Chugiak's Griffin brings energy to the Sun

In basketball, that player is the tough defensive forward whose job it is to shut down the opponent's top scorer, take charges, collect rebounds and set screens for the shooters.

For the Connecticut Sun, that player is Kelsey Griffin.

Griffin, the Chugiak High graduate in her second season in the WNBA, said she asked coach Mike Thibault after she was drafted last spring what he needed from her.

His answer was general -- too abstract for Griffin, a former academic all-America who is as forthright and aggressive off the court as on. But in the end, it didn't matter that she didn't get a specific answer. She is doing just what the Sun need.

"I bring a lot of energy to the game," said Griffin. "Coach needs me to do the little things: rebounding, defense, knocking down open shots."

There haven't been a lot of open shots for Griffin this season -- she's averaging fewer than four points -- but Thibault gets her in games early and leaves her there, giving her an average of more than 15 minutes in the Sun's eight games.

First off the bench, the 6-foot-2 Griffin is frequently the difference in tight games. In a win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, she worked so hard to shut down 6-2 veteran forward Tina Thompson, who had 7 points on 3 of 12 shooting (she was averaging 12.9), that Thompson had little left in the final seconds when she missed two open looks that might have sent the game into overtime.

"Kelsey played so hard against her all game, she might have taken her legs a little bit by the time it got to the end of the game," Thibault said, noting that Griffin made Thompson work for everything. "And Kelsey's length also made her change maybe the trajectory of her shot a little bit."

Griffin, who came to the Sun last season in a draft-day trade with Minnesota after an outstanding college career at Nebraska, said when she joined the team, she asked veteran Sun player Asjha Jones about the best way to make a contribution.

"She told me 'Always think about defense and rebounding, not offense, before a game. If you let the game come to you, the offense will come,' " Griffin said.

The advice was sound. Last season Griffin earned a spot on the WNBA all-Rookie team on the strength of her finish as second in the league in rebounds (160) and blocked shots (17).

When Connecticut is on defense, she's in on every play, tipping balls to alter shots, falling on the ground to collect loose balls -- the hard physical plays that often make the difference between winning and losing.

"I pride myself in being the hardest-working player on the court," she said. "Others are more talented but no one works harder."

That's been the case since she got to college, Nebraska coach Connie Yori said.

"It was evident in (her) first practice as a freshman that she had a tenacity about her that is rare," Yori said. "I think anyone can go hard for one play or even for a series of plays but the ability to sustain that effort, possession after possession, is rare and she has that."

As a senior at Nebraska in 2009-10, Griffin was the Big 12 player of the year and a finalist for the Naismith and Wade trophies and the Wooden Award. She was a first-team All-American who was also recognized for her academic performance.

Griffin said the transition from being the best player on a college team to a role player in the pros wasn't that difficult, maybe because she has the right attitude about it.

"I told coach if he tells me to do something, I'll do it," Griffin said. "Whatever it takes to win."