of 15-19. This time, the culprit was clear: Uncertainty. The team’s gameplan in its rebuilding effort — injecting the roster with young, energetic players and placing them in leadership roles — was derailed before it could be tested, with the loss of reigning Rookie of the Year Chiney Ogwumike to a season-long injury. That, paired with uncertainty surrounding esteemed head coach Anne Donavan’s future, put a question mark on the whole operation. And one of the few answers Connecticut did get was resounding enough: last place.

So change has arrived in Uncasville, Connecticut. On the outside, change looks like one of the most impressive draft maneuverings in recent memory. And that could prove to be remembered down the road as the turning point that restored power to the Sun. But on the inside, it’s popularly known and believed that that moment came when Curt Miller became the Sun’s new head coach.

Miller arrives from the Sparks looking to install a new energy into the organization along with a pace-and-space offense.

Miller is a turnaround artist. After eight straight conference titles at Bowling Green State University, the now 14-year veteran coach took a 6-24 Indiana Women’s Hoosiers team and proceeded to win 11 and 21 games in his two seasons, before moving to the WNBA as a Los Angeles Sparks assistant last year.

Miller’s style of play suits this young, athletic Connecticut team, which had less trouble scoring the ball (100.1 points per 100 possessions) than they did defending (10^th in Defensive Rating). Sun players are already describing Miller’s system as fast, loose and unpredictable, and they’re describing him as a passionate, high-energy leader.

“I wear my emotions on my sleeve,” Miller told WNBA.com. “Certainly I’m a passionate coach, and bring that energy to the players. They know that I’m in the battle and I’m in the fight with them, and bring that passion and pride to the floor myself.”

“[Players in camp] are hearing a lot about how to keep the floor spaced the way we want it,” he said of his new offense. “It all comes down to floor spacing. We’re going to play uptempo, we’re going to attack. Sometimes an open three is easier than that contested eight-footer, and we’re going to keep hunting for those shots throughout our offense. Certainly the players will feel that they have the green light when open at the three-point line.”

Connecticut will throw plenty of fresh legs into the fast-paced mix after a quick and complete roster reworking through the 2016 draft. The Sun got themselves three of the top six picks. Their natural selection at No. 3 gave them the third UConn Husky taken in the draft, forward Morgan Tuck, who will continue playing right in her collegiate backyard, to great fanfare.

Connecticut also traded center/forward Elizabeth Williams to the Dream in return for the draft’s fourth pick, which they used to break the Husky streak and select Rachel Banham of Minnesota. The artist behind an NCAA record-tying 60 point extravaganza against Northwestern, Banham will pressure Jasmine Thomas right away for the starting guard spot alongside All-Star Alex Bentley.

Connecticut’s Top Plays of 2015

But the Sun saved their most interesting maneuver for last, parting with guard Chelsea Gray in a trade for L.A.’s selection at No. 6: Jonquel Jones. Seeing the pick as perhaps a final piece to move forward, the rebuilding Sun also gave up two later-round picks and their first-rounder in 2017 to get Jones.

“It was really hard for us to believe that we could let Jonquel go this year in the draft,” said Miller. “You look ahead, and there’s very few players coming in the next few classes that have her skill set and her length at 6-6, and what she can do on the perimeter. She’s certainly got a Candace Parker-like skill set.”

“If you threw her into next year’s draft class, we didn’t think it was out of the question that she could have been the No. 1 pick.”

The team also signed forward/center Aneika Henry-Morello from the Dream, and free agent guard Jennifer O’Neil. Together with the rookie draft additions, Connecticut’s young core also returns 2014’s best rookie from injury, to go with the 25-year old Bentley, who came into her own in Ogumike’s absence, and 2015 Most Improved Player Kelsey Bone.

“We like our nucleus,” said Miller. “The future is very, very bright. Chemistry and building a culture in the locker room is a big part of building championships on-court. We’re working hard to create the type of family environment that we want, and we think it translates onto the court.”