Lindsay Whalen was second in the WNBA in assists last season with just under five per game. David Dow/NBAE/Getty Images

May 22, 2008 -- Each team experiences that moment that marks its peak.

For the Connecticut Sun it had to be the 2006 All-Star Game. On the heels of back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances (both losses), the Sun landed five players in the midseason affair: Katie Douglas, Margo Dydek, Nykesha Sales, Lindsay Whalen and Taj McWilliams-Franklin. Three of those started (Douglas, Dydek and Whalen) and one ended up taking home the game's MVP award (Douglas).

All was well in Uncasville. The Sun had developed their devastating core and seemed braced not only to contend in the East again in ‘06, but maybe this was the time they'd get over the hump and claim their first WNBA title.

But things don't always go as planned. Such is sports. Injuries happen, players move on, other teams improve. Or in the case of the Sun, all of the above.

An untimely injury to Douglas caused the Sun to suffer a heart-breaking defeat to eventual champ Detroit in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. During the ensuing offseason, McWilliams-Franklin was traded away to the Sparks. Sales struggled her way through an injury-plagued 2007 and decided to take '08 off with the intent to rest and recuperate. Dydek gave birth in the offseason and will also not be with the team for this season, as is the case with Douglas, who was traded to Indiana.

That leaves only Whalen from a core that once had so much promise, but will be remembered mostly for missed opportunities rather than results. Sure, the coaching staff is the same and forward Asjha Jones is ready to build on her breakout season of 2007, but even the most faithful Sun fans may need to study the roster before getting familiarized with Connecticut's '08 model. Connecticut is currently carrying six rookies, while Whalen, Jones, Jamie Carey and the little-used Kamesha Hairston are the only holdovers from the ’07 squad.

One can only imagine what effect it has on the veteran point guard responsible for producing harmony on and off the court.

“Obviously I knew there were going to be some changes, but I didn’t know how many and to what extent," said Whalen. "You just kind of roll with it and understand what’s expected of you and just try to get better in the offseason, come back and be ready to go from Game 1.”

Whalen and the Sun were ready in Game 1, to the tune of a 33-point home-court blowout of the expansion Atlanta Dream. They followed that up with a decisive 77-63 victory over the New York Liberty that seemed to make the statement to the rest of the league that the Sun were once again going to be a force, despite all the turnover.

Tamika Whitmore, who was acquired in the Douglas trade, has averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds through the first two games. Jones has picked up from where she left off from last season by averaging 17.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. Rookie Jolene Anderson scored 13 points versus New York, while fellow new addition Barbara Turner had 15 against Atlanta.

“It’s gone really well,” said Whalen about the revamped roster’s early stages. “It’s going to be a work in progress for the whole year. That’s how it is. It was a good start. We kind of struggled a bit in our first exhibition game but towards the end we really figured out how to play with each other.”

A 2-0 start is nice, but it’s early. And cohesion figures to get more complicated when 2007 first-round draft pick Sandrine Gruda and ’07 signee Evanthia Maltsi return from overseas soon and join the rotation.

Fortunately for the Sun, they have one of the most respected head coaches in the game in Mike Thibault and Whalen orchestrating the offense, which she has done to near perfection so far. Granted, the season is only a couple of games old, but she leads the league in assists after collecting eight in each of the first two contests. The recent triumph over New York also saw her total 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Whalen has perennially been one of the most underappreciated talents in the league. Since being selected by the Sun in the first round of the 2004 draft, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher has averaged 10.9 points, 4.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game and never missed out on the postseason. Now that she'll no longer be overshadowed on her own team by stars like Douglas and Sales, Whalen has the chance to be recognized for what she is -- one of the WNBA's best players.

“She has elevated herself right now into the top couple point guards in this league," said Thibault. "Much like in the NBA, great point guards can lead you a long way. I expect that from her. I expect her to be a leader on the court as far as being my conduit to what we do, but also I think she has become a better locker-room leader."

Whalen insists that her approach won’t be that different from seasons past, saying it’s still her job to try to get everyone involved and look for her own shot at the right times. Thibault agrees that Whalen doesn’t need to reinvent her game to adapt to the new-look Sun. She just needs to continue to improve.

“Add being a little bit better three-point percentage shooter this year,” said Thibault about where Whalen can step up her game. “We’re going to have better post players this year as far as depth, so make the post players better on how you feed them and where you get them on the floor. Learn how your teammates want the ball and where they want it. I think that will help everybody’s confidence. It’s going to take a while with all these young players to figure out who does what.”

The thing about reaching a peak is that the only place to go after that is down. When the Sun fell to the Fever in one of the most memorable playoffs series in WNBA history last season, it seemed to signal the end of an era in Connecticut. And certain circumstances didn’t give the team much of a chance to extend the success window even if it wanted to.

Changes needed to be made and new leaders had to come to the forefront to rejuvenate the franchise. If the first couple games are any indication, Whalen is no doubt capable of being that leader, but there's still a lot of work to be done.

"They brought a lot of great things," said Whalen about Douglas, Sales, Dydek and McWilliams-Franklin. "It was great playing with them. Now we’ve got a lot of new people in here and we’re really excited about that. So now we’re ready to get things started.”