Tina Charles is ready to be back in Connecticut

Charles knew heading back to Connecticut was her fate ever since that first meeting she had with head coach Rachid Meziane and general manager Morgan Tuck. Recently, Tuck and Meziane traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to meet with Charles, where she is currently playing for Fenerbahçe during her WNBA off season.

“We were in Istanbul [and] just seeing, the pillars of what they’re wanting to achieve this year, and how I would fit in, how I can impact not just on the court, but off the court, just being a voice, the experience that I can give, and just the competitor that I am, the passion that I still have for the game, my dedication, how I work on my craft,” Charles told reporters during her welcome press conference. “So all of that is what I’m looking forward to on this later half of my career, just being able to impact and be a servant to others.”

The Sun have welcomed Charles back to their franchise, where she hopes to be a strong leader for a young and new squad. But for Charles, not much has changed about the women’s basketball culture in Connecticut, except that she will have a different role this time.

“When I was drafted here, I had Kara Lawson and Asjha Jones and DeMya Walker as my vets,” Charles said. “I had great vets, and so I can only hope and pray that I can pass on the knowledge that they gave me, just their professionalism. Because I’m not here, I’m not the Tina that you’re speaking to without those three women, and just who they were and what they mean to this organization and to the league as a whole. 

I just pray that I can just do the same thing for my incoming teammates, that will be here this season. And off the court [the biggest thing that has changed] it’s my growth, my maturity, just how I see life. On the other end of it, I’m 36, so just the patience, the perseverance that I have, the endurance that I’ve had throughout my career, making stops along the way. But again, like you said, it’s a full circle moment and I just thank God to be back in this jersey.”

Tuck didn’t just look to Charles to bring leadership to the Sun. The front office also wants Charles’s high level of passion for the game and the skills that she continuously showcases on the court.

“I think Tina’s gonna be a great mentor, but we didn’t just bring her back to be a mentor,” Tuck told reporters. “Tina, she says she’s 36 but we know what she can do on the court, and so we need that as well. … She knows how to approach the game, she knows how to take care of the game, and I think there’s a lot of youth in our league that can learn from that, and other vets as well to see kind of how she’s been able to sustain.

It’s not common that you see a player that’s played as long as she has, that has had the impact that she has consistently, like she said, she’s still playing overseas, riding, having a great season. So I think Tina brings immense value on the court and also off the court.”

Charles will be joined by guard Natasha Cloud, guard Diamond DeShields, guard Lindsay Allen, as well as younger players like guard Jacy Sheldon and center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who can learn from her veteran experience. Sun guard Marina Mabrey recently requested to be traded by the Sun and it is unknown at this time if the franchise will honor her request or not.

Connecticut matters to Charles

Connecticut’s market is often unappealing to many, due to its location and its lack of various resources like a practice facility. But Charles thinks differently. Connecticut has offered a comfortability for Charles throughout her career, from the fans to the scenery, and she is eager to get back and experience that again. 

“For me personally, Connecticut is home, 860 is home,” Charles said. “It’s where I started, UConn earlier days, and then being drafted here playing four years. But the fans, they’re second to none. They support you all the way, the nicest fans that cheer for everyone and just the family atmosphere.”

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Charles also offered some more context for why she likes Connecticut — all the things she can do off the court.

“What I love about the state of Connecticut, is just being able to get out. I’m very adventurous, so I look forward to fishing,” Charles said.I used to fish all the time out here. The wine trails, the breweries, I love beer, the wine. I’m a big foodie. Mystic is a beautiful place. I can go on about the different communities surrounding the state of Connecticut, but everyone is very willing, very helpful. Again, it’s home. It’s close to home, in New York. Not looking forward to the 95 but it’s just a special place for me personally, and I hope I’m able to take my teammates on new adventures for them to really see the beauty of the state of Connecticut.”

Charles began her career in Connecticut — not just when she was drafted into the WNBA, but in college, too — and now she has the chance to potentially end there, too. 

She has national championships and Olympic medals, but she’s still chasing her first WNBA title. Charles now has the chance to work towards bringing a WNBA championship back to the state that gave her so much.

“It’s extremely exciting,” she said. “I’m just looking forward to helping this new leadership, this new team into what’s next, and they’re going into a new chapter. I was there for the beginning, so I’m happy to be around for where they are now … When the opportunity came around for me to potentially return back to Connecticut, it was a no brainer. It wasn’t anything to think about. … Again, I’m just excited. I’m thankful to be here.”

The UConn Connection

UConn women’s basketball is widely adored in Connecticut, which shows through its self-made nickname, the ‘basketball capital of the world’. The UConn women’s basketball program is one of the most successful in the sport’s history, having produced 47 WNBA draftees and earning 11 national championships.

Tuck, as well as the Sun’s franchise president Jennifer Rizzotti, are both UConn alums and former WNBA players themselves. Now, the franchise is in their hands.

“That was one of the last things I had mentioned to Morgan [Tuck], was that … I don’t know Morgan as personal, but I said we have the same baseline, we have the same roots,” Charles said. “We went to UConn, so I know that you know what a winning culture is like. I know you know what professionalism is like. I know you know what a family atmosphere is like, and when to buy in, how to buy in, when it gets uncomfortable, but knowing that it’s growth. So that’s what I trusted. And that was probably the last thing I said before I exited, that we have the same baseline. So I know we’re rooted, and I know we will be connected. 

And then just having Jen [Rizzotti], I don’t have to say enough. Everyone knows Jen, and I know she’ll get the best out of me as well.”

The UConn connection between Charles and the Sun front office creates a strong trust in one another, which will allow Charles to fit comfortably once again with the franchise as she transitions into this next chapter of her career.

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Continuing the Sun culture

The Sun have historically placed high expectations on themselves. They recently made it to the WNBA playoff semifinals for the sixth consecutive season, and they hope to find themselves there again soon.

“The one thing that Morgan and Rachid have mentioned is winning. Winning was a word was used,” Charles said. “We want to win. We want to win, not only on the court, but in different facets, again, the locker room, the culture, having excellence, how we arrive, how we handle ourselves, all that, the professionalism, that’s something for me.”

Winning is obviously a goal, but with the shake-ups happening for the Sun this offseason, the team might have to go about winning in a new way. Charles is ready for this.

“It’s just an opportunity to just build on something new,” she said. “And that’s what I’m looking forward to, is just building on something new and helping those along the way, on my way out, since I’m on the latter years of my career.”

Although the Sun plan to continue fostering winning culture, Tuck has made it clear that they don’t just want players who will make an impact on the court, but off the court as well. Charles is an ideal candidate to fulfill that vision, as she’s been impactful outside of the game for her entire career. Charles even recently started her own foundation, Hopey’s Heart Foundation, at the beginning of her career. Per the organization’s website, Charles was inspired to create the foundation after her aunt, who was known in her family for her big heart, died in 2013.

“We raise awareness to sudden cardiac arrest through placement of AEDs,” she explained. “The first AED placed was here in Connecticut, and we are 15 AEDs away from placing our 500th and the fact again full circle to get to 500 God willing, playing in a Connecticut Sun uniform. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Charles is ready to get to work and be the leader she knows that she could be for a young team with a new coaching staff. She has bought into what Tuck and Meziane are trying to build in Connecticut.

“My goal for this year in a Sun jersey is to put out my veteran leadership,” Charles said. “But more importantly, competing, just go out there and compete, leave it all out on the floor. Just have a great locker room, being able to be coachable. … It’s going to be a lot of newness, but a lot of it is going to be growth. It’s going to be uncomfortable, but it’s going to be fun along the way. So I’m just happy to be here.”

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