UConn women's basketball

Former UConn forward Willnett Crockett was awaiting a phone call regarding an opportunity to play professionally in France last July. What she received instead changed her entire course of action.
Crockett received a text message from Temple coach Tonya Cardoza, who was an assistant for the Huskies during her career. Cardoza wanted to know how she felt about coaching. It was a profession that Crockett wanted to get into at some point in the future.
But Cardoza wasn’t talking about the future. Brittany Hunter, another former Husky, had left her staff after just one season to return to school. Cardoza wanted Crockett to fill the void.
It didn’t take her long to accept Cardoza’s invitation, viewing it as an opportunity she could not pass up. Even at the age of 25.
“That was something I thought about,’’ Crockett said referring to her desire to continue her playing career. “I’m still young. But it was a great situation. It’s somebody who I loved when I was in school and I knew that she was going to make sure that I was taken care of. She was going to make sure that I knew the ins and outs in coaching. And why not do it with somebody that you know. I think because I had a relationship with her it was kind of one of those things like, `Oh, wow. She thinks that much of me that she thinks I’m capable of doing something like this.’ And sometimes you just don’t want to pass things up. You don’t know if a job like that is going to come along again, and it was just something I had to say … Playing, I’d rather walk away from it then be hurt and be devastated and be like, `I can’t play anymore.’ So I stuck with it and I said, `You know what? Why not?’’’
Crockett went to Temple for an official interview in August and was hired. She said she works with the post players and recruits as well as doing other things for the team.
The eighth-seeded Owls could meet UConn in the second round Tuesday night. They will meet ninth-seeded James Madison in the first round today.
“When I first got the job, Willnett was somebody I thought about hiring but she was still playing,’’ Cardoza said. “When Brittany decided to go back to school … Will is just a person I respect. She’s loyal. She’s a hard worker. I just had a conversation the other day. She’s a lot like myself when I was at UConn my first couple years where she doesn’t say a lot. She only speaks when spoken to. I told her, `You’re a lot like I am, and one of the things that’s going to help you grow is if you get out of your shell a lot earlier. There are things you have you might be thinking and you need to utter those things now and not hold onto them.’ But I think she’s done a great job recruiting. Our players have improved drastically over the last couple months with her. I think she’s going to be a really good coach. The players respect her. She is a loyal individual and I’m glad she gave up playing to come and coach with me.’’
Crockett scored 602 points and grabbed 583 rebounds in 131 games in her career with the Huskies, one that spanned 2002-2006. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks with the 22nd overall pick in 2006 and played five games for Phoenix Mercury in 2008. She has also played professionally in Latvia, Africa and Lithuania.
“I’m actually enjoying myself,’’ Crockett said. “It was a decision that I don’t regret and I’m glad that I made. I think I like teaching, period. I think coaching, I know for me, they did a great job of bringing out something I didn’t know I had in me. I think this is a valuable time in their lives where you need somebody to instill something in you. So if I can give that to them that’s something I wanted to do. And to do it with Tonya, somebody I know, why not?’’

Temple has another UConn connection in Trumbull High graduate and Shelton native Stacey Nasser. She is in her second season as a graduate assistant under Cardoza, who like Crockett, pursued Nasser after she graduated from UConn in 2008.
Nasser, who had previously been a manager at UConn, will earn a master’s degree in sport management in May. She said she returns home every couple of months.
“I’ve enjoyed it so far,’’ Nasser said. “It’s almost over, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I think my next step is probably a (director of basketball operations) job or something of that effect and then maybe eventually get into coaching (at the college level).’’

Cardoza was in Connecticut last Saturday to see Kolbe Cathedral’s Cherelle Moore play.

Rich

The Huskies are facing a run towards history. They could become the first women’s basketball team to complete back-to-back undefeated seasons. They are heavy favorites to roll through the tournament and win their seventh national championship. And they have won an NCAA record 72 straight games.
Are the players feeling any pressure? Hardly. They played a game of Pictionary in the locker room Saturday morning that featured much laughter and hooting and hollering. Once UConn took the court for its scheduled open practice the players managed to squeeze 11 basketballs into a hoop, with Maya Moore getting the last one on top of the pile before being mobbed by her teammates in the lane.
This is not a team that is tight as it braces to begin the NCAA tournament.
“Maybe C.D. is,’’ senior Kalana Greene said. “You know how C.D. is. We always play a couple games in the locker room just to kill time. But Coach (Geno Auriemma) said we shouldn’t be the same people we were during the year. We should come with a sense of urgency. But, with us, we don’t want to be uptight and nervous because we’ve never played a game like this season. We weren’t nervous going down to Oklahoma or nervous against Stanford. So why be nervous for another game? This is what we love to do. We take it seriously. When we go on the court and go to practice, it’s all business. There’s no laughing and games there. But when we’re in the locker room we’re just having out and having fun just trying to kill time. Except for C.D.’’

Greene said she expects about a dozen friends and family members to be in attendance at the Ted Constant Convocation Center tomorrow when the Huskies meet 16th-seeded Southern. Much of the group will drive in from Greene’s hometown of Saint Stephen, S.C., which is about five hours from Norfolk, Va.
“I just look at it economically, like 10 people trying to get on a flight to come somewhere else is a lot of money,’’ Greene said. “You drive two cars and it probably pays for one flight right there. I think it’s good. It’s my last year, and a lot of people who weren’t able to make a lot of games during the season will be able to drive down. I was screaming and yelling during the Selection Show that we were playing in Norfolk. It’s not often that your family from like 800 miles away can come see you play.’’

ESPN will utilize whip-around coverage tomorrow on the ESPN2HD, meaning the UConn game will not be shown in its entirety. Fans wishing to watch the game in its entirety can do so on the standard ESPN2 channel and on ESPN360.com.

Rich

The approach will be the same as it’s been all season for the Huskies. They were not distracted by their pursuit of their then-NCAA-record 70-game winning streak. They contend that they won’t be distracted by the opportunity to become the first women’s team to complete back-to-back undefeated seasons.
“You can’t look at it like we’re making history,’’ senior Kalana Greene said. “We’re just trying to win games and win a national championship. And beat Southern. So you’ve got to win all these games coming up to say we made history because it’s fragile. You could lose. Teams you’ve never played before … you’re not familiar with them. It’s so easy to lose. It would be hard for a team to beat us, but it’s so easy for us just to lose if we slip up, miss a box out or a real off shooting night. It’s easy to lose. We know it’s fragile. So, history, we can look at it after whenever the last game is.’’
Maya Moore said the Huskies will not change anything they’ve done up to this point just because it’s the NCAA tournament. As cliché as it might sound, they have taken things one day at a time, one game at a time. Coach Geno Auriemma is a short-term type of guy, and the players have bought into this philosophy.
“You don’t change at this point in the year,’’ Moore said. “You go with what you’ve worked so hard for. You either have it or you don’t. And I feel like we’re coming to a point in the season where it’s coming together and we’re just trying to sharpen up on the things we’re already good at and try to cover up on the areas we’re that we’re not as sharp at. But you don’t really do a lot of change. You just keep doing what you’re doing. We’re going to have to continue to do a good job of keeping our blinders up and playing one game at a time.’’
The only thing that will change for the Huskies as they enter the tournament will be the fact that they are no longer chasing a national championship that had eluded them since winning the last of three straight championships in 2004.
Aside from having won 72 straight games, UConn is now hunted for being the defending national champion too.
“This is water we’ve never been in … coming off of a national championship and having people want more than anything to beat you and people tired of hearing about us,’’ Moore said. “People just wanting to see Connecticut go down. And knowing that they’re coming after you that way, it absolutely makes you have to be more focused. I think we’re going to have to be even more focused this year because we’re not really chasing that first national championship. We’re trying to do something we’ve never done before and that’s going to require a lot more of us than it did last year.’’

Rich

The Huskies still lead the nation in field goal shooting percentage at 51.6. They are still second in the nation scoring offense at 81.5 (Oral Roberts, 86.1). But they did not look like an offensive juggernaut during the final two games of the Big East tournament against Top 10 foes Notre Dame and West Virginia.
UConn averaged a combined 59.5 points and shot 43.6 percent from the field (36.7 percent in the first half). It was the only time this season that the Huskies failed to score 70 points in consecutive games and it was just the fourth time they shot below 50 percent in consecutive games.
All-American Maya Moore averaged 10.5 points on 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30 FG; 3-of-13 3-pointers) in the two games. But as UConn heads into the NCAA tournament this weekend in Norfolk, Va. there is no concern on behalf of the players that this will continue.
“We get good shots,’’ senior Kalana Greene said. “You’re either going to make it or miss it. But it’s what we do after that. And I think the end of the Big East tournament, and in practice, if we’re not making shots we’re going out and getting the offensive boards and we’re finding different ways to score. So I think not making shots is just all part of the game. You’re not expecting to make every shot, but it’s what we do when we’re not making shots. So I’m not really concerned about that. We always know we’re going to score and we always know we’re going to hold teams to not a lot of points.’’
The Huskies averaged 85.0 points and shot 52.5 percent in last season’s national championship run.

With the sophomore backcourt of Caroline Doty and Tiffany Hayes, comparisons can be drawn to UConn’s 2000 national championship team that featured sophomore Sue Bird at point guard. Here is coach Geno Auriemma’s take.
“We had 10 players, and I think what helped Sue was obviously Sue much more mature than her years,’’ Auriemma said. “But we also had Shea (Ralph) and Sveta (Abrosimova). So you’ve got two juniors who are All-Americans. That would be the closest I could come to it. And I remember Sue played great in Philadelphia (during the Final Four) as did Shea and as did Sveta. So if Caroline can be Sue and Maya and Tiffany can be Shea and Sveta … And Maya Moore and Tina Charles can be Swin (Cash) and Asjha (Jones), we’ve got it locked.’’
The Huskies defeated Hampton, Clemson, Oklahoma, LSU, Penn State and Tennessee by a combined 31.2 points to win the program’s second national championship in 2000.

For those who are fortunate enough to be making the trip to Norfolk this weekend, UConn will hold its open practice from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow. Temple and former Huskies’ assistant coach Tonya Cardoza will practice from 2:10: to 3:10 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Rich

The Huskies are making their 22nd straight NCAA tournament. When they began the run with a 72-63 first-round loss to LaSalle March 15, 1989 at Gampel Pavilion, Kelly Faris, Heather Buck, Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty, Maya Moore and Lorin Dixon were not yet born.
It the third longest active streak behind Tennessee (29) and Stanford (23). It is tied with Virginia for the fourth longest overall. Don’t expect UConn coach Geno Auriemma or any of the players that it gets old.
Each year it is a predominately a different team competing in the tournament. The Huskies were screaming with excitement when certain teams were revealed Monday night. This is nothing but fun for all of those involved.
“We liked the first one so much we decided to keep doing it,’’ Auriemma said. “People think, `Doesn’t it get old, the same thing all the time?’ And, actually, not. Let’s say you were doing it with the same team all the time then I would say there’s going to reach a point where you just go, `So what.’ But it’s never going to get old. Never. Ever. I’ll tell you when you’ll stop thinking it gets old if we go a couple years and we don’t make it. Then everybody will go, `I wish we had that old NCAA tournament back.’’’
Auriemma said his approach to playing the tournament has changed over the years. And it has to do with his lucrative salary.
“I used to think that all the time early on that if we didn’t make the NCAA tournament every year that I’m not doing a good job,’’ Auriemma said. “But then I remember what I was getting paid back then and I thought, `you don’t deserve any more than what you’re paying me.’ So now I’ve got to win a national championship because what they’re paying me anything less than a national championship then they’ll think I’m overpaid.’’

The expectation next season is that Bria Hartley, a 5-foot-10 high school All-American from North Babylon, N.Y, will start at point guard for the Huskies. This would allow both Caroline Doty and Tiffany Hayes to play off the ball more, which would play to their strengths.
Assistant coach Shea Ralph recently brought up the subject with Doty. Being the fierce competitor that she is, Doty made is clear that she is not ready to concede anything at this point.
“The other day I said something to her about, `Next year we are bringing in Bria Hartley so you don’t have to worry so much. We will be able to put you back out on the wing more,’’’ Ralph said. “She was like, `I want to be the point guard next year.’ So I like the fact she has kind of come out of her shell a little bit. She’s learning how to be more vocal and direct traffic. She’s learning a lot about the game, and I think it will make her a much stronger player.’’

Rich

Geno Auriemma is one of four finalists for the Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year award, it was announced today by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. He is joined by Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and Nebraska’s Connie Yori.
The finalists were voted on by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy based on player performances this season. The winner will be announced early next month.
Here is the brief look at the finalists that was provided in the release:
Geno Auriemma: Auriemma, who has won sixth Naismith Awards, has led the Huskies to their sixth perfect regular season amidst an NCAA-record 72-game winning streak. He shared Big East Coach of the Year honors for the third straight year and won the award for the ninth time overall. UConn earned its 18th outright regular-season championship in 2009-10, went undefeated in league play for the eighth time in program history and became the 10th league team to accomplish the feat. In 25 seasons at UConn he has a 729-122 record and his squad has been ranked number one by the Associated Press for 41 straight weeks, a poll record.

Pat Summitt: The Volunteers won their 15th SEC regular season title and 14th SEC Tournament title this year, pushing Summitt’s career record to 1,035-195 (.841 overall). The five-time Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year has led UT to all 29 NCAA Tournaments, the only school to achieve that feat, and earned a number one seed for the 20th time.

Tara VanDerveer: Stanford went 18-0 to win their 10th consecutive Pac-10 regular-season title, and followed that up by winning the conference tournament. The Cardinal (31-1) is making its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and 24th overall. The top seed in the Sacramento region, Stanford seeks its third consecutive Final Four appearance.

Connie Yori: The 2010 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year has led Nebraska (30-1, 16-0 Big 12) to the best season in school history. The Huskers tied the Big 12 record with a 30-game winning streak, shattering the school record (23) in the process. The Huskers are also the nation’s most improved team, winning 15 more games than the previous season. Nebraska became the first Big 12 Conference team to finish a regular season with an unbeaten record (29-0), and just the second Big 12 team to go 16-0 through league play. Yori’s record at Nebraska (eight seasons) is 151-98 and her overall career mark is 346-238 in 20 seasons.

Rich

Another award … Three players are again in the running. This time Tina Charles, Kalana Greene and Maya Moore are among 22 players on the final ballot for the Women’s John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year, which is presented to the nation’s top female player.
Moore won the award last season.
All players on the ballot have proven that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Voting will conclude at 3 p.m. March 30. The winner will be announced at the 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony April 9.

Rich