I would be totally on board with this if we hadn't given away Elizabeth Williams. That may be the biggest mistake of this "administration" and it just got magnified 10-fold. Can Jonquel Jones and Henry-Morello fill this gap? Not this year for sure and unless JJ starts hitting the weight room and playing a stronger game, not in the next couple years either.
It is not my intent to beat Kelsey up headed out the door. I was a big supporter of hers and think she has the talent to be an elite true center in the W. Her mid range game and low post size was something the Sun really need from the post. She should be a guaranteed double-double every night. But...
Because chemistry has been such an issue here, and because Coach Miller puts such a big emphasis on UConn-like team behaviors, I watch players and their interactions very closely during shoot-arounds, warm-ups and on the bench. Kelsey does not conform to what the team does during warm-ups. She lays on her stomach on the court watching the rest of the team in lay-up lines and then at some point joins in. This does not appear to be special stretching or back exercises. She hangs back when the team goes to the bench to start the game and then sprints in with hand-slaps down the line. She does not greet the opposing team at center court like the rest of her team. She hangs back underneath the basket removing and stowing her necklace and then striding to the circle to jump at the last minute. I am not an X's and O's guy, but I don't think Miller likes the ball to move around well on offense and then stick in Kelsey's hands and she maneuvers, back to the basket, one-on-one (not denying she's pretty good at this when she can finish, but it seems to stall everything). All of this (and there's more) comes off as an air of self-importance and not a team-first attitude. It's "I've got to be me", rather than "We've got to be us".
Sad to say, our other All-Star, Alex Bentley may be heading down the same road. Another extremely talented player who, when things are going well has a great personality and positive demeanor, but when the going gets tough can become Alex on he bench with a towel over her head. Getting Courtney Williams may be the first step on Alex's road out of Uncasville.
I actually feel bad for both Kelsey and Alex because they don't get how important this kind of thing is. Great teams know, and they cultivate, the winning team-first culture. I feel most sad for the long time season ticket holders who, in seemingly diminishing numbers, come to the Arena and watch the Sun push the reset button over and over again.
