June 6, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Connecticut Sun’s Rachel Banham knows how to focus on what matters
By The Next
Finding rhythm as a three point shooter, undefeated Connecticut Sun, thoughts on coaching and more!
On today’s episode of Locked On Women’s Ball, Connecticut Sun guard Rachel Banham joins host Howard Megdal to talk about the team’s undefeated start to the season, the art of three point shooting and more. The Sun are currently 9–0 and will face the New York Liberty on Saturday at home.
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First, they talked about Banham’s return to Connecticut, the team she was originally drafted to at No. 4 overall in 2016. She spent four seasons with the Sun before being acquired by the Minnesota Lynx in 2020.
“It’s really special to come back to the team that [it] all started with,” Banham said. “It’s a different coaching staff than when I first came here, but there’s still some players that I played with [Brionna Jones] and [Alyssa Thomas]. And then Morgan Tuck is the Assistant General Manager, and I came in with her, so it’s really cool to kind of come back to somewhere that’s familiar.”
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
“So that was a lot easier for me to make that decision to come back here. The fans are amazing, basketball culture here is really fun. And it’s just been fun for us, obviously starting out nine-and-o … you know winning always covers up everything and it makes it fun, and it’s been an incredible start. And off the court, I’m loving it.”
Then they discussed how Banham’s three point shooting has fit into the Sun’s overall style of play. Connecticut replaced all but Ty Harris from its backcourt over the offseason, adding in Moriah Jefferson, Veronica Burton, Tiffany Mitchell and Banham.
“[To] have the space on the floor to be so much better, not just having [DeWanna Bonner] or [Thomas] be the spacers and adding another guard that can shoot,” Banham said of her initial conversations with the Sun prior to signing with the team. “I haven’t really found my rhythm in three point wise and I mean, I know that’s going to come, I’m not worried about it.”
“But being able to still draw those defenders, like they still don’t help off me no matter what. Like I could go 0-for-10 from three and they still glued to me on the weak side, or not coming off on the strong side. So that opens up a lot more driving lanes for our drivers and it that makes me feel better. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m able to draw attention and make it harder on these defenses to have to figure out who to guard regardless of how I’m shooting.'”
Tune in to hear more from Banham about finding her rhythm as a three-point shooter, her time coaching at Minnesota, and more. Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
