Mohegan — First-year Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller has said, “offense is spacing and spacing is offense” to the point that it could be his mantra.

Miller wanted to get better 3-point shooters, more guard depth, and posts who could stretch a defense during Thursday’s WNBA Draft in order to make his system go. The Sun came away with just about everything he wanted as they either drafted, or traded, for five players, including three of the top six picks.

That was easy. Now comes the hard part — Connecticut starts training camp on April 24, and will have only 10 days to get acclimated with one another and learn Miller’s system before its first preseason game.

It won’t be boring.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Miller said. “We’re going to have some growing pains. We’re very young, but we have such exciting pieces. We’ve had them before, now we have even more pieces.”

Connecticut has endured three dreadful seasons, lowlighted by enough injuries to bankrupt an HMO. The draft was the equivalent of an IV drip of dark roast coffee as the Sun were hoarders. They got younger, longer, deeper and more talented.

There’s no guarantee that the Class of 2016 will pan out. Still, they came away with:

• A decorated leader from the nation’s best college program (UConn forward Morgan Tuck).

• An Associated Press first-team All-American and the sixth leading scorer in Division I history (Minnesota guard Rachel Banham).

• A versatile 6-foot-6 forward with abilities that few players her size have (Jonquel Jones of George Washington).

• The Player of the Year from the nation’s best conference (the Pac-12) who transformed woeful Oregon State into a Final Four team (guard Jamie Weisner).

• A three-time All-Big East first-team selection and St. John’s all-time leading scorer (guard Aliyyah Handford).

On paper, that’s a pretty sweet looking haul.

“Connecticut Sun fans have a ton to look forward to this season,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “This is a good draft.”

Sun forward Chiney Ogwumike told wnba.com, “I feel like we stole the draft.”

Miller will channel his inner-Wooden as he figures out how to merge all the newbies with the tenured players. He said he could sometime use a big lineup, such as Jones, Tuck and Ogwumike, like Los Angeles used last season when he was an assistant.

“As steady and great as Tuck is, she’s a strong, physical defender, Jones gives us a rim protector, a proven collegiate rebounder who we thought was a missing piece for us,” Miller said.

“If you asked me one question that hasn’t been asked, the most difficult thing coming out of this draft is how were going to manage minutes in the post. That’s going to be the toughest thing.”

Connecticut traded second-year guard Chelsea Gray, along with three draft picks, to get Jones from L.A. That leaves Jasmine Thomas as its only true point guard.

Miller said Banham can play the point, and All-Star shooting guard Alex Bentley has experience at that spot, too.

Miller coveted Banham's shooting talents and loves her smarts, but her defense has been questioned.

“I’ve been playing zone for the last two years,” Banham said, “I’ve got to play tough and I’ve got to play strong. I’m going to end up on a poster a couple of times.”

Lobo said, “It’s a lot easier, I think, to teach someone how to be a decent defender than it is to be a great offensive player. She’s a great scorer. She can shoot from deep, deep range. The comparison (ESPN analyst) Kara Lawson was using in the studio this year when (Banham) was on that tear was Steph Curry.”

Weisner, a 40-percent 3-point shooter, could catch on as a valuable reserve.

“People have described her as an Allie Quigley-type player, a kid who came out of college and just continues to get better,” Lobo said. “Allie Quigley is really, really good in Chicago, and (the Sun) see Weisner as the same type of player because of her work ethic and her ability to score. She’s the kind of player that fans will love because of her energy and her relentless nature on both ends.”

n.griffen@theday.com