Mohegan — Post-mortems on recent Connecticut Sun seasons always felt as though they required embalming fluid, in an attempt to preserve something whose long range outlook felt hopeless.

And maybe, given that this is the fourth straight season in which Neon Uncasville is dark at playoff time, a more cynical fellow would think the same. Au contraire. This is different. Finally. Different. Hopeful.

The Sun ended their season Sunday in Washington with a victory, their 14th of the season. A 14-20 record neither deserves hosannas nor belongs in a marketing campaign. Except that when the record was 3-13 once, the 14-20 record says the Sun finished the season 11-7. They won eight of their last 12. Most of the roster — a very young roster — returns, suggesting that better days are all but inevitable.

But here's what did it for me: Varying glimpses of the bench — and the energy emanating from it — during games in the past month. Players up. Cheering. Hollering. Dancing. It fortifies Curt Miller's No. 1 priority here this season, his first as the new head coach: change the culture.

Granted, "change the culture" has become an honorary cliché. Let me just say this: Miller did so with an exclamation point. I have the best seat in the house for Sun games. End of press row, adjacent to the team bench. I see everything. I hear everything. I know who is engaged and who isn't.

I've seen players in years past totally check out. Some more interested in singing to the arena music than supporting their teammates. But the unity that I saw here in the last month or so tells me the players have bought into Miller's plan and more importantly, into each other.

It wasn't merely for show. Privately, some players after Friday's home finale said the energy and passion is real. It's young and upbeat here now with a very engaged coach who is the right guy here at the right time. Part of the fun in the coming years is getting to know Miller better. Preliminary indications: earnest, honest, passionate and with a coaching staff (Steve Smith, Nikki Collen) equally connected.

The roster is by no means good enough to win a championship. And true enough, it may be harder to improve next season given that the Sun gave away their No. 1 pick. So maybe it doesn't happen through the draft.

The franchise is hopeful that Allie Hightower is finally healthy next season and that perhaps European prospect Alba Torrens (sources say she actually exists) finally decides to play in the WNBA next season.

There are little to no international commitments next year, meaning that this would be the year for Torrens to cross the pond. Hightower and Torrens would give Miller more depth at guard and small forward, not to mention talent. Morgan Tuck and Rachel Banham should be healthy by next year in addition to center Jillian Alleyne.

Add to that the promise of rookies Jonquel Jones and Courtney Williams — love them, love them, love them — and the puzzle pieces, perhaps once looking like they dropped from a helicopter, look more orderly. Lest we forget mainstays Alyssa Thomas (please develop a jump shot) Alex Bentley and Chiney Ogwumike, among others.

This is a new beginning here. Miller is a fresh face. The front office — several sources say the working environment there hasn't always been gleeful — will be under new management as well. It all fits. There is a newness that screams optimism, a seldom uttered word around here since the day the music died (when Mike Thibault got canned).

You spend your money as you see fit. But if you ever pondered season tickets, now is the time. Young, talented, hungry, new. The right coach. Players who are checked in. The window is opening.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.