Mike DiMauro: Thomas: Some improvements needed within CT Sun franchise

Aug. 15—MOHEGAN — Moments of candor from professional athletes are a rare bird in the modern woods, often displaced by cliche festivals, which are considerably safer, if not more boring.

Alyssa Thomas could have become the latest prey earlier this week, during an otherwise innocent news conference about her experiences with the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, gold medalists again. She could have kept it all surface level, spin a few yarns about a chance and a dance in France. Instead, Thomas, the greatest player in the history of the Connecticut Sun, the 11-year veteran, “the engine,” as she’s called, perhaps summoned the perspective and wisdom tethered to world travel, getting blunt about some improvements needed within the Sun franchise.

“One thing with playing on Team USA,” she said, “and being around other players that are in markets that are the (model) of what you want your organization to be in … honestly, Connecticut is super behind when it comes to that. I’ve been here 11 years and yes we’ve made changes, but a lot of things still have so much room for improvement. Women’s basketball is hot right now. So many people want to support what we’re doing. And I think going to Boston is a huge step to a market that’s bigger.”

“Boston,” in this case, refers to the Sun’s home game next Tuesday at the TD Garden against Los Angeles. The Sun will occupy the same airspace as the NBA champion Celtics. Some reports indicate around 17,000 tickets have been sold already.

“Basketball is shaping up with less players going overseas (to make money in the offseason),” Thomas said. “We need our own practice facility and things like that, because the time is now. People want to come and stay in the cities and train. Not a lot of people want to stay in Connecticut, and we don’t have the facilities that you can train all year round. So I’m excited for Boston. Yes, Connecticut has been our home, but we just want to continue to grow our fan base. And Boston is the next step.”

Again: This isn’t some schmo in the media (such as yours truly) advocating change. This is the guts of the franchise. Thomas normally keeps her comments to the media somewhat Derek Jeter-esque: Say a lot without really saying much or revealing anything controversial. Perhaps spending a few weeks with the other best players in the world, nearly all of whom play in bigger WNBA markets, emboldened her. Or frustrated her.

“We have a great fan base,” she said. “UConn is a big reason for that. They love their basketball and they’ve supported us over the years. (But) a lot hasn’t changed in Connecticut. This (interview) room we’re in now (for Wednesday’s news conference) has been the same since before my time. So yeah, we are growing as a franchise, but like I said, it’s time for change.

“We want to continue to have a different fan base. When you look at things on social media, where other franchises are and where we are, I mean, clearly we are still behind in many areas. And it’s crazy to say that when we’ve made the playoffs so many different times and have won a lot. You just want to continue to see this grow to what it can be. And I still think we have a long way to go.”

The great unwritten script may be holding a doozy for Thomas, who can add to her gold medal with a WNBA championship in a few months. The Sun (18-6) have the second-best record in the league, trailing only their tormentors, the New York Liberty, who have beaten Connecticut 10 of the last 11 times. If a potential WNBA championship nudges the narrative here and perhaps encourages the changes Thomas wants, the path goes through the big, bad city.

The good news: While the Sun are 0-3 against New York this season, they’ve yet to play the Fighting Stewies with new addition Marina Mabrey, who came here via a recent trade from Chicago. Mabrey, an excellent three-point shooter, averages more than 14 points per game and should spread the floor to enhance coach Stephanie White’s otherwise excellent offensive scheme.

“At the end of the day, we’re sitting in second place. Last year is last year and we are a different team,” Thomas said. “I think in the first half of the season, you saw that three-point shooting was a problem for us. Now you’ve got somebody like her that’s not afraid to take shots. And she’s been doing it on multiple teams. So adding a piece like her just takes us to another level, and especially at the guard spot where now you don’t have to run DB (DeWanna Bonner) to death. So hopefully this is just going to balance our offense more and take us to another level.”

Regardless, 17,000 fans and counting are going to watch the Sun next week in Boston, some of whom perhaps will get to see “the engine” for the first time.

“That’s almost double what we can hold in our arena,” Thomas said. “So it’s exciting. Maybe we need a bigger venue. Maybe we’ve been underselling this for so long. I think this is what Boston is going to bring, just to see what this franchise can really reach.”

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro