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After all the success Maya Moore has had on the court in the first seven games of her career, she wasn’t as successful battling her first snow storm Thursday. She said she thinks the last time that she had seen snow was when she was living in Missouri. That was roughly seven years ago.
Maya got a rude awakening when the white stuff began flying Thursday. She did learn one thing, though. Umbrellas don’t do much to fend off the snow.
“I was preparing myself,’’ she said. “I said I know it’s going to snow soon. I’m just going to put on my coat. I had my umbrella out. It was snowing. I didn’t see anyone else with umbrellas so I may not do that again. But it helped with the wind. My mom called me … `Are you OK?’’’

UConn-bound recruit Elena Delle Donne is sidelined again. This time is has nothing to do with any self-imposed hiatus to clear her head. She is fighting mononucleosis. She scored 33 points in a win over Archbishop Ryan (Pa.) in the season opener Dec. 8 before the illness forced her to miss Thursday’s game at Middletown.
Elena will also not play at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz. Wednesday through Saturday. A member of UConn’s coaching staff not named Geno will be in attendance to check out the abundance of talent at the high profile event. It is unclear at this time whether Elena will be able to play when Ursuline Academy meets Christ the King in Springfield Jan. 18.
“I just found about it Thursday,’’ Geno said. “So I don’t know whether she had been feeling kind of (bad) and then went and got checked out. But (Ursuline Academy coach ) Franny (Burbidge) was saying that she’s been playing great. That she’s doing a lot of things that she had worked on and she’s gotten a whole lot better. Hopefully, they got it in time. I’m going to touch base with her mom this afternoon and find out what the scoop is.’’
With 2,415 points, Elena needs 50 to become the state’s all-time leading scorer (male or female).

A recruiting source said Saturday that due to the Thursday’s storm Geno was unable to make the trip to Houston Friday to see Kelsey Bone, a 6-foot-4 center who is the top player in the Class of 2009, play against Marshall. She had 28 points in a 70-52 win.
Bone is featured on the cover of the December issue of Rise Magazine. She was averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds prior to Friday’s game.
Poor weather also prohibited associate head coach Chris Dailey from traveling to see Taber Spani, a highly coveted 6-1 guard, last Monday in Missouri.

Rich

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The start time of UConn’s matchup with Hartford Dec. 29 at the Hartford Civic Center has been moved to 7 p.m., UConn announced Friday. The game, which was originally scheduled to start at noon, was moved so that it would not conflict with the 1 p.m. start time of UConn’s matchup with Wake Forest at the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.
Hartford coach and former UConn All-American coach Jen Rizzotti agreed to move the game time up seven hours.
“As a consideration to our loyal fans, we moved the start time of the women’s basketball game on Dec. 29 to 7 p.m. so we could provide UConn fans with the opportunity to enjoy two great Husky games on the same day,’’ UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway said. “We are very appreciative to all who cooperated to make this move possible, especially our friends at the University of Hartford.’’
Tickets for both events are still available. Tickets for the women’s basketball game can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (860) 525-4500 or (203) 624-0033, or by logging on www.uconnhuskies.com and accessing the Online Ticketing Center. Tickets to the Meineke Car Care Bowl can be purchased by logging on to www.UConnBowl.com.

Rich

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The fight is still raging for Geno Auriemma. And he’s currently looking for people to join him as members of “Geno’s Cancer Team’’ in an effort to raise funds for The V Foundation.
Every penny of every donation to The V Foundation goes directly to cancer research and not to administrative or other costs (ie: people’s salaries). Geno is looking to add new schools, people and sports to his team. You don’t have to play basketball either. Local soccer, baseball and football teams and even brownie and cub scouts troops are welcome.
For more information, call 860-558-1987 or log on to www.genoscancerteam.com. Individuals can also send an email to Info@genoscancerteam.com or write to Geno’s Cancer Team c/o Mrs. Merle Kaplan, 49 Pheasant Chase, West Hartford, CT 06117.

Rich

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There have been plenty of moments that have remained with Geno Auriemma throughout his memorable tenure at UConn. Forget about those that happened on the on-court for a second. Like his first win; the Huskies’ first Big East regular season championship; their first Big East tournament championship; their first trip to the NCAA tournament; their first trip to the Final Four; their first national championship; and every trip to the Final Four and every championship after that.
One of the many things that have happened off the court, too, has remained with Geno over the years. It was the time he spent as an assistant coach under Debbie Ryan at Virginia from 1981-85 and the fact that Ryan was on hand to celebrate Geno’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield in September of 2006.
“Debbie’s one of those people that’s tremendously loyal to her friends,’’ Geno said. “She hadn’t seen Jenna in a long time and it was really neat to have her see my family. I remember when Jenna was born Debbie came over to the hospital and she was holding Jenna. And she probably hadn’t seen her, I bet you, maybe once in 23 years because we left kind of right after that. So for her to be there and see my family and know that it’s a big reason why I’m in the Hall of Fame is the years I spent with her.’’
There has been some talk that the relationship between Geno and Ryan was often combustible at Virginia. But he quickly squashed that notion this week. Again, giving Ryan credit for helping him in his climb to the top of the sport.
“I would say that Debbie made it really challenging for me,’’ Geno said. “It wasn’t like, `Hey, Geno, you can do whatever you want.’ It wasn’t like me and CD where she just does whatever she feels like doing and there’s not much I can say about it because all those people out there that love CD because she holds me back from the referees, which is so bogus anyway because when’s the last time that happened?
“Debbie challenged me in a lot of ways. Why do you want to do that? Why is that right? Why is that something that you think is important? Why do we want to do this? So I had to have all my ducks in a row, and it made me a lot better. I didn’t like it a lot of times, but it was good for me. I needed that.’’

Also, Maya Moore was tied for seventh with Rutgers sophomore Epiphany Prince in the latest Wade Watch by CSTV with five points. Tennessee All-American Candace Parker was first with 48 points, followed by Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (24), LSU’s Sylvia Fowles (22), Maryland’s Kristi Toliver (19) and Stanford’s Candice Wiggins (18).

Rich

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The Huskies just put the wraps on another decorated recruiting class. But Geno and the rest of his coaching staff never rests. There’s always next year. Sources said Monday that Geno was in Indianapolis last Friday to see Kelly Faris, a 5-11 junior swingman from Plainfield, Ind.
Faris averaged 13.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.7 steals to lead Heritage Christian High to a 26-3 record and its second consecutive Class 2A state championship last season. She had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the title game.
Faris, who was named a Sporting News honorable mention All-American this season, made an unofficial visit to UConn when it hosted the U.S. Senior National Team Nov. 2 at Gampel Pavilion. Heritage Christian is 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A heading into tonight’s game against Indianapolis Northwest.
The sources also said that associate head coach Chris Dailey is expected to travel to see Taber Spani, a 6-1 guard from Shawnee Mission, Mo., next Monday and that Geno is expected to pay a visit to Houston before Christmas to take yet another look at Kelsey Bone, a 6-4 center from Stafford, Texas.
Bone is considered the top player in the Class of 2009. She averaged 16.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in leading Dulles High to a 30-9 record last season. Spani averaged 28.8 points and 13.5 rebounds in leading Metro Academy to a 36-4 record and a third-place finish in the National Christian Home School Basketball Championships last season.
The Huskies are expected to take at aim at signing one post player and one or two guards for ‘09. They are also interested in Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, a 5-10 guard from Alexandria, Va., Skylar Diggins, a 5-10 guard from South Bend, Ind., Kerri Shields, a 5-10 point guard from Radnor, Penn., and Mikaela Ruef, a 6-2 forward from Beavercreek, Ohio.

Elsewhere, the sentiment is changing atop the Associated Press writer’s poll. The Huskies picked up two first-place votes this week – Steve Tucker of the Chicago Sun-Times and Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star. Tennessee received the remaining 48 first-place votes.
The Lady Vols had been the unanimous No. 1 pick in the preseason poll and in the first two weeks of the regular season before Monday. They lead UConn 1,248-1,197 this week.

Rich

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Geno has long been a proponent of widening the lane and moving the 3-point line back. Maybe he would like to see the free throw line moved back as well. The only weakness the Huskies have shown in winning their first six games by an average of 40.8 points has been their inability to make consistently make free throws.
They were an abysmal 8-for-24 Thursday against BYU. Yet, they still scored 80 points for the fourth time this season and shot at least 52 percent from the field for the fifth time. Of course, Geno voiced his point to the Huskies in the locker room following the game.
“I’ve never had a team go 8-for-24 before,’’ Geno said. “That’s hard to do. If you try to miss on purpose you’d make more than eight. Wouldn’t you? I think so. I told Maya, when the ref gives you the ball from now on say, `Mr. Referee or Ms. Referee, I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to shoot this 15-footer. But would you mind if I step behind the 3-point line and took a 3-pointer because Coach told me my chances of making the 3 are much greater than me making a free throw. So do you think it would be possible for me to do that?’ I told her to check with the ref next time.’’
Tina Charles said Geno told the team that there is “a magnetic force that’s going through us, and that’s the reason why we can’t make the free throws.’’ Whatever it is, it’s bizarre.
The Huskies are shooting 57.0 percent (53-of-93) from the free throw line. That’s good for last in the Big East. But, hey, they’re playing outstanding free throw shooting defense. Opponents are shooting only 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the stripe. And BYU increased that percentage by making 5 of 10 Thursday. Now that’s really pathetic.
Meanwhile, UConn leads the Big East in field goal shooting at 52.9 percent and is third in 3-point shooting at 37.1. So maybe Geno has a point. Let the Huskies move back from the standard free throw line. Maybe they like having a defender in their face rather than an open look at the basket with idle players standing on either side of them.
“We were 8-for-24, 33 percent,’’ Mel Thomas said. “That’s pretty bad. He just said that’s a lack of maturity. It’s not like people can’t shoot free throws. He said we just have to be more focused.’’
Right now, the issue of poor free throw shooting is light-hearted. But it won’t be a laughing matter if it costs the Huskies dearly in the NCAA tournament in March or April.

Rich

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The Huskies just returned from a championship trip to St. Thomas. They defeated a pair of Top 10 teams – then-No. 4 Stanford and then-No. 9 Duke – in a span of three games. Throwing Old Dominion in there, they won by an average of 27 points and allowed an average of 48.3 points.
So how did Geno Auriemma celebrate with his team when they reconvened Tuesday? Dining cake and ice cream? Pizza? Watching the highlights of the Paradise Jam together? How about none of he above.
Oh, they watched tape all right. But it had nothing to do with the impressive stretches that established the Huskies as a major contender to win the national championship. The tape Geno put together featured all of the negative aspects of their performance.
Mel Thomas said they watched it for about a half-hour. During that time Geno found it fitting to rewind some of the more glaring errors committed by the Huskies.
“We came back and were all excited we won,’’ Mel said. “And then he makes a highlight tape basically of the most terrible plays that happened in the Paradise Jam. So we sat there and watched all of them. It made us realize that we still have a long way to go if we look like that sometimes. So he definitely keeps us pretty level-headed.’’
Would you honestly have expected anything else from the Hall of Fame coach? This is just Geno’s way of not allowing his players to get too comfortable or begin looking too far into the future. He is their most difficult opponent, whether it’s in practice or in games (He tested their resolve today by not giving them a break at practice). He will always be. And that’s why he and the Huskies have been so successful.
So, what kind of tape do you think will be shown in the days following tomorrow’s game against BYU?
“When we watch film we’re not watching highlight films,’’ Geno said. “So we didn’t come back and put a highlight film on of our trip. They can do that on their own time. What we showed them was these are the areas that have to get taken care of starting right now. In 120 minutes of basketball, I thought we played 90 to 100 really good minutes of basketball and we really played 20 minutes of basketball that I don’t like to see. But as coaches there said … we are a little further along than other teams at this stage.’’

Rich

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The day could not have started off any worse for the Huskies Monday.
Just hours after winning the Paradise Jam championship late Sunday night, they began their journey back to Storrs with a 5 a.m. shuttle to the airport. Other than being a little weary-eyed due to a lack of sleep everything seemed to be going just fine. But what transpired at the airport fits firmly in the “I’m having a bad day’’ column of life.
It seems that a representative from World Tech Travel in New Haven, a company I’m told UConn has been doing business with for some time now, booked the trip and forgot to ticket every member of UConn’s party for a return flight.
They all had reservations, as they discovered when they attempted to check in as a group. What they didn’t know is that only the coaching staff, the support staff, the team managers and Lorin Dixon had tickets to fly home. The issue regarding the rest of the team had to be worked out, starting shortly before 6 a.m. The clock began to tick and before you know it the unticketed players, along with Geno and tireless program aide Sarah Darras, missed their scheduled 6:41 a.m. flight to San Juan.
The problem was eventually worked out. Most of the team made it on the 7:31 a.m. flight to San Juan and caught their regularly scheduled 10:05 a.m. flight to JFK. But Maya Moore, Brittany Hunter, Mel Thomas, Ketia Swanier, Tahirah Williams, Kaili McLaren, Sarah and Geno were stuck behind. They did not leave St. Thomas until around 1:30 p.m. and weren’t scheduled to arrive at JFK until 4:30 p.m.
Needless to say, they were none too pleased about the mindless snafu, especially the fact that it caused Sarah to be separated from her husband and two young children who made the trip.
Arrangements were made to have a separate vehicle to pick up the rest of the Huskies’ party in New York. It is not yet known whether arrangements for future travel will be made through World Tech Travel. My guess is that if there are any local travel agents looking for a piece of UConn’s lucrative pie now would be as good of a time as any to send in your bids.

By the way, just give Maya the Big East Freshman of the Year award now and don’t waste time asking the coaches to vote. She was named the Freshman of the Week for the second straight week Monday in the aftermath of being named the MVP of the Paradise Jam. Maya averaged 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 23.3 minutes in wins over Stanford, Old Dominion and Duke.

Rich