From coach Paul Goriss' first day in charge he said he resented the 'rebuilding' term, and with the dynamic trio of Jazmon Gwathmey, Marianna Tolo and Lauren Mansfield the Capitals have gone from WNBL cellar-dwellers to a team playing with high tempo who shift defense in to attack quickly and seamlessly.

Tolo is the tall, highly-skilled scoring machine; Gwathmey the athletic and mobile shooting guard; and Mansfield runs the offence at point guard with frantic pace but devastating effectiveness.

"They complement the style that I want to try and implement," Goriss said.

"You recruit the players and the style you want to have around them and I think we've done a good job of complementing how we want to play."

Goriss said securing the signature of Opals star Tolo was a priority from his very first day in charge.

"And so was Lauren Mansfield," he said.

"I had the privilege of coaching her for two games for SEQ (South East Queensland) and I got to see first-hand what she's like as a player, what she's like as a person, and how she plays the game. To me that was a no-brainer."

American import Gwathmey had trouble adjusting to the officials in the round one game against the Dandenong Rangers and was fouled-out in the dying seconds but she provided a dynamic option in attack and had 10 rebounds.

"Against Dandenong you got to see glimpses of what she [Gwathmey] can provide our team with her athleticism, her length. She runs the floor really well and she's a great defender," Goriss said.

"She's going to be a great contributor not only to our team, but she's going to be great for the WNBL."

All three were brought in by Goriss in the off-season and Mansfield said she had faith in his approach from the very first meeting.

"The first time I sat down with him he talked about Canberra and being able to make me better and that was the key thing for me, just be able to work on my game and improve," Mansfield said.

"He did talk about running lots of long balls and having guards coming off hand-offs, so I think my game suits what he's trying to run."

The Capitals' focus on ball-playing depth ensures opposition defenders are stretched trying to cover their scoring options.

"We definitely want to get up and down the court, we've got some really good athletes and our talls like to run as well," Mansfield said.

"Goz has definitely encouraged me to be aggressive and look to make play out of transition, the game really opens up that way and I can create better."

WNBL ROUND 2

Friday: Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning, Tuggeranong Stadium, 7pm

Sunday: Sydney Flames v Canberra Capitals, Brydens Stadium. 5pm

Who do you think was Canberra's best-performed sportsperson of 2016? Vote now for yourpeople's sporting champion for the inaugural CBR Sport Awards. Entries close Friday.