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Message: [QUOTE="psconn, post: 2249880, member: 293"] As you probably know she comes from that galaxy of beautiful islands called the Bahamas. Might have been under some radars because she grew up in the Bahamas and played college ball at a mid-major (GWU), but remember she [U]was[/U] projected to be drafted in in the early first round (I had her 4th or 5th and hoped CT would take her or Powers with the 4th pick). The talk then was about her unusual handle, mobility, rebounding and outside shooting skills at 6'6" - a valuable skill set. She was a point guard until she hit a massive growth spurt entering high school. I remember Lobo being pretty high on her during the draft. Although her skills were evident, I think she was considered "raw" and in need of development. Her build is also pretty slim for a WNBA post player. She went 6th to LA (good teams can afford development time) and the Sun decided to trade their very talented point-guard-of-the-future (Chelsea Gray) for her... and the rest is her brief history. Her numbers last year were deceptive because she was not getting a lot of minutes. Her "per 40 minute" output was really good, among the best in the league, but she made a lot of errors in the offense and on D, and Curt Miller, like Geno, has low tolerance for mental errors. With Chiney out, Coach Miller stated in the preseason that one silver lining might be that JJ would be forced to play big minutes and be allowed to play through her errors. At one event he said "as JJ goes, so go the Sun". In the off season in Korea, JJ was MVP and DPOY in her league and gained a ton of confidence. They also do two-a-day practices over there all through the season including weight lifting sessions every day. She came back stronger, but a little lighter and in need of some recovery time and dietary adjustments to promote a little healthy weight gain. The only surprise about this year's breakout is how quickly it came together and I think there is more improvement to come. JJ is a terrific "kid" and is serious about her game and what her basketball success means for her financial security, and as a role model to the people back home - she's motivated. Give some credit also to the Thomas "sisters" having their own breakout years. They are 4th and 5th in the league in assists and guess where a bunch of those passes end up. Credit also to the Sun coaches who are getting JJ in positions within the offense to do her work. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach