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Here are the comments from U.S. Olympic Team/UConn coach Geno Auriemma on the U.S. being placed in Pool A with Angola, China and three teams still to be determined for the preliminary round of the London Games this summer (courtesy of USA Basketball) …

“It’s interesting,’’ Auriemma said. “People might say we’ve got an easier draw than teams in the other bracket, but you have to remember that China is the Asian champion. They have been climbing back up the world ranks and finished in the top four in Beijing. And Angola will be excited about playing in their first Olympics. Don’t forget, we could end up with a very tough pool once the Olympic Qualifying Tournament plays out. There are a lot of very competitive teams still trying to play their way into the Olympics, like the Czech Republic. They finished second at the Worlds two years ago; they have a very disciplined and well-coached team. Regardless of who we have in our opening pool, we’re still going to have to get through a lot of very good teams if we want to win gold.’’

Rich

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The U.S Women’s Olympic Basketball team has been placed in Group A with Angola, China and the teams that finish first, second, and fourth in the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for Women in Ankara, Turkey, it as announced today. Group B will consist of Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Russia, OQT 3 and OQT 5.

The pool of OQT teams is comprised of Argentina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Korea, Mali, Mozambique, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Turkey.

Each team will play one another during the preliminary round of the London Games. The top four teams will then advance to the quarterfinals of the standard knock-out tournament.

The Olympic Basketball Tournament will take place from July 28 through August 11 at the Olympic Basketball Arena and the North Greenwich Arena.

Rich

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UConn Class of 2013 target Taya Reimer has orally committed to Notre Dame, ESPN HoopGurlz has reported.

Here is the complete report from ESPN HoopGurlz …

Taya Reimer of Indianapolis, Ind., told ESPN HoopGurlz she verbally committed to Notre Dame on Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-2 junior forward also considered Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas A&M and UCLA before choosing the Fighting Irish.

“I chose Notre Dame because of a lot of different reasons,’’ Reimer said. “I have a strong relationship with the entire staff, and that was very important to me. Along with that I am extremely comfortable on campus and with the team. It’s close to my family and friends and I decided that was important as well.’’

Reimer’s commitment came as a bit of a surprise to head coach Muffet McGraw. With some planning along with assistant coach Niele Ivey, Reimer hit the South Bend, Ind., campus for an academic meeting and unofficial visit, and sprung the news on her future coach.

“A degree from Notre Dame and the educational opportunities available were a great fit for me,’’ Reimer added. “Also, I’d like to thank all of the coaches that recruited me and made this recruiting process so positive and enjoyable. I really valued getting to know all of them and building relationships with them.’’

Reimer, who is ranked No. 4 in the ESPN HoopGurlz 100 for the 2013 class, is the fourth player to commit to the program that has been the NCAA national runner-up in back-to-back seasons. She joins Lindsay Allen, a point guard from Mitchellville, Md., who is ranked 23rd in the class; Kristina Nelson, a post from Buford, Ga., ranked 30th, and Diamond Thompson, a post from Lombard, Ill., who is rated a four-star prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz.

Rich

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Joe Tartamella has been named the new head coach at St. John’s, the university has announced. He was formally introduced as the eighth coach in the 38-year history of the program during a press conference this morning.

Tartamella succeeds Kim Barnes Arico, who left the program after 10 seasons to become the new coach at Michigan. He had been an assistant coach under Barnes Arico for the past nine seasons.

“We are thrilled to introduce Joe as our new head coach,’’ St. John’s Director of Athletics Chris Monasch said in a statement. “Joe has spent the last nine years as Coach Barnes Arico’s right hand person. He has been an integral part of the evolution of our program to national prominence. Along with many others in the women’s basketball world, we see Joe as a rising star and strongly believe he will maintain and build on the success of recent years.’’

Tartamella, who is recognized as a talented recruiter, joined the Red Storm as a graduate assistant in 2002. He had been serving as the associate head coach since 2008 and has been an integral part of a staff that has guided St. John’s to four NCAA tournament appearances.

The Red Storm will return four starters and 79 percent of its scoring next season from a team that finished 22-10 overall record and advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals for the first time in program history.

“It has been a dream come true for me to accept the opportunity St. John’s has offered,’’ Tartamella said. “I am excited and grateful to be able to make my start as head coach at such a tradition-filled and successful program. Since I have been here, I have seen first hand the willingness the University has shown to continue to make women’s basketball a priority at this school. It is a pleasure to be able to take on a larger role in these goals, which reflect my own. I am thankful for Chris Monasch and Father Harrington for allowing me to be able to continue what Kim Barnes Arico started here.’’

Rich

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UConn commits Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and Moriah Jefferson were named to the 2012 All-USA girls’ high school basketball first team, USA Today and HighSchoolSports.net have announced.

Stewart was named the National Player of the Year.

Duke commit Alexis Jones and Tennessee commit Bashaara Graves joined Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson and Tuck on the first team.

Rich

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The Huskies will open their exhibition schedule by hosting Division II Indiana University (Pa.) Nov. 2, it was announced on the Crimson Hawks website. UConn previously defeated IUP 100-41 in an exhibition game at the XL Center Nov. 10, 2010.

The Crimson Hawks will return four starters from a team that finished 23-7 and advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Regional semifinals.

“We’re obviously excited about the opportunity to play UConn again in a preseason exhibition game,’’ IUP head coach Jeff Dow said. “It was a tremendous environment when we played them two years ago with nearly 8,000 fans and when we were recently contacted by the UConn administration about playing again, we didn’t hesitate to accept.’’

Rich

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Here is a Q & A with both Geno Auriemma, the U.S. Olympic Team/UConn head coach, and former UConn star Asjha Jones regarding the selection of Jones to the team’s 12-member roster (Courtesy of USA Basketball).

Geno Auriemma

Q: What do you think about adding Asjha Jones add to the team and what does she bring to the mix of talent you already have?

A: “I’m excited. I think it’s well deserved. She adds an awful lot of maturity, experience and talent to this team. Some of the teams that we’re going to have to beat in the Olympics, the best teams are really the ones who have the most experienced post players. Asjha has proven herself both in the WNBA and overseas to be able to defend anybody and to be able to score. She’s got experience. All of the things you would look for in a player, she has those qualities. So, when we’re looking at who that 12th player was, having somebody with Asjha’s experience and certainly what she’s done overseas, especially this year, has given us a lot of comfort knowing that we have somebody who can really complement the other post players who have already been named.’’

Q: You mentioned her play in the EuroLeague this season. Do you think that the committee took that into account?

A: “I think so. Also, Asjha’s been in the WNBA a long time. She’s finally healthy and I think that’s a big part of it. Certainly her performance over in Europe this year, people have been raving about how well she’s playing. To me, the fact that you play against those players over there, competed against them, had success against them, a lot of times they’re the same people you’re going to be playing against in the Olympics.’’

Q: People are going to ask about the six players who are former UConn players. What do you have to say about that?

A: “I would like to think that one: it’s a coincidence. I would like that regardless of who the coach was, there’s a pretty good chance that every one of those players would be on this team. They earned it. All the accolades that these players have gotten, they didn’t get those accolades because they played at UConn. They got those accolades because of what they’ve done in their pro careers since they left Connecticut. That speaks to their talent and their level of being able to win at every level they’ve been at. They didn’t make the team because I’m the coach. They made the team because they deserve to be on the team.’’

Q: How pleased are you that the 12-member team is now complete?

A: “I’ve been involved in this program for four years and the training camp in Seattle will be the first time I will be with the whole team. I’m really excited, obviously, to get to work with them, to see them all in one place and to see what they can do. It’s going to be exciting. I want to see how they interact. I want to see how they play together. Most of them, all but Candace (Parker) and Seimone (Augustus) have already played together on the USA World Championship Team that I coached. So there’s a tremendous amount of familiarity there on both sides – me with them and them with me. I’m looking forward to it.’’

Asjha Jones

Q: What does being an Olympian mean to you?

A: “It’s an honor. My mom, everyone in my family is so excited for me. I think it’s exciting how people respond to you when you tell them. A lot of people want to cry. Just to see the way people react to the news is really special. I’m really exited. I’m so excited to be a part of this.’’

Q: Who did you call first?

A: “(laughs) Actually Coach Auriemma. It was part of the stipulation that I call him immediately. Carol told me ‘it’s not official until you call Coach Auriemma and let him know you spoke to me.’ So, he was the first person I called.’’

Q: What kind of emotions were you feeling when you heard the news that you were going to be added to the team?

A: “It was kind of like disbelief and shock. I kind of put the Olympics out of my head because I didn’t think I was going to be on the team. First, I was surprised that (USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director) Carol (Callan) was even calling me. Then when I answered and she told me the news, I was very surprised, very shocked. I was really, really honored to be picked up.’’

Q: Do you think your play this season in Europe really solidified your selection?

A: “I think so. I think that probably put me over the top when they were figuring out this spot. I’m sure there were other people they were considering, but I think being named MVP of Europe was a big deal and definitely helped my standing with the committee.’’

Q: There are now six former UConn players on the team. What does that mean to you to be able to do something like this with not only your college coach, but some of your former college teammates?

A: “Some people will probably think that we were picked because he’s our coach. But, I think we’ve all proved ourselves outside of college. We’ve been removed from college for over 10 years now. I think that being back with the group again and being back with Coach Auriemma is going to be very special for me to be able to be coached by him again, and doing it with my friends will make it even more special.’’

Q: Is this something you’ve dreamed about for a long time or is it something that you only recently thought it was an achievable goal?

A: “Right, because I wasn’t always a part of it. For me, I hadn’t really thought about it until I became a part of the national team. Once I thought I wasn’t able to make the team, I realized how much I wanted it. When I was told I wasn’t going to make it (as part of the first 11), it hurt me a lot. I didn’t know it would hurt that much until I got the call. That’s why I was so excited when I got the next call and found out I was added to the team. But that’s how it is. There are so many good players in our country, it’s going to be like that.’’

Q: Did you watch the Beijing Olympics in 2008?

A: “I tried to as much as possible, but the games came on at such crazy hours it was hard to catch. I watched the Opening Ceremonies and I was just so proud to see all of the people I know being a part of that.’’

Q: What about growing up. Did you watch the Olympics in past years?

A: “Yeah, we watched everything. But definitely for the women’s basketball in ’96. Seeing how professional they were, how dominant they were, how aggressive they were and watching their passion for the game was really important for me when I was growing up.’’

Rich

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Former UConn standout Asjha Jones was named to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team, it was announced today by USA Basketball. She represents the 12th and final member of the team that will be seeking to win the country’s fifth-consecutive Olympic gold medal in London this summer.

Jones was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee, approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“It’s an honor,’’ Jones said. “My mom, everyone in my family is so excited for me. I think it’s exciting how people respond to you when you tell them. A lot of people want to cry. Just to see the way people react to the news is really special. I’m really exited. I’m so excited to be a part of this.

“It was kind of like I was in disbelief and shock (hearing the news). I kind of put the Olympics out of my head because I didn’t think I was going to be on the team. First, I was surprised that (Women’s National Team Director) Carol (Callan) was even calling me. Then when I answered and she told me the news, I was very surprised, very shocked. I was really, really honored to be picked up.’’

Jones is the sixth former UConn player named to the team, joining Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi. Seimone Augustus, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Angel McCoughtry, Candace Parker, and Lindsay Whalen complete the roster.

“I’m excited,’’ Team USA and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “I think it’s well deserved. (Jones) adds an awful lot of maturity, experience and talent to this team. Some of the teams that we’re going to have to beat in the Olympics, the best teams are really the ones who have the most experienced post players. Asjha has proven herself both in the WNBA and overseas to be able to defend anybody and to be able to score. She’s got experience. All of the things you would look for in a player, she has those qualities. So, when we’re looking at who that 12th player was, having somebody with Asjha’s experience and certainly what she’s done overseas, especially this year, has given us a lot of comfort knowing that we have somebody who can really compliment the other post players who have already been named.’’

Jones, a 6-3 forward, was a member of the 2007-08 U.S. National Team. However, she was injured during training camp in September of 2007 and was unable to participate in drills.

Jones returned to USA Basketball in 2009, helping the U.S. win the UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational title with a 3-0 record. She was then named to the 2010 USA World Championship Team, which won the gold medal. And last fall she Jones played in the final three of the U.S.’s five games during its European Tour.

Jones has twice been named a WNBA All-Star during her 10-year career in the league and was named to the 2008 All-WNBA second team. Playing professionally in Spain, she helping led Rivas Ecopolis to the 2012 EuroLeague championship game and was named the 2012 EuroLeague Final Eight MVP.

“As always, this decision was very difficult due to the breadth and quality of the USA National Team pool,” said Callan, who is a member of the selection committee. “Asjha has shown her abilities throughout the EuroLeague season, culminating in earning MVP honors at the Final Eight. Her abilities and leadership as a veteran of international basketball and over the last several years with our USA National Team program makes her a great choice for this final spot. Her experience pushed her forward in terms of selecting the final roster spot.’’

Rich