Women's Hoops Guru

By Mel Greenberg

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Guru took advantage of some open time and a few days of quiet behind-the-scenes activity in the Temple search for Dawn Staley’s successor to come up here and watch the red hot Connecticut Sun get cooled by the Indiana Fever, 75-46, in a WNBA nationally-televised game at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

The game was over before it was hardly underway with Indiana racing to a 28-11 lead in the first quarter and never threatened the rest of the way.

The main attraction was the first confrontation between teams involved in one of the major offseason trades in which Katie Douglas went to the Fever and her home in Indiana while the Sun picked up Tamika Whitmore.

But first a little public service message to anyone reading this and is planning to come up this way, not necessarily for WNBA action, but to take in the entertainment-casino complexes either here at the Mohegan Sun or at the nearby Foxwoods outfit.

Despite the soaring price of gas – the Guru left pump signs in New Jersey at $3.79 per gallon to quickly encounter $4.50 totals for regular gas in New York and here – it was still cheaper to drive and stay overnight at a nearby hotel by over a $100 than doing a same-day roundtrip on Amtrak.

The Guru hasn’t noticed any passenger trains parked in gas station bays but the pricing to New London from Trenton, north of Philadelphia, seems to have mounted faster than the totals for autos getting all the attention.

As to the game, itself, Indiana was without star Tamika Catchings, still sidelined after being treated for a right Achilles heel injury.

It made little difference as Douglas turned aside a small number of boos from the crowd of 5,245 to score 23 points. Tan White added 15 points and Ebony Hoffman grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Paltry Sun effort, that included a franchise-low seven points in the fourth quarter, saw Lindsay Whalen as the only Connecticut in double figures with 13 points.

In terms of the Sun, the game could have been billed as disaster night the way Connecticut set other franchise records for futility: The seven points were one less than any previous here in the Mohegan Sun Arena and the 29-point blowout was the largest deficit in Connecticut history after the franchise’s previous existence as the Orlando Miracle. Indiana’s 17 assists in the first half also became an arena record.

“I’m just glad they welcomed me before the tip-off,” Douglas said of the mixed reception talking to what is probably a record for the number of writers up here in the visitors locker room to a team not possessing former University of Connecticut star Diana Taurasi.

“I don’t have any anger or animosity towards that. They’re cheering for their team and I’m no longer a member of their team. I just got here (to Indiana from overseas) eight-nine days ago. It’s been quite a whirlwind for me,” Douglas said of not having the date circled on her calendar schedule.

“It was a great run that I had here in Connecticut. I have nothing but positive and wonderful memories here.”

As for the other side of deal, Whitmore said, "I still think I got the better end of the deal as far as organization is concerned," the former Memphis star said. "I'm on a team that is not about self and I've never played that way."

Whitmore had been with Indiana two seasons after beginning her WNBA career with the New York Liberty.

Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia the Temple search continues but athletic director Bill Bradshaw has a previously scheduled quick trip to Chicago, where he had been the athletic director of DePaul prior to his present employment.

Temple’s plan is to bring in a small number of candidates for interviews so as not to make contact with aspirants just for the sake of doing so.

“At the same time, we’re not going to be so hasty as to overlook anyone that should be under consideration, plus a diamond in the rough or two could emerge before the search is over.”

-- Mel