Mohegan

THE SUN'S LATEST WIN came Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, giving them a five-game winning streak, a spot mere percentage points from the perch atop the WNBA Eastern Conference standings and a 9-7 record.

Let the record show their ninth win came on the final day of June, not even halfway through the season.

Let the record also show that Asjha Jones' old team, the Washington Mystics, who happened to be Wednesday's victim, didn't win their ninth game of 2003 until the final week of the season.

“Isn't that ridiculous?” Jones said with only half a smile after the Sun's 78-69 win.

We learned long ago never to argue with Asjha, whose penetrating gaze could melt the chrome off a trailer hitch. So if she thinks it's “ridiculous,” there will be no arguments from this corner.

“Man, I love winning,” Jones said. “Last year, nine wins all season ... I came from UConn where we lost nine games in four years. To win only nine in a season is really difficult.”

But then, Jones had grown used to “difficult,” especially after what befell her last season — and offseason. If a 9-25 record with Washington wasn't exasperating enough ...

She played basketball in Russia, sentenced to those acclaimed Russian winters, presumably without a babushka to keep her face warm or sufficient vodka (to keep everything else warm). And one other thing.

“They're not accustomed to seeing people who look like me,” Jones said diplomatically, noting that 6-foot-2 African-American women aren't exactly as common there as borscht.

Jones had been playing overseas not long after buying a townhouse in Maryland, only to discover the Mystics traded her a few days later.

“Isn't that the curse?” she said. “Someone buys a house and they get traded. I haven't even stayed there yet. When I bought it, I went to Italy for three days than I got traded. All of my (stuff) is still in there.”

Yet Jones, who entertained several writers and media members around her locker after Wednesday's game with equal parts earnestness and wit, has never been happier in her professional career. She's playing for a winner in a place she's comfortable on a team that reminds her of her old one in Storrs: unselfish on the court, friendly off it.

And so it was either ironic or fitting that the final statistical sheet read the way it did after this game — perfect numerical illustrations of the differences between the Sun and the Mystics; of Jones' new life and old one.

The five Sun starters scored in double figures — Wendy Palmer (13 points), Nykesha Sales (13), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (13), Lindsay Whalen (10) and Katie Douglas (11). Jones had nine with 10 rebounds. Two Sun players took 11 shots apiece (Palmer and Sales), Franklin attempted 10, Douglas nine and Jones eight. They had 17 assists on 23 baskets.

Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw, meanwhile, attempted 21 shots, while none of her teammates took more than eight.

“For us right now, it's more the way it was (at UConn),” Jones said. “No one gets 30 and no one gets five. ... (At Washington), I got my shots when I played, but not everyone did. That's not the winning edge. If you play that way and win, fine. But if you're not winning and that stuff goes on, it looks really bad.”

And that's why it feels really good for Jones right now.

“I'm in the place I want to be right now,” Jones said. “I'm having a good time.”

Jones has given the Sun a reliable bench presence, shooting better than 50 percent from the field after beginning the season 7-for-21. More importantly, though, she's a quality presence in the locker room. Her old coach at UConn, Geno Auriemma, was on record several times as saying Jones was the most talented member of the Cash/Bird/Williams/Jones recruiting class — and that it was entirely up to her when she wanted to prove it to everyone. There was, however, never any doubting her character. On Senior Night, 2002, Auriemma was asked to describe Jones and said, “You know when you drive up to an estate and you see a huge marble pillar? It sets the tone for what's inside. That's Asjha.”

Sun coach Mike Thibault is sure there's even more inside of Jones we haven't yet seen. And if there's one guy who can extract it, don't bet against him. Nykesha Sales admits freely that Thibault has gotten her to play harder and better than anyone else, and now Jones is on her way.

“It's easy to play for him,” Jones said. “There's no such thing as a bad shot, as long as you're balanced. He won't ream you out. He doesn't make you feel pressured, yet in a way, he guides you to what needs to be done.

“He's my personal passer during pregame (shooting drills),” Jones said. “Any coach who is that hands on, you want to play hard for him.”

Jones was sitting in the right locker room after Wednesday's game, just down the hall from Washington's, but miles from where she was a year ago.

“I wouldn't have gone just anywhere,” Asjha Jones said. “I think the only place I'd have come is right here.”

This is the opinion of Day assistant sports editor Mike DiMauro. He may be reached at m.dimauro@theday.com

© The Day Publishing Co., 2004