UConn women's basketball

It was a fairy tale day for All-American Tina Charles. One that her or any member of her family will ever forget.
It began with an emotional pregame ceremony to enshrine her into the Huskies of Honor. She became the second active player and the 12th overall to be inducted in what was the final game of her career at Gampel Pavilion. Charles was accompanied to midcourt by her mother, Angella Holgate. By the time they reached Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway, the tears were already flowing. And then in a nice touch, fellow seniors Jacquie Fernandes, Meghan Gardler, Kalana Greene and Kaili McLaren unveiled Charles’ No. 31 placard on the wall at the East end of the building.
“It meant everything,’’ Charles said. “I really thought it was going to be Jonathan the Husky dog or some guy that I had probably never seen before and didn’t know. It was definitely amazing to see my teammates up there.’’
Along with teammates Heather Buck, Lorin Dixon, Caroline Doty, Kelly Faris, Jacquie Fernandes, Kaili McLaren and Maya Moore, Charles was then honored at halftime for earning a 3.0 grade point average in the 2009 spring or fall semesters. And, of course, to top it all off Charles finished with a monster game of 25 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in playing 40 minutes for the just the second time in her 138-game career.
“Definitely bittersweet,’’ Charles said. “I think that’s just the key word personally for me. It was amazing seeing my number up there and my name up there, but just the way we played that wasn’t really a nice taste in my mouth.’’

Charles was also hit with a technical foul with 15:59 left in the game, one second after scoring in the lane during a stretch that saw her score 13 straight points for the Huskies during a stretch of 6:31. She was whistled by referee Joseph Vaszily for pushing a St. John’s player in the face after the hoop.
“He said that after the basket when it’s a dead ball she smacked her in the face,’’ Auriemma said. “Typical my guys, I think it was Meghan, `But she got fouled.’ OK, so that’s the rule now. They foul you and you want a bucket and the ref doesn’t call it, punch them in the face. She was working hard. I don’t even think it was on purpose. I think it was accidental. I don’t think she intentionally smacked the kid. That’s not Tina. If she tells you she did it on purpose because she’s a tough guy, she’s lying.’’

It was UConn’s fourth sellout this season during its annual Pink Zone game, including the third at Gampel Pavilion. UConn-bound recruits Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson and current recruit Kiah Stokes, a 6-foot-3 post player from Marion, Iowa were on hand.

Rich

Another familiar face was back at Gampel Pavilion Friday practicing with the Huskies. Mel Thomas had been in New York and elected to take a couple of days to visit with some of her former teammates, some new additions to the program and the UConn coaching staff.
Thomas graduated in 2008 as one of the top 3-point shooters in UConn history. She currently ranks fifth with 224 career 3s. And, wouldn’t you know it, she even dove for a loose ball in yesterday too. Some things never change.
What has changed, though, is Thomas’ career path. A run of misfortune has her in a state flux. She played professionally in Ireland for the Bausch & Lomb Waterford Wildcats during the 2008-09 season. A torn meniscus in her knee then cost her a chance to participate at the Seattle Storm training camp last spring before she began playing for Artego Bydgoszcz in the Polish Basketball League in September. And that did not end well.
“I just got back from Poland last week,’’ Thomas said. “I was supposed to be there until March or April, but there was money issues. I hadn’t been paid for like two months so I came home.
“My team was really bad so that was hard. We won I think four games in the five months that I was there. So that wasn’t a lot of fun. It’s really cool to get to experience the different culture and all that, but when you’re there for seven months or however long you’re there it gets to be a long time. And it’s just hard. Playing basketball (at UConn) and getting used to this and then trying to play anywhere else is just … I’m sure you could find good situations overseas, but I really haven’t found them yet.’’
Thomas, who will be at today’s game against No. 25 St. John’s, said her agent is trying to find her a spot in a WNBA camp. But at this point her playing career is in limbo.
“Last year I got into a camp and then didn’t get to go,’’ Thomas said. “So I’ll see if I can get into a camp this year, but I really don’t know. I might go overseas again, but it’s like you’re just crossing your fingers about what situation you’re going to be in, and then you get there and you’re stuck. Even if you don’t like it, you’re like, `Oh, I signed a contract. I’m here for seven months.’ So it’s just like you’re picking out of a hat when you go over there.’’
Thomas is looking into possibly attending graduate school. She had an opportunity to become a graduate assistant at Cincinnati under former Huskies assistant coach Jamelle Elliott this season. But she turned that offer down to play overseas. The opportunity is still there, but it wouldn’t be open until the 2011-12 season.
“I think that would be a cool thing to do,’’ Thomas said. “You’re not really a coach, but you get to see if you want to get involved in coaching and get your school paid for. It’s kind of weird not knowing if you’re still going to play or if you’re not going to play. And then starting a different thing in your life. … It’s weird because I’ve played my whole life.’’

CPTV is doing the UConn fans an outstanding service today by beginning its broadcast of the game at 4:57 p.m. so that it will be able to air Tina Charles’ induction into the Huskies of Honor. Kudos to Harriet Unger and the people at CPTV.
Also, the game will be broadcast in HD.

Rich

Three authentic pink game jerseys autographed by Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and the players will be auctioned off beginning at the start of Saturday’s game against No. 25 St. John’s at www.genoscancerteam.com. The auction will end Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. All proceeds will go to the V Foundation.

UConn recruit Kiah Stokes, a 6-foot-3 post player from Marion, Iowa., will be in attendance tomorrow.

Rich

There are less than 200 tickets remaining for Saturday’s game against No. 25 St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion (5 p.m.). Senior All-American Tina Charles will be inducted into the Huskies of Honor program during a pregame ceremony and Heather Buck, Charles, Lorin Dixon, Kelly Faris, Jacquie Fernandes, Kaili McLaren and Maya Moore will be honored at halftime for earning a 3.0 grade point average during the 2009 spring or fall semesters. Team managers Matt Gade (Wallingford), Mark Jenkins (Fitchburg, Mass.), Maddie Marks (Fairfield), Emily Mattson (Bristol, N.H.) and Greg Mihailides (Rehoboth, Mass.) will also be honored for their fine academic standing.

The game will also be the annual Pink Zone event, which is held to heighten breast cancer awareness. All fans will receive pink “3’’ placards and are urged to wear pink. Those with the best and most creative pink outfits will receive prizes.
Pink wristbands will also be available for $1. All proceeds will benefit the V Foundation.
Tickets can be purchased at www.uconnhuskies.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Rich

UConn-bound recruits Bria Hartley, a 5-foot-10 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y., Samarie Walker, a 6-1 wing from Dayton, Ohio, and Stefanie Dolson, a 6-5 center from Port Jervis, N.Y. were among 23 players named McDonald’s All-Americans Thursday.
They will compete for the East team in the McDonald’s All-American game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio March 31 at 5:30 p.m. The boy’s game will follow at 8.
UConn and Duke each had three players honored. Maryland and California had two. In all, there were 17 colleges represented.

Rich

There are less than 500 tickets remaining for UConn’s game against No. 25 St. John’s Saturday at Gampel Pavilion (5 p.m.).
It is shaping up to be a full day for the Huskies and their fans. Senior Tina Charles will be inducted into the Huskies of Honor program during a pregame ceremony. Heather Buck, Charles, Lorin Dixon, Kelly Faris, Jacquie Fernandes, Kaili McLaren and Maya Moore will be honored for their recent academic success at halftime. And the game will serve as UConn’s Pink Zone game, which is part of a nationwide initiative to heighten breast cancer awareness.
All fans in attendance will receive pink “3’’ placards and are encouraged to wear pink to the game. Those wearing the most creative pink outfits will win prizes.
Tickets to the game can be purchased at www.uconnhuskies.com, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Rich

The trip to Chicago is one that Geno Auriemma likes to make with the Huskies. Great city. Great sights. Great food. And one great friend.
Auriemma and DePaul coach Doug Bruno have been friends for a long time. With each tending to their respective teams during the season, there isn’t much time to catch up and talk at great lengths. But the trip to the Windy City provides then with at least some time to meet.
And they certain have plenty to talk about. The Huskies have won 62 straight games. The Blue Demons are fighting for an NCAA tournament berth despite losing leading scorer Deirdre Naughton to a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game this season. The two are also coaching together as part of the U.S. Senior National Team.
To Auriemma, the head coach, it was an easy choice to add Bruno to his staff.
“The first thing was because my friendship with him goes back a long way,’’ Auriemma said. “The second thing is that I’ve always respected him as a basketball coach. And he’s put so much time into USA Basketball, he’s coached at almost every level, and those people really need to be rewarded. Here’s a guy who loves basketball, has given his life to women’s basketball, and has given his free time to USA Basketball. It was a no-brainer.’’
Along with Minnesota Lynx coach Jennifer Gillom, Auriemma and Bruno will lead the U.S. at the 2010 World Championships in the Czech Republic Sept. 23-Oct. 3. The U.S. will begin preliminary round play in Pool B against Greece Sept. 23.
“It’s an honor to be asked to coach at that level,’’ Bruno said. “I do believe that I’ve done something to earn it with my work at USA Basketball. I think our teams produced. But it’s an honor to do it and I get goose bumps just talking about it. There is nothing in pro sports or any sports … How many times do you listen to the national anthem before an event? There is nothing like being up on that podium and listening to the United States national anthem after your team has won gold.’’
Bruno led the U.S. Women’s U-18 FIBA Americas Championship Team to a 4-0 record in Colorado Springs, Colo. in 2006. The team earned the gold medal and qualified for the FIBA U-19 World Championship. He then led the U-19 World Championship Team to a 9-0 record and the gold medal at the 2007 FIBA U-19 World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The U.S. also finished 3-0 under Bruno participating in an exhibition tournament in the Canary Islands, Spain prior to the U-19 World Championship.
Bruno was the co-winner of the 2006 and 2007 USA Basketball Developmental National Coach of the Year award. He is the only two-time winner of the award.
“He’s a great teacher,’’ said UConn junior Maya Moore, who was a member of the U-19 team. “He’s really enthusiastic and I think that really spreads over to his program. I think he really did a great job with preparing … I felt really prepared coming in here having played for Coach Bruno the year before I got here, preparing me for Coach Auriemma and how he runs his program here.’’
Bruno and Auriemma coached together with the National Team this fall at training camp in Washington, D.C. and then at a three-game tournament in Russia. Bruno said it was quite an experience to be on the same staff as Auriemma.
“It’s magnificent,’’ Bruno said. “He’s even better in person. That sounds like it’s patronizing but he does a great job of coaching basketball. Whenever you get to be next to a guy that does a great job, it’s a thrill. I’m a basketball junkie. I’m always looking to learn. Everyone always hears about the great job he does. We observe the product when you’re on the outside. It’s a good product to observe. But until you’re on the inside you don’t even realize … I mean, you know he’s really good from the outside. But on the inside, he’s brilliant. He’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason. He’s a special coach.’’

Live chat tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. … Be there.

Rich