On the eve of Friday night’s preseason opener with the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut Sun rookie Lyndra Littles – a second-round draft pick out of the University of Virginia – took a few minutes to reflect on her first week in a WNBA training camp.

Has training camp lived up to your expectations?
“Training camp has been great. I expected it to be hard work and there has been a lot of running. Everything is a lot quicker at this level, but Tamika Whitmore and Lindsay Whalen, they’ve been very helpful. I’m learning a lot. You basically get thrown into the fire, and you have to make sure you pick it up. You’re going to make mistakes because you’re young, but you have to make sure you don’t live in the past and keep moving forward.”

Is it hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been on the floor with WNBA players how different it is playing at this level?
“Absolutely. All my teammates (at UVA) have been calling me, and saying, ‘How’s it going?’ It’s hard to explain. It’s similar to the things we do in practice (at Virginia), but it’s much faster. There’s no time to say, ‘Hold on, can we go back through this,’ like five or six times. You’ve got to pick it up and get it.”

And that level doesn’t always translate when you watch the WNBA on TV, does it?
“It’s a different feel. Like Lindsay Whalen, I was telling my old teammates yesterday, I’ve never seen anyone break pick and rolls like she does, and the way she gets to the basket and finishes. Everyone on this level is quick, everyone on this level is athletic. There’s no gimmees. There’s no, ‘I’m just going to go by you.’ You have to work on every single possession on the defensive as well as the offensive end.”

If it was easy, though, that would be disappointing, right?
“Exactly. It’s like being a freshman all over again in college. You just have to gradually work your way up and put in the work and get better and be consistent.”

Do you have to make sure to tell yourself not to get frustrated?
“You’re going to get frustrated, and I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t gotten frustrated. But then you have to go back to your room and realize that you’re coming into this league and you’re young and you’re going to make mistakes and you just have to make sure you go out there, and you try harder not to make the same mistakes twice.”

Looking forward to your first game?
“I honestly feel like practices are harder than games, and if you do what you’re supposed to do in practice then games are fun. To me, a game is more fun than a two-a-day. I’d rather play a game anytime.”

One of the challenges for rookies in the WNBA is that they just get through playing their college season, then go right into a professional training camp. How are you holding up, physically?
“I feel great. It’s funny you ask me that. I was just thinking last night, ‘Wow, I’m so fortunate because a lot of players are not playing right now. This is like the NCAAs, where you keep playing until you play yourself out and I’m still playing…You’re body (as a rookie) is not used to this kind of pounding so it’s like you’re body is in shock, everything is tight, everything is sore. But then when you get out there, the amazing thing to me is you still find a way to get it done, you still find a way to sprint up and down the court, to box out, to close out right. It’s just amazing to me.”

You are a professional now. You are free to concentrate only basketball. How does that feel? “It hasn’t hit me yet. I honestly feel like a big kid on a playground. I love it. This is your job. Who wouldn’t want to just play basketball all day?”