UConn women's basketball

The career of UConn sophomore center Jessica McCormack is over before it even began. Both McCormack and Huskies coach Geno Auriemma confirmed today that she will not return to UConn.
McCormack, a 6-foot-5 center from Auckland, New Zealand, said the decision had nothing to do with anyone associated with the program. The game of basketball simply is no longer appealing to McCormack at this point in her life.
“I won’t be returning to UConn this fall,’’ McCormack said in an e-mail. “I have decided to stay in New Zealand and continue my education here. UConn was amazing and the team and coaches were fantastic. My decision has nothing to do with them. I came to this decision after really reflecting what is making me happy at the moment and basketball, in general, is not doing it for me.’’
McCormack originally transferred to UConn from Washington last spring. She was forced to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules and returned home in early February to undergo surgery on her problematic right Achilles tendon that limited her to only a couple of practices with the Huskies.
The surgery was performed March 4. Afterward she said she hoped to return to UConn for the second session of summer school.
McCormack called Auriemma last week to inform him of her intentions.
“I will continue to go to the (Auckland University of Technology) and finish my communications degree,’’ McCormack said. “And I will probably start playing netball here.’’
Just last summer McCormack was the youngest member of the New Zealand Olympic women’s basketball team in Beijing.

UConn-bound guard Kelly Faris and St. John’s freshman and former Trinity Catholic star Da’Shena Stevens have been invited to compete in the USA Basketball U-19 National Team Trials, which will be held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. May 14-17.
Faris, a McDonald’s All-American from Plainfield, Ind., and Stevens, who was named the Big East Freshman of the Year this season, are two of approximately 30 players that will be invited to attend the trials. Should they advance they will return to Colorado Springs for training camp July 9-17.
The eventual 12-member U-19 World Championship Team will compete at the FIBA World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand July 23-Aug. 2. Faris helped lead the U.S to the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship last July in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Rich

The NCAA has announced that the Huskies have earned a Public Recognition Award based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rates. These awards are given annually to the teams that scored in the top 10 percent in each sport with their APRs.
The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
The UConn men’s golf and women’s tennis teams also received the award.
Yale had the most teams recognized for the third straight year (28). On the conference level, the Ivy League had the greatest number of teams honored (144), The Patriot League (85) and the Big East (60) were second and third, respectively.
DePaul and Villanova were the only other women’s basketball teams from the Big East that were recognized. Jennifer Rizzotti’s Hartford Hawks also made the list.

Rich

Geno’s Cancer Team, which was founded by Geno and Kathy Auriemma in 2007, will host “Horsin’ Around” May 2 at Geno’s Fast Break Restaurant at the Mohegan Sun Casino from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm. The event centers on a derby day theme with the running of the 135th Kentucky Derby taking a major role during the evening.

The net proceeds from the event will be donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, founded in 1993 by NC State Basketball coach Jim Valvano and ESPN. The afternoon will include great food, a wine tasting provided by Connecticut Distributors and entertainment
provided by Out of the Basement. Live and silent auctions will also be part of the program. Auction items include a 2009 National Championship UConn basketball, signed Rafael Nadal photos and tickets to see Brittany Spears at Mohegan Sun. There will also be a one of a
kind live auction item – two tickets, as guests of Geno and Kathy, to the Naismith Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony held at the Mohegan Sun Sept. 12th, where the 2009 Hall of Fame inductees will be presented their rings. The inductees include Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, and C. Vivian Stringer. The evening’s special guest is Nick Valvano,
brother of Jim Valvano and CEO of The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Geno’s Cancer Team also hosts a Student Initiative which is coming to the end of a very successful fund-raising season. To date they have raised $32,500 from events throughout the state, $6,500 from E-bay auctions and $2,300 in loose change from donations boxes. The final
event of the season will be held at Branford High School. The “Branford Plays for a Cure Basketball Tournament” will be held April 30th from 7 to 9 p.m. at the high school. For ticket
information please call: 203-488-8304.

For more information regarding the “Horsin’ Around” event or to make a donation visit: www.genoscancerteam.org or call 860-558-1987.

Rich

UConn incoming freshman Kelly Faris, a 5-foot-11 guard from Plainfield, Ind., was named to the 10-member Parade Magazine All-America first team today. She was also named a McDonald’s All-American this season.
UConn recruiting target Bria Hartley, a 5-10 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y., was named a second-team All-America by Parade. She is regarded as the top player at her position in the Class of 2010. Samarie Walker, a 6-0 wing from Dayton, Ohio who gave Huskies coach Geno Auriemma an oral commitment in October, was named to the third team.
Next up for Faris will likely be an invitation to the USA Women’s U-19 National Team trials May 14-17 at the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 2009 FIBA U-19 World Championship for Women will be held in Bangkok, Thailand July 23-Aug. 2.
Faris helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina last July.

Rich

Renee Montgomery came to the UConn Alumni House with her teammates today to support coach Geno Auriemma, who was officially named the USA Basketball Women’s National Team coach. She left with knowledge that she had won the Honda Player of the Year award.
A source with direct knowledge of the voting confirmed that Montgomery has become the sixth player in team history to be honored. She joins Diana Taurasi (2002-03), Sue Bird (2001-02), Shea Ralph (1999-00), Jennifer Rizzotti (1995-96) and Rebecca Lobo (1994-95).
“It’s good to win any award,’’ Montgomery said. “Any time anybody chooses you as the Player of the Year, no matter what award it is, I’m appreciative of it because they only choose one player so it’s exciting. I thought all the awards were handed out so it’s a pleasant surprise. It’s nice. I’m excited.’’
Montgomery, who was chosen fourth overall by the Minnesota Lynx in last week’s WNBA Draft, is one of 12 players selected from 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The winners are selected for superior athletic ability, leadership skills, academic excellence and their eagerness to participate in the community.
Each player is now eligible to win the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is awarded annually to the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. Rizzotti and Lobo are the only UConn players to receive this award.
“I think it’s like a bonus,’’ Montgomery said. “But everything that’s happened in the past week I thought things couldn’t get better and then to come here and now I know I’ve won the Honda Award. It looks like things just continue to get better. So it’s just always a blessing.’’

Geno said today that he does not expect to have to take any time off to tend to his duties as the U.S. Olympic coach.
Women’s National Team director Carol Callan said the committee will work with Geno’s availability and that of the players to schedule training camps. The next scheduled competition for Team USA is the FIBA 2010 World Championship in the Czech Republic Sept. 23 through Oct. 3.
“I don’t anticipate taking any time off,’’ Auriemma said. “My first commitment, my first priority is making sure that the players that I have in the program that we have here get my full attention. The USA Basketball program is something that I will do the way it needs to be done with the help of a lot of people. The only difference that I see is any time that I would have off from coaching UConn now is on. And I’m OK with that.’’

A recruiting source said today there has not yet been any scheduled visit for the Bria Hartley, a 5-10 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y. Hartley, a primary target for the Huskies, is trying to get to campus to attend a class.
There are three key recruiting events this weekend that the UConn coaching staff will be attending. This is the final time before July that coaches can have contact with recruits. The source also said that the Huskies would like to bring in another post player and that the Class of 2010 could have as many as six players. It currently stands at four with Samarie Walker, a 6-1 swingman from Dayton, Ohio, Stefanie Dolson, a 6-5 center from Port Jervis, N.Y., Michala Johnson, a 6-3 forward from Lombard, Ill., and Lauren Engeln, a 5-11 guard from Laguna Hills, Calif.

Rich

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma led the Huskies to the third undefeated season in team history this season. Now he will have a chance to set his sights on something even more significant.
A source with knowledge of the selection process confirmed today that Auriemma has been named the U.S.A. Basketball Senior National Team coach through 2012 and will serve as the head coach at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. He succeeds Anne Donovan.
A formal announcement will be made during a press conference Wednesday at the UConn Alumni House at 1:30 p.m. Auriemma will be the first active college coach to serve as head coach of the Olympic team since Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer led the 1996 Olympic team to the gold medal in Atlanta.
Auriemma, 55, was an assistant coach on the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s basketball team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Auriemma’s first responsibility will be to coach at the FIBA 2010 World Championship in the Czech Republic, where Team USA will attempt to qualify for the Olympics.
The newly minted 2009-2012 Senior National Team Committee recently amended the criteria with regards to selecting a head coach. This change instantly made Auriemma eligible for the position.
The criteria to be selected as the head coach of the Senior National Team for the 2008 Olympic Games had been as follows: A candidate must have at least five years of coaching experience as either an assistant or head coach at any level at the time of selection; A candidate must have at least three years of coaching experience as a head coach in the WNBA or any professional league at the time of selection; And a candidate must have coached two of the last three years in the WNBA at the time of selection.
Auriemma led the Huskies to a 39-0 record this season, their sixth national championship and the fifth undefeated season in the history of women’s basketball.
Auriemma, who was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, has led UConn to a record of 696-122 (.851) with 10 Final Four appearances and 21 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in 24 seasons. He has also led the Huskies to 17 Big East regular season championships and 15 Big East tournament championships and is first among active coaches in winning percentage and eighth in wins.
Auriemma has coached nine Olympians, six players who have been named national Player of the Year, 12 first-team All-Americans and named the National Coach of the Year by The Associated Press and the WBCA six and five times, respectively. He swept all of the major national Coach of the Year awards this season.

Rich

Here are the specifics for Sunday’s championship parade in Hartford, which begins at the State Capitol Building at 3 p.m. It will be immediately followed by a rally on the north steps of the Capitol Building.
The parade will first head north on Trinity Street alongside Bushnell Park, turn right onto Jewell Street, turn left onto Gold Street, turn right onto Main Street, and turn right onto Capitol Avenue before returning to the north steps of the Capitol Building for what has been termed a large rally.
The Huskies will travel atop a double-decker bus, similar to the 2004 parade.
For parade sponsorship opportunities, contact Michael Zaleski at the Hartford Business Improvement District at (860) 728-2274. The parade is being made possible through support from the City of Hartford, the State of Connecticut, and a variety of area businesses and civic organizations.
The parade’s planning committee is coordinated by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office, the Hartford Business Improvement District and the MetroHartford Alliance. The committee consists of representatives from the Office of the Governor, the State of Connecticut, the City of Hartford, UConn, the Hartford Hospitality Task Force and businesses and civic organizations from throughout the Greater Hartford region.
Additional parade details, including information about traffic, parking, order of participants, media credentials and more will be announced as they become available. For a map of the parade route and more information, visit www.hartford.com.

For those of you who are fortunate enough to get ESPNU on your cable or satellite system you will have the chance to relive the UConn’s 76-54 win over Louisville in the national championship game Wednesday at 1 p.m. It will be the “TMI’’ Game of the Week, which will also display interesting facts about both teams during the game.

Heather Buck’s final blog is up. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Heather for taking the time each week during the NCAA tournament to write both a thoughtful and entertaining piece. Well done. And thank you very, very much.

Rich

The national champion Huskies will be honored next Sunday in Hartford with a parade at 3 p.m., it was announced today by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The parade will begin and end at the Capitol. Information regarding its exact route and parking will be announced in the next few days.
A post-parade rally will be held on the north steps of the Capitol.
“The UConn women’s basketball team has a long tradition of success when it comes to the Big East and the NCAA National Championships,” Rell said. “Husky fans rightly want to continue the state’s wonderful tradition of giving these young women and their coaches the recognition and admiration they truly deserve. A parade in downtown Hartford is just one way to do just that – not only for the players, the coaches and the university, but for the thousands of fans of all ages who helped cheer them on to a perfect 39-0 season and a sixth NCAA Championship.”

Happy Easter to everybody!

Rich