2008 Connecticut Sun season
The 2008 WNBA season was their tenth season and their sixth in Connecticut. The Sun successfully advanced to the WNBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Lindsay Whalen was a key contributor to the club, averaging 14.0 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 5.4 assists per game.[1]
| 2008 Connecticut Sun season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Mike Thibault |
| Arena | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| Attendance | 7,644 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 21–13 (.618) |
| Place | 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Lost in First Round |
| Team Leaders | |
| Points | Asjha Jones (17.0) |
| Rebounds | Asjha Jones (6.1) |
| Assists | Lindsay Whalen (5.4) |
| Media | |
| Television | WCTX |
Offseason
WNBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Amber Holt |  United States |
Middle Tennessee |
| 1 | 12 (from Indiana) | Ketia Swanier | United States |
Connecticut |
| 2 | 23 | Jolene Anderson | United States |
Wisconsin |
| 3 | 37 | Lauren Ervin | United States |
Arkansas |
Transactions
- August 27: The Sun signed Svetlana Abrosimova and waived Jolene Anderson.
- June 27: The Sun waived Kamesha Hairston.
- May 15: The Sun waived Cori Chambers.
- May 7: The Sun waived Jessica Foley, Tracy Gahan and Christina Quaye.
- May 6: The Sun waived Meredith Alexis and Natalie Berglin.
- April 28: The Sun waived Crystal Erwin, Laura Hall and Jessica Richter.
- April 23: The Sun waived Antoinette Upshaw.
- March 20: The Sun signed Tracy Gahan to a training camp contract.
- March 7: The Sun signed Sandrine Gruda.
- March 5: The Sun signed Jessica Foley to a training camp contract.
- March 3: The Sun signed Natalie Berglin and Kerri Gardin to training camp contracts.
- February 19: The Sun re-signed free agents Lindsay Whalen and Jamie Carey.
| Date | Trade | |
|---|---|---|
| February 19, 2008 | To Connecticut Sun | To Indiana Fever |
| Tamika Whitmore, Jessica Foley, 12th pick in 2008 Draft | Katie Douglas | |
| March 6, 2008 | To Connecticut Sun | To Houston Comets |
| Barbara Turner | Megan Mahoney | |
| March 14, 2008 | To Connecticut Sun | To Minnesota Lynx |
| Tamika Raymond | Kristen Rasmussen | |
Free agents
Additions
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Subtractions
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Roster
| Connecticut Sun roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock x | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 14–3 | 8–9 | 16–4 |
| Connecticut Sun x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1.0 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 13–7 |
| New York Liberty x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 3.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 11–9 |
| Indiana Fever x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 5.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 12–8 |
| Chicago Sky o | 12 | 22 | .353 | 10.0 | 8–9 | 4–13 | 10–10 |
| Washington Mystics o | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12.0 | 6–11 | 4–13 | 6–14 |
| Atlanta Dream o | 4 | 30 | .118 | 18.0 | 1–16 | 3–14 | 2–18 |
Schedule
Preseason
| 2008 Game Log: Preseason | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
Playoffs
In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Sun had to face the New York Liberty. Since the Sun had the better record, the series would be played with game 1 at New York, game 2 at Connecticut, and game 3 (if needed) at Connecticut. The Liberty won the first game, but the Sun won the second to force a game three. The Sun were upset on their home floor by the Liberty and were eliminated from the playoffs.
- For the sixth consecutive season, the Sun advance to the playoffs.
- For the second consecutive season, the Sun do not advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
| 2008 Game Log: Postseason | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference Semifinals
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Depth
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Tamika Whitmore | Sandrine Gruda | Danielle Page |
| PF | Asjha Jones | Tamika Raymond | |
| SF | Kerri Gardin | Barbara Turner -- Amber Holt | |
| SG | Svetlana Abrosimova | Erin Phillips | Ketia Swanier |
| PG | Lindsay Whalen | Jamie Carey |
Regular Season statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Player statistics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Svetlana Abrosimova | 6 | 0 | 17.8 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 5.7 |
| Jolene Anderson | 24 | 7 | 15.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.29 | 0.04 | 4.0 |
| Jamie Carey | 33 | 3 | 15.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.24 | 0.03 | 4.2 |
| Kerri Gardin | 34 | 15 | 15.9 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.85 | 0.21 | 4.0 |
| Sandrine Gruda | 31 | 1 | 15.4 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 0.61 | 0.84 | 6.2 |
| Amber Holt | 34 | 34 | 21.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.44 | 0.15 | 6.5 |
| Asjha Jones | 33 | 33 | 29.2 | 6.1 | 2.5 | 0.61 | 0.79 | 17.0 |
| Danielle Page | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.0 |
| Erin Phillips | 8 | 0 | 10.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.50 | 0.13 | 5.1 |
| Tamika Raymond | 34 | 1 | 11.0 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.29 | 0.03 | 2.5 |
| Ketia Swanier | 25 | 6 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.56 | 0.04 | 1.6 |
| Barbara Turner | 34 | 6 | 19.5 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.35 | 0.41 | 8.0 |
| Lindsay Whalen | 31 | 31 | 29.3 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 1.45 | 0.03 | 14.0 |
| Tamika Whitmore | 34 | 33 | 26.8 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 0.59 | 0.38 | 12.6 |
Team statistics
| Team | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun | .422 | .330 | .746 | 36.4 | 17.9 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 14.3 | 18.5 | 79.1 |
| Opponents | .418 | .321 | .740 | 35.3 | 16.3 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 14.7 | 20.7 | 74.7 |
Team Ranking
This table shows how the Sun rank compared to the other teams in the league (14 total teams):
| FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | 8th | 12th | 3rd | 2nd | 14th | 12th | 13th | 13th | 3rd |
Playoffs statistics
Player statistics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Svetlana Abrosimova | 3 | 2 | 21.0 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 8.0 |
| Jamie Carey | 1 | 0 | 00.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| Kerri Gardin | 3 | 3 | 19.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.67 | 0.33 | 3.7 |
| Sandrine Gruda | 3 | 0 | 8.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.33 | 0.00 | 2.7 |
| Amber Holt | 3 | 1 | 18.3 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.33 | 0.00 | 3.7 |
| Asjha Jones | 3 | 3 | 32.3 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.67 | 0.33 | 15.0 |
| Danielle Page | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| Erin Phillips | 3 | 0 | 12.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.00 | 0.33 | 3.0 |
| Tamika Raymond | 3 | 0 | 9.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 1.3 |
| Ketia Swanier | 0 | 0 | 00.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| Barbara Turner | 3 | 0 | 19.0 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.00 | 0.33 | 5.3 |
| Lindsay Whalen | 3 | 3 | 30.0 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 13.3 |
| Tamika Whitmore | 3 | 3 | 29.0 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 10.0 |
Team statistics
| Team | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun | .360 | .218 | .800 | 34.3 | 13.7 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 12.3 | 15.7 | 63.0 |
| New York Liberty | .448 | .433 | .606 | 33.7 | 16.3 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 69.3 |
Awards and honors
- Head Coach Mike Thibault was named 2008 WNBA Coach of the Year.
- Lindsay Whalen was named to the All-WNBA First Team.
- Asjha Jones was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
- Amber Holt was named to the All-Rookie Team.
- Lindsay Whalen was given the Peak Performer award (for assists) for leading the league in assists per game (5.4).
- Lindsay Whalen was the second player in WNBA history to average at least 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for the season. Only Nikki Teasley has previously accomplished this feat.
- Lindsay Whalen was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of May 27, 2008.
- Asjha Jones was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 30, 2008.
- Lindsay Whalen was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 14, 2008.
- Asjha Jones was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 28, 2008.
Attendance
- A sellout for a basketball game at Mohegan Sun Arena is 9,518.
| Regular Season Attendance | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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References
- Sports Illustrated, October 6, 2008, Inside the WNBA, p.80
- "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream". Archived from the original on 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Draft Board Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
- WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Transactions
- http://www.wnba.com/history/playersoftheweek.html
External links
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