UConn women's basketball

Here’s what Montini coach Jason Nichols had to say today about losing UConn-bound recruit Michala Johnson for the season due to a torn ACL in her right knee.

“She’s done with us, but she’ll be back for (UConn),’’ Nichols said. “But she’ll be alright. The doctor is really one of the top doctors here in the Midwest. He said, `She’ll be stronger than ever just like she is in her left knee right now. We did measurements on her left knee and the original ACL and, man, this thing is solid.’ She’s got to get it fixed and she’ll be fine. It’s not on the other knee so that’s positive. I think Michala, come next fall, will be ready to go and probably will be even stronger than ever once UConn gets a hold of her. She’ll be there for most of her rehab too with the summer and the fall. So I think she’ll be OK and I think that while it’s unfortunate with us there’s just bigger things for her to fry. She’ll be OK. She’s in really good spirits too. She’s just one of those kids that’s kind of like that. She’s just kind of like, `You know what, this is what I’ve been dealt. Now I’ve got to get back to work and I’ll be fine.’ Maybe it’ll be a blessing because she’ll get a whole new knee and she’ll be stronger than ever. And maybe she had wear and tear on both knees since the get-go from a lot of playing. She’ll be alright.’’

Rich

The worst possible scenario has come true again for UConn-bound recruit Michala Johnson, an athletic 6-foot-3 post player. Montini High coach Jason Nichols confirmed that Johnson has suffered a torn ACL in her right knee and will miss the remainder of the season.
An MRI taken Friday revealed the injury. Nichols said that a date for surgery has not yet been scheduled and that Johnson remains in good spirits.
Johnson, who tore the ACL in her left knee in the season opener a year ago, sustained her latest injury performing a spin move about two minutes into a 57-23 win over Guerin Jan. 12. She was averaging 18.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocks this season.

I will have comments from Nichols a bit later.

Rich

Senior Tina Charles was named the Big East Player of the Week for the third straight week today. It is the first time a player has been named the conference Player for the Week in three consecutive weeks since former Louisville All-American Angel McCoughtry was honored Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 2 last season.
Charles averaged 23.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in wins over Marquette and then-No. 3 Notre Dame last week. She also shot 65.4 percent from the field (17-of-26).
Former UConn All-American Rebecca Lobo set the Big East record by earning the award in four straight weeks in 1994 – Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20 and Feb. 27. Former UConn All-American Nykesha Sales also earned the award in three straight weeks in 1998 (Jan. 26, Feb 2 and Feb. 9), while former Villanova All-American Shelly Pennefather was twice honored in three straight weeks (1987: Jan.4, Jan. 11, Jan. 18; 1986: Dec. 16, Dec. 23, Jan. 6).

Rich

The question had barely been completed during the postgame press conference late Saturday night at Gampel Pavilion when Tina Charles leaned over in front of the microphone and expressed exactly how she felt about playing No. 7 Duke at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night.
“I’m excited,’’ she said. “Just watching the men’s games and women’s games, and just how their fans are. Just that atmosphere. I feel like their fans … I don’t think they can compare to our fans, but their fans are there for them like our fans are. And just that atmosphere in their gym, I’m excited about it.’’
The last time the Huskies traveled to Durham it was an event. Coach Geno Auriemma had some fun with the students camped outside in tents. And UConn helped draw the first sellout in Duke women’s basketball history Feb. 1, 2003.
Whether the masses will again come out in full force tomorrow is still in question. Blue Devils Sports Information Director Lindy Brown said in an e-mail today that they anticipate both a good walk-up and student turnout, which will hopefully yield another sellout of 9,314. There were over 5,000 tickets sold as of Friday.
“Well, they’re probably going to come watch Connecticut,’’ Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “What I mean by that is we average about right now 4,000 or 5,000, and I certainly hope there are more fans in the crowd. But if it is 8,000 or 9,000 you can count some folks coming to watch Connecticut. But I hope they will cheer for us.’’
The largest crowd the Blue Devils have drawn in their first eight home games this season was 5,237 against then-No. 3 Ohio State Dec. 3. Cameron Indoor is a stifling hot theater-style venue. The fans are virtually on the court, which makes for a tremendous atmosphere.
Regardless if the game is sold-out or not, the Huskies are gearing up for a heavy dose of the Cameron Crazies. And competing in a hostile atmosphere is something they welcome.
“Me personally, I love playing on the road,’’ senior Kalana Greene said. “I think it’s a different kind of energy. We’re used to everyone being against us. Everyone in the nation wanting us to lose or play a bad game. For us, we love that kind of pressure. I think we play our best on the road. And Coach (Geno Auriemma) always says you’re not a good team unless you win on the road. We take pride in that. We’re going to go in there with the same energy, and those are the times when you really have to depend on your teammates. You can’t look to the crowd to give you energy. This is going to test us because when things aren’t going our way I will look over to Maya (Moore), look over to Tina and Tiffany (Hayes) and Caroline (Doty) and I’m going to get energy from them instead of the fans.’’
The Blue Devils, who have won eight straight games since a 71-55 loss at No. 2 Stanford Dec. 15, have won 23 straight games at home since a 76-69 loss to Maryland Feb. 17, 2008. Duke has defeated six ranked opponents during this streak, including then-No. 24 James Madison 79-65 Dec 18.
Overall, the Blue Devils have won 46 out of their last 49 games at home. The Huskies, meanwhile, are 91-9 on the road since Feb. 1, 2001. They have also won 19 straight true road games since a 73-71 loss at Rutgers Feb. 5, 2008.
“We go into gyms and there are 100 people there and we find (energy),’’ Auriemma said. “That’s when it’s hard. It’s hard when you go into an opposing gym and there’s nobody there and you have to bring it yourself. If we go into Cameron and there are 8,000 people there, that’s easy. That’s not hard at all. I think our players look forward to those kinds of environments. That brings out the best in you. It’s the other stuff that’s hard to kind of get yourself up in a kind of quiet environment. That’s hard.’’

The Huskies have already defeated Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina out of the ACC this season by a combined 109 points. The Tar Heels, who suffered an 88-47 defeat Jan. 9, were picked first in the conference preseason poll ahead of Duke. Florida State was third.
But just because the Huskies have played some common opponents, McCallie has not gone looking for advice on ways to exploit the Huskies.
“No, but not because you’re against doing that,’’ McCallie said. “I think we’re all pretty respectful of the films that we get, and no one has played them close. You can’t say, `Well, we were within four back at the five-minute mark so we must have been exploiting something.’ The bottom line is: I’ve never seen a team like this. They’re like a pro team. So you might as well you write the story `Duke plays WNBA team on Monday night.’ That’s exactly how they play. Now, I have no idea how they will play, but I know what we’re going to try to do and how hard we want to play.”

Here’s a great line from Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw when she was asked if she believed being a part of ESPN’s College GameDay Saturday would aid her program moving forward.
“Only if the electricity went out in all of our recruits’ houses (Saturday) night,’’ McGraw said. “I’m not sure that’s going to have a real favorable impact on our program right now.’’

Off the court, Greene and Duke senior Keturah Jackson are good friends. But in high school they were bitter rivals in South Carolina as Greene attended Timberland High and Jackson went to Dreher.

Rich

Hall of Fame broadcaster and colorful ESPN personality Dick Vitale took a few minutes tonight before calling his first women’s basketball game to speak with a few members of the Connecticut media. And, trust me, he’s just as energetic in person as he is on TV.
Here are some of his thoughts, including the fact that he once recruited Maya Moore’s father, Mike Dabney, when he was an assistant coach at Rutgers (1970-72).

BEING AT UCONN FOR A WOMEN’S GAME
“I’m excited about it,’’ Vitale said. “At my stage of my life I’m 70 years of age, act about 12. And it’s been a challenge for me the last three days in terms of familiarity with the players. Obviously, Maya Moore and (Tina) Charles … All the research I’ve done they’re probably rated 1, 2 in the country. A great combination. But the other people can play as well. I did the research. Delle Donne’s not here. If she’s in this lineup, just think about where they’d be.’’

MAYA MOORE AND HER FATHER
“I can’t wait to see Maya Moore,’’ Vitale said. “I have a little personal scenario there. Her father, I recruited her dad for Rutgers. Her dad was a great player. Michael Dabney was a great player. In 1976 Rutgers went undefeated until they got to the Final Four. Then UCLA beat Rutgers in the consolation game. The two stars of that team were Phil Sellers and Michael Dabney. Michael shocked me one day. He said, `Dick, do you know who Maya Moore is?’ I said, `Yes, she’s a great player for Connecticut.’ He said, `That’s my daughter.’ If she’s anything like the dad… he was bright, talented. I’m excited to see her. Because I’ve seen her on TV a little bit but I’ve never seen her in person. And the same with Tina.’’

Enjoy the game.

Rich

Senior Tina Charles will become the 12th player in team history to be inducted into the Huskies of Honor program when the Huskies host St. John’s Feb. 13 at Gampel Pavilion. She met the criteria for induction last season, which is to earn first-team All-American honors, when she was named to the 10-member State Farm All-America team.
Charles, who will join Renee Montgomery as the only active players inducted, is on pace to become UConn’s career leader in scoring and rebounding by season’s end. She is currently ranked seventh in scoring (1,925) and second in rebounding (1,133).
Nykesha Sales is the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer with 2,178 points. Rebecca Lobo is the all-time leader in rebounding with 1,268.
“Tina’s a great kid who’s the kind of kid you want on your team,’’ Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma said. “She is a great teammate, a super human being who I always thought needed a little bit of a kick in the butt every single day at practice to reach her potential. And hopefully she understands and just by (her Huskies of Honor induction) indicates that whether it was the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do she’s going to get exactly what she came to Connecticut for. And she’s going to go down in history as maybe the leading scorer and the leading rebounder maybe in (team history). So if you ask me would I do it any different I would say, `No.’’’

UConn-bound recruit Michala Johnson underwent an MRI on her right knee today. More information will be available after she meets with her doctor Monday.

Rich

The home and home series with Baylor has been finalized, UConn announced today.
The Huskies will host the Lady Bears early next season in a made-for-TV event in it what could be the first meeting between the teams. They will then travel to Waco, Texas during the 2011-12 season.

Rich

Michala Johnson, an athletic 6-foot-3 forward who signed with UConn in November, sustained an injury to her right knee two minutes into Tuesday’s 57-23 win over Guerin. She was examined by a doctor this morning and is slated to have an MRI tonight to confirm the extent of the injury.
Johnson, who was forced to sit out last season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the season opener, was hurt performing what Montini High coach Jason Nichols called her “patented spin move.’’
“Nobody was around her,’’ Nichols said. “She turned and it caught. That’s it. She loves to go right and spin back to the left. Her plant leg is her left leg, which is her reconstructed knee. She’s done it all year. She has no problems. She’s not even gun-shy on it. So it’s when she came around to elevate on the other leg is when it kind of caught. Two minutes into the game. So it wasn’t even like we had in her during garbage time or anything like that.
“She went to the doctor this morning … to her guy that did her ACL who’s really good. And they actually believe it’s not her ACL. That’s what he told me and I’m going to hold him to his word. They think it’s her meniscus. They think that it’s a strain or a sprain. However, it could reveal that maybe she needs a scope or it has a tear. So if it’s got a tear she’s done for the year, but at least it’s not reconstructive. And if it’s a scope, it’s four weeks. The MRI is ultimately at 7:30 tonight. Hopefully, they can read it tomorrow and that will be the telltale.’’
Johnson is averaging 18.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocks this season. She is shooting 71 percent from the field. Nichols said that Johnson is in good spirits.
“Michala’s Michala,’’ Nichols said. “She’s pretty up. She’s like, `Coach, it’s fine. Don’t worry.’ That’s how she is. I had to sit out the game because I got thrown out of my last game so she was texting me saying, `Coach, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you after the game.’ It’s the second time she’s had a knee problem. Both times I haven’t been around.’’

Rich