Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

The Huskies ran up and down the floor for the final 45 minutes of practice today. Trust me, I’m sure it was longer than that. But this was the portion of practice that the media was allowed to sit in on. Geno had them entrenched in an offensive rebounding drill at one end with a bubble on the rim and a transition defense drill at the other. All the while sophomore point guard Lorin Dixon stood idle on the side near midcourt. Was she in the doghouse as she was so often last season? Not even close.
Lorin is battling a sore left foot and did not practice today after visiting the team doctor. It has been bothering her for a couple of weeks and she had previously been wearing a protective boot. But Geno said that he expects her to practice Friday.
“I would try to pronounce it, but it wouldn’t come out right,’’ Dixon said. “It’s just the bottom of my foot. But it’s fine. I’ve been doing rehab and therapy and it feels a lot better. They just want to make sure that it doesn’t get bad. It’s really OK. It’s not serious.’’

Dixon has been one of the players that has performed well during the first two weeks of practice. To no surprise, Geno cited Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore as the two players that have performed the best thus far. I think it’s fair to say that this will continue throughout the season. Both should be All-Americans by season’s end, with Maya possibly earning national Player of the Year honors.
“Renee, obviously, has had a great two weeks,’’ Auriemma said. “Renee’s been consistently really, really good. And Maya’s trying to do a lot more so for her it’s been … When she’s good she’s unbelievably good. And then when she’s trying to do some of the things that she’s trying to improve upon she’s getting a little taste of what it’s like to move around from one spot to another. Sometimes she’s inside. Sometimes she’s outside. Sometimes she’s a ballhandler. Sometimes she’s not. I would think those two guys are probably as close to where they need to be as any of the other guys are.’’

Rich

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Kelly Faris, a 5-foot-11 guard from Plainfield, Ind., will be the only member of the Class of 2009 for the Huskies. Krista Gross, a 6-0 wing from Concord, N.C., orally committed to North Carolina today.
Gross, who is rated No. 23 in the senior class by ESPN HoopGurlz, chose the Tar Heels over UConn, Stanford and Florida. She visited UConn during the weekend of Oct. 17-18 and attended First Night festivities at Gampel Pavilion.
“I’ve known a few of the players for a while now,’’ Gross told ESPN HoopGurlz. “And the coaches I’ve known for a long time, but ultimately it came down to location.’’

Rich

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) will televise at least 19 games this season, it was announced today. This will mark the 16th straight season that the Huskies and CPTV have been partners.
CPTV will air the season opener against Georgia Tech Nov. 16 at Gampel Pavilion, as well as 11 Big East games and 10 road games. Play-by-play announcer Bob Picozzi and former UConn standout Meghan Culmo will return as the broadcast partners.
“CPTV and the UConn women’s basketball program have been synonymous during the past fifteen years,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Success, both on and off the court, has been brought to hundreds of thousands of loyal fans here in Connecticut and around the country. The special relationship that our program enjoys with CPTV is unmatched anywhere in college basketball. Like my team, CPTV is the best in the world.’’
CPTV will also broadcast The Geno Auriemma Show: You Make the Call, a special call-in show airing live on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. The phone numbers will appear on-screen during the live show. Future shows will be taped. Viewers will have the opportunity to e-mail questions to Auriemma by sending them to UConn Executive Producer Harriet Unger at askharriet@cptv.org.
The Geno Auriemma Show will air immediately before selected CPTV broadcasts. Check local listings for specific dates and times of the Geno shows during the season.
CPTV will also provide live and on-demand access to CPTV produced UConn games, The Geno Auriemma Show, and archived games through an Internet subscription service called, Hoop Streams. For more information visit cptv.org.

2008-09 CPTV Broadcast Schedule
(All Times EST)
Nov. 16 vs. Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion, 2 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. San Diego at XL Center, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 vs. Rhode Island at XL Center, 1 p.m.
Nov. 25 at BYU, 9 p.m.
Dec. 3 vs. Holy Cross at Gampel Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 14 vs. Penn State at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 28 at South Carolina, 3 p.m.
Dec. 31 vs. Hartford at XL Center, noon
Jan. 6 at South Florida, 7 p.m.
Jan. 10 at West Virginia, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs. DePaul at Gampel Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 17 vs. Syracuse at XL Center, 2 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Cincinnati, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 at Georgetown, 3 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Marquette, 8 p.m.
Feb. 11 at St. John’s, TBA
Feb. 18 at Providence, 7 p.m.
Feb. 24 vs. Villanova at Gampel Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 vs. Seton Hall (Senior Night) at XL Center, 7:30 p.m.

Rich

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

One thing is clear from attending Media Day today is that I could never ride the train into the City everyday to go to work. No thanks. Morning rush hour is brutal for us folks that are blessed not to have to fight it. For those people that do, I commend you.

In taking to various coaches around the conference one thing is crystal clear … UConn is very, very good. There was talk of the Huskies finishing undefeated. And not just in the Big East, but over the entire season. Coaches marveled at the Huskies’ depth, their experience and their wealth of talent.
Here’s Villanova’s Harry Perretta: “I think this year Connecticut is superior. I think last year Connecticut was the best team. Now I say they’re the superior team. It’s a little different.’’
And here’s Louisville coach Jeff Walz after he was asked what scares him about UConn: “Their first eight players. They’ve got guard play. They’ve got Maya Moore back at the wing. They’ve got Tina Charles in there. Kaili McLaren. They’ve just got a list of players and then you start adding their freshmen in there … Their depth is really scary. They’re just a well-rounded team. They’ve got every facet covered.’’

The Huskies were also touted as “America’s team’’ by Rutgers senior center Kia Vaughn. That was a new a one. And she made sure to point out that despite losing Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson to the WNBA that the Scarlet Knights should not be underestimated. Their freshman class, anchored by Big East preseason Freshman of the Year April Sykes, could be something special.
“With UConn, they’re America’s team and we respect that,’’ Vaughn said. “We (take a back seat). But, with us, we have to come out every night and just play. I don’t feel that we’ve slipped anywhere. Just like any other team coming in with freshmen or the first few months of basketball you have creases that you need to iron out and you have to actually play through it. And I believe that we’re going to play through it and mentally we’re going to be tough and we’re always going to give teams a fight and a good game.’’

Here’s the quip of the day – from Geno of, course. Pittsburgh coach Agnus Berenato recently baked her team an apple pie and a sweet potato pie and brought them into the locker room and left them there. Geno was asked when was the last time he baked his players a pie. He shook his head and said, “Not me, never.’’ And just before he headed upstairs for TV interviews he said, “Humble Pie.’’

Rich

Comments(1)

|

E-mail

|

Print

Here is how the Big East coaches voted this preseason; Also, the Big East announced today at Media Day at ESPN Zone in NYC that the conference tournament will be held at the XL Center in Hartford through 2011. The contract was set to expire after this season.

2008-09 Preseason Big East Coaches’ Poll
1. Connecticut (14) 224
2. Rutgers (1) 201
3. Louisville (1) 200
4. Notre Dame 182
5. Pittsburgh 162
6. Syracuse 156
7. Marquette 147
8. DePaul 132
9. West Virginia 109
10. Villanova 85
11. Georgetown 77
12. South Florida 76
13. St. John’s 66
14. Seton Hall 40
15. Cincinnati 33
16. Providence 30
NOTE – First-place votes in parentheses.

2008-09 Preseason Player of the Year
Maya Moore, UConn, Soph., F

2008-09 Preseason Freshman of the Year
April Sykes, Rutgers, Fr., G/F

2008-09 Preseason All-Big East Team
Candyce Bingham, Louisville, Sr., F
x-Tina Charles, UConn, Jr., C
x-Krystal Ellis, Marquette, Sr., G
Shantia Grace, USF, Sr., G
Chandrea Jones, Syracuse, Sr., G
x-Angel McCoughtry, Louisville, Sr., F
Renee Montgomery, UConn, Sr., G
x-Maya Moore, UConn, Soph., F
x-Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers, Jr., G
Kia Vaughn, Rutgers, Sr., C
x-Shavonte Zellous, Pittsburgh, Sr., G

2008-09 Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention
Laura Kurz, Villanova, Sr., F
Deirdre Naughton, DePaul, Jr., G
Lindsay Schrader, Notre Dame, Sr., G
x–unanimous selection

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Caroline Doty was being compared to former Huskies All-American Jennifer Rizzotti before she even stepped on campus. There is a feistiness to her and a desire to win every time she steps on the court. The sizeable red floor burn on her right elbow only reinforced the comparison. She picked it up diving for a loose ball she said this afternoon, seemingly proud of the wound.
Doty is legit. She has spent a good portion of the first four practices running with the blue team. She has hit shots and she has made plays, two things Geno Auriemma demands from his point guard. And Doty has already impressed the team leader Renee Montgomery, who just so happens to be among the top two point guards in the country along with Maryland’s Kristi Toliver.
“She’s just been doing really well as far as picking up the offense, understanding the offense,’’ Montgomery said. “She already came in here with a good basketball IQ so I think that helped her out a lot. But she just understands this offense and she’s been knocking down shots so I think that’s why she’s been getting a lot of reps on the blue team. Practice and the games are completely different. So the fact that she’s already getting it in practice is a good thing because that means she’s going to get a lot more experience before the games start. Usually people start getting it later along in practice so by the time the games come they’ve just now got it. So I think that’s going to be good for her. She’s going to be good.’’
Other than her all-or-nothing mindset, an outsider would also never be able to tell that Doty had surgery to repair a torn ACL in her left knee last Oct. 23. She runs free and easy, spotting up for jump shots on the perimeter without a hitch.
“Of course, I’m going to be thinking about it,’’ Doty said. “I haven’t been on the court for this long and for this amount of time. But when you’re playing you’ve just got to focus on, `I’m playing.’ You can’t worry about anything else, just doing as much as you can. So I ice it after. Of course I feel it, but I’m not going to worry about it or really think about because I know it’s alright. It’s happened. I’ve just got to deal with that and really take care of it, but playing-wise it feels great.’’
It’s amazing how some players can bounce back from such injuries. But it takes the mental make-up to want to bounce back, and that’s something that Doty clearly has. She’s a gamer. She’s tough as nails. She’s a UConn-player through and through. And she is going to be fun to watch.

Rich

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Just more than nine months after tearing the ACL and the lateral meniscus in her right knee at Syracuse Jan. 15, Mel Thomas is returning to the game. She will be playing for the Bausch and Lomb Waterford Wildcats in Ireland.
Mel leaves Wednesday. She will practice Thursday and play in her first game Saturday against the Tolka Rovers BC. The Wildcats are currently 1-1.
You can follow her at www.superleagueball.ie.
Also, Mel’s book “Heart of a Husky’’ should be out before Christmas. She is finishing the editing portion this week before leaving for Ireland. Sounds like a great sticking stuffer, if you ask me.

Rich

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

It was a feel that Samarie Walker, a 6-foot-1 junior swingman from Dayton, Ohio, had had for several years. She had been watching the UConn women’s basketball team since she was in fourth grade and had a pretty strong belief that this was the program where she wanted to play college basketball.
But she didn’t want commit too soon. Even after Huskies coach Geno Auriemma offered Walker a scholarship in his office Friday afternoon she stood her ground. She wanted to use her unofficial recruiting visit to make sure UConn was everything she had envisioned and everything she wanted.
Walker, who is regarded as the top player in the Class of 2010, could not hold off for long. After having dinner with the team following First Night festivities later that night she extended an oral commitment to Auriemma.
“If I went there and didn’t like it I wouldn’t have (committed), but I pretty much made up my mind that I was going to,’’ Walker said Sunday. “When I got there this past weekend I got to form a relationship with the players, talk to the coaches and tour the campus and I kind of knew it was a perfect fit for me there. It felt like home.’’
Walker, who attends the same high school as former UConn standout Tamika (Williams) Raymond (Chaminade-Julienne), also had Rutgers, Maryland, Duke and Georgia on her final list. She becomes the first member of the Class of 2010 to commit to UConn.
Walker said she followed Raymond’s career at Chaminade-Julienne, where Raymond too evolved into the top player in her class, and at UConn. The two spoke recently regarding the recruiting process.
“I talked to her several weeks ago,’’ Walker said. “She told me everything that she went through from high school to college, and how our high school prepared her academically and athletically and that I’ll fit in great (at UConn) and how the coaches were and everyone else that’s there. She told me do what I feel and if it feels nice then go ahead and commit.’’
The Huskies have now landed the top player in four of the last five recruiting classes. The list includes Tina Charles (2006), Maya Moore (2007) and Elena Delle Donne (2008). But, according to Chaminade-Julienne coach Marc Greenberg, Walker is hardly caught up in the hype of being the top-rated player in her class.
“She doesn’t act like she’s the No. 1 player in her school,’’ Greenberg said. “She’s a very humble kid. She understands it’s just somebody’s opinion and there’s a huge difference between recognition and accomplishment. She’s being recognized for her effort, and that’s great. But what she wants to do is accomplish things on the court.’’
Walker, who can play all five positions, started receiving enhanced interest from top-level colleges this past season before the interest escalated considerably during an impressive summer on the AAU circuit.
Walker averaged 14 points and nine rebounds last season for Chaminade-Julienne and set a single-game tournament record with 21 rebounds at the T-Mobil Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. Dec. 29. She led the Eagles in scoring (11.7) and rebounding (6.9) as a freshman.
“She’s going to continue to get better,’’ Greenberg said. “This is a highly motivated basketball player and she really wants to be a great player and is not just satisfied with being, obviously, an incredible athlete and an incredible physical talent. She really wants to be a great basketball player.’’
The Huskies continue to target Krista Gross, a 6-foot senior swingman from Concord, N.C. who is rated No. 23 in the Class of 2009 by ESPN HoopGurlz. She also visited UConn this weekend and has interest in Stanford, North Carolina and Florida.

Rich