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Sun Lose Wyckoff To Expansion
Defensive specialist taken by Sky; Connecticut looks to add Phillips
By NED GRIFFEN
Day Sports Writer, Connecticut Sun
Published on 11/17/2005
The Connecticut Sun lost a core player Wednesday, but may gain a key acquisition in the process.
Forward Brooke Wyckoff, a three-year reserve who was one of the Sun's best defenders, was selected by the Chicago Sky in the WNBA expansion draft.
Connecticut protected six players and Wyckoff was not among them.
"We had a hard time with that," Sun coach Mike Thibault said. "We had to make some tough choices with some other things that will affect our future."
The future may include Erin Phillips, who Connecticut protected. The 20-year-old, 5-foot-7 point guard was a second-round draft pick last season, but didn't play because she was pressured by the Australian National team to stay with it.
"She has assured me that she will be here," Sun coach Mike Thibault said. "That was a major factor in doing what we did."
Phillips is currently playing with the Adelaide Fellas of the Women's National Basketball League of Australia. She was awarded the league's Player of the Month honors for October after averaging 14 points, 5.6 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals in eight games.
Phillips' overseas play was being noticed by other teams, which is why Connecticut opted to protect her. The team believes that she'll be a quality complement to starting point guard Lindsay Whalen. The Sun struggled during the 2005 WNBA Finals when Whalen was hobbled by injury and lost in four games to the Sacramento Monarchs.
The prospect of losing Wyckoff was difficult for the Sun. She developed into a steady reserve, averaging 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.5 minutes. She started 22 of 34 regular season games at power forward in 2003.
Defense was Wyckoff's forte. At 6-1, she had the size and long arms to bother forwards. She also had the foot speed to check shooting guards.
"We tried to make a deal with Chicago where we would trade some draft picks and players for them not to take her, but I think from the get-go they were intent on (getting her)," Thibault said. "Her being a great teammate will be missed as much as anything."
Wyckoff was pretty sure that she'd be taken by Chicago.
"I kind of thought it was a possibility," she said. "(The Sun) had some tough decisions. ... I think from the end of last season, I was prepared deep down in case that was going to happen. When the news came to me, I wasn't shocked.
"I will miss playing with the girls. (Connecticut) is a good organization, and when you're in that kind of situation, it becomes like family. ... I look at this as an opportunity. I'm thankful for the time that I had had with the girls in Connecticut and with that organization, but I'm also very excited about playing (in Chicago) this summer."
Wyckoff earned national attention when she hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2 seconds left in Game 2 of the 2005 WNBA Finals to tie the game and force overtime. The Sun went on to win, 77-70.
Dave Cowens, a former Boston Celtics great who is Chicago's coach and general manager, said that playoff experience, as well as Wyckoff's versatility, made her an enticing choice.
"Having Brooke available to us gives us those intangibles," Cowens said. "A lot of what we're doing is all about matchups. That's one of the things that Brooke and Deanna (Jackson) both give us, multiple position players."
Wyckoff has Chicago ties. She was born and lived for six years in Lake Forest, located 30 miles from Chicago, and her parents met at Lake Forest College.
"The entire side of my mom's family is around here," Wykcoff said. "They're all very excited, as well as my mom, to have me back here. They're definitely going to be big Sky supporters."
Thibault said that All-Star forward Nykesha Sales, an unrestricted free agent, was not among those players protected. The Sun took a gamble that Sales will re-sign with the team, and by not protecting her, they were able to protect someone else.
Connecticut cannot talk with Sales and cannot offer free agents contracts until Feb. 1.
"There's not really much to talk about," Thibault said. "We can't talk to her about a contract until January. If she had a good experience here, which I hope she had, we hope we'll be able to re-sign her."
Thibault wouldn't reveal the other players Connecticut protected, but they were most likely forwards Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Asjha Jones, center Margo Dydek and guards Katie Douglas, Lindsay Whalen and Phillips.
The biggest surprise of the draft was Chicago's selection of Stacey Dales-Schuman, who retired prior to the 2005 season, but recently decided to return. She is one of the league's best long-range shooters.
"I started doing some homework, made some phone calls and found out who her agent was," Cowens said. "I found out that she was, in fact, interested in playing again.
"It's like pennies from heaven."
Other notable selections were Elaine Powell of the Detroit Shock, Sacramento's Chelsea Newton and Laura Macchi of the Los Angeles Sparks.
"I've been told my other GMs and coaches that this is probably the best expansion draft the WNBA has ever had," Cowens said. "I think next year we'll be a pretty competitive team."
