UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When the league MVP hits free company, naturally she’s going to attract a whole lot of curiosity. However when the calls got here in to Jonquel Jones this offseason, she turned them down.

“Nothing too loopy. Simply shutting down lots of people,” Jones informed The Subsequent on Monday, describing her free company. “Lots of people need me to return to their staff, however I simply really feel like now we have unfinished enterprise right here.”

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The Connecticut Solar have fallen simply wanting profitable the franchise’s elusive first championship every of the previous three seasons. Final season’s crushing semifinal loss to the Chicago Sky led to hypothesis in some corners that Jones would take the chance to look elsewhere for her first WNBA title. 

However Jones reportedly took lower than the league most wage that she doubtless would have garnered from anybody else so as to stick with the Solar. That gave the staff sufficient cap house to deliver again All-Star guard Courtney Williams, who performed a key function within the staff’s 2019 Finals run.

“You consider 2019, and we had been so shut. We had been actually minutes away from being champions,” Jones mentioned. “A pair play calls, a pair calls from the referees, a pair issues we may have achieved higher, and it’s a unique final result.”

The Solar misplaced beginning guard and defensive stalwart Briann January to the Seattle Storm in free company – however the staff remains to be as gifted as ever, boasting six WNBA All-Stars and an enormous three of Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas – all totally wholesome and collectively for the common season for the primary time.

“With [Alyssa Thomas] wholesome, like, we acquired by the entire season with out her [last year], and we had an ideal season – so think about her being right here, too,” Jones mentioned. “I couldn’t stroll away from our staff with out having the ability to see what we had been like at full capability and full potential.”

Whereas many of the roster will look the identical as final 12 months, the return of Thomas and Williams will deliver a brand new look and a quicker tempo to the Solar. 

Final season, the Solar leaned into their defensive dominance and put the league right into a grit-and-grind vice grip on their option to a 26-6 file – taking part in on the slowest tempo within the league and permitting the fewest factors per recreation for the reason that 2011 Seattle Storm, in accordance with Her Hoop Stats.

“With Courtney again, I believe our type of play goes to vary,” Jones mentioned. “We’re going to have the ability to stand up and down the courtroom quicker, and it’s going to be one other method that we may be profitable.”

Third-year guard Kaila Charles has recognized Jones since her highschool days within the D.C. space, so she was completely satisfied on a private degree to have her pal again. And on a basketball degree, Jones is integral to the staff’s success, she mentioned.

“Yearly, she’s tapping into a brand new degree, and I’m actually excited to see what she’s going to deliver this 12 months,” Charles mentioned. “And I’m glad she’s on our staff, and we don’t should go in opposition to that.”

Jones led the Solar in scoring final season with a career-best 19.4 factors per recreation and was one in all two gamers within the league to common a double-double. Jones additionally completed final season with a career-high in three-point makes an attempt per recreation and made 36.2 % of them. Director of Participant Growth Awvee Storey thinks she will shoot higher from the perimeter and has an opportunity at being the primary participant to win back-to-back MVP awards since Cynthia Cooper.

“I’ve positively challenged her [on] her steadiness, having the ability to end performs by contact, shoot the ball higher on the 3-point line. She will all the time get higher,” Storey mentioned.  “The following degree to her recreation is a mid-range recreation – off the dribble, issues like that. I believe that’s crucial once they take away that three-point shot. One dribble, two dribbles, pull up. In order that’s our problem this 12 months. If she will do higher in these areas, I don’t see why she couldn’t win it once more.”

Jones mentioned getting stronger has been one in all her greatest focuses, and having the ability to bang within the submit with the league’s greater gamers. She mentioned she’s additionally been working to regulate to the additional defensive consideration that comes with being one in all, if not the perfect, gamers on this planet.

Earlier than arriving in Connecticut on Sunday, Jones spent two months at house within the Bahamas after her season with UMMC Ekaterinburg ended early when Russia invaded Ukraine. She mentioned she cherished spending time at house together with her household and buddies, however began to overlook the sport and her teammates. Nothing simulates the on-court, five-on-five expertise, she mentioned. 

“While you get again out right here, it’s a unique feeling. You get to feed off the vitality of your teammates, you get to, , crack jokes and snigger and smile,” Jones mentioned. “And I believe right now actually simply  jogged my memory of how a lot I simply love the sport. And , I’m so completely satisfied to be again.”

Head coach Curt Miller mentioned it’s been years since Jones has been in a coaching camp, even for a couple of days. Final season, Jones was one in all a number of Solar veterans who arrived late due to abroad duties. She solely had two days of observe earlier than taking part in within the season opener. 

Not solely will Jones profit from working towards with the staff, her presence is a large increase for the younger gamers in camp, Miller mentioned.

“You simply felt it in her first observe right now,” Miller mentioned. “She was main vocally, everybody was following her. You might see a few of the extensive eyes. , ‘Right here’s the MVP.’”