UConn women's basketball

Here’s the site for my live chat today from noon to 1 p.m.

Rich

All-Americans Maya Moore and Tina Charles are among the Midseason Top 20 candidates for the Wooden Award, it was announced today. Moore won award last season.
The Big East leads the Midseason list with 4 players selected – Ashley Barlow of Notre Dame and Brittany Ray of Rutgers are the others. The CAA and the ACC each had three players selected. The Pac-10, Big 10, SEC and Big 12 had two. There were 48 players from 36 schools who received votes.
Players who did not make this list remain eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and consist of about 20 players. The 10-player Wooden Award All American Team will be announced in late March.

Here’s the entire list:
Jayne Appel (Stanford)
Ashley Barlow (Notre Dame)
Tina Charles (UConn)
Alysha Clark (Middle Tennessee)
Cetera DeGraffenreid (North Carolina)
Allyssa DeHaan (Michigan State)
Elena DelleDonne (Delaware)
Dawn Evans (James Madison)
Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska)
Brittney Griner (Baylor)
Amber Harris (Xavier)
Allison Hightower (LSU)
Jantel Lavender (Ohio State)
Gabriela Marginean (Drexel)
Maya Moore (UConn)
Kayla Pedersen (Stanford)
Brittany Ray (Rutgers)
Shekinna Stricklen (Tennessee)
Jasmine Thomas (Duke)
Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga)
Monica Wright (Virginia)

Rich

What has transpired in the past three seasons is irrelevant at this point for senior Kaili McLaren. For that matter, so is what has transpired in the first 15 games this season.
That was the message Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma conveyed to McLaren during a recent conversation. This season has hardly gone as planned for McLaren, a 6-foot-2 forward. It began with her having to sit out the season opener against Northeastern Nov. 14 with a sore right foot. She then had to miss a game against South Florida Jan. 4 due to a sore right ankle.
And there has been plenty of inconsistency throughout. But with as many as 24 games remaining for top-ranked UConn, beginning with tonight’s matchup at Marquette, there is still ample time for McLaren to right herself and become a reliable member of the rotation.
“The things we talked about the last couple weeks is it’s never too early to get started on something to fix it,’’ Auriemma said. “But there comes a point when it’s too late. It’s not too late for her to salvage something really good in January, February and March. So hopefully she’ll take on that role. And, obviously she would be a great help.’’
McLaren cited a lack of focus, complacency and a willingness to settle rather than work to improve her game as her downfalls this season. She is averaging 3.8 points and a career-low 2.4 rebounds in 14.5 minutes.
McLaren’s scoring average and her playing time are at their lowest since her freshman season in 2006-07. She has also totaled just 14 rebounds in 91 minutes in the last seven games she has played.
“I’m happy with the way things are with the team,’’ McLaren said. “But, personally, I definitely know I could do better. The past is the past. You can’t dwell on that. (Auriemma) is a perfectionist so he just wants everything to be done right and be done perfect. So I just try for that.’’
McLaren showed signs of progress in Saturday’s 88-47 victory over then-No. 7 North Carolina, finishing with two points, two rebounds, four assists and one steal in 12 minutes. She has three assists and one rebound in four minutes in the first half when the game was decided.
“It was pretty good,’’ McLaren said. “There were still times where I was little hesitant, but it was a lot better and as the game went on I just kind of settled in.’’
McLaren is the lone true post player on the bench for the Huskies. At 6-feet, Meghan Gardler has held her own at times against bigger, stronger players. But UConn certainly could use McLaren’s presence on a more regular basis.
McLaren has proven at times in the past that she can be a valuable role player for the Huskies off the bench. The time for to again prove herself has arrived.
“She’s a big post presence that if you don’t have one on your team then we’ve got a huge advantage,’’ Auriemma said. “If you have one then we can neutralize it a little bit. She’s a pretty good passer. She’s a decent shooter from 15 feet or so. But mostly what she can give you is minutes that you might need desperately down the road.’’

Just a reminder … My weekly live chat will held tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m.

Rich

Heather Buck did not practice again today due to a sprained left ankle. She is being listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game at Marquette.

Rich

Heather Buck suffered a sprained left ankle with 2:46 remaining in Saturday’s 88-47 victory over then-No. 7 North Carolina when she landed awkwardly after attempting to block a shot by Laura Broomfield. Buck did not practice today and her availability for Wednesday’s game at Marquette is in question.
“It’s feeling a lot better now than it did,’’ Buck said. “Today I just did rehab and did a bike workout. Hopefully, I’ll be back by like Thursday, Friday at the latest and then hopefully I can get in as early as tomorrow. I don’t really know. I’m assuming at the end of today (team trainer Rosemary Ragle) will tell me what I’m doing tomorrow and I’ll come in and do whatever she tells me to do.’’

The Huskies spent approximately two hours at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford this morning. They brought posters with them to give to the children. They also signed autographs and posed for pictures.

A source said today that Ariel Massengale, a 5-foot-6 point guard from Bolingbrook, Ill. who attended the North Carolina game Saturday at Gampel Pavilion, has not yet received a scholarship offer from Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma.

Rich

Coming off of her monster 25-point, 13-rebound performance in an 88-47 victory over then-No. 7 North Carolina Saturday, it was no surprise that Tina Charles was named the Big East Player of the Week today for the second straight week and the third time this season. It’s the first time a UConn player has won the award in back-to-back weeks since Diana Taurasi was honored Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, 2003.
Charles averaged 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots in three games last week. She shot 71.4 percent (25-of-35) from the field.

Rich

The Huskies had just pummeled the No. 7 team in the country by 41 points on national television. The opening was there for Kalana Greene, Maya Moore or Tina Charles to take even a minute to gush about their accomplishments.
Charles had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone against North Carolina. Moore had a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) too. So did Greene (11, 10). And, defensively, UConn came together to hold the Tar Heels to their lowest point total since they also scored 47 in a 16-point loss to Duke in the ACC tournament final March 8, 2004.
The Huskies looked every bit like the “well-oiled machine’’ a despondent North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell labeled them during her postgame remarks. In fact, she looked like she had suffered through the same 40 minutes of torture on the court as her players did.
But amidst of this, the Huskies did not come close to patting themselves on the back and gloating. They spoke highly of Charles’ performance and of the way they defended. But when they play on a team that is searching for perfection every day there was also talk about improving.
“The thing about that is we thought that we didn’t play as well as we could’ve played,’’ Greene said. “We are constantly wanting to get better. And I think (Saturday) we played a good game, but at the same time we could point out a million things that we wish we had an opportunity to do it again so we could do it right and do it better. We’re constantly looking to get better each possession, each play every single time we step out onto the floor.’’
It is this quest for perfection that defines the Huskies. And it clearly separates them from the opposition. They are seemingly never satisfied. They are always looking for ways to polish every aspect of the game. And in listening to the architect of this approach – coach Geno Auriemma – following the game Saturday one can easily tell why the Huskies are who they and why they have been able to achieve greatness so often during his 25-year tenure.
Yes, UConn has often had the best collection of talent many times over the years. But it’s what Auriemma and his staff does with this talent and what the players expect of themselves every day that shapes the program.
“I told the kids … (Today) we’ve got a day off so just kind of kick back relax and don’t worry about it,’’ Auriemma said. “Monday we start the whole process over again. Monday we start … I call it the chase. A guy I know sent me a pretty good Lombardi quote recently. `Perfection is unattainable. But if you chase perfection you can catch excellence.’ So the chase starts and some people just get tired of the chase. Some don’t even start the chase. Some start it, realize they can’t catch it and they just stop. What I’ve been trying to teach my players all along is that’s the fun part. Knowing that you can’t get to that, and you’re going as hard as you can to get there anyway. And then you get there and it’s there. And then you think you got there and it’s there. And the kind of people you want hanging around with you are the ones that love it. They can see it. They can feel it, but they can’t get it. And they come back the next day and they go at it again. They look up and do, `(Shoot), we didn’t get it. But you know what we got? (Shoot), we were really good today.’ So if I can keep that mindset going with them then we don’t have to worry about winning streaks or who we’re playing, who we’re not playing. It’s just, `Let’s see how good we can be.’’’
Auriemma was then asked if he has ever not tried to play the perfect game. As you can imagine, it didn’t take him long to render a response.
“No, you try to get that every game,’’ Auriemma said. “But some games you come up short. We don’t treat this game any different than the Iona game. We’re trying to play the absolute perfect game of basketball knowing that it’s impossible. And some games you get close, some games you get nowhere near it. Some games you’re just awful. But that’s what you’re trying to do every game. You’re not showing up going, `Alright, what do we have to do to beat Carolina?’ What if you play (bad) and beat Carolina? Does that make you a really good team? So it’s not about did we win the game, did we not win the game? Obviously, you want to win the game. It’s not about winning, losing. I’m trying to get them to understand this is how good you are and this is how good you have to be. I don’t think the offense that we run and the defense that we run is the reason why we are where we are. I think it’s the other stuff that goes into it. It doesn’t make me any smarter than anybody else. I just have a different approach.’’
The approach had yielded six national championships since 1995 and 10 trips to the Final Four since 1991. This season the Huskies look as if they are rolling to their second straight national championship. And a second straight undefeated season just might come with it. Coach Sylvia Hatchell and the Tar Heels certainly won’t disagree.
“UConn’s a great team and they showed my young team that there’s another level that we haven’t reached yet,’’ Hatchell said. “They’re a great team. They may be better than they were last year, I don’t know. This may be the best team that Geno’s had … could be.’’

Rich

When Tiffany Hayes fell to the floor with 17:30 left in the first half of Thursday’s win over Cincinnati at Gampel Pavilion, it was unclear whether or not she would be able to play tomorrow against No. 7 North Carolina. But after the initial rush of pain in her left ankle subsided and she was able to walk around after the game, any doubt virtually subsided.
Hayes, who was diagnosed with a sprain, practiced fully today. And afterwards she declared herself fit to take on the Tar Heels.
“No question at all,’’ Hayes told the media in attendance. “I’m definitely playing. It really hurt at the time and then as I sat more and more it started to feel a little better as time went by. I just needed some ice. I did a little ABC’s last night. So I’m good.’’
When Hayes refers to ABCs she is referring to a rehab technique in which she draws the letters of the alphabet with her foot in the air to work on range of motion. Hayes said she has been experiencing problems with her ankles since high school. This is why she has worn ankle braces since she arrived at UConn last season.
Hayes said she had a good practice today. Coach Geno Auriemma labeled it “OK.’’ But the work she got in proved that is she ready to go tomorrow.
“She did whatever she had to do last night,’’ Auriemma said. “And then going towards today, we were thinking if she can go a little bit, great. I asked her, `Are you practicing?’ and she said, `Yeah.’ So it was good. I didn’t know what to expect coming in this morning, so I think her and (team trainer) Rosemary (Ragle) worked hard on it and she’s ready to go.’’

A recruiting source today again confirmed that Ariel Massengale, a 5-foot-6 guard from Bolingbrook, Ill., is expected to be in attendance tomorrow. The source also said that you can add Kiah Stokes, a 6-3 junior post player from Marian, Iowa, to UConn’s list of 20011 targets for 2011.

The Huskies would tie Louisiana Tech for the second longest winning streak in Division I history at 54 with a win tomorrow over the Tar Heels. Unlike when UConn reached the milestone in 2003, this time it’s almost an afterthought. Maybe because they already own the record of 70 straight wins.
“It seems to be,’’ Auriemma said. “It seems like everything that’s being written has been written already so you don’t know what to make of it. I don’t think our guys are sitting there thinking, `We’re going to tie Louisiana Tech’s record if we win tomorrow.’ So I think because it’s already been done, they probably feel like, `It’s not like we’re doing something nobody else has done.’ And what bothers me a little bit is it’s almost like it’s a done deal that we’re going to pass 70, and we’re going to get to 88 and we’re going to go to 120. That’s what it seems like. But I think we’ll know a lot more about our team after this week. After Saturday (vs. North Carolina), Wednesday (at Marquette), Saturday (vs. No. 3 Notre Dame), Monday (Jan. 18 at No. 9 Duke). I don’t remember playing that many good teams, ranked teams, that quickly in that period of time.’’

Don’t expect the series with North Carolina to end any time soon. The teams are currently scheduled to meet through the 2011-12 season. Auriemma said it’s a series he truly likes being a part of.
“I know we’re playing them down there next year,’’ Auriemma said. “I don’t doubt that we’re going to keep playing. I don’t see why we wouldn’t. They haven’t said they don’t want to and we haven’t said we don’t want to. So I think it’s just a matter of you sign the paperwork and you keep going.’’

Baylor seems to be the final piece of what will be a formidable 2010-11 non-conference schedule. The slate will also feature No. 2 Stanford, North Carolina, Duke, No. 13 Florida State, No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 20 Georgia Tech.
“Our schedule next year is kind of ridiculous,” Auriemma said. “We’re at Stanford. We have Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Florida State, Baylor. Are you kidding me? I don’t know who else we want to add.’’

Rich