What’s Different in 2016?

Added: Copper, Hawkins, Dimitrakou

Lost: Lawson, Herrington, *Sanders

The 2016 Mystics will look very familiar to any fans who watched the team play a year ago, as very few changes were made in the offseason.  The team brought back their core of young players, including all-stars Emma Meesseman and Stefanie Dolson, and became even younger by adding first round pick Kahleah Copper, who the team drafted seventh overall in this year’s WNBA Draft.  From what we’ve seen in training camp and the preseason, Copper could make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball.  She takes the spot of veteran guard Kara Lawson, who played both as a starter and a reserve in 2015.

After missing last season due to the birth of her son, Tianna Hawkins has returned to the team and will provide more depth on the front line.

The team also added Zoi Dimitrakou, a stretch-four from Greece, who will give the team another big who can shoot from the perimeter.

In last fall’s exit interviews, head coach Mike Thibault asked each one of his players to come back 10 percent better in 2016 and the hope is that with another year under their belt, his young nucleus will blossom this season and advance past the first round of the playoffs.

*LaToya Sanders is currently playing overseas and is on the suspended list

Youth Movement

When the Mystics tip on opening night, there’s a good chance they’ll have only one player in uniform (Kia Vaughn) who was born before 1990.  As a 1988 baby, not only does that make me feel old, but it means that this team will rely heavily on their young nucleus that Thibault has built through the drafts.

Since taking over in 2013, Thibault has totally remade the roster as it’s now comprised almost entirely of his draft picks.  10 of the 12 players on the team will have had three years or less experience in the league and the only players on the roster who will ever had played on another WNBA team will be Latta, Vaughn, and Hawkins. At 25 years young, Tayler Hill, who was Thibault’s first ever draft pick in Washington, may be the team’s oldest starter when they tip on opening night.  While they may be young, that won’t mean they lack experience playing together.

“I think the young legs will be a big part of what we do.  The starting lineup may average around 24 years of age, maybe a little younger, the good part is all of them have played together for a year or two years, and have had some experience going through the playoffs together,” commented Thibault on his young roster.

“I think you have to go through the experiences of the playoffs whether it’s win or lose, you have to get your feet wet, now they’ve been through the process, they know the mistakes they made, and the biggest thing is we went from exit interviews last fall saying I individually need to do this better and we as a team need to do this better, and we asked them all to be 10 percent better and I think we’ve seen that with them.  So if every player is 10 percent better, then you’ll probably keep getting better as a group.  So, I think they have a confidence in knowing we’ve been through this and we know what to do.”

The young core have been through the battles together and they’ll now be asked to carry this team to the next level.

The Backcourt

Although Ivory Latta could return to the lineup as soon as the second week of the season, the team will have to open the year without their veteran leader, which means they’ll need others to step up and take on more ball handling responsibilities.

They’ll likely give the keys to second-year guard Natasha Cloud, who played both guard spots last season and has the ability to defend three positions on the floor.  Cloud, who was selected in the second round of the 2015 WNBA Draft, will likely play a big role on this year’s team as she has the ability to be both a scorer and a playmaker.  She finished second on the team in assists last year (3.4 apg) and is the type of player who can fill up a box score.

Bria Hartley will be another option, as she has also spent time playing both the point and at the two spot.  Although she missed the preseason with concussion symptoms, she’s expected to be ready for the opener on Saturday.  Hartley dealt with a foot injury for much of last season and it really impacted her playing time and efficiency.  But, she was one of the team’s most reliable scorers as a rookie in 2014 and has the capability to be an excellent offensive player.   Look for a bounce back year from the former UConn standout.

Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who would have been another candidate to slide down and play some point, suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s preseason game in Minnesota and will be out for at least Saturday’s opener, but may be back sooner than expected. “We originally thought Ruffin-Pratt could be out three or four weeks, but there’s a chance she could be ready before then, just because the swelling has gone down pretty well and she’s actually been able to put weight on it,” said Thibault.  Once TRP gets healthy, she could find herself back in the starting five and be another one of Thibault’s versatile wings.

The team’s other two guards, Tayler Hill and rookie Kahleah Copper, are more accustomed to playing off the ball, although Copper did say that Thibault challenged her to play some point during camp.  Until the team gets to full strength, they’ll be asked to take on a larger role handling the ball.  “Opening game if we need to Tayler Hill will handle it some, we’ll let Copper handle it some.  I don’t think Kia and Stef will bring it up much (Thibault joked) but the rest of them will have a shot at it,” said Thibault.

Hill and Copper could be the fastest two players on the team and both are expected to play meaningful minutes throughout the season.  As two of the more athletic guards, they’ll need to get up and down the floor and help with the team’s transition offense, along with taking on some of the tougher defensive challenges.  Copper credited Hill as being one of her mentors in training camp, so hopefully their chemistry will carry into the regular season.

Can Emma Meesseman Go from Star to Superstar?

Each season, Emma Meesseman has developed into an even better all-around player, improving nearly all of her offensive numbers season to season, last year resulting in her first ever trip to the WNBA All-Star Game.  She’s clearly one of the most skilled and talented players in the league and can be the team’s most dangerous offensive weapon.

But, she’ll turn just 23 the day before the season starts and even though she’s improved a great deal in this regard, she will sometimes still defer to her teammates when they want her to be more aggressive and take shots.  There will be times when one can hear Thibault yell “Shoot Emma,” when she passes up a chance to score, but that’s something she’s learning and with time will realize that she’s one of the most gifted players in this league.  Although she’s now accustomed to playing team basketball, when it comes down to crunch time in the fourth quarter, look for Meesseman to be more assertive and be the go-to scorer the Mystics need for late game buckets.

She just won two trophies playing in Europe and Washington fans hope she can add one more to her collection at the end of the WNBA season.

Improvement on the Glass

Thibault has made no secret that his number one focus during training camp has been rebounding.  In order to be the up-tempo team he desires, he knows they’ll need to rebound the ball at a higher rate than last season, where they finished ninth in the WNBA at 32.3 rpg.

“I would like to see us rebound the ball better, I think that would help our pace and that was our biggest key coming into training camp, to be a better rebounding team.   So the young legs, if they can block out and get us out in transition off an opponents’ miss, then we’ll have a chance to be a really good running team.  I thought last year we were in a constant war trying to keep people off the boards,” said Thibault.

The team has plenty of depth on the post and this is an area that with toughness and determination they could certainly move into the upper half of the league.   If they defend and rebound, it will not only help them limit their opponents points, but also improve their transition offense and should result in more points per game.

The season kicks off on May 14^th when the Mystics host the New York Liberty at Verizon Center. (7pm | Tickets)