UConn women's basketball

Sophomore forward Maya Moore made history last season when she was named a first-team All-American by The Associated Press. The 45-member panel believes she will do it again this season.
Maya was named to five-player The Associated Press’ preseason All-America team today. She was joined by Oklahoma senior Courtney Paris, who was the lone unanimous selection, Maryland senior Kristi Toliver, Louisville senior Angel McCoughtry and Oklahoma State junior Andrea Riley.
Moore appeared on 44 ballots. Last season she became the first freshman in team history and just the second overall (Paris) to be honored by the AP.
UConn senior Renee Montgomery and junior Tina Charles were among 14 players that also received votes.
Moore is attempting to become only the fourth player in team history to be a two-time first-team All-American. She would join Diana Taurasi, Nykesha Sales and Kara Wolters.
Paris becomes only the sixth unanimous selection in the 15-year history of the team, joining Chamique Holdsclaw, Taurasi, Alana Beard, Seimone Augustus and Candace Parker.

Below is the complete list:

The Associated Press’ 2008-09 preseason women’s All-America basketball team, with school, height, year, key stats from last season and votes from a 45-member national media panel:

Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 6-4, senior, 18.6 ppg, 15.0 rpg, .561 fg pct (45 votes).

Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, sophomore, 17.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .543 fg pct, 73 3-pointers (44)

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville, 6-1, senior, 23.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.1 spg, 50 3-pointers (39)

Kristi Toliver, Maryland, 5-7, senior, 17.1 ppg, 7.4 apg, .860 ft pct, 78 3-pointers (38)

Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, 5-5, junior, 23.1 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3.0 spg (19).

Others receiving votes (in alphabetical order): Jayne Appel, Stanford; DeWanna Bonner, Auburn; Tina Charles, Connecticut; Marissa Coleman, Maryland; Briann January, Arizona State; Jantel Lavender, Ohio State; Rashanda McCants, North Carolina; Renee Montgomery, Connecticut; Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers; Takia Starks, Texas A&M; Ashley Walker, California; Morgan Warburton, Utah; Monica Wright, Virginia; Shavonte Zellous, Pittsburgh.

Rich

For starters, to my knowledge there has not been a restraining order filed against me in Sugar Land, Texas by any member of Kelsey Bone’s family. I am still permitted to travel to the “Fittest City in Texas’’ if I so choose. This means the mystery only thickens as to which member(s) of the Connecticut media was stalking Kelsey this summer.
Stalking the nation’s top high school senior to the tune of 400 e-mails and contacting her so often that it played a role in her crossing the Huskies off of her list of schools. Or at least that’s how it sounded when she was interviewed on a Houston radio show last week. Listen, if an onslaught of media attention is a reason for a blue-chipper to eliminate a perennial national championship contender from her list than the fit just wasn’t right in the first place. Believe me, if that was the reason then we would have heard about it from someone associated with the program in some manner or another.
At my end, I spoke with Kelsey only once. That was when she was in Colorado Springs this summer. She was a very pleasant young lady, well spoken, intelligent, with had a good sense of humor. At the conclusion of the interview I asked her what would be the best way to get in touch with her as the recruiting process progressed and she promptly offered her mother’s cell phone number. I called her mother twice, leaving a message once to check in and never received a return phone call. I do not have an e-mail address.
There were no hard feelings. I was just doing my job and tracking another high-profile recruit that was showing interest in UConn. That’s what we do as beat writers. Although, I’ll be honest with you, recruiting is the least favorite part of my job. Repeatedly pestering young women at their homes is not pleasant, but it’s part of the job and it’s how one finds the answers to pertinent questions those who read this blog want to know.
Back in the day, I called Charde Houston every day for a week after she cancelled her press conference during the early signing period. Every night I dreaded picking up the phone and dialing a number I then knew by heart, but I had to do it. By the end of the week, she answered the phone and told me it was her twin sister, Monee, on the other end of the line. It’s a tedious process, but one that’s unavoidable in this state. People want to know everything they can about the Huskies during and after the season.
The Huskies are as close to a pro team as it gets without the lucrative salaries. They are celebrities. And once a high school player gets linked to the program, the calls will start coming from the media. I’m sorry if this experience was unpleasant for Kelsey. Choosing a college is supposed to be a memorable time for the athletes, not one that causes them to feel uncomfortable. I wish Kelsey good luck in finding the perfect spot for her.
I’m sure her path and that of the Connecticut media will cross in the future. At that point, I hope the end result will be different.

Here’s some news. The times have been finalized for the Caribbean Classic in Cancun: UConn vs. Washington Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. EST; UConn vs. Northern Colorado Dec. 19, 7 p.m.; and UConn vs. No. 21 Florida State Dec. 21, 4:30 p.m.

Rich

The Huskies return four starters from last season. They returns four of their top five scorers, including sophomore All-American Maya Moore who will be a leading candidate to earn national Player of the Year honors this season.
With a resume like this it comes as no surprise that they are ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press national poll, which was released today.
UConn, who has now been ranked in the Top 25 for 285 straight weeks dating back to Nov. 23, 1993, received 44 of the 45 first-place votes and 1,124 points. Stanford, who defeated the Huskies in the national semifinals in Tampa last April, received the remaining first-place vote and was No. 2 in the poll (1,018 points).
Elliott Warnock of the Chapel Hill (N.C.) News is the only member of the media not to vote UConn No. 1.
It is the sixth straight Associated Press poll and the 12th in the last 13 dating back to last season in which UConn has been ranked No. 1. But it’s the first time it has started the season at the top since its last national championship season in 2003-04.
Maryland is ranked No. 3 in the poll, while Oklahoma and Big East-nemesis Rutgers complete the Top 5. Louisville earned its highest ranking ever at No. 10. Notre Dame is 16th.
UConn opens the season by hosting Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion Nov. 16.

Here’s the entire poll:

AP Top 25
No. School Record Points Prev
1 Connecticut (44) 0-0 1124 0
2 Stanford (1) 0-0 1018 0
3 Maryland 0-0 1005 0
4 Oklahoma 0-0 946 0
5 Rutgers 0-0 914 0
6 North Carolina 0-0 892 0
7 Tennessee 0-0 857 0
8 Duke 0-0 815 0
9 California 0-0 769 0
10 Louisville 0-0 726 0
11 Texas A&M 0-0 624 0
12 Vanderbilt 0-0 546 0
13 Texas 0-0 501 0
14 Oklahoma State 0-0 442 0
15 Virginia 0-0 437 0
16 Notre Dame 0-0 374 0
17 Arizona State 0-0 364 0
18 Ohio State 0-0 359 0
19 Baylor 0-0 353 0
20 Auburn 0-0 239 0
21 Florida State 0-0 204 0
22 Xavier 0-0 170 0
23 Purdue 0-0 148 0
24 LSU 0-0 133 0
25 Old Dominion 0-0 124 0
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (0-0) 116; Michigan State (0-0) 67; Iowa State (0-0) 66; Marist (0-0) 58; Marquette (0-0) 56; Utah (0-0) 50; Georgia (0-0) 37; Kansas State (0-0) 25; Syracuse (0-0) 20; DePaul (0-0) 8; George Washington (0-0) 7; Illinois State (0-0) 7; Southern California (0-0) 5; West Virginia (0-0) 5; Arkansas (0-0) 3; Texas-El Paso (0-0) 2; Montana (0-0) 2; Georgia Tech (0-0) 2; Iowa (0-0) 1; Gonzaga (0-0) 1; Liberty (0-0) 1; South Dakota State (0-0) 1; Southern Methodist (0-0) 1.

Rich