LINCOLN — Kelsey Griffin got an introduction to next-level, WNBA-caliber basketball while training with the USA national team last week, a five-day camp that left a not-so-surprising impression on the ex-Nebraska star.
She's not in the Big 12 anymore.
“It's way more physical than college,” Griffin said Monday.
Safe to say, Griffin was anticipating that though it doesn't necessarily mean she's totally adjusted just yet. Now, she has that chance.
On Monday, Griffin began preseason training camp with the Connecticut Sun, the team that traded for her after Minnesota selected the All-America forward with its third overall pick in the WNBA draft 2½ weeks ago. Former Nebraska forward Cory Montgomery, selected in Round 3, opens camp with the New York Liberty this week as well.
But the WNBA season doesn't begin until May 15, which gives Griffin some time to settle into the highly competitive lifestyle that has become her profession.
Griffin's certainly expected to make the 11-player Sun roster. But playing in a league that clusters the sport's top talent within just 12 franchises doesn't allow for too many long-term player development projects.
She knows that the pressure's on to perform now.
But Griffin's purposefully trying not to adjust her approach.
“There's a reason why I was picked third and why I was traded, and it was because of how I played,” she said. “I'm just going to try to stay true to who I've been.”
The Connecticut coaches should have no issues with that.
The Sun gave up the franchise's 2011 first- and second-round draft picks for Griffin, a premeditated move made because the staff was so impressed by the former Nebraska star's work ethic and production on the court.
Griffin averaged 20.1 points and 10.4 rebounds as a senior, leading the Huskers to their first regular-season league title in 22 years. She was the player of the year in the Big 12, arguably the nation's toughest conference.
“Obviously, her toughness stands out. She plays hard,” Sun assistant coach Scott Hawk said. “But if you don't have the talent to go with it, it's going to be hard for you to win games. And she's extremely talented.”
Hawk's known this for a long while, though.
The native Omahan, who coached boys basketball at Creighton Prep and girls basketball at Bellevue West, has been with the Sun for seven years. But those first three seasons were spent with former NU assistant Tory Verdi on staff (Verdi became an assistant coach at Kansas April 13).
So Hawk had easy access to a detailed individual scouting report on Griffin. He's fully aware of her capabilities.
“She's really a versatile player who we plan to put in situations that are good matchups for her, where she can take advantage of her skill set,” Hawk said.
It likely means that Griffin plays inside and outside, depending on the opponent. But either way, she'll have No. 1 overall pick Tina Charles attracting most of the attention in the paint.
Those two players were both at last week's USA training camp, though Charles spent most of the drill and practice sessions with the national team. Griffin was a member of the select team, a 10-player roster of college-aged stars who created a formidable practice squad for the nation's top talents.
For Griffin, that was a brief example of high-caliber basketball. But it was just a training camp.
Things will presumably be much more intense in the WNBA this year, as the win-now Sun try to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
“You kind of have an idea, but you really don't know until you're actually there in the situation,” Griffin said. “I'm excited about it. I'm where I'm supposed to be.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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