UConn women's basketball

Geno Auriemma was asked during a national conference call today if the Huskies have been at all affected by the alleged recruiting violations levied against the UConn men’s program in their recruitment of Nate Miles.
A report by Yahoo! Sports stated last week that Miles was given lodging, transportation, meals and representation by sports agent Josh Nochimson, a former team manager, from 2006 to 2008 and that five members of the UConn coaching staff made 1,565 phone calls and text messages to Nochimson during the process.
The allegations are currently being investigated by the NCAA.
“It hasn’t impacted our team,’’ he said. “Right now they’ve certainly heard about it on TV and they’ve certainly read about it whenever they’ve read anything on-line or not on-line. They’re not naive enough to not know what’s going on in the world. So I know they’re aware of it. I haven’t discussed it with them, not one word. I know that it affects, obviously, the people that work here and the University of Connecticut and all that because it’s a topic that from the first day that it came out to now hasn’t gone away and we probably know that it won’t until it’s over. So our focus with our players has just been who’s playing next? Who do we have to prepare for? And we’ve kind of kept it at that and no dealt with anything else. That’s it.’’

Auriemma also discussed life at UConn with two elite basketball programs under one roof. It is the second time both teams have reached the Final Four in the same season. No other school can stake claim to such an accomplishment. The Huskies swept the men’s and women’s national championships in 2004, which also has never be equaled.
“It is kind of unusual in that respect,’’ he said. “You don’t see that very often. I think you see it at some other schools maybe on let’s say the football/men’s basketball side where you may have … like Florida first comes to mind where you’ve got a national championship football and a national championship men’s basketball program. So it does happen at other schools. So it’s not unusual. It is unusual here at Connecticut because it’s basketball, and it’s men’s and women’s basketball, and it draws so much attention during basketball season and certainly NCAA tournament time. And it’s been great in the sense that our university has benefitted so much from it. So many things have happened on this campus since 1995 when we won our first national championship that would never have happened had the two basketball programs not been as dominant as we’ve been for such a long period of time. And I think in anything when you’ve got all that on a college campus … the excitement, the attention, the things that are said, the things that are written, the stuff you see on TV … All that gets magnified. But for the last 15 years we’ve managed to work it out and here we are both two games away from winning another national championship.’’

Rich

Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore were named to the 11-member United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America team, it was announced today.
Moore was also named the USBWA Player of the Year, while Geno Auriemma was named the Coach of the Year for the second straight season and fourth time overall. No other coach has been honored more than once since the award was started in 1990.
It’s the ninth time the top player and coach have come from the same team and it’s the third time for the Huskies. Auriemma and Rebecca Lobo were honored in 1995 and Auriemma and Diana Taurasi were honored in 2003.
Also earning All-America honors were: Jayne Appel (Stanford), Chante Black (Duke), DeWanna Bonner (Auburn), Marissa Coleman (Maryland), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), Kristi Toliver (Maryland) and Ashley Walker (California).

Rich

The victory had been secure. Lorin Dixon raced in the direction of the UConn bench as time expired and jumped high into the arms of All-American Maya Moore. The Huskies were going to the Final Four for the second straight season and for the 10th time overall.
The players had commemorative hats and T-shirts as a reward for their grand accomplishment. They converged in front of the band and began to dance unlike anything that had been seen before this season. Tina Charles and Kalana Greene squared off with one another. Once Moore had finished her postgame media responsibilities she raced into the huddle and squared off with Charles too. All the while Coach Geno Auriemma gazed in the direction of his players wearing a smile a parent has when their children first learn to walk or ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. It was one of pride and happiness that this team, one he absolutely adores, had reached its goal.
But while all of this was going on, the tournament officials had moved ladders underneath each basket so that the Huskies would have the chance to cut down the nets and take a strand home with them. This was not going to happen. Not this season. Last season it did because seniors Mel Thomas, Ketia Swanier, Charde Houston and Brittany Hunter had never been to the Final Four in their career. This season is different, and there is only one net this team is interested in cutting down. It’s the one at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis next Tuesday if they are fortunate enough to win the program’s sixth national championship and it’s first since 2004.
“I think last year the big thing was our seniors had never been to the Final Four,’’ Kalana Greene said. “We can’t leave them out on that note. So once we got to the Final Four and we actually beat Rutgers and played 39 minutes of great basketball to win we were like, `Wooo, we got to the Final Four.’ And then we got there and it’s like we just worked so hard just to get to the Final Four. And I think this year we know our goal’s not complete. We’re just as happy, if not more happy to be in the position we’re in. But we only want to cut the net down once this season and hopefully that’ll be next Tuesday.’’
“It’s not my decision,’’ Moore said. “I dance when they say dance. I score when they say score. It’s not my decision. I feel like as a team we know that it’s not going to feel as good to cut down a Final Four net as it will the national championship net. And that’s what we want to do. But it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s just something that we just decided not to do.’’
Let’s get this straight, though, the Huskies are ecstatic about being back on the stage that leads teams to ultimate greatness. Greene, who danced a little two-step last night on the baseline, said the feeling of reaching the Final Four will never get old.
“It feels good,’’ she said. “I think I could be watching UConn when I’m 40 and see them go to the Final Four and it being the same feeling. I think this will never get old. We didn’t cut down the nets, but we’re very excited. Everything we do we’re excited about. We’re not like, `Oh, it’s whatever. We’re just going to the Final Four.’ It’s Tiffany’s first time. Caroline’s. Heather’s. It’s a big deal and we take it that way. I’m just happy for my team.’’

Senior All-American Renee Montgomery became the third player in team history to be named to the NCAA all-regional team in each of her four years. Kara Wolters (1994-97) and Diana Taurasi (2001-04) are the others.
“It’s amazing,’’ Montgomery said. “It’s great to be honored because somebody appreciates how you played. I just never really think about that stuff, but I’m happy to be chosen.’’

For those fans thinking about joining the Huskies in St. Louis, information can be found at www.uconnhuskies.com.

Rich