The last time Megan Walker was at Mohegan Sun Arena, she helped lead UConn to the 2020 AAC Tournament title, winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in the process.
That was 14 months ago. A lot has happened in those 14 months for Walker.
Shortly after the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker, then a junior for the Huskies, declared for the WNBA Draft. She was drafted ninth overall by the New York Liberty and played in the WNBA bubble before being traded to the Phoenix Mercury in February. Walker also spent her offseason playing in Hungary for Sopron Basket, where the team made the EuroLeague Final Four and won the Hungarian League title.
It’s understandable that after such a whirlwind stretch, which included arriving late to Mercury training camp since Sopron’s season went late, Walker feels particularly at home this weekend, returning to Connecticut and Mohegan Sun Arena for the first time since she left UConn.
“I don’t think is weird. It’s just a familiar place for me,” Walker said prior to the Mercury’s game against the Connecticut Sun Sunday night. “A lot of things took place over my career here, so it’s just a constant reminder of how much success I can have. Just being at Mohegan in this gym and looking up and just seeing a familiar place is a great feeling for me.”
The Mercury are coming off a 77-75 season-opening win over the Minnesota Lynx in which Diana Taurasi hit the game-winning 3.
Walker, who was an All-American and conference player of the year her junior season at UConn, is one of four former Huskies on the Mercury along with Taurasi, Bria Hartley and Kia Nurse, the latter of whom also joined Walker in Phoenix this offseason from New York. Hartley has yet to suit up this season, still recovering from last season’s ACL tear.
The former Huskies got to see Geno Auriemma briefly at Mohegan Sun Saturday, Taurasi said.
“That was fun for him to be able to see all of us,” Taurasi said. “We kind of each represent a different era of Huskies basketball but it all ties us together. We kind of all share stories about nights at [on-campus bar] Ted’s, which is probably the most important thing when you become a UConn Husky.”
After dipping her feet into the pro world last summer, where she averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.4 minutes for the 2-20 Liberty, Walker enters the 2021 campaign with renewed confidence after a strong overseas season, particularly on the defensive end after getting regular reps guarding strong EuroLeague players. She averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20.9 minutes in EuroLeague matches and put up even better numbers in Hungarian League play.
“My last couple of months have been great, just getting a full overseas experience after the WNBA season in the bubble,” Walker said. “Playing with [former Husky teammate] Gabby Williams was great for me, having a familiar face overseas. We had a great season. And then it was straight here. I came right from Hungary, straight to Phoenix, did all my COVID protocols, and jumped right in. I’m excited I’m here.”
In the meantime, Walker said she’s been working toward finishing her UConn degree by taking online classes. She is nine credits away from doing so, and is typically taking two classes at a time.
In her short time with the Mercury so far, Walker likes what she’s seen. Personnel-wise, it’s a pretty different environment than what she had with New York last season, where the roster was loaded with rookies. In Phoenix, she’s getting to learn from some of the best vets in the game in Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
“Sandy [Brondello] is a great coach,” Walker said. “Right away, I felt a connection. I felt a sense of urgency here and it’s just a different vibe than anywhere else. Just learning from all the vets, you look around you see BG, DT, and Sky, it’s just a constant reminder of what you can be.
“Every single one is great,” Walker said. “They separate themselves by the little things, so just seeing how they pay attention to detail, seeing how they stretch, how they warm up, how vocal they are, every single one has all those qualities.”
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com
