UConn women's basketball

The Big East announced the home and away matchups for the 2008-09 season today. To no surprise, UConn and Rutgers will meet twice. At this point, the series is too hot for it not to include two meetings during the regular season.
This will be the fourth straight season since the Big East expanded to 16 teams that the Huskies and Scarlet Knights have met twice – and the sixth straight season overall. They each won at home this past season, but UConn defeated Rutgers 66-56 in the NCAA Greensboro regional final April 1.
The teams have split the last six regular season games and the last 10 games in the series overall.
The Big East also elected to keep the other seven home and home matchups from last season intact: Cincinnati/Louisville; DePaul/Notre Dame; Georgetown/Syracuse; Marquette/South Florida; Pittsburgh/West Virginia; Providence/Villanova; and St. John’s/Seton Hall.
The Huskies will host conference opponents DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova. They will travel to Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, South Florida and West Virginia.
Key non-conference games for UConn next season include Oklahoma and LSU at home, at North Carolina and against Penn State at the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden Dec. 14. Rutgers will also compete at the Maggie Dixon Classic (Army).

Geno and with his wife, Kathy, will host the inaugural “Horsin’ Around for the V Foundation’’ Saturday at Geno’s Fast Break at the Mohegan Sun Casino from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event is sold out.
Fans can still make donations by logging on to www.genoscancerteam.com and clicking on the “Donate Now’’ tab in the upper right. The V Foundation awards 100% of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of the events to cancer research and related programs.

Rich

Both ESPN and the Knoxville News Sentinel ran stories on their respective websites Friday night regarding the 34-page document that Tennessee sent to the SEC in 2006 highlighting what it believed was improper recruiting tactics being by employed UConn. The News Sentinel ran a more extensive piece in today’s edition as well. The information was released Friday after The News Sentinel has put in a request through the Freedom of Information Act.

Here’s the letter from Tennessee athletic director Joan C. Cronan to SEC commissioner Mike Slive – dated July 27, 2006 – that triggered what has evolved into an ugly situation between the programs:

“From time to time we have encountered situations related to the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball program that would seem to be a violation of the rules. On occasion, we have called the compliance office at Connecticut to determine how they do some of the things we had questions about – in hopes that we could do the same thing – only to be told they would get back to us, which never occurred.
After consultation with Dr. Petersen, I am providing the attached information in hopes that the SEC Office will forward this to the Big East staff for investigation. In addition, please know that we are prepared to forward this information directly to the NCAA, but prefer to remain anonymous if possible.
This information comes as a result of discussion among basketball coaches at the SEC spring meeting, information shared by AAU and High School coaches, prospective-student-athletes, as well as numerous other individuals.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.’’

Page 3 included these bullet points regarding the Supershow at Gampel Pavilion in 2005 and that particular weekend.
“During the first day of practice (during the ESPN Super Show) the following event seem to have
occurred:
– Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird served as recruiters for the team (They actually served as emcees for the event.)
– Media interviewed the prospects at practice
– Fans had signed directed at the prospects, clearly aware who would be present
– Fans gave prospect’s parents the signs they had made for their daughters
– Bird and Taurasi allegedly served as hostesses for the prospects
– (Name redacted), a prospective student-athlete told her AAU coach that Taurasi and Bird met her at the door upon arrival and escorted her to the coaches office.
– (Name redacted), a prospective student-athlete, had a visit to ESPN — arranged by UCONN — to talk about the possibility of an internship at ESPN. It appears as if no one at UConn provided transportation for the ESPN visit, but the prospective student-athlete did not know anyone at ESPN prior to the visit.
– Reportedly, former UConn players are allowed to practice with the team on a regular, rather than occasional, basis. This is widely known as the former players who are now in the WNBA talk about it with other WNBA players on a regular basis. Those other players do not understand how the former UConn players are allowed to practice on a regular basis with their former team when they cannot. When asked about this issue, the UConn compliance staff has repeatedly either denied or failed to respond as to how this is allowed.

Three newspaper articles, numerous pictures of UConn holding signs and a letter from Tennessee Senior Associate Athletics Director Donna Thomas to Greg Sankey of the SEC follow before it finishes with 18 pages of banter from The Boneyard, which is arguably the nation’s leading Internet fan site in the sport.
The entire document can be found at www.knoxnews.com.

A few things entered by mind after I read the stories and perused the documents this morning. For starters, Tennessee is in dire need of a good supply of soft, cotton, crying towels. Summitt and Co. must be sad as heck to learn that their bizarre smear campaign netted only a secondary violation for arranging a free tour of ESPN for All-American Maya Moore and her mother Kathyrn, in October of 2005. It is merely a light slap on the wrist, the kind that would be hard-pressed even leave a blemish. A note has been subsequently placed in UConn’s file.
UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway had this to say in a statement Friday: “The allegations received from the SEC produced only one highly publicized result. The NCAA and UConn both consider the matter closed and that has been shared with the SEC.’’

The next thing that comes to mind is that Summitt and Co. needs a good shrink. To put that much time and effort into trying to tarnish a program that is held in such high regard nationally in ludicrous. Reading newspaper articles, checking out Internet message boards and interviewing players about what goes on at UConn? In the real world, that is basically stalking. Geno and the Huskies need to file an order of protection immediately. Summitt is a Hall of Famer who has won eight national championships and has more wins than any other coach. This is the type of stuff she resorts too, including canceling the regular season series between the teams, when she loses a few high school All-Americans to her biggest rival and can’t stand it’s head coach? Come on.

Next, this crusade to virtually nowhere proves once and for all that Summitt is considerably envious of the relationship that Geno has with his former players. They come back to visit him whenever they get a chance. No matter how long ago they played for him, they make it back. Kris Lamb, who graduated in 1990, was in the seats behind the bench at the regional final in Greensboro last month. Why do they come back? Not to recruit players to come to UConn. It’s because they like to. They are grateful for the opportunity that was afforded them by Geno during their career and thankful for what he taught them about life and about being well-rounded, respectful young women. They come to sit in his office and talk about life. They take him to dinner. And they flocked to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield in 2006.
Geno does it the right way. And while they might not think so during practice, the players certainly realize the impact he’s had once they move on in their lives.
How’s this for a ringing endorsement for your program. Candace Parker once told Caroline Doty during her recruiting visit that she would never have a close relationship with Pat Summitt if she opted to attend Tennessee. This comes from one of the most talented players ever. Would you go to Tennessee or would you go to UConn where Geno is revered as a father figure and a coach who only wants to extract the best from every one of his players every single day.
Doty was the first of three players that Summitt has recently lost to UConn, joining Moore and Elena Delle Donne. And it wasn’t because of any dirty recruiting. It was because of the bond they developed with Geno and their future teammates throughout the recruiting process.
“I have a bond with the players and I really noticed how close the team was to one another,’’ Delle Donne said last August. “They act as a family, which truly comforts me knowing I will be away from home and my family. These players also compliment my strengths and weaknesses. That was a huge part of my decision making in this process.
“And the final main thing is Geno. How can I even describe the bond I have been able to create with him through this recruiting process. He and (associate head coach) Chris Dailey have been incredible through this process and it is so very important to me to have coaches that I will be able to connect with and be comfortable with for four years. Not only are they great people, but also incredible coaches and I know that I will learn so much from them, which is very important to me.’’
Maya said this in April of 2006: “I eventually just found out that Connecticut was where I was supposed to be as far as the school and the team and everything about Connecticut. I really liked the program. I can really see myself doing great things with the players that are there and the coaching staff. It’s just a really great basketball environment and I think I can really do well at the school too. I’m very excited.’’

And lastly, how ironic is it that the document was released three days after Geno publicly called out Summitt for her role in axing a series that had been running since 1995? “She accused us of cheating at recruiting. She doesn’t have the courage to say it publicly,’’ Geno said. Summitt had no comment on those remarks or others Geno made. She also would not comment on the release of the document. It’s become a tired act. She likes to throw stones. When will she stand up and be held accountable for every stone she’s tossed in the direction of the Huskies?
Then again, with only a secondary violation to show for all of the time and effort put into an attempt to degrade UConn, I wouldn’t be talking either.

Rich

It’s always an event when Geno Auriemma holds court. There’s always a wide range of topics covered and there’s always a refreshing mix of emotion, sincerity and sarcasm sprinkled in. Geno was again in rare form this afternoon at Gampel Pavilion.
The occasion was that he was officially presented with the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award. It was the fifth time Geno has been honored by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. The award was not broken like the AP trophy he recently received in the mail. And it did not say “Men’s Coach of the Year’’ like the trophy from the USBWA did.
Geno talked for 90 minutes. He talked about such topics as what winning national awards mean to him; what inspires him at this point in his career; his future; how UConn will be once he leaves; next season; the team meeting he held following the flight home from Tampa April 7; and whether or not he believed that this would be the off-season that members of his coaching staff would finally land head coaching positions.
Below are the comments Geno provided:

WINNING THE NAISMITH AWARD FOR THE FIFTH TIME
“Somebody asked me one time does it get to be old hat,’’ Auriemma said. “I don’t think that having someone, whether it’s an individual or whether it’s a group, recognize you for what you do and how you do it ever gets to be old hat. I don’t think it ever gets old. It’s not why you coach. You don’t coach because you hope you get another plaque with your name on it. But it’s something I think the players and the coaching staff and everyone else associated with Connecticut basketball can take a great deal of pride in. It’s always a little bit humbling too.’’

“It’s funny,’’ Auriemma said. “Sometimes you win these awards because you win the most games. I can remember in particular at least once or twice that I’ve won this award when I did think we had the best players, the best team. You still have to coach them, don’t get me wrong. You still have to do everything right. But you know you’re getting rewarded because you have the best record and you have the best team. But that’s generally because you have the best players. What’s different about this year is that we as a coaching staff did have to come up with different ways to get things done. When Kalana and Mel were injured and with Brittany not being able to play on a regular basis it was pretty challenging for our coaching staff. It was a struggle every day to try to keep it together and to try to figure out different ways to hide it from everybody else. No matter how tough and how willing and how courageous our guys were throughout the whole run, you knew deep down inside that if it ever got to the point where they could expose you for what you really are that it was going to be hard. Because usually when you get to the Final Four you’re able to have Plan A, B and C. And we knew going in we had Plan A and it better work. And most times we were able to make it work. And I think that’s probably why we’re here today is that we were able to find a way to make it work.’’

WHAT INSPIRES HIM
“I can’t say that there’s any one thing in particular that you wake up every day and say, `I’m driven to do this’ because I think when you do that you’re invariably going to get in your own way and put the emphasis on the wrong things,’’ Auriemma said. “I think there was something that happened my very first year in coaching here at Connecticut. I remember being on a bus ride and we had just lost to somebody and it was a really tough loss. And I remember the look on the kids’ faces and they so desperately wanted to have a winning season that year and not finish eighth or ninth in the league. And I remember saying to myself if I could ever get these kids to feel like they’ve won, that they’ve been successful this year in whatever it is they set out to do that would be a tremendous experience for me and for them. And I don’t know that much has changed. I think whether it’s five more years, 10 more years … I don’t know. I want to be able to sit in the locker room and know that the season ended when it was supposed to end and that we did everything we could to extend it. But I know that’s not possible because unless it ends with winning the last game you always look back and wonder what you could’ve done differently. But this really doesn’t affect my life that much as much as you appreciate it. Another national championship trophy wouldn’t affect my life that much. But I do think that 10 more players who leave here thinking that this was the ultimate experience … winning a national championship at the University of Connecticut and knowing that you had a hand in that. I think when I can no longer feel like I can do that then I think it’s time for me to stop coaching.’’

END OF HIS CAREER
“You’re getting to an age now where you’re past the point where you used to think old people die,’’ Auriemma said. “Now you get to an age where people your age (die). And we all know a good friend who passed away recently (Manchester Journal Inquirer columnist Randy Smith). So you do start thinking about when’s the end of this chapter in your life. And, for me, I know it’s going to come. I don’t know when, though. I don’t know if it’s five years or 10 years. But I know it’s coming and I know it’s coming soon. And I think what scares you is what are you going to do when it ends when that’s all you’ve done your whole life. That’s pretty powerful. You try not to think about but, but you get reminded that it’s coming. We had Bobby Knight’s wife come to practice here during the NCAA tournament when he was doing an ESPN thing. And we talked a lot about what do you do when you stop coaching. And I had sent a note to him when he set the win record. And I said, `I don’t think I’ll ever catch you because by the time I’m your age I hope I’m doing something constructive with my life.’ And he wrote me back saying, `You know what? You don’t realize how happy you’ll be when you’re doing what I’m doing right now.’ So there is life after coaching. I just don’t know what that is.’’

FUTURE OF PROGRAM POST-GENO
“I don’t think you can be at one place as long as I’ve been here and think that when you leave it’s going to go with you,’’ Auriemma said. “I think if you’re someplace five years and nothing existed before you got there and you created something and then you leave I think there’s a good chance that that may be the case. But when you’ve been here as long as I’ve been here you would like to think that this is bigger than you. North Carolina basketball is still North Carolina basketball because they’ve been good for so long. Now, have we been good for that long? No. But I’d like to think that there is something in place here that as long as the people that are responsible for it want it to be that way then I think it would be pretty hard to not have it that way after I’m gone. Some schools are just that. How they became that way you can say probably due to certain individuals. But once they become that way and they’re like that for an extended period of time … It can happen. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen it happen. But I’d like to think that if the right things were done here when I’m not here anymore and I’m not coaching here it’s not going to go anywhere.’’

“I don’t want to be someplace watching games and watching ESPN,’’ Auriemma said. “Well, I won’t watch ESPN anymore when I’m not here. No matter how much they’re paying me to work there I won’t watch it. I don’t ever want the University of Connecticut to ever not be the best women’s basketball program in the country because I would like to think that when I’m not here somebody that I had some connection with is coaching here. I would like to think. But even if I’m not I don’t want anybody coaching here, I don’t want anybody in charge here that isn’t aspiring to do that. But, hopefully that’s down the road.’’

NEXT YEAR
“There’s not even any point playing the season next year,’’ Auriemma said. “It’s already been determined. It’s already done. We’ve got our hotels picked out (at the Final Four in St. Louis). We know where we’re having our dinner the night before the championship game. I think today we’re going to the state capitol to work on when the parade is. So I think it’s already a done deal. I think when we’re on our fourth straight national championship and haven’t lost a game in the next four years I think if the Naismith people come up and give me a Coach of the Year award I think by that time I’ll probably say, `It’s old hat. It’s already been determined.’ Although my son told me when he found out I was getting this today, `That’s going to be the last one you get for a long time.’ I said, `Why?’ He goes, `You shouldn’t lose a game for the next three years.’ And these are people that like you who are saying that. These are family members saying that. Pretty scary, isn’t it.’’

HOW HAS THE COACHING STAFF DECOMPRESSED AFTER THE SEASON
“We were on the plane on the way back from Tampa Monday and I told the coaches to tell the players that there was going to be a team meeting at Gampel when we got back,’’ Auriemma said. “`Just get your stuff up to where you belong and get back down to Gampel and I’ll see you guys there.’ And we met for about two hours … coaches and players. We went over in those two hours exactly what we need to accomplish between now and next April in St. Louis. I didn’t think there was any better time to get that message across then the day after our last game. So we did. So we really haven’t had any time as a coaching staff since then to really kind of sit down together and look and say, `OK.’ There hasn’t been any come down from the emotions. It just hasn’t happened yet. And then it was recruiting. Now we’re working with guys on the court. And it probably won’t be until after graduation that there will actually be a certain `let’s sit down and talk about what happened and what the plan is for us as coaches.’ But we got some things across that Monday, and it was good. Because when we told them we were having a team meeting they thought we were handing out like watches from the Big East championship, rings for winning the regular season. I think what they got was less than watches and rings.’’

WHAT DID HE TELL PLAYERS DURING THE SEASON-ENDING MEETING
“You’re really in a tough spot,’’ Auriemma said. “When a season like this one ends you’re in a tough, tough spot because there isn’t anybody in America when those two kids got hurt would think that we’re going to win the national championship. And there wasn’t anybody I don’t think that could foresee what happened after those two kids got hurt until all of sudden we’re … Which is kind of ironic in its own self, that you’re the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship when one team has everybody back from a team that’s been to every Final Four the last 10 years it seems like. And one team won the national championship and is back with everybody. And you almost start to feel like, `What’s the right way to approach this with this group?’ How could you be the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship when you’re missing two guys that you probably know in your heart you can’t win it without them. That you could do everything up to this point, but you can’t win it without them unless you’re able to hide it one more weekend. But at the same time why shouldn’t you be the overwhelming favorite. So I don’t know which approach you’re supposed to take with the team. And I don’t think they do either. Like how do you feel about the season? Like tremendously proud of ourselves or, `man, how could we have not won that?’ And then how do you feel both.’ I don’t know. So I just chose to ignore it completely and just say, `Look, we just passed up an opportunity to win a national championship. And here’s why and here’s what we’re going to do about it.’’’

WHAT HE INITALLY SAW IN PLAYERS DURING THE MEETING
“I don’t think they understood what it was that we lost,’’ Auriemma said. “That’s the first thing that struck me. When they woke up Monday morning, I don’t think they had any idea what it was that was just lost. Because, see, so much of it was `Let’s get our seniors to the Final Four.’ Whoopee. Like, that in and of itself is a noble goal, but that’s not … if you’re a sophomore, or you’re a junior or you’re a freshman, you get up the next morning and you got your seniors to the Final Four. `OK, uhhhh, now what? How come there’s another game tomorrow?’ So you start to understand that as much fun as that is and as rewarding as that is, that’s not the point of going to the Final Four. The point of going to the Final Four is to win the national championship. So it wasn’t until they got back home and it was pointed out to them that they completely understood what the point of going to the Final Four is. And it’s not their fault. They just didn’t know. But there’s a big correlation between why Sue, Swin and those guys went 39-0 the year after they lost in St. Louis. When we left St. Louis (in 2001), those guys knew exactly what they left behind. You didn’t have to explain it to them. When they woke up the next morning, they knew exactly what was going on. And how they felt about it was reflected in the next 12 months. I wanted to get in there (with this team)… My bedside manner is that when that wound is open that’s the best time to pour some gasoline in there and light a match.’’

EXPECT MEMBERS OF THE COACHING STAFF TO LEAVE
“I’m always amazed at who gets jobs in this country,’’ Auriemma said. “I think the world as we know it right now is pretty simple. If you’re a minority candidate you can be involved in any job in America, and you’re probably going to be in the final two. There’s not an athletic director in America that won’t tell you, `Hey, look, I’m looking for a women’s basketball coach and if I can hire a minority woman that will be like dying and going to heaven.’ So it really doesn’t matter anymore whether you’re a good coach, bad coach, lots of experience, no experience, 21 or 41. It doesn’t matter if you fit the politically correct view of what everyone thinks their coach should look like and what they can get accomplished on their campus by `ooh, look what I did’ then you’ve got a chance to get any job in America. So fortunately or unfortunately for us my guys are like, `Well, I don’t want just any job, Coach. I want like a really good job and I don’t want to just live anywhere. I want to live in this particular area.’ And unfortunately for my guys, the job that they could’ve gotten, should’ve gotten, should be involved in the AD there always wants a head coach. And when they want a head coach there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing. No matter how good of a coach you’re going to be, it doesn’t matter how good of a coach you already are, when an athletic director says I want someone who’s been a head coach there’s nothing you can do about it. So I would think that most of the jobs that my coaches would look at would be jobs where they’re really good but they’re going to have to beat out an existing head coach. I would say right now chances are no, my guys aren’t going anywhere right now. But that could change. And it’s not because they don’t want to. Well, I think Chris doesn’t want to. She tries to sabotage my program every day to try to get my job. And she’s got half the people in Connecticut convinced that she’s the head coach anyway. But the other two guys – Tonya and Jamelle – I think are more ready than they’ve ever been and really want to. But it’s hard to give this up. Like if you a coach here and you have this it’s pretty hard to leave unless you have this burning desire to have to be a head coach to just leave and go some place.’’

DO THE YOUNG COACHES HAVE THE BURNING DESIRE TO BE A HEAD COACH
“When I left the University of Virginia, yeah, I did,’’ Auriemma said. “I was going to be a head coach come hell or high water and I didn’t care where. But when you’re making $20,000 a year you can feel like that. And when somebody offers you $30,000 you’ll go anywhere and take any job, which is what I did. But it’s not like that now. Now you go out and there’s 16,000 people at the Civic Center. You charter every game. Coach Auriemma lets you do whatever you want. A kid on our team has a problem with their game … Tonya, can you help me with this? Somebody asked me the other day. `Coach, what do you do to develop your players on the perimeter?’ I said, `I’ll have to think about that. I need a lifeline. Call Tonya.’ When you get to coach and do what you’ve always wanted to do, and you get the freedom and the kind of experience that we give our guys here it’s hard to walk away from it and just go anywhere. But at the same time you’re not going to get a Big 10 job or an ACC job because they’re all looking for head coaches. So they’re kind of in a quandary.’’

Geno said that people at Boston College have told him that they are looking for a head coach to replace Cathy Inglese.

“There’s some head coaches in the Big East that don’t make what my assistants make,’’ Auriemma said. “And that’s not why you would take the job. Jamelle and I have talked about this a lot. She said I would not take a job for the money. But what happens is – and this had happened to her already – where she’s offered a job, goes down there and what she’s getting paid is OK and she’ll do it. But then what they’re willing to pay her assistants she can’t hire anybody to live there. So now you’re stuck. `Yeah, I got a head job and I’m a head coach. But now I can’t hire anybody any good because they can’t afford to live here on what they’re going to get paid.’ So that’s a tough situation for those kids to be in. They deserve a great job, but that guy or that woman AD has got to be willing to take a chance. And if somebody took a chance on Tonya and Jamelle they wouldn’t be taking a chance. Not like some of the chances that people are taking out there today.’’

Rich

The subject is one that UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma would like to see die off. It’s been nearly a year since Tennessee coach Pat Summitt axed the high profile regular season series between the Lady Vols and the Huskies. Still, the subject still has plenty of momentum.
The momentum has been created by Summitt’s refusal to address the precise reason she cancelled the best series the sport has seen. Her steady replay has been “Geno knows.’’ And it is also because of the fact that the Tennessee – via the Southeastern Conference – blew the whistle on what it believed to be recruiting improprieties by UConn during its courtship of All-American Maya Moore.
Moore ultimately chose to play for Auriemma and the Huskies. It was a decision that infuriated Summitt. Auriemma again addressed the situation Tuesday during his 90-minute season-ending press conference at Gampel Pavilion.
“(Summitt) knows why we’re not playing,’’ Auriemma said. “I’m not the one that made the decision not to play. So she should just tell you why we’re not playing instead of saying, `Geno knows.’ I do know. She accused us of cheating at recruiting. She doesn’t have the courage to say it publicly. So, yeah, Geno does know. And I’ve said it.’’
The NCAA first investigated UConn last year when it was said that former All-Americans Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird drove Moore to the Naismith Award presentation in Atlanta during the spring of 2006. The NCAA learned that Bird and Taurasi were not in the country in this timeframe.
The Huskies were ultimately hit with a secondary violation, which is considered to be minor in nature, when it was discovered that a member of the program phoned ESPN to arrange a tour for Moore and her mother, Kathryn, in October of 2005.
Auriemma said that he does not see an end to the Cold War existing between he and Summitt. He also said that he does not foresee the two teams playing again during the regular season at any point soon.
“It doesn’t irk me,’’ Auriemma said. “With some people that’s just their style. They’re passive-aggressive. They always want to have somebody to blame for what’s going on. There’s a lot of things I know about a lot of people. That doesn’t mean I cancel the series. This is the same person who said if the Duke fans didn’t treat her players right she was going to cancel that series. So if people don’t stop misbehavin’ they’re only going to play a regular season scheduled with conference games. Unless that starts to bug them. So the bottom line is it’s not going to change. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not going to change.’’
Sarcastically, Auriemma said the only way he would again agree to play Tennessee would be if a proposed 10-game series included eight home games, one in Nashville, Tenn. and one in Memphis, Tenn. Tennessee is located in Knoxville.
“That would be my proposal to them,’’ Auriemma said. “That’s the only way I would do it.’’
There had been rumors that UConn and Tennessee could possibly meet in the Maggie Dixon Classic next season at Madison Square Garden. That will not happen.
The Huskies will meet Penn State at the event in mid-December. The second game will feature Rutgers and Army.
“If you’re not going to play here or there, you’re not going to play them at Madison Square Garden in a charity event that’s supposed to help a good cause,’’ Auriemma said. “How could they be involved in that? That would be something that’s good for the game.’’
The Huskies, who will be the prohibitive favorites to win the national championship, will host Oklahoma and LSU next season. They will also travel to North Carolina, which is a series Auriemma said will go on for a long time. There is no guarantee that the series with LSU will be extended beyond next season, although Auriemma would like to see it renewed.
Series with both Stanford and Duke are set to begin in the 2009-2010 season.
“There won’t be any problem finding people to play,’’ Auriemma said.

Rich

Geno Auriemma was named the Naismith College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. John Calipari of Memphis won the men’s award.
“John battled season-long high expectations, while Geno overcame tremendous adversity,’’ Atlanta Tipoff Club president Gary Stokan said. “Yet they combined for 74 wins and Final Four berths and that’s a testament to their tremendous coaching ability.’’
Van Chancellor of LSU, C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers and Pat Summitt of Tennessee were also finalist for what is considered to be the most prestigious award in the profession. This is the fifth time Auriemma has received the award (1995, 1997, 2000 and 2002), tying Summitt for most all-time.
Auriemma, who swept the national Coach of the Years awards this season, led the Huskies to a 36-2 record. They advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2004 and also became the first team to sweep the Big East regular season and tournament championships since 2001-02.

Rich

Senior point guard Ketia Swanier was selected by the Connecticut Sun with the 12th overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft today at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla. She becomes the ninth UConn player to be selected in the first round, second only to Tennessee (10).
Swanier, who was not among the 20 players invited to attend the draft, was the highest UConn player drafted since the Seattle Storm selected Barbara Turner 11th overall in 2006.
Swanier, won the inaugural Big East Sixth Man Award season and was named honorable mention all-conference, averaged a career-high 7.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, a team-high 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 24.7 minutes this season. She also has a 2.1 assist to turnover ratio.
She finished her career with 674 points, 479 assists, 327 rebounds and 247 steals in 142 games (19 starts). Swanier ranks sixth all-time in team history in games played and seventh in assists and steals. Along with former Huskies national Player of the Year Jen Rizzotti, she is the only other player in team history to be ranked in the Top 10 in assists, steals and games played.
Swanier’s stock rose during the postseason as she displayed tremendous leadership and also averaged 8.8 points, a team-high 4.8 assists and 31.4 minutes during the NCAA tournament. Her assist to turnover ratio was 3.4.
The Sun drafted Middle Tennessee State forward Amber Holt, who led the nation in scoring (27.4), with the ninth overall pick.

Rich

Pat Summitt dodged the biggest bullet of the season Sunday when Stanford defeated the Huskies in the first national semifinal at the St. Pete Times Forum. It was then that she knew that she would not be besieged with questions regarding why she cancelled the regular season series with UConn and her seemingly bitter feud with Geno.
Summitt did face a couple of questions during her press conference today. But they were tame in nature. She also said that Tennessee will not play UConn in the near future (Wow, that’s a shocker).

Here’s the Q & A:
Q – Is it just a little bit of you that’s happy that this whole press conference is not Pat and Geno and the whole feud?
A – “I would say I didn’t want any … I wouldn’t want any of that as far as being a distraction,’’ she said. “It’s not about the coaches. This is all about players. And unfortunately I think some of the media folks out there wanted to make it about Pat and Geno. And it’s all about the players.’’

Q – I’m not trying to be antagonistic and I hope you don’t take it this way, but is it fair to blame the media for the feud angle when you and Geno have been going tit-for-tat back at that end. When the series got cancelled, you’ve been around long enough to know that this was going to be a story, and when there’s been no definitive definition before, can you really say it’s unfair that this story is still around?
A – “No, I think it’s fair to say that because of all the unknown, that people are still digging and interested and writing about it. I can respect that from the media. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to reveal anything. But that’s just – when I make my mind up, I’m as stubborn as my father was.’’

Q – Did you anticipate if the game had come to play that you were going to have to answer the questions about the series, what was your tact going to be? And, secondly, can you give us an indication of what it’s going to take to mend the fences from your point of view, if in fact there’s a rift that needs to be mended?
A – I hadn’t really thought about the questions that I might get asked, because I wasn’t going to really talk about anything, other than players. I have tremendous respect for Geno’s coaching skills and abilities and
I think he made us better. They beat us enough that it made us better. And the fact that we’re not both here
today, it’s not going to change what I want to say or talk or what it takes to mend it. I haven’t even gone there. My mind right now is on trying to figure out how we can win one more game against a great basketball team. And that’s pretty much it.’’

Rich

Nights like Sunday are one of the most uncomfortable there is in this business. The Huskies played their hearts this season to reach the Final Four. And in a span of 40 minutes, everything they had worked for since practice officially began Oct. 13 was gone. Then it was my job as a sportswriter to walk into the locker room and ask these emotional young women about their feelings about losing, about their season coming to an end, and for some, about their careers coming to an end.
It’s a spot that I never look forward to. I spend months and years getting to know these players. I have seen what things they have endured. And, in doing so, it’s human nature to want them to succeed and earn what they work so hard to achieve.
Playing at UConn is a daunting task. The Huskies are expected to go undefeated every season. Or it they do lose a game, they need to win the national championship to stamp the season a success. It takes a special kind of young woman to dive into the fishbowl in Storrs. And the 14 players that made up this year’s team were special to the utmost degree. They should take nothing but fond memories away from this season. It was a success, plain and simple.
And when you are a part of 125 wins in 144 games there is nothing for Charde, who is among the 20 players that have been invited to attend the WNBA draft tomorrow, Brittany, Mel and Ketia to be downtrodden about. They had fine careers. And they’ll have fine careers in the real world because of their experiences playing for Geno and the Huskies.
Covering this team and being able to bring the news to the fans is a pleasure. There are good people at every turn when it comes to this program. They do things right, which is why they’ve been so successful over the years. And which is why they are regularly the media darlings of the nation. Pundits gravitate to the Huskies. They want to hear what Geno has to say. They want to hear why Maya has to say. There is always something compelling about the players, a story that needs to be told.
Elena, Tiffany, Heather and Caroline are the next group whose stories will be told. In meeting them, it is already clear that these kids fit into the same mold as their future teammates. They are easy to talk to. Intelligent. Unselfish. Well-spoken. Intuitive.
Until next year, when the Huskies will be the favorite to win the national championship, thanks for great ride. It was one to cherish.

Rich