historic_huskies.compressed

HistoricHuskies

2013-14: MEMORABLE SEASON

UConn Men Win 2014 NCAA Title

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DID YOU KNOW?

CoachKevin Ollie

Year: SecondHometown: Los Angeles

KEVIN’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTOllie is the 18th coach in the history of the program and is 52-18 through his first two seasons. He is the only coach at UConn to win 50 games in his first two seasons.

NCAA 2014 ChampsUConn Men — 32-8

UConn played

10 teams ranked

in the Top 25 over

its final 12 games

of the season.

The Huskies were

10-2 in those games.

SCHEDULEUC OPP78 . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . .77 80 . . . . . . . . .Yale . . . . . . . . .62 101 . . . . . . Detroit . . . . . . . .55 77 . . . . . . Boston U. . . . . . . .60 72 . . . Boston College-x . . . .70 59 . . . . . . Indiana-x . . . . . . .58 76 . . . . .Loyola (Md.) . . . . . .66 65 . . . . . . . Florida . . . . . . . .64 95 . . . . . . . .Maine . . . . . . . .68 51 . . . . . . .Stanford . . . . . . .53 82 . . . . at Washington . . . . .70 82 . . . . E. Washington . . . . .65 71 . . . . . .at Houston . . . . . .75 65 . . . . . . . at SMU . . . . . . . .74 61 . . . . . . .Harvard . . . . . . . .56 84 . . . . . . . . UCF . . . . . . . . .61 83 . . . . . at Memphis . . . . . .73 64 . . . . . . Louisville . . . . . . .76 90 . . . . . . . Temple . . . . . . . .66 82 . . . . . . at Rutgers . . . . . . .71 80 . . . . . . .Houston . . . . . . .43 58 . . . . .at Cincinnati. . . . . .63 75 . . . . . . . at UCF . . . . . . . .55 83 . . . . .South Florida . . . . .40 86 . . . . Memphis, OT . . . . .81 68 . . . . . . at Temple . . . . . . .55 55 . . . . . . . . SMU . . . . . . . . .64 61 . . . at South Florida . . . .56 51 . . . . . .Cincinnati . . . . . . .45 69 . . . . . . . Rutgers . . . . . . . .63 48 . . . . . at Louisville . . . . . .81 72 . . . . . .Memphis-y . . . . . .53 58 . . . . . Cincinnati-y . . . . . .56 61 . . . . . Louisville-y . . . . . .71 89 . .Saint Joseph’s, OT-z. . .81 77 . . . . . .Villanova-z . . . . . .65 81 . . . . . . Iowa St.-z . . . . . . .76 60 . . . . Michigan St.-z . . . . .54 63 . . . . . . .Florida-z . . . . . . .53 60 . . . . . .Kentucky-z . . . . . .54x-2K Sports Classic y-American Athletic Conference z-NCAA

UConn Men’s history in NCAA tournament

1951 — lost to St. John’s 63-52.1954 — lost to Navy 85-80.1956 — beat Manhattan 84-75; lost to Temple 65-59; lost to Dartmouth 85-64.1957 — lost to Syracuse 82-76.1958 — lost to Dartmouth 75-64.1959 — lost to Boston University 60-58.1960 — lost to NYU 78-59.1963 — lost to West Virginia 77-71.1964 — beat Temple 53-48; beat Princeton 52-50; lost to Duke 101-54. 1965 — lost to Saint Joseph’s 67-61.1967 — lost to Boston College 48-42.1976 — beat Hofstra 80-78, OT; lost to Rutgers 93-79.1979 — lost to Syracuse 89-81.1990 — beat Boston University 76-52; beat California 74-54; beat Clemson 71-70; lost to Duke 79-78, OT.1991 — beat LSU 79-62; beat Xavier 66-50; lost to Duke 81-67.1992 — beat Nebraska 86-65; lost to Ohio State 78-55.1994 — beat Rider 64-46; beat George Washington 75-63; lost to Florida 69-60, OT.1995 — beat Chattanooga 100-71; beat Cincinnati 96-91; beat Maryland 99-89; lost to UCLA 102-96.1996 — beat Colgate 68-59; beat Eastern Michigan 95-81; lost to Mississippi State 73-63.1998 — beat Fairleigh Dickinson 93-85; beat Indiana 78-68; beat Washington 75-74; lost to North Carolina 75-64.1999 — beat UTSA 91-66; beat New Mexico 78-56; beat Iowa 78-68; beat Gonzaga 67-62; beat Ohio State 64-58; beat Duke 77-74. NCAA champion.2000 — beat Utah State 75-67; lost to Tennessee 65-61.2002 — beat Hampton 78-67; beat N.C. State 77-74; beat Southern Illinois 71-59; lost to Maryland 90-82.2003 — beat BYU 58-53; beat Stanford 85-74; lost to Texas 82-78.2004 — beat Vermont 70-53; beat DePaul 72-55; beat Vanderbilt 73-53; beat Alabama 87-71; beat Duke 79-78; beat Georgia Tech 82-73. NCAA champion.2005 — beat UCF 77-71; lost to N.C. State 65-62.2006 — beat Albany (N.Y.) 72-59; beat Kentucky 87-83; beat Washington 98-92, OT; lost to George Mason 86-84, OT.2008 — lost to San Diego 70-69, OT.2009 — beat Chattanooga 103-47; beat Texas A&M 92-66; beat Purdue 72-60; beat Missouri 82-75; lost to Michigan State 82-73. Final Four.2011 — beat Bucknell 81-52; beat Cincinnati 69-58; beat San Diego State 74-67; beat Arizona 65-63; beat Kentucky 56-55; beat Butler 53-51. NCAA champion.2012 — lost to Iowa State 77-64.2014 — beat Saint Joseph’s 89-81, OT; beat Villanova 77-65; beat Iowa State 81-76; beat Michigan State 60-54; beat Florida 63-53. Final Four. Beat Kentucky 60-54. NCAA champion.

<Ryan BoatRight + amida BRimah | the associated PRess

UConn made

101 of 115 free

throw attempts

in the six games

of the NCAA

tournament,

an 87.8 percentage.

468

12141620222428

2013-14: MEMORABLE SEASON | 3

National ChampsHistoric Huskies2013-14: Memorable Season

Conference Coaches Show Their RespectHuskies Selected Second in Preseason AAC Poll

Shabazz Provides Preview of StardomLong Before the Final Four, Napier was Clutch

Make No Mistake: This is Ollie’s TeamHuskies Adopt Traits of Second-Year Coach

Boatright, Brothers Honor Fallen CousinTeammates Support Guard After Cousin Killed

‘Shabazz on Wheels’ Provides InspirationWallingford Teen, Napier Share Mutual Respect

Lenehan More Than Student of the GameXavier Grad and Walk-On Has 4.0 GPA in Molecular Biology

Louisville Only Team UConn Can’t DefeatHuskies Always Had Ability to Beat Any Other Team

Premonition Powers Huskies to Final FourKevin Ollie Took His Team to AT&T Stadium Earlier in Season

No Luck Needed Against FloridaNo Last-Second Heroics in National Semifinal Game

These Huskies Always BelievedNapier and Teammates Knew a Title was Within Reach

< Ryan BoatRight | aRnold gold — new haven RegisteR ^amida BRimha | the associated PRess

© 2014

PublisherKevin Corrado

Chief Financial OfficerJohn Collins

Regional Editor Matt DeRienzo

Sports Editor Sean Barker

EditorialAll stories written by the New Haven Register reporters and columnists

Photography The Associated Press New Haven Register staff: Peter Casolino, Arnold Gold, Peter Hvizdak

Cover photography Courtesy of The Associated Press

Art DirectorAlyson Bowman

ProductionMarisa Dragone

CirculationErick BuezoDavid Martin

Marketing and PromotionsMary-Kate Bzdrya


THE UCONN MEN’S BASKET- BALL team may not necessarily want to be in the American Athletic Confer- ence, but the Huskies are getting

plenty of respect in the new league.UConn was tabbed to finish second in the

American’s inaugural preseason coaches’ poll on Wednesday at AAC media day at FedEx Forum. Senior guard Shabazz Napier was also named to the preseason all-conference first team and junior guard Ryan Boatright to the second team.

Defending national champion Louisville was picked to win the conference by nine of the league’s 10 coaches. Coaches can’t vote for their own team, so Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino voted for UConn.

“I was trying to decide between Memphis and UConn, and to be quite honest, it was 1 and 1A,” Pitino explained. “I just think that their backcourt is awesome. Memphis’s backcourt is awesome. I wanted to vote as a tie, they told me I couldn’t do it, so I just picked UConn because of more familiarity with them.”

Pitino added, “I think (UConn has) a great backcourt, a terrific frontcourt but, not that it’s not about the players, but they have a coach that is not only a terrific young coach, but there’s not a

living room in the country that he will walk into, where when he leaves, that family won’t want to put him in the top three choices to go to school.”

Louisville senior guard Russ Smith was tabbed preseason player of the year and SMU’s Keith Frazier was named rookie of the year. Smith, Napier and Memphis guard Joe Jackson were all unanimous first-team selections.

Junior forward DeAndre Daniels, who aver-aged 12.1 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds last year and really came alive over the final few weeks of the season, was shut out of the preseason awards.

“I don’t really focus on individual awards and stuff,” Daniels said. “Basketball is a team sport, so all I’m worried about is how I can do things I can do to make my team better — rebounding, scoring, all the little things.”

Still, Ollie seemed a little miffed about the gen-eral lack of attention Daniels is getting nationally.

“People aren’t noticing him — he knows that, we know that. That only adds fuel to his fire,” said the coach. “For (a recent publication) to come out to say he’s not one of the top basketball players in America, I want to see who wrote that. We’re going to show ’em, he’s going to show ’em, that he is a great basketball player and a force to be reckoned with this season.”

11Ryan Boatright

Year: Jr.Height: 6-0Weight: 168Position: GuardHometown: Aurora, Ill.

RYAN’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTBoatright had 14 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in the win over Kentucky.

Conference Coaches Show Their RespectStory by DaviD borgeS | 10.16.2013

< deandRe daniels | the associated PRess ^Kevin ollie + shaBazz naPieR | PeteR casolino — new haven RegisteR

DID YOU KNOW?

Boatright scored

more than 40 points

seven times as a

senior in high school

to share Mr. Illinois

Basketball honors.

CHAMPION PROFILE

UConn defeated

eight teams which

won either their

regular-season

or conference

tournament

championship.

APPARENTLY, WE’VE REACHED THE POINT where even when Shabazz Napier all but tries to give a game away, he still somehow manages

to emerge a hero.With the game clock winding down to its

final seconds and UConn trailing by a point, Napier dribbled straight into a Florida trap, nearly turning the ball over before putting up a wild shot. It barely grazed the rim, but caromed off the backboard — and off DeAndre Daniels’ fingertips — straight back to Napier, who calmly swished a 14-footer as time expired.

A 65-64 win for the 12th-ranked Huskies over the Gators before a rowdy, sellout crowd at Gam-pel Pavilion, and yet another huge shot by a player who is seriously starting to rival Kemba Walker as the most clutch player in program history.

“He’s one of the big-time players ever to put this jersey on,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie.

This wasn’t meant to be another column on how clutch Napier is. Many were written last season, though largely ignored by the national media as the Huskies played in postseason-less purgatory. It couldn’t be avoided a little over a week ago at Madison Square Garden, when Napier’s 27-point, yeoman’s effort almost single-handedly guided the Huskies to a one-point win over Indiana.

Against Florida, Napier converted a four-point play with 33.5 seconds left to put the Huskies up one, but Michael Frazier put the 15th-ranked Gators back on top with a slash to the hoop. Napier then turned his own broken play into more broken opponents’ hearts.

“Shabazz, he’s a great player,” said Daniels. “He willed his team to win that game. He never gave up, and the heart that kid has, we hope everybody on the team follows his lead.”

Napier finished with a game-high 26 points,

including five 3-pointers.“You always see highlight films of guys hitting

the last shot, guys at the free throw line making the free throws,” he said. “You want to be the hero, you want to be the guy that’s known as the hero at the end of the game. Who doesn’t? Growing up, I wanted to be Superman. Every-body wants to be the hero. I just felt like I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Asked if he had played the role of Superman on Monday, Napier quickly countered: “Nah. Superman does it on his own, I can’t do it without my teammates. They made sure I got the right picks, DeAndre put a good hand on the ball the last second. We found a way to win.”

Daniels finished with 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds and, of course, that all-important game-winning tip. Or pass?

“Yeah, I was trying to tip it,” Daniels said, a wry smile spread across his face. “I think they should put that in the books as an assist.”

Tip or pass, Florida coach Billy Donovan recognized its significance.

“The guy that won the game for them was DeAndre Daniels,” Donovan noted. “He made an unbelievable tip-out, off-balance, which kept the ball alive. We had guys on Napier that kind of ran to the rim to go defensive rebound, which left space for Napier. We needed to keep a guy there and we didn’t. But his shot really was luck, in the fact that the ball was tipped to him. If it’s tipped anywhere else, it’s out.”

Instead, it rolled straight into the hands of Napier, a player who still comes up huge even when he’s on the verge of being a goat.

“He’s amazing, he’s the best in the country, in my eyes,” said Daniels. “He’s a senior, and he wants it so bad. We’re going to follow the lead of Shabazz.”

35Amida Brimah

Year: Fr.Height: 7-0Weight: 217Position: CenterHometown: Accra, Ghana

AMIDA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTCame off the bench to score 20 points in a victory over Central Florida on Jan. 11.

Shabazz Provides Preview of Stardom


Story by DaviD borgeS | 12.02.2013

DID YOU KNOW?

Brimah has

been playing

organized basketball

for only four years.

He was a soccer

player in Ghana.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Ryan BoatRight and shaBazz naPieR | the associated PRess

The Huskies shot

77.7 percent from

the free throw line,

just short of

the team-record

78.2 percent in

the 1980-81 season.


KEVIN OLLIE HAS OFTEN SAID that coaching is overrated, noting college basketball is a “players’ game.”

Perhaps. But there’s little doubt that the job Ollie has done in his first two seasons as UConn’s head coach has been decidedly under-rated, at least nationally.

Think about it: a guy with zero head coach-ing experience at any level of basketball takes over for Jim Calhoun, one of the winningest, most decorated coaches in college basketball his-tory. His first year, he’s barred from postseason play, through no fault of his own, yet leads the Huskies to 20 victories, including signature wins over Michigan State (in his very first game at the helm) and Syracuse.

Now in Year Two, Ollie has guided UConn to 28 wins (so far), a trip to the AAC champion-ship game and, now, the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. That’s 48-18 over his first two years as a head coach, all the while doing it in a style that sometimes borrows from Calhoun but is predominately all his own.

That’ll work.“You could just see the confidence his team

has played with,” said Iowa State coach Fred Hoi-berg, a longtime friend of Ollie’s who’ll match wits with him in Friday night’s Sweet 16 battle at Madison Square Garden. “Even last year, when they couldn’t play in the postseason, just to see what he was starting … It’s hard to do. People don’t really realize how difficult it is to replace a legend like Jim Calhoun.”

St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli echoed those sentiments last week.

“You’re replacing a guy that’s hung all those banners, who’s in the Hall of Fame,” Martelli noted. “Sometimes, guys from the NBA don’t always get college basketball. But Kevin Ollie … he gets it.”

But don’t just take those two top-notch

coaches’ words for it. They never had to replace a legend. Mike Davis did, and he’s been very impressed by what Ollie has accomplished so far.

“I think he’s done a terrific job,” said Davis, who took over for Bob Knight at Indiana in 2000, “especially coming into a situation where they couldn’t go to the postseason the first year, and having really good players stay and play for him. That speaks volumes for him and his team.”

Davis’s situation was a little different than Ollie’s. Knight was fired just before the start of the 2000 season as a result of numerous issues, including choking a player at practice. Calhoun, of course, simply retired.

“It’s always tough (replacing a legend),” Davis continued. “You’re never going to replace him. Normally, it’s the guy after you that’s able to coach the team (better).”

Davis added that he didn’t really feel pressure at first, everything happened so quickly. But once he realized the demands at IU — anything short of a Sweet 16 was considered a massive failure — the pressure really got to him. He resigned after six years on the job. After six more seasons at Alabama-Birmingham, Davis is now in his second season as head man at Texas Southern, which he just led to an NCAA tourney appearance.

Davis has never met Ollie, but has long admired him from afar.

“As a player, he was a guy that always made the team because of his work ethic,” Davis noted. “As a coach, you see the passion and love for the players and university that he has.”

Ollie has earned plenty of praise for the way he’s gotten his players to buy in to his system, to play hard and — when there were no postseason hopes a year ago — to play for pride. What’s not mentioned enough has been his X’s-and-O’s, in-game coaching. UConn almost always runs an effective play after a timeout. Look no further than the play at the end of regulation against

21Omar Calhoun

Year: So.Height: 6-6Weight: 200Position: GuardHometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

OMAR’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTLed team in scoring in back-to-back games with 18 against Yale and 17 against Detroit.

Make No Mistake: This Is Ollie’s TeamStory by DaviD borgeS | 03.25.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

Calhoun was

the New York State

Gatorade Player

of the Year

as a senior for

Christ The King

after averaging

25.7 points,

8.0 rebounds,

3.0 assists

and 1.8 steals

per game.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Kevin ollie | the associated PRess

2013-14: MEMORABLE SEASON I 11


2DeAndre Daniels

Year: Jr.Height: 6-9Weight: 195Position: ForwardHometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

DEANDRE’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTDaniels scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds in the national semifinal win over Florida.

DID YOU KNOW?

Daniels was ranked

the No. 10 recruit

by Rivals.com

for the 2011 class

coming out of

IMG Academy

in Bradenton, Fla.

The Huskies have

won 30 or more

games nine times

since the 1989-90

season.

CHAMPION PROFILE

St. Joe’s Thursday night. Off an inbounds pass from under their own basket with 2.9 seconds left, the Huskies got the ball into the hands of Shabazz Napier for a 17-footer. The shot misfired and it was on to overtime, but it was a beautifully designed play.

And in the Huskies’ win over Villanova on Saturday, UConn mixed its defenses up for much of the game, switching from man to zone and keeping the Wildcats off-balance.

This is not to say that everything’s been perfect in Ollie’s first two seasons. While UConn certainly overachieved last season, it’s fair to say that, at this point, the Huskies haven’t overachieved or under-achieved but, rather, lived up to expectations this season. Picked at No. 18 in the AP preseason poll, they finished No. 21. Tabbed to finish second in the AAC to Louisville, they finished tied for third and lost to the Cardinals in the conference finals.

Ollie has also had a somewhat skeptical, at

times terse relationship with the local media, which is odd considering the overwhelming positive press he’s received since his hire. And if you really want to nitpick, you could point out that Ollie has gone up against three Hall of Fame coaches so far and is 1-6 in those games, beating Jim Boeheim once but losing to Rick Pitino four times and Larry Brown twice.

Of course, if you add a pair of almost certain future Hall-of-Famers — Billy Donovan and Tom Izzo — Ollie’s record goes up to 3-6.

Then again, as Ollie is quick to point out, coaching is overrated. It’s a player’s game. No doubt, it would be hard to imagine the Huskies getting this far without the heroics of Napier.

But what can’t be overrated is how Kevin Ollie has taken over for a Hall of Fame coach and, in his own style, infused life back into a program that was going through some dark days, all the way to the Sweet 16. And perhaps beyond …

< Ryan BoatRight, Kevin ollie and Jim nantz | the associated PRess ^geno auRiemma and Kevin ollie | aRnold gold — new haven RegisteR

IN THIS, UCONN’S FIRST LEAGUE road win and, without a doubt, its biggest overall win of the season to date, the Hus-kies bonded together like a true family in

every sense of the word. And it really had little to do with basketball.

Ryan Boatright was hardly the star of UConn’s 83-73 win over Memphis Thursday night at FedExForum. The junior guard hit just two shots and finished with a mere seven points, about half his season average. But he’s had a lot more on his mind this week.

On Monday night, Boatright’s cousin, Arin Williams, was shot dead in a restaurant in Boatright’s hometown of Aurora, Ill. Killed by a gunshot to the head. Two men, ages 18 and 19, have been arrested and charged with the murder.

Against Memphis, Boatright had the initials “A.W.” written on his left cheek, in tribute to Williams, 20, who was “my cousin, but really my brother.”

“We came out of the womb together,” Boatright said of Williams, who was actually a few months younger than him. “I never called him ‘cuz’, I called him, ‘bro.’”

If Boatright tragically lost a brother on Monday night, his extended family was there all week to pick him up. Shabazz Napier may have doled out 10 assists, but the entire team really got the assist, helping Boatright through this most trying week.

“They were there for me, whenever I needed, they were there to comfort me, to encourage me and stuff like that,” said Boatright. “But they also gave me my space.”

“Just being there for him,” said DeAndre Daniels, after finishing off perhaps his best game as a Husky, “just telling him that we’re his broth-ers, and if he ever needed anything, we’d be there for him. Just being there for him, that was the main thing.”

Added Lasan Kromah: “We all told him we were there for him, and if he needed anything, we were there, we were family, and we’d care for him.”

Boatright admitted it’s been a “real tough” week for him.

“Little to no sleep, real emotional,” he said. “It’s been a rough one, but I’m glad I was here to fight with my team and pulled out a win on the road that was big for us.”

And make no mistake, this was a huge win. With the 17th-ranked Tigers on Thursday, quickly backed up by defending national champ Louisville Saturday in Storrs, UConn was either on the brink of a major turnaround of its season — or, perhaps, of drifting into NIT territory.

“Huge for us, especially going into Louis-ville. We can cap that off with a great weekend,” Boatright said. With them beating Louisville, that really helped our RPI and stuff like that, so it was a huge win for us.”

But Thursday wasn’t really about RPI, or about Daniels’ command, 23-point, 11-rebound performance. It wasn’t about Kromah hitting all five shots from the floor and both his free throws for 13 points, or both Daniels and Shabazz Napier (17 points, 10 assists) notching double-doubles. It wasn’t about Omar Calhoun snapping out of a major shooting funk by hitting 3 of 4 shots, including a 3-pointer, or the Huskies winning despite 7-foot Amida Brimah and 6-10 Phil Nolan fouling out late in the game.

No, this win was really Ryan Boatright hon-oring a kid he grew up with, who was taken in by his mom after his own mother died of a brain anyeurism during childbirth, “a real goofy dude ... a joy to be around” who “made a lot of people happy, and was loved by everybody.”

It was about a teammate losing a “brother” three nights earlier, and being picked up by his other “brothers” this most trying of weeks.


12Kentan Facey

Year: Fr.Height: 6-9Weight: 200Position: ForwardHometown: Trelawny, Jamaica

KENTAN’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTFacey made 2 of his 3 three-point attempts this season.

Boatright, Brothers Honor Fallen CousinStory by DaviD borgeS | 01.16.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

Despite living

in the United States

for just more

than three years,

Facey was named

the New York State

Gatorade Player

of the Year for 2013.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Ryan BoatRight | the associated PRess


SOMETIMES, INSPIRATION AND HEALING can come from just a few, meaningful words.Sometimes, after all the medicine, the

prayers, the tireless work of doctors and nurses, the MRIs, the rehab and the unbridled love from family, friends and an entire community have been exhausted, a simple message from a hero is enough to help a young man get through his toughest times.

So when Connor Reed, who two months ago lay in a hospital bed in a comatose state and a month ago could barely move his legs, first saw a YouTube video of UConn’s Shabazz Napier urging him to keep fighting through his battle with a rare disease called Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), it went a great way toward Reed’s healing process.

“It was awesome. I love Shabazz,” said Reed. “I watch that video every day.”

Reed, 18, was living a perfectly normal, healthy life of a senior at Sheehan High, a doubles player on the tennis team, when, around New Year’s, he complained of severe headaches. On Jan. 2, he was admitted at the MidState Medical Center in Meriden, where at first he was diagnosed with severe viral meningitis. After about a week, with Reed’s condition worsening, he was transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was diagnosed with ADEM, an auto-immune disease where the antibodies in your body attack your own nervous system. Reed was hooked up to a breathing tube and, for a few days, was co-matose. He was unable to move a muscle, except for opening and closing his eyes.

He ran the risk of full paralysis. But through medication and plasmapheresis, in which Connor’s blood was essentially exchanged and recycled through a machine, he gradually showed signs of improvement. First he was able to move his head, and gradually progressed from there.

After 25 days in Yale-New Haven’s intensive care unit, he was eventually released in early February. Reed is now at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, rehabbing.

He has walked with a walker. There is about a 75 percent recovery rate within 3-6 months from ADEM, and all signs point to Reed heading down that road.

“I have no health problems, besides my legs not having full mobility,” Reed said the other day. “I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt.”

In the meantime, Reed plays a mean game of wheelchair basketball at the hospital gym. He calls himself “Shabazz on Wheels.”

Alyssa Yardis, a nurse at Yale-New Haven, became close with Reed. When she found out he was a UConn fan, Yardis, a UConn grad, got in touch with ex-Husky Jerome Dyson, who posted a “Good luck” message on Reed’s Twitter page.

“He was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so cool,’” Yardis recalled. “He said the only thing that would be cooler is if I knew Shabazz.”

Yardis didn’t know Napier personally, but her close friend, Emily Noonan, is the assistant director of UConn’s athletic video department.

Napier’s not on Twitter, but Noonan had the senior guard film a video, during which he expressed the following message: “Hey Connor … I heard your story and I just wanted to say, I’m glad that I’m your inspiration. I heard you call yourself ‘Shabazz Napier on Wheels.’ I want you to keep fighting, keep going. Every time you make a basket, think of me. Every time I make a basket, I’m gonna have you in my prayers. I think it’s really special, and I’m honored for you to believe in me and motivate me, because of everything you go through, you still continue fighting. I just want you to know I’m here for you. I just want you to continue working hard, and like I said, when you make that shot, just think of me.”

5Niels Giffey

Year: Sr.Height: 6-7Weight: 205Position: Guard / ForwardHometown: Berlin, Germany

NIELS’ SEASON HIGHLIGHTScored 24 points and added 11 rebounds in a 72-53 win at Memphis March 13.

‘Shabazz on Wheels’ Provides InspirationStory by DaviD borgeS | 03.20.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

Giffey was

the Huskies’

second-best

3-point shooter

this season.

He made 58

3-pointers

and shot 48.3

percent from

beyond the arc.

CHAMPION PROFILE

<shaBazz naPieR + his motheR caRmen velasquez | the associated PRess


THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECT- ICUT is currently in its semester exam period, and the men’s basketball team is in the midst of a 12-day layoff be-

tween games.You might say that this is truly Pat Lenehan’s

time to shine.That’s not meant as a knock on the Cheshire

native’s basketball skills, though by his own ad-mission he’s never really been a standout player, even as a starting guard at Xavier High. It’s just that, as a junior walk-on with the Huskies, Lene-han’s only real highlights thus far have come in the annual preseason Husky Run (he’s finished second twice) and in last month’s exhibition-game win over Division 3 Concordia (he scored seven points).

But where Lenehan is truly UConn’s star, where he’s as clutch as Shabazz Napier and more talented than anyone, is in the classroom. Never mind Lenehan’s 0.0 regular-season scoring aver-age, it’s his 4.0 grade-point average as a molecular and cell biology major that’s as impressive as any statistic. He’s also part of a combined program in medicine where, if he maintains a high GPA and gets a good enough score on his MCAT exam, he’s guaranteed admission into UConn’s medical school.

All the while, Lenehan is working hard at UConn’s practices, often as a member of the scout team, and traveling with the team wherever it goes.

“It gets hard sometimes (juggling hoops and books), when we’re busy,” he admitted. “I study on the road a pretty good amount when we travel. When I’m here, it’s pretty much basketball and school, the two things I spend most of my time with. Basketball definitely makes you spend time more efficiently.”

In fact, Pat McKenna, sports information director for the UConn women’s team and Lene-

han’s second cousin, often sees Lenehan studying outside of his office when he arrives for work in the morning.

“The thing I’ve kind of realized, that I tell the new walk-ons who are traveling, is that you kind of just figure out a way,” Lenehan added. “When you think about it from the outside, it seems like it would be impossible. But you really just figure out a way to make it work. It hasn’t been too much of a problem so far.”

Recently, Lenehan was nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship, which grants $7,500 to math and science majors who have had signifi-cant research experience. Lenehan is currently conducting research with Dr. Barbara Mellone on (what else?) proteins and the formation of centromeres and kinetochores in Dosophilia.

“Maybe he can tutor some of our guys, too,” joked UConn head coach Kevin Ollie, before adding, “I’m having enough problems helping my daughter with her math homework.”

Lenehan played basketball and baseball all four years at Xavier. He was better on the diamond, but enjoyed playing basketball more. As a senior, he moved over from shooting guard to point guard and was more of a facilitator than a scorer, as Mike Boornazian, who now plays at Bates College, was averaging about 30 points per game.

Only one Division III school, MIT, took any notice of him, though a couple of Ivy League coaches told him that if he was able to get into their school, he’d have a chance to walk on the team.

Lenehan decided to come to UConn. He didn’t even know he could try out for the basket-ball team until he saw a sign posted early in his freshman year.

“I just figured I would try out, and it worked out,” he said. “I’m happy that I made that decision.”

Lenehan was just a practice player as a fresh-man. Last year, he got to sit on the bench in uni-form and travel to some road games the first half

20Lasan Kromah

Year: Grad studentHeight: 6-6Weight: 201Position: Guard / ForwardHometown: Greenbelt, Md.

LASAN’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTKromah tied for the team lead with six rebounds against Kentucky.

Lenehan More Than Student of the GameStory by DaviD borgeS | 12.08.2013

DID YOU KNOW?

Kromah averaged

11.0 points during

three seasons with

George Washington,

where he scored more

than 1,000 points.

The Huskies

are 58-29

in 32 NCAA

tournament

appearances.

UConn is 38-8

in its last

12 NCAA

appearances dating

back to 1999.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Ryan BoatRight, deandRe daniels and Pat lenehan | the associated PRess


Lenehan was just a practice player as a freshman. Last year, he got to sit on the bench in uniform and travel to some road games the first half of the year of the year until another walk-on, Kiefer Lammi, returned from injury. This year, Lenehan and Tor Watts, a senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., are the team’s two traveling walk-ons. They feel as much a part of the team as any scholarship player.

“In the past, especially when we were fresh-men, we’d pretty much sit on the sideline (in practice) and feel really separated,” Lenehan said. “But now, me and Tor do everything the rest of the team does, in terms of lifting, running. If we’re not in a drill, we’re helping with a drill, and going on the road and everything. We feel like we’re part of the team now.”

That’s never more evident than in the waning minutes of a blowout, when the walk-ons are able to get some run. Against Concordia, Lenehan entered the game with 5 ½ minutes left to play and immediately hit a 3-pointer, followed by a nifty scoop shot and a couple of free throws.

“As small a thing as it is — an exhibition game against a D-3 team — to me, I’ve never had that kind of experience before,” Lenehan said. “That’s definitely something I’ll remember. Then the whole bench cheering when I scored. When I was talking to Emily (Noonan, UConn’s live personality on the court) after the game, Boat (Ryan Boatright) came over and was jump-ing up and down and everything. It’s nice to see

someone so excited for, y’know, making a layup.”Said Boatright: “We see that (the walk-ons)

sacrifice for us. They do the running that we’ve got to do, they practice like we’ve got to practice, but they don’t get a lot of attention. Once they get a chance to get in the game, and they get to make shots and stuff like that, we’re extremely proud for them.”

Lenehan is equally supportive of his teammates against criticism that they’re just at UConn to play basketball.

“I mean, they’re in study hall for the required amount of time every week. So, they do the schoolwork, too. And then they work really hard in basketball. I think I work hard in basketball, (but) I come in and shoot at night and stuff and any night I come in, they’re in here shooting, too. It’s definitely a source of pride, earning a spot on the team and everything, but it’s not like I’m working harder overall than anybody else that’s out there.”

Of course, Lenehan’s seven points of glory against Concordia don’t count toward his overall stats, since it was an exhibition game. A couple of weeks later, he had two chances to score in a regular-season game against Detroit.

“I got blocked on my first layup,” he said, shaking his head, “then I missed the second one. So, hopefully, I’ll get another chance.”

If not, Pat Lenehan will undoubtedly remain UConn’s star in the classroom.

14Pat Lenehan

Year: Jr.Height: 6-3Weight: 181Position: GuardHometown: Middletown, Conn.

PAT’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTMade a 3-pointer from the corner against South Florida. Feb. 13.

DID YOU KNOW?

UConn is 4-0

in national

championship games

and 8-1 in the

Final Four.

The Huskies

own the highest

winning percentage

of any team

with three or more

appearances.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Ryan BoatRight and shaBazz naPieR | the associated PRess ^Pat lenehan and memPhis coach Josh PastneR | the associated PRess


LOUISVILLE AND UCONN WILL EACH travel down different roads now that the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament is over.

Both will be heading to the Big Dance, the Cardinals to defend their national title, the Huskies to make up for lost time after last year’s postseason ban. Both teams hope their respective roads end up in Dallas, site of this year’s Final Four. After that, Louisville heads down Tobacco Road to the ACC.

And Kevin Ollie & Co. will likely volunteer to drive them to the airport, if need be.

The Cardinals continued their utter recent dominance over UConn in the AAC tournament final at FedExForum, topping the Huskies 71-61 in a game that never really seemed that close. Louisville opened up a 14-point halftime lead with a 10-2 run to close out the first half, and the Huskies never got back to within 10 until Amida Brimah’s meaningless basket in the closing seconds.

UConn had more fight than it did a week earlier in Louisville, when Rick Pitino’s bunch ran the Huskies out of the KFC Yum! Center to the tune of an 81-48 blowout, their worst loss in 22 years.

You remember that one, right? When Mon-trezl Harrell treated the Huskies like his personal plaything, throwing down backward dunks and alley-oop slams?

It wasn’t that bad on Saturday. The Huskies stayed within striking distance for most of the first half, until the 10-2 run that included five points in the final 32 seconds — a Luke Han-cock 3-pointer followed by a Napier turnover and layup by Terry Rozier.

Louisville’s 37-23 halftime lead appeared insurmountable, and it turned out to be, even though the Huskies finally found some gaps in the Cardinals’ zone and made the final score a

little more respectable.“I wish them the best of luck in the ACC,”

Ollie said.Truly, there is no great shame in losing to

Louisville right now. The Cards won their three games this week in Memphis by a combined total of 100 points. They trailed for exactly 27 seconds in their first (and final) AAC tourney.

They have now won their last four games (two of them against UConn) by an average margin of 33.2 points, which the Huskies actu-ally lowered from 41 per game after Saturday’s 10-point loss.

There is no doubt this UConn team can win some games in the NCAA tournament.

It really all comes down to matchups. Teams with big, physical inside players like Harrell will be tough for the Huskies to handle, as well as teams that pressure opponents’ guards and play an active, expansive zone.

But how many teams would you bet heavily that the Huskies can’t beat? Louisville, obviously, and certainly SMU has had the Huskies’ number twice this season. Maybe Arizona or likely top overall seed Florida … oh wait, UConn already beat the Gators this season. Granted, it was back in early December, before a rowdy sellout at Gampel, and Florida was down a couple of key players. And it took a Napier buzzer-beater just to nab that one.

But to say the Huskies can’t beat Florida would be inherently false because, well...they already did.

“You know how this tournament is a one-game elimination,” said Ollie. “Somebody can get hot, and hopefully, that team will be us and we will get hot and play together.”

Added Boatright: “If we get to Dallas, every-body will forget about this loss. We’ve got to re-focus and get back to the basics and put together these last few wins.”

13Shabazz NapierYear: Sr.Height: 6-1Weight: 180Position: GuardHometown: Roxbury, Mass.

SHABAZZ’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTAmerican Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-America selection.

Louisville Only Team UConn Can’t DefeatStory by DaviD borgeS | 03.15.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

Napier led UConn

in scoring with

18.0 points

per game as well

as 195 assists.

He led the Huskies

in scoring in

23 of 40 games.

CHAMPION PROFILE

<shaBazz naPieR | the associated PRess


WHEN UCONN WAS OUT IN DALLAS, just after New Year’s to play SMU, Kevin Ollie brought his team to AT&T

Stadium to take a tour. The giant leviathan of a stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys, but more to the point, is also the home to this year’s Final Four.

Ollie wanted his players to look around and get a feel of how it might be playing on college basketball’s biggest stage in a few months.

“We certainly weren’t taking it for granted,” recalled associate head coach Glen Miller, “but we wanted to get our guys to experience the stadium and get a feel for what it would be like to return if we could take care of business.”

Just a couple of days removed from a bad, New Year’s Eve loss at Houston, Ollie and his players may have been the only people who believed they could actually get there.

And those are the only people that mattered.Before a rowdy, largely pro-UConn sellout

crowd at Madison Square Garden, the Huskies added their latest, perhaps most unlikely accomplishment in program history. UConn rallied back from a nine-point second-half deficit to score a 60-54 win over Michigan State in an Elite Eight battle and advance to its fifth Final Four — all in the past 15 years.

“It was just an amazing feeling to do it in Madison Square Garden,” said Ollie. “For the NCAA not to be here for 50 years and then we come out and win it, it just puts a great bow on this gift. And we’re going to unwrap it again and we’re going down to Texas.”

And really, who could have predicted that three months ago? Or even three weeks ago, when the Huskies were getting blown out by 33 points in their regular-season finale at Louisville?

Now, Louisville’s gone, along with all but three other teams from this year’s tournament —

Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Shabazz Napier, the senior guard, kept his

remarkable college career going with yet another big performance, netting a game-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers. He was named the East Regional’s most outstanding player.

“They made their run, it was time for us to make ours,” Napier explained. “When Coach looks at me a certain way, I just know I’ve got to be more aggressive, and I’ve got to hit open shots when my teammates get me the ball and we just kept running. Guys were just feeling the intensity that the fans were bringing, and we were just fortunate enough to get the ‘W.’”

And now, off to Dallas. To be fair, Ollie had other motives in visiting AT&T Stadium back on Jan. 3. He was born in Dallas, and though he grew up in Los Angeles, he’s always been a big Cowboys fan. But without question, he wanted his players to look around the gigantic building and think of what a great experience it would be to play there in the Final Four.

“That building is unbelievable, it’s crazy,” said Ryan Boatright (11 points).

“Just picturing and seeing yourself there playing on the 50-yard line in that big stadium, it was unbelievable. It really drove us to want to get back there.”

Added Napier: “I just felt, if we gave ourselves a chance, of course we’d get there. But I don’t look too far ahead. I just want to deal with what’s in front of me. I don’t want to forget what’s in front of me.”

Three months ago, a return trip to the home of the Cowboys was, indeed, too far ahead of Shabazz Napier & Co. But now, it’s right in front of them.

“We went to that stadium, looked around and we told ourselves we’re going to get there, we’ve just got to keep working,” said DeAndre Daniels. “That’s what we did.”

0 Phillip Nolan

Year: So.Height: 6-10Weight: 212Position: ForwardHometown: Milwaukee, Wis.

PHILLIP’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTHas played in a team-best 49 consecutive games for the Huskies.

Premonition Powers Huskies to Final FourStory by DaviD borgeS | 03.30.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

UConn is 87-25

all-time in games

televised on CBS.

Nolan spent

the summer of 2013

as a member

of the East Coast

All-Stars, competing

in Estonia during

the 2013 Four

Nations Cup

competition.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< niels giffey | the associated PRess

Tyler’s brother Ryan

played basketball for

Fairfield University

from 2008-12.


10 Tyler Olander

Year: Sr.Height: 6-10Weight: 230Position: ForwardHometown: Mansfield, Conn.

TYLER’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTAveraged 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game.

NO “LUCK” LAST-SECOND SHOT needed this time. No injury excuses for Florida, either.This one was no fluke. And, really,

neither was the last one. But we’ll get to that later.

Paced by DeAndre Daniels and yet another smothering defensive effort, UConn topped Florida 63-53 Saturday night in a national semifinal bout at AT&T Stadium and advanced to their fourth national championship game (and second in the past three years).

The Huskies hope to make it a perfect 4-for-4 in national championship games Monday against Kentucky.

“We didn’t come to Dallas to just play in the national championship game,” said Ryan Boatright. “We came to win. We know we have one more game and 40 more minutes until the real celebration.”

Daniels was simply the best player on the floor on Saturday, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while playing all but a few seconds. He’s the first player with 20 and 10 in a Final Four game since Carmelo Anthony in 2003.

Shabazz Napier wasn’t his usual dynamic self offensively (12 points on 3-for-6 shooting) but he doled out six assists and had four steals. Boatright was even more dominant on defense, harassing Gator point guard Scottie Wilbekin most of the night, and also had 13 points and six boards. And Niels Giffey chipped in with 11 points.

The Huskies trailed 16-4 midway through the first half, but ended the half on a 21-6 run and never looked back. They hit nine of their last 10 shots in the game and shot 63.6 percent in the second half.

“It was a great victory,” said coach Kevin Ollie. “We stayed positive and productive, especially in the first five minutes when they got out to a lead.

They stayed together and showed some true grit and toughness. I’m proud of their effort.”

UConn improved to 31-8 on the season, while the Gators wind up 36-3 — 36-1 against teams not named UConn. The Huskies edged Florida 65-64 back on Dec. 2 at Gampel Pavilion when Shabazz Napier hit a 15-footer at the buzz-er. After the game, Florida coach Billy Donovan called the play “luck.” On Friday, a CBSsports.com columnist took it all even a step further, casting doubt on the entire game.

“Let’s face it,” wrote Gregg Doyel, “UConn’s December victory over Florida was a fluke.”

He pointed out Napier only got to take his buzzer-beater thanks to a fortunate tipped ball by Daniels. Even more importantly, Doyel pointed out, Florida played the game without Kasey Hill (injury) and Chris Walker (ineligible). And, the Gators had to go the final three minutes without their best player and floor general, Wilbekin, who turned his ankle late in the contest and never returned.

Oh, and the game was played at Gampel.And so there the two teams were again on

Saturday, on the neutral floor of vast AT&T Stadium — where you could barely hear either team’s fans, they were so far away from the court. There was Hill, who scored seven points and committed four fouls and four turnovers in 15 minutes. There was Walker — unless you blinked and missed the two minutes in which he logged all zeroes in the box score.

And there was Wilbekin, seemingly healthy but dogged by Boatright and Napier all night and finishing with just four points — more than nine below his season average.

But wait — early in the second half, Wil-bekin was noticeably limping and had to be pulled from the game. More luck and flukiness going the Huskies’ way, right?

“I was getting a little cramp, but it wasn’t too

No Luck Needed Against FloridaStory by DaviD borgeS | 04.05.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

CHAMPION PROFILE

<Ryan BoatRight + Phil nolan | the associated PRess

UConn’s four

national titles ties it

with Duke for fifth

most behind UCLA

(11), Kentucky (8),

Indiana (5) and

North Carolina (5).


44Rodney Purvis

Year: R-So.Height: 6-4Weight: 230Position: GuardHome town: Raleigh, N.C.

RODNEY’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTPurvis sat out season per NCAA rules after transferring in from North Carolina State.

bad,” Wilbekin stated afterward. “I got out of the game and got some ice, and then it wasn’t really a problem from then on.”

So much for that.Nope, nothing fluky about this one, according

to Giffey, who was the player Doyel talked to for the story about the Dec. 2 game.

“If you beat a team like that twice, you’re sure it’s not a fluke,” Giffey noted. “Obviously, Flor-ida was one of the great teams throughout this whole year. The last two games they lost were today and the last time we played them. I think it was just a trick question the guy asked me. He just gave me some extra motivation, that’s all.”

Tyler Olander didn’t have much of a night, allowing Florida’s Patric Young to burn him down low a couple of times and fumbling away a pinpoint Napier pass in his five minutes of action.

But he summed up the idea of the Dec. 2 “fluke” perhaps better than anyone.

“Those are just excuses,” Olander said. “Despite all that, it was a great game. What can they say now? What was the reason that we won this time? Scottie Wilbekin didn’t get hurt. Chris Walker could have played. I’d like to hear what they have to say now.”

Well, coach Donovan?“I didn’t think it was one of our better

games,” he said, “and I think Connecticut cer-

tainly had a lot to do with that.”To be fair, it seemed most of UConn’s players

weren’t aware of the “fluke” story. They’ve all noticed that most of the TV analysts and experts picked them to lose — not only on Saturday night but, in some cases, ever since their first NCAA tournament game against St. Joseph’s two weeks ago.

“We like that, we love it,” said Boatright. “Everybody doesn’t believe in us. They had us losing every game in the postseason. We believed in each other and we believed in this coaching staff. We knew that we could be in this situation. We went out there and tried to prove everybody wrong. It’s kind of like an us-against-the-world mentality.”

Added Daniels: “We feel like we have been doubted all season. Definitely heading into the tournament, when people didn’t have us winning the first game ... When people say that, we like to go out and try to prove people wrong and let them know that UConn’s back on top.”

Not yet. One more game to go, on Monday night against Kentucky. The Huskies haven’t faced the Wildcats yet this season, so there are no “fluke” wins to look back on. But you can count on Kentucky being the favorite, and most of the experts and analysts picking against UConn.

Just the way the Huskies like it. Love it, even.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< teRRence samuel | the associated PRess ^Kevin ollie | PeteR casolino — new haven RegisteR

DID YOU KNOW?

Purvis was named

the 2012 Gatorade

State Player

and AP Player

of Year for

North Carolina.

He was also

a McDonald’s

All-American.


SHABAZZ NAPIER STOOD and watched as the strains of “One Shining Moment” filled the AT&T Center and highlights played on the giant, 80-yard

video board above. His eyes welled up with tears and at one

point he bent his head down, seemingly overcome by the moment, knowing that his career was now ended.

Granted, it ended better than anyone could have possibly imagined. And in fact, it had ended just as it had begun — as a national champion.

Napier had just scored a game-high 22 points to lead UConn to a 60-54 victory over Kentucky in the national championship game on Monday night before a record crowd of 79,238. He, along with fellow seniors Niels Giffey and Tyler Olan-der, became the first UConn players ever to win two national titles and, in fact, the first players in the history of college basketball to win national titles their freshman and senior seasons.

In between were some tough times — postsea-son bans, coaching changes, conference changes, you know the story. Now, it was over.

“Everything hits you,” Napier said afterward.Kevin Ollie put his arm around him and kissed

his cheek — a small, poignant moment. Just as Napier had been there for his coach when Ollie needed him most, when he took over a program in peril 18 months earlier and Napier stuck around, Ollie was now there for him.

Two of the greatest champions in UConn lore, sharing one, shining moment.

“It’s special,” Napier said. “Then my mother came. It’s just a special moment. To come from where we came from and no one believed.”

UConn’s fourth national title, all in the past 15 years, was its most unlikely. There were no Ben Gordons or Emeka Okafors or Richard Hamiltons in this mix, though many of the program’s all-time greats — Hamilton, Ray Allen,

Khalid El-Amin, Andre Drummond — were in the house. There was no five-wins-in-five-nights run through the Big East tournament to give an inkling this could happen. Just a couple of wins in the American Athletic Conference tournament, sandwiched between a pair of thumpings at the hands of Louisville, and a near-miss, overtime win in their first NCAA tournament game.

Heck, the Kemba Walker-led 2011 national title team was a No. 3 seed. This team was seeded seventh.

“Unbelievable!” a jubilant athletic director Warde Manuel shouted, amidst the confetti and postgame fireworks. “Anybody predict that?”

Nope, no one saw this coming. Except Napier.“What did I tell y’all when we lost against

Louisville at home?” he recalled saying to his teammates on the podium, after being handed the national championship trophy by NCAA president Mark Emmert. “Everyone was like, ‘Man, you said we were going to hold that trophy.’ And I was like, ‘Man, we’re the best team in the country.’”

Yup, this is the most unbelievable of UConn’s championship runs. And Napier now goes down as the greatest winner in program history. Maybe even its greatest player.

He won’t have the best NBA career, though he certainly could end up having a long, successful one. Even Kemba only won one national title. Allen, Drummond, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Ollie himself — they never even won one as players.

“It puts him right up there with all the great guards that came through the university,” said Hamilton.

“We have a legacy of producing great guards and showing up at the right time. He displayed it again, you know? That’s why I always tell kids, ‘How can you not want to come to the University of Connecticut? Why would you choose any other school?’”

3Terrence Samuel

Year: Fr.Height: 6-4Weight: 190Position: GuardHometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

TERRENCE’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTScored 10 points on 3 for 4 shooting in NCAA tournament win over Iowa State March 28.

These Huskies Always BelievedStory by DaviD borgeS | 04.07.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Ryan BoatRight | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Kevin Ollie joins

Steve Fisher

as the only coaches

to guide their team

to a national title

in their first NCAA

tournament

appearance as coach.

Fisher did it 1989

with Michigan.


After leading UConn to its improbable 2011 title, Walker’s number was retired among the Huskies of Honor the very next day. Napier could soon be getting similar treatment.

“I’m sure he will,” said El-Amin, whose own number was retired to the rafters earlier this season. “What he has done, won two national championships … (he’s) in a league of (his) own, so I’m sure he definitely deserves that.”

Of course, as Napier is quick to point out, this wasn’t a one-man show. Ryan Boatright scored 14 points, despite picking up two first-half fouls, then painfully turning his ankle with nine minutes left, forcing him to call a timeout.

He never missed a second.“I turned it pretty good, (but) just the adrena-

line – nine minutes left, national championship, biggest game of my life — I wasn’t gonna let that stop me from playing. I’m sure once I calm down, everything wears off, it’s gonna be sore.”

Giffey, another two-time national champ, finished with 10 points, including a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key with 6:19 left, after Kentucky had closed to within two points. The Wildcats would never get that close again.

DeAndre Daniels didn’t have a big night, also picking up two first-half fouls and finishing with eight points on 4-for-14 shooting. But his inside hoop with 2:47 left — the Huskies’ last field goal of the season — kept Kentucky at bay, giving UConn a 58-52 lead.

And Ollie. What more can be said about a second-year coach, in his very first NCAA tour-nament, leading his team to a national title?

“We found out tonight he is one of the best, if not the best, coach in America,” said Manuel. “I have a lot of thanks to give to Coach (Jim) Calhoun, for his wisdom, his guidance, his suggestion, his prodding. He was right, I couldn’t have a better adviser to advise me on who the next coach should be to replace him.”

On the other side, the annual Kentucky diaspora was about to begin. At least four of the five freshmen who started Monday night will likely be heading to the NBA draft. Assistant coach Orlando Antigua is taking over at South Florida. Heck, there were even rumors Monday night that John Calipari would bolt to take the Lakers’ job.

“The Lakers have a basketball coach,” he said firmly. “Kentucky has a basketball coach. I’ve got the best job in the country. I’m not going to even dignify that stuff.”

Things will be different next year at UConn, too. Napier will certainly be taken in June’s NBA draft. Daniels and Boatright may decide – however unwisely — to make themselves available, as well.

“I don’t know,” Boatright said, with a chuckle. “I’m just enjoying the moment right now.”

Added Daniels: “I’m not even focusing on that. I’m just happy right now and I’m going to celebrate with my team and my family.”

We’ll undoubtedly hear about NBA feelers for Ollie, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll leave. He’ll be there, just like his players were there for him 18 months ago, when they could have left but didn’t. Just like he was there for Shabazz Napier, in an emotional moment amidst the celebration on Monday night.

CHAMPION PROFILE

22Leon Tolksdorf

Year: So.Height: 6-8Weight: 218Position: ForwardHome town: Berlin, Germany

LEON’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTTolksdorf was captain of German U-20 national team.

25Tor Watts

Year: Sr.Height: 6-1Weight: 202Position: GuardHome town: Brooklyn, N.Y.

TOR’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTScored in 101-55 win over Detroit on Nov. 15.

CHAMPION PROFILE

< deandRe daniels | the associated PRess ^Kevin ollie and shaBazz naPieR | the associated PRess

UCON

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F OUR YEARS AGO, THEY CAME TO UConn and put their trust in the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma to drive them to levels they

didn’t know they could reach.The collegiate careers of Stefanie Dolson

and Bria Hartley ended with a second-straight national championship and emotional embraces that Dolson called “a long time coming.”

Dolson played a starring role in UConn’s 79-58 win over rival Notre Dame on Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn., at Bridgestone Arena in the first national-championship showdown between undefeated teams.

But it was a typical UConn win with contributions from all five starters and top reserve Kiah Stokes.

UConn won a record ninth Division I title, joined the 2011-12 Baylor team as the only women’s teams to finish 40-0 and completed the championship double with the men’s basketball team for the second time (2004).

“We knew it was going to happen,” Dolson said. “We had confidence in each other and confi-

dence in our team and, to be honest, we all knew we were going to win. That is something that is incredible. Nobody can say that they have (the record), and for him to have it is pretty special. And to get it with this team is even more special.”

Stewart led UConn with 21 points and nine rebounds as she earned Final Four Most Outstand-ing Player honors for the second year in a row.

Dolson had 17 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 18 points and seven rebounds.

UConn took little time setting the tone, making seven straight shots to race out to a 22-8 lead. The Huskies did most of their damage in the paint, taking advantage of the absence of

All-American Natalie Achonwa — she tore her ACL in the Elite Eight win over Baylor — as Dolson and Stewart combined to score 16 of the Huskies’ first 18 points.

It was Stewart, hitting a layup off a feed from Moriah Jefferson, who gave UConn the 14-point lead.

With the Huskies leading 24-10, reserve Michaela Mabrey shot the Irish back into the game with a pair of key 3-pointers.

However, after back-to-back 3s by Mabrey and Kayla McBride pulled Notre Dame within six points, the Huskies were able to regain control long enough to twice extend the lead back to 10 points.

Then Jewell Loyd hit a pair of 3-pointers 41 seconds apart to pull the Fighting Irish within five with 27 seconds to play in the half.

It looked like that was how the game would stand heading into the locker room, but Mosqueda-Lewis battled two taller Notre Dame players for an offensive rebound after a missed jumper by Dolson and scored on the putback with 2 seconds left to give UConn a 45-38 halftime advantage.

“I thought either (Notre Dame) was going to win because we couldn’t stop them or we were going to score a lot because when we get it going it is hard to stop us,” Auriemma said.

McBride had 19 points, Loyd 13 and Mabrey 10 for Notre Dame (37-1).

After the pregame hype surrounding the sour relationship between Auriemma and Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, the two both had huge smiles after Auriemma cracked a joke in the handshake just before the game started.

Auriemma went to great lengths to compli-ment McGraw, her staff and squad, which he called “a great team,” during his postgame press conferences.

COACHShea Ralph

Year: 5thHometown: Fayetteville, N.C.

SHEA’S HIGHLIGHTRalph’s primary responsibility is working with the Huskies guards. She spent her previous five seasons as an assistant at Pittsburgh.

Historic Conclusion To a Perfect Season Story by Jim Fuller | 04.08.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< stefanie dolson, and BRia haRtley and Kaleena mosqueda-lewis | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Ralph is

a 2001 graduate

of UConn,

where she helped

lead the Huskies

to the 2000 NCAA

title. She was the

Most Outstanding

Player in the

Final Four.

She ended her

career at UConn

with 1,678 points.


SURE, THERE WAS THE OCCA-SIONAL bump on the road along the way, but the women’s basketball season is going to end with one glorious collision

of heavyweight programs.With UConn overcoming a sluggish start to

roll to a 75-56 victory over Stanford in Nashville, Tenn., before a crowd of 17,548 at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday night, the reigning national champions not only stand a win away from a record ninth national title, but there is more history there for the taking.

When UConn meets former conference rival Notre Dame on Tuesday night, it will be the first time two undefeated teams will meet for the NCAA Division I title.

“We have worked all year to be undefeated and get here so it is pretty cool,” UConn senior center Stefanie Dolson said. “Everybody is going to be able to see a great game.”

Stanford and Maryland, known as the other two teams in the Final Four, came to Nashville eager to spoil the dream matchup.

For a while, it seemed as if Stanford might actually pull it off.

With UConn missing 15 of its first 20 shots, the Huskies twice trailed by six points before ripping off runs of 12-0 in the first half and 14-0 in the second half to pull away.

“I think it is awesome,” UConn senior guard Bria Hartley said. “You compete for this every year and in your last year you want to go out on a high note.”

After a late push allowed UConn to erase a pair of six-point deficits and take a four-point halftime lead, the Huskies extended the lead when Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had seven points and Hartley added four during a 14-0 run to give the Huskies a 44-27 lead.

Mosqueda-Lewis had all 15 of her points in the second half and extended her UConn record

by scoring in double figures in all 16 NCAA tournament games she has played in, the longest streak for a Husky to start her career. She is third on the overall list at UConn as Maya Moore did it 18 straight times and Diana Taurasi 17 in a row. Breanna Stewart led the Huskies with 18 points, Hartley finished with 13 while Dolson and Moriah Jefferson added 10 points each. Stokes, the only reserve to play before the final minute, had nine points and four rebounds.

Speaking of records, Hartley became UConn’s all-time leader in minutes played, and Dolson set the NCAA Division I women’s basketball record for most career games started.

UConn matched the program’s best record with a 39-0 mark.

As they did in tournament games against Brigham Young and Texas A&M, UConn’s top two offensive players struggled in the early going. The duo of Stewart and Hartley combined to miss seven of their first eight shots. With Mosqueda-Lewis, who has been on a scoring tear in the NCAA tournament, failing to score in the first half, it was looking pretty bleak.

When Lili Thompson drilled a 3-pointer, Stanford led 16-10 and UConn looked flustered.

Back-to-back layups by Hartley and Jefferson got the Huskies out of their offensive doldrums — temporarily. However, the Cardinal were able to re-establish the six-point lead when Mikaela Ruef beat the shot clock with a banked-in jumper from just inside the 3-point line.

It was Stokes who sparked a 12-0 run. She hit one of two from the free-throw line, had a steal leading to a Hartley 3-pointer and later scored in the lane. Stewart added four points during the run to give the Huskies a 28-22 lead. UConn headed into the locker room up 28-24.

Amber Orrange had 16 points and Chiney Ogwumike 15 points and 10 rebounds for Stan-ford (33-4).

COACHMarisa

MoseleyYear: 5thHometown: Springfield, Mass.

MARISA’S HIGHLIGHTMoseley’s primary responsibility is working with forwards and centers for Huskies. Came to UConn from Minnesota, where she spent two seasons on staff.

Victory Sets Up Perfect ChallengeStory by Jim Fuller | 04.06.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< BRia haRtley | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Since 2000, UConn

is 72-7 in the

NCAA tournament,

advancing to

12 Final Fours

and winning eight

national titles.

This was the 17th

time UConn was

selected a No. 1

seed in the NCAA

tournament.


THE TEAM THAT HAS RIPPED through an undefeated season with ridiculous ease and barely broke a sweat in the inaugural American Athletic

Conference tournament looked somewhat human as it attempted to take the final steps toward an unprecedented seventh straight Final Four appearance.

After a sloppy first half in the Lincoln re-gional semifinals, the Huskies found themselves being pushed around by a feisty Texas A&M squad in the Elite Eight on Monday night in Lincoln, Neb.

Only up three early in the second half, UConn’s championship pedigree was on display.

Barely a game went by this season when the defending national champions didn’t have at least one run of scoring at least 10 consecutive points, but none was as timely or pivotal as the one in the second half that paved the way for a 69-54 win over third-seeded Texas A&M.

“BYU and Texas A&M both came out fight-ing,” UConn senior center Stefanie Dolson said. “We give a lot of credit to them. Texas A&M was very physical down low and they made us work and it just kind of shows that although we weren’t making a lot of shots this whole weekend we can still win games.”

As they did in the regional semifinal against Brigham Young, the Huskies got off to a sluggish start offensively, missing eight of their first 10 shots to enable the Aggies to take an 11-4 lead, matching the largest deficit the Huskies have faced this season.

After misfiring from the outside, the Huskies began to assume control of the game by getting the ball inside, as Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis fed the ball to Dolson, then Bria Hartley had a fast-break layup, before Mosqueda-Lewis drained the Huskies’ first 3-pointer to tie the game at 11.

However, leading scorer Breanna Stewart

picked up her second foul 90 seconds later and after leaving her in for a few minutes, UConn coach Geno Auriemma pulled Stewart with 8:03 left in the half. The Huskies outscored the Aggies 17-8 without the national player of the year candidate in the game.

The Huskies had a 26-6 run to go up 30-17 and took a 34-23 lead into the locker room.

Jordan Jones, who came into the game averaging seven points per game, had eight points early in the second half as Texas A&M pulled within three points.

Jefferson scored on a back-door layup, had a tough defensive rebound and fed Hartley for a 3-pointer in transition. Stewart, who got a quick hook from Auriemma after a slow start to the second half, hit a 3 and Dolson had a layup to put the Huskies ahead 50-37.

“I think this time going to the Final Four was really special,” said Mosqueda-Lewis, the Lincoln Regional’s Most Outstanding Player. “We had to fight for these wins. Each team we played came out hard and aggressive. We wanted to stay in it and it feels so special that we were able to overcome it.”

Mosqueda-Lewis had 17 points and seven rebounds, Hartley had 14 points, Dolson had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots for UConn. She became the 12th player with eight blocks in an NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament game. Breanna Stewart had 13 points and Moriah Jefferson 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists as UConn improved to 38-0.

UConn moved by the Brittney Griner-led 2011-12 Baylor team to set the single-season record for blocked shots in a season. Baylor had 310 in 40 games during its run to the national title, while the Huskies have 313 in 38 games.

Stewart moved into third place on the single-season scoring list at UConn.

COACHChris Dailey

Year: 29thHometown: New Brunswick, N.J.

CHRIS’ HIGHLIGHTDailey has been with Auriemma for each of his 29 seasons and has been Associate Head Coach since 1988. In her time, the program has brought in recruits from 29 different states.

A Seventh-Straight Berth to Final FourStory by Jim Fuller | 03.31.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< BReanna stewaRt | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Dailey has been

inducted into

the Rutgers

Hall

of Fame,

the New Jersey

Sports Writers

Association

Hall of Fame

and the

Connecticut

Women’s Basketball

Hall of Fame.


IN MANY WAYS, THE MOST DIFFICULT part of the UConn women’s basketball team’s ascension to conference tournament champions might have been

determining which of the starters was not going to be on the all-tournament team.

UConn’s methodical three-game march to winning the inaugural American Athletic Con-ference tournament title was so dominant that it would have been fitting to have all five starters on the team.

In a 72-52 win over Louisville in Monday night’s title game before 8,034 at Mohegan Sun Arena, UConn came a missed Moriah Jefferson free throw away from having all five starters scor-ing in double figures for the second straight game.

“Moriah Jefferson could have made the all-tournament team very easily, so when you have five starters who are capable of doing what they do, you come out every night and compete every night, play hard every night,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma after leading UConn to the program’s 19th conference title.

Breanna Stewart had 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots to earn tour-nament Most Outstanding Player honors. Bria Hartley (16 points, six assists), Stefanie Dolson (10 points, season-high 16 rebounds) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (13 points) were joined on the all-tournament team by Louisville’s Shoni Schim-mel and Courtney Williams of South Florida.

“Our chemistry has been great, and (we are) going to have great momentum going into the NCAA tournament,” Dolson said. “I am really excited for that.”

As they have done for several weeks, the duo of Stewart and Hartley led the UConn offense.

“It has been going on for about a month, at least a month,” Auriemma said. “I don’t know. There are a couple of kids who are playing really

well across the country. I had the chance to see the Notre Dame game the other day, and it’s hard to find two better players in the country than Kayla McBride and Jewell Loyd. But I would say for the last month and month and a half, Stewie and Bria have been as good individually and as good of a combination as we have had in a long time and as is there is in the country right now.”

UConn won its 40th straight game, matching the 1985-87 Texas team for the sixth longest streak in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history. The Huskies own the two longest streaks with 90 straight from 2008-11 and 70 in a row.

UConn will now wait until March 17 to see which regional it will be sent to, although the belief is that UConn will be the No. 1 seed in the regional hosted by Louisville. After the game, Auriemma jokingly said to Louisville coach Jeff Walz that he will provide a scouting report on the team to earn the No. 1 seed in Louisville’s region.

“We could very well play them again, and I believe we can beat them. What do you play the game for?” Walz said. “I had a reporter ask my player (Schimmel) do you think you could beat UConn? They said yes and they blasted them for it. What are you supposed to say? No? We show up to play the game to win. If nobody thinks they can be beat, let’s save a lot of money and give them the trophy.”

UConn moved into second place on the single-season NCAA Division I leaderboard for blocked shots. UConn blocked six shots, giving the team 280.

The 2011-12 Baylor team blocked a record 310 shots en route to becoming the first team during the NCAA era to post a 40-0 record. UConn can match that mark if it were to win a second straight national title.

Schimmel had 20 points but was held to 7 of 25 shooting for Louisville (30-4).

3Morgan Tuck

Year: So.Height: 6-2Position: ForwardHometown: Bolingbrook, Ill.

MORGAN’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTTuck scored a career-high 19 points against Houston on Jan. 19, making a career-high eight field goals.

AAC Championship Always in the CardsStory by Jim Fuller | 03.10.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< BReanna stewaRt and chRis dailey | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Tuck’s father David

played at Ferris State

and her sister Taylor

plays for Illinois.

The Huskies are

47-4 in NCAA

tournament

games played in

Connecticut.


ROLLING OUT A LINEUP WITH three All-Americans in addition to national player of the year candidate Breanna Stewart, the top-ranked

UConn women’s basketball team has a way of making the path of incredible dominance look oh so easy.

However, the eight-time national champions have been built on blue-collar work ethic and a level of defensive intensity that doesn’t always come across, even during nationally televised games.

With UConn eyeing an undefeated regular season, the Huskies flexed their muscles on the defensive end en route to a 68-48 win over No. 3 Louisville before a women’s basketball record crowd of 22,163 at the KFC Yum! Center on Monday. With the win, the Huskies secured the outright American Athletic Conference regular-season title and joined the 2011-12 Baylor team as the only squads to post a 31-0 regular-season record.

Using an 11-0 run to take a 43-31 lead at halftime, the points were hard to come by in a rough-and-tumble second half. In the end, UConn was able to hold the Cardinals scoreless for a stretch of 9:28 when Louisville was desperately trying to mount a comeback.

“I think second half we really dug down de-fensively,” said Stewart, who led the Huskies with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. “Our shots weren’t falling, but we held them scoreless or forced them to take a bad shot.”

“Louisville is a great team. This is a great game to play. It is the last regular-season game, and it is at Louisville. It is hostile environment, and you know it sends us into the postseason on a really good note.”

The Cardinals seemingly couldn’t miss in the opening minutes. Spurred on by emotional

Senior Night festivities which included a Native American Day in honor of Louisville’s 2,000-point career scorer Shoni Schimmel, Louisville made seven of its first nine shots. The early six-point deficit was the largest the Huskies have faced this season.

UConn switched things up, coming out with a swarming 1-2-2 defense which shut off many of the open looks the Cardinals were getting.

“It is their Senior Night. There is a lot of emotion in the building and you have to expect that,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I didn’t expect us not to make any shots in the beginning, but I am not surprised that they came out the way they did.

“I knew at some point our defense was going to get settled down, and at some point they were going to stop shooting 70 percent from the floor. We made a couple of adjustments and we changed a couple of things as the game went on, and in the second half we gave them a couple of different looks depending on who they had in the game. When we had Kiah Stokes in the game, it was very difficult to all of a sudden get anything inside.”

UConn posted its seventh undefeated regular season and earned the No. 1 seed for the Ameri-can Athletic Conference tournament.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, in her second game back after missing four games with mononucleo-sis, and Bria Hartley hit back-to-back 3-pointers after Louisville got off to the 16-10 start. Another 3 by Mosqueda-Lewis gave the Huskies their first lead with 12:29 to play in the first half.

Mosqueda-Lewis had all 13 of her points in the first half and added nine rebounds for UConn (31-0, 18-0). Bria Hartley had 14 points, Moriah Jefferson had 11 points while Stefanie Dolson had six points, seven rebounds and five assists.

41Kiah Stokes

Year: Jr.Height: 6-3Position: CenterHometown: Marion, Iowa

KIAH’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTStokes scored a career-high 19 points against St. Bonaventure Nov. 24. She also had career-high 18 rebounds against Temple on Jan. 11.

Rolling to a Perfect Regular SeasonStory by Jim Fuller | 03.03.2014

DID YOU KNOW?

UConn had perfect

regular seasons in

1994-95, 96-97,

01-02, 02-03,

08-09, 09-10

and 10-11.

UConn had perfect

conference records in

1994-95, 1996-97,

1999-00, 01-02,

02-03, 06-07,

08-09, 09-10

and 10-11.

CHAMPION PROFILE



LIKE SO MANY OTHERS IN THE women’s basketball community, Hall of Fame Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer saw Baylor nearly

push the defending national champion UConn squad to the brink.

Partly as inspiration but more so as a teach-ing tool, Stringer popped in the tape and told her team that they were going to go after the Huskies.

By game’s end, one of the five Division I women’s basketball coaches with at least 900 victories was singing the praises of the mighty Huskies and offering as much praise as she has ever heaped on a team in a post-game press conference.

With senior guard Bria Hartley setting career highs with 30 points and six 3-pointers and three other starters scoring in double figures, the Huskies rolled to a 94-64 victory over No. 23 Rutgers before a crowd of 6,480 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

It is the most points Rutgers has allowed at home in Stringer’s 19 seasons at the helm of the Scarlet Knights.

“Connecticut is a great team,” Stringer said. “The speed with which they ran and the accuracy, it is almost like you have to be there to see it. Some of us knew about it and some of us forgot about it.

“Without question this is the best team I have seen in all the years that I have ever watched Con-necticut. I don’t know who we’ve seen better. You may argue that the point guard (Moriah Jefferson) isn’t as experienced, but sometimes when you are quick like that, maybe you don’t have to have experience. You know how to get to the hole and you know how to deliver. Geno’s got a great group of kids, and I know he has to be happy.”

Stringer also said that UConn is so talented that “it is them and it is everybody else. They clearly have it. They have the skill and the

commitment and they ran.”Auriemma certainly was pleased. After

being held under 70 points in seven of the last 10 games against the Scarlet Knights, UConn matched its second highest scoring output in 37 meetings with the Scarlet Knights.

Breanna Stewart had 23 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Stefanie Dolson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and Jefferson had 13 points, four rebounds, eight assists, three steals and her second straight game against a ranked team without a turnover. UConn improved to 19-0 and is 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

“I think the way we moved the ball, when you shoot 56 percent, it makes everything look good,” Auriemma said. “I was telling the players in the locker room that when your guards play well, you have a chance to play (well). When your guards play great, you have a chance to play great and our guards were great. Bria was a little better than she was last year (when Auriemma played her only four minutes), and Moriah was unbelievable. That was two games in a row now where she was playing more like a senior than she is playing like a sophomore, and that kind of gives Bria an opportunity to get off the ball a little bit and do what she does best and that is score. When Bria is making shots, she is as good as any guard in the country and we’ve got such great balance. It was a great team effort, every-body played great.”

A free-flowing pace agreed with the Huskies, and especially the duo of Hartley and Stewart.

Hartley came into the game shooting 31 of 95 in her last eight games including going 9 of 35 from 3-point range, but she opened up by hitting eight of her first nine shots. She finished with her first 30-point game as a Husky and had a career-high six 3-pointers.

30Breanna Stewart

Year: So.Height: 6-4Position: ForwardHometown: Syracuse, N.Y.

BREANNA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTAssociated Press and Naismith national player of the year scored a career-high 37 points against Temple Jan. 28.

UConn Has Respect Of Rutgers, StringerStory by Jim Fuller | 01.19.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

<Kiah stoKes | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

During the 2013-14

season, Stewart

reached double

figures in points

in 38 games,

including 21 games

with 20-or-more

points. Stewart

recorded

11 double-doubles

for points and

rebounds this season.


IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY the amount of praise Geno Auriemma has bestowed upon UConn seniors Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley

over the past four years.The blue-collar approach to basketball the

New York natives have displayed has endeared them to their Hall of Fame coach. But no words ever captured Auriemma’s true feelings toward the two more aptly than the heartfelt bear hugs that were shared inside Bridgestone Arena in the final seconds of UConn’s record ninth national championship.

Dolson was the first to trot to the sideline and into the arms of Auriemma, who finally let his guard down with the game’s outcome no longer in question.

“He doesn’t hug me often,” Dolson said. “That hug was a long time (coming) and it was a perfect moment for it. He told me how much he was going to miss me and that we love each other. He is like a father to me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better coach for my four years of college.”

Hartley was next up. The more emotional of the two senior All-Americans, Hartley predict-ably broke down as Auriemma expressed similar sentiments to her after she checked out of her final game as a Husky.

“I was just happy, excited, upset that it was over, all in one,” Hartley said. “I just broke down. This year was amazing and the four years here have been great, so I am glad we were able to end it going out on top.

“Coach cares about every one of his players. We just loved our relationships with him. It used to be five (in our class — Lauren Engeln, Michala Johnson and Samarie Walker transferred) and now it is just two, so we grew even closer with him.”

It’s been quite the ride for two seniors who were thrust into the starting lineup as freshmen

for a team coming off back-to-back undefeated seasons. For Dolson, the frustration of consecutive losses to Notre Dame in the national semifinals led to a heart-to-heart between her and associate head coach Chris Dailey, who challenged her to get into better physical condition so she could reach her potential.

“These four years, it has been so up and down,” Dolson said. “My first year — Coach will always remind me of this — when I was in his office saying, ‘I don’t even know if I want to do this anymore. I don’t know if I like basketball stuff.’ It was kind of those freshman emotions. I am glad he pushed me through it and saw the potential in me. He helped me grow into the player and person I am today.”

Dolson leaves the program as just the fourth Husky with at least 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.

Hartley finished her career ranked eighth on UConn’s career scoring list.

Following the title game, Auriemma admitted he got a little more choked up than usual.

“For these two, I don’t think there was ever more pressure on two players who have come to Connecticut than there was on Stefanie and Bria,” Auriemma said. “To come in as freshmen, and their first game we had won 78 in a row. ‘Alright, you are the starting point guard, you are the starting center. Don’t screw this up.’ They had to do so much and it is unbelievable. Every waking moment of every day, they have dedicated it to our team. There has never been any drama, never been any nonsense, I never had to worry about anything. They are just unbelievable as human beings and as players.

“You always say you are going to miss players. You are going to miss their points, you are going to miss their rebounds, but I will miss Stefanie and I will miss Bria as people.”

11Briana Pulido

Year: So.Height: 5-7Position: GuardHometown: Miami, Fla.

BRIANA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTPulido scored six points this season. She is also a member of the UConn track and field team.

Coach Has Bond With Dolson, HartleyStory by Jim Fuller | 04.08.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE


DID YOU KNOW?

The Huskies

have advanced

to at least the

Regional semifinal

game in 21 straight

appearances. The last

time UConn failed

to reach the Regional

semifinal was in

1993 when the

Huskies lost 74-71

to Louisville.


AS THE HUSKIES WERE BLOWING the doors off Notre Dame en route to another national championship, Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated and CBS

Sports sent out this meme via Twitter: “Geno about to win his 9th. Time to start talking about him as one of the greatest coaches of any sport ever. Deal with it.”

The response ranged from the reasonable (“UConn is loaded with high school All-Ameri-cans”) to the indignant (“one of the best coaches ever in a sport dominated by four teams. Laugh-able”) to the just plain silly (“Time for him to prove himself in the men’s game”).

As the critics hammered away, Davis tweeted a follow-up: “Everything y’all are tweeting me knocking Geno was said about Wooden. Trust me.” It was a noteworthy response given that Davis, in January, released a definitive 608-page biography, “Wooden: A Coach’s Life.”

For years, Auriemma has dismissed comparisons between himself and Wooden. But the fact is, he’s earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the Wizard of Westwood. Perhaps no other basketball coach in history, aside from Wooden, enjoyed titanic success through clean, honest methods and yet was so readily dismissed by a small but vocal band of critics.

Wooden’s UCLA dynasty — 10 titles in 12 seasons — is hailed as the most dominant in college basketball. Four decades ago, there was an unimpressed faction with familiar gripes. Since he recruited the best players and won, success must be as simple as bringing a ball to practice and relaxing with a cold lemonade.

Perfection has been an expectation for UConn’s women for over a decade. Auriemma doesn’t simply recruit the best female high school players, he finds the ones with an amplified understanding of the game. On the heels of a

21-point stomping of Notre Dame on Tuesday, the Huskies were once again perfect, 40 wins, no losses, tied for the best season ever. The official tally is now nine championships over the past 20 seasons. Not quite Wooden territory. But Auriemma isn’t finished, either.

Still, there are many who continue to view UConn’s undefeated campaigns with disdain; who say it is “laughable” to measure Auriemma against Wooden.

Comparisons between the two are nothing new. The debate surfaced four years ago, when UConn broke UCLA’s 88-game win streak. It’ll truly heat up again when Geno ties, and then breaks Wooden’s record 10 national champion-ships. And there’s no reason to believe that event isn’t inevitable. It will happen. Soon.

But his impact on the women’s game, like Wooden on the men’s, goes beyond wins and championships. Both helped their respective sport achieve unparalleled popularity, a foundation men’s basketball continues to build upon and one that, in theory, should do the same for the women.

The nation eventually caught up to UCLA, though not until 1975, when Wooden won his 10th crown in 12 years and retired. At some point, the women’s game will catch up with UConn. Odds are that won’t happen until Auriemma finally decides to call it a career.

Auriemma turned 60 on March 23, an age when it’s fair to openly wonder how many more years a coach will stick around, even one clearly at the top of his profession. A few other noteworthy milestones are within his reach. At 879 career wins, he’ll hit 900 next season. The thousand mark should come in 2018; Pat Summitt’s record 1,098 within range by the time he’s 67.

Perhaps by then, like Wooden in retirement, his legacy will be universally accepted, even though he’s already secured a place as one of the great coaches, men’s or women’s, of all time.

23Kaleena

Mosqueda-Lewis

Year: Jr.Height: 6-0Position: ForwardHometown: Anaheim Hills, Calif.

KALEENA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTMosqueda-Lewis led UConn in scoring in back-to-back NCAA tournament wins against BYU (19 points) and Texas A&M (17).

Auriemma Enters Wooden TerritoryStory by Chip malaFronte | Date 04.09.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< geno auRiemma and stefanie dolson | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

During Mosqueda-

Lewis’ high school

career at Mater

Dei and collegiate

career at UConn,

her team’s records

are a combined

231-16.

UConn has won

46 straight games,

its third-longest,

trailing its 90- and

70-game win streaks.


THE WHISPERS WERE THERE BEFORE the top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team played its first game of the season.

Armed with perhaps four of the top 10 players in the college game, the Huskies were going to make opponents look downright average on a nightly basis. But there were those who wondered how the mighty Huskies would react when a team was willing to engage in a stare-down and refuse to blink. Could the plethora of All-Americans execute in the closing minutes in a game where the outcome could ride on each and every tightly contested possession?

Well, UConn was placed in such a situation before a crowd of 9,145 at a raucous Ferrell Center and emerged with a hard-earned 66-55 victory to snap Baylor’s 69-game home winning streak.

“We knew we would be tested like we were tonight,” said UConn sophomore forward Breanna Stewart. “In the end, when we had to make plays, we made them.”

With less than four minutes to play, it was a one-possession game when the Huskies’ best players shook off a uneven performance that felt like they were as out of sorts mentally as they were a step slow physically.

Stefanie Dolson sandwiched two free throws and a layup around a tough shot in the lane by Stewart as UConn turned a three-point game into a 11-point final margin.

“It had to be a great TV game,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.

“It ended up being an 11-point game, but it wasn’t an 11-point game.

“It was a game of good defense. Neither team shot it particularly well. There were shots that we contested all night, and it was a good basketball game.”

Stewart had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four

assists. Hartley added 17 points, Jefferson had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and no turnovers in 38 minutes, Dolson added 10 points and seven assists and Kiah Stokes contributed six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Davis had 11 points and 17 rebounds for Baylor (14-2). Makenzie Robertson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.

UConn (18-0) twice led by 11 points including once in the early stages of the second half, but the Lady Bears came storming back each time.

While Baylor All-American Odyssey Sims did some of the damage, it was not a one-person show as Sune Agbuke and Nina Davis delivered some key plays. Agbuke hit back-to-back baskets to pull Baylor within 48-46. With the Huskies up by three, Stewart hit a jumper and then came up with a loose ball after Sims dribbled the ball off her foot.

Stewart got the ball ahead to Hartley for a layup and Dolson followed with a jumper to put UConn up 56-49 and set the stage for a 10-2 run to close out the Huskies’ most competitive game of the season.

“There were certainly possessions when we had to win those possessions and we did,” Auriemma said. “Making any kind of play was hard tonight.”

UConn held Sims, the nation’s leading scorer, to a season-low 20 points. She was held scoreless for the final 10:53, going 0 for 4 with two fouls and two turnovers.

Jefferson, the first Texas native to play for UConn, used to come to games at Baylor throughout her teenage years. She was the Huskies’ best player in the early stages, scoring 10 of the Huskies first 17 points and adding a pair of assists.

With the game tied at 10, Jefferson hit a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that gave UConn a 17-10 lead.

20Tierney Lawlor

Year: Fr.Height: 5-7Position: GuardHometown: Ansonia, Conn.

TIERNEY’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTLawlor matched her career-high with six points on two three-pointers against Cal-Davis on Dec. 5.

UConn Has Answers For Its Few Critics Story by Jim Fuller | 01.13.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< moRiah JeffeRson | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Tierney’s parents

John and Eileen

are both

1988 graduates

of the

University of

Connecticut.

Her father

played football

for the Huskies.


WATCHING KALEENA MOSQUEDA-LEWIS EFFORTLESSLY connect on nine 3-pointers in her first two

games back from injury, it all looked so easy.However, it soon became apparent that after

missing nearly a month and a half due to an injured elbow left Mosqueda-Lewis with some work to do. One of the most gifted pure scorers in the history of the UConn women’s basketball program was suddenly finding it hard to free herself from defenders.

If you take away a strong shooting game at Memphis, Mosqueda-Lewis was an uncharacter-istically inaccurate 6 of 27 from 3-point range since the back-to-back efforts against Duke and California.

Whispers about her physical conditioning could be heard before the subject was finally publicized on the nationally televised broadcast of UConn’s win at Baylor.

While Mosqueda-Lewis was a little too busy trying to help the Huskies win a tough test on the road to hear the pointed comments about her being out of shape, she knows what people have been saying about her.

“It is frustrating, but it is something I have to go through,” said Mosqueda-Lewis (who would eventually be diagnosed with mononucleosis less than a month later).

“I got injured, I got out of shape and I have to get back into shape during the season when we already have practice and are having games.”

It won’t get easier on Sunday as Mosqueda-Lewis and the top-ranked Huskies head to Piscataway, N.J., to take on old rival Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights are perennially one of the toughest teams to score against, especially at home, but for Mosqueda-Lewis it is the next

chance to show she still has the shooting touch which made her an All-American as a sophomore.

Her teammates have seen her score early and often in practice and they know she wants so much to return to her pre-injury form.

“I am sure it is (frustrating),” UConn senior guard Bria Hartley said. “I kind of sense what she is going through. I feel like I can talk to her and talk her through it. I don’t know how to change it right away because it took me a while (when Hartley injured her ankle last season), but you just have to keep fighting and going through it.”

The casual fan might assume Mosqueda- Lewis isn’t putting in the work necessary to be in basketball shape.

But they haven’t been at Gampel Pavilion on her “days off” when she heads in for additional work on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine.

“(The workout) depends on what I have done or what I did the day before,” Mosqueda-Lewis said.

“What my body has gone through for the past couple of days determines how tough a workout. It is in the forefront. That is exactly why I’ve been doing extra work. It is exactly why changing things here or there is going to help me.”

Coach Geno Auriemma said it was unrealistic to expect Mosqueda-Lewis to remain in top shape with the amount of time she missed, but he is expecting to see an improvement in conditioning from his junior shooting star.

“It is not a concern of mine right now, but a few weeks from now it will be if it doesn’t get better,” Auriemma said.

“I think anytime you miss that much playing time, time away from practice, you can go on a treadmill, you can go on a bike all you want, but for five weeks if you are not playing basketball, it is going to take a while.”

4Moriah

JeffersonYear: So.Height: 5-7Position: GuardHometown: Glenn Heights, Texas

MORIAH’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTJefferson helped UConn defeat Louisville Feb. 9 by scoring a career-high 18 points.

Not Always So Easy For Mosqueda-Lewis Story by Jim Fuller | 01.18.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< Kaleena mosqueda-lewis | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

During her five years

in the Texas Home

Educators Sports

Association, Jefferson

scored 3,354 points.

She was twice

named National

Christian

Homeschool

Basketball

Championships

Player of Year.


THE FIRST FIVE HOME GAMES of the season at Moody Coliseum drew an average of 366 fans. There’s a chance that the personal cheering section for

UConn sophomore guard Moriah Jefferson could approach that number when the top-ranked Huskies play in Dallas for the first time.

Jefferson’s father said that he expected “a couple hundred” family members, friends and supporters to head over to Southern Methodist the last time the Huskies were in the state of Texas.

Jefferson doesn’t know the exact number, but there is no question it will be a lot when this Texas swing, which began in Houston on Satur-day, wraps up Tuesday.

“Honestly I have no idea,” Jefferson said. “I guess I will find out when I get there.”

Jefferson said her Glenn Heights, Texas, home is only about a 20-30 minute drive to the SMU campus.

The opportunity to play so close to home as well as square off against former AAU team-mate Gabrielle Wilkins will make it a night to remember.

“Anytime I get to come home it is always exciting,” Jefferson said.

There isn’t as much tension surrounding this game as her first game of the season back in her home state.

The Jan. 13 game at Baylor was the most com-petitive challenge the undefeated Huskies have faced this season, and Jefferson was among those players who helped limit national player of the year candidate Odyssey Sims to 4 of 25 shooting.

There will be another test as Southern Methodist University senior guard Keena Mays is the leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference.

The good news for Jefferson is she is back

playing at a high level after a game and a half of less-than-impactful play.

With Jefferson dealing with a sore right foot and clearly nowhere near her normally effective self, UConn coach Geno Auriemma limited her to a season-low 16 minutes against Central Florida on Wednesday.

Jefferson didn’t get much done in the first half of the Houston game either, before returning back to form with a solid second half.

Jefferson missed her first four shots before coming up with a steal that she converted into a layup with 15 seconds left in the half.

“I think that layup at the end of the first half kind of got me going a little bit and I just have to be more aggressive,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson downplayed any problems with her sore right foot even after she was seen wearing a protective boot after the Houston game.

“It is just the wear and tear and it is to make sure it doesn’t get worse,” Jefferson said.

“For the most part I am going full (speed) in practices, I am able to practice, and in the games, nothing is going to stop me in the games.”

Jefferson has started every game as a sopho-more and has already surpassed her freshman numbers in every major category.

With three assists and one steal against SMU she would join Jen Rizzotti as the only UConn sophomores with at least 150 assists and 75 steals.

Jefferson is garnering national attention, joining teammate Bria Hartley as one of 22 candidates for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top point guard.

Iona junior guard and Meriden native Dami-ka Martinez are also on the list, which will be cut to five in March before the winner is announced at the Final Four.

14Bria Hartley

Year: Sr.Height: 5-8Position: GuardHometown: North Babylon, N.Y.

BRIA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTHartley, an All-America selection scored a career-high 30 points at Rutgers Jan. 19, making 11 field goals.

Jefferson Feels Right At Home in TexasStory by Jim Fuller | 02.24.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< moRiah JeffeRson | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Hartley was twice

the New York State

Gatorade Player

of the Year

at North Babylon

High School, where

she scored 1,978

points. She averaged

30 points

and 8.3 rebounds

as a senior, and 21

points as a junior.


AS SENSATIONAL AS BREANNA STEWART’S 37-point offensive explosion was during Tuesday’s American Athletic Conference

victory at Temple, the foundation of the UConn women’s basketball program was built much more by what took place on Saturday afternoon.

Rather than having one player simply take over, all eight healthy full-scholarship players had at least one field goal and two assists in an 86-29 win over Cincinnati.

Especially pleasing to the coaching staff was the production of reserve guards Saniya Chong and Brianna Banks.

After a string of quiet performances in recent weeks, the duo combined for 16 points, six re-bounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks while not committing a turnover in a combined 45 minutes.

“We are doing a lot better than we did in the past so hopefully keep getting better every day in practice,” said Banks, a 5-foot-9 junior guard from Newman, Ga., who had four points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot in 22 minutes. “We just try to make hustle plays and play as hard as we can. That is all they expect from us.

“He (UConn coach Geno Auriemma) always stresses about contributing off the bench,” added Banks, who was on her way to a productive soph-omore season before tearing her ACL last year.

“We try to come out and give as much as we can every day especially in practice, because that is where we get most of our playing time.

“Hustle plays are always the best plays. It just shows that everybody is working hard, and not everyone can hit for 37 like Stewie, so you have to try to do something else.”

After a relatively quiet first half, Chong played with the carefree attitude she displayed earlier in the season and was 3 of 4 from the field

including shooting 3 for 3 from 3-point range with four assists in 15 second-half minutes.

She had more points in the second half than she did in the previous five games combined. Chong had scored five points in her previous four games.

“I accomplished a lot more,” said Chong, a 5-8 freshman guard from Ossining, N.Y. “I was just really slow and not doing much to contribute to the team. Just hearing it (from the coaches) so many times, I really need to step up. I’ve been working really hard in practice.”

Chong was named the Parade All-American Team’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2012-13, as well as the National High School Coaches Association’s (NHSCA) national girl’s basketball Player of the Year.

Like many freshmen who get off to fast starts before opponents have a chance to study film on them, Chong has been a little inconsistent during her freshman year.

“I don’t know that any freshman is immune to it,” Auriemma said.

“I think it does get to them all because it is a long season and is a lot harder than anything they’ve done. Saniya, she wants to be a great competitor.

“She wants to do all of those things, and that is good and that is going to help her. But for her, especially if she is not concentrating on it all the time, it just goes away. It is spotty.

“We didn’t play her much in the Maryland game, she came back and played great in the Penn State game.

“We didn’t play her much in the Baylor game, and she gets better. She didn’t play in the South Florida game because she was not feeling good and came back and practiced great the next day. I don’t think she has gotten to the point where she knows how to do that every single day.”

31Stefanie DolsonYear: Sr.Height: 6-5Position: CenterHometown: Port Jervis, N.Y.

STEFANIE’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTDolson, an All-America selection, scored a career-high 26 points and added a career-high 11 assists against Oregon Nov. 20.

Plenty in Reserve With Chong, BanksStory by Jim Fuller | 02.02.2014

CHAMPION PROFILE

< saniya chong | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Dolson scored

1,951 points

and had

1,607 rebounds

during her career

at Minisink

High School.

She averaged

22.8 points,

17.6 rebounds,

5.6 assists

and 5.2 blocks

per game as a senior

in high school.


IF ALL-AMERICAN KALEENA MOSQUEDA-LEWIS had not been knocked out of the clash of the women’s basketball titans, the top-ranked UConn

women’s basketball team’s victory would have been just what the doctor ordered in the eyes of UConn Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma.

Auriemma said many of his star players struggled, some key role players delivered in tight spots and most of all the Huskies emerged with a relatively routine 76-57 win over No. 3 Stanford before a crowd of 9,529 at Gampel Pavilion Monday night.

However, any positive vibes created by the performances of reserves Kiah Stokes, Saniya Chong and Morgan Tuck or from the wondrous effort from All-American guard Bria Hartley became secondary to the concern about the health of Mosqueda-Lewis.

With 18:08 left in the game, Mosqueda-Lewis, the Huskies’ leading scorer in each of the last two seasons, jumped in the air to try to avoid a fallen Chiney Ogwumike as she corralled a rebound. Mosqueda-Lewis’ right elbow hit the floor with tremendous impact and she was writh-ing in pain, screaming “help me” according to those sitting nearby when the play happened.

Hartley was brilliant in victory adding to a new chapter to her “big-game Bria” nickname that has accompanied her during these last four seasons. Hartley had 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and just one turnover in 38 minutes.

The only other double-digit scorers were reserves Tuck (11 points) and Stokes (10 points to go with career highs with 13 rebounds and six blocks). Chong came in and hit two huge 3-pointers including one that gave the Huskies the lead for good.

“They have no chumps in their lineup,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said, “They are

all very capable players, and they play in a great system so it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Neither team looked sharp early on in a foul-plagued affair.

UConn opened the game shooting 1 for 11 with a couple of missed layups.

Sophomore All-American candidate Breanna Stewart picked up two fouls in the first 3:32 and watched the rest of the first half from the bench.

Tuck came in and was also quickly whistled for two fouls. Running out of options, Auriemma called on Stokes, who has spent nearly as much time in Auriemma’s doghouse than on the court in her first two seasons.

Facing one of the nation’s most imposing frontcourts and with All-American Stefanie Dolson already with a foul, Stokes picked the perfect time to deliver perhaps the best stretch of basketball in her time with the Huskies. Stokes’ first-half numbers of eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks don’t even begin the tell the story of her impact in the final 11:38 of the first half.

Stokes made four straight free throws to get the Huskies started on a 17-10 run. UConn took its first double-digit lead late in the first half on a Stefanie Dolson free throw. Coming out of a timeout, Hartley found an open Mosqueda-Lewis for a 3-pointer that sent the Huskies into the locker room up 39-26.

“We found out that we have some players who can make some plays when it is time to make them,” Auriemma said. “I told the team after the game that this game probably went, except for Kaleena getting hurt, this game went exactly how you hoped it would go. We played great at times, we played terrible at times, we struggled, we had to overcome certain things and in the end we beat a really good team and we had the game in hand pretty much the whole second half. That is better than making every shot and winning by 35.”

12Saniya Chong

Year: Fr.Height: 5-8Position: GuardHometown: Ossining, N.Y.

SANIYA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTChong had a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds against Central Florida on Feb. 10.

Almost Perfection Against StanfordStory by Jim Fuller | 11.12.2013

CHAMPION PROFILE

< stefanie dolson, and Kiah stoKes and chiney ogwumiKe | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Chong was named

Parade All-American

Player of the Year

in 2013 after

averaging

34.4 points

and 9.1 assists

at Ossining

High School.

Scored at least

30 points in

51 of her 96

high school games.


IT WAS A FORGONE CONCLUSION that UConn would be selected as the pre-season favorite during the inaugural Ameri-can Athletic Conference season considering

the embarrassment of riches that UConn’s Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has to work with in his 29th season.

The only real question that needed to be answered at media day at Mohegan Sun Arena was which of Auriemma’s Huskies would be picked as the AAC’s Preseason Player of the Year.

Sophomore forward Breanna Stewart was the pick of the coaches, beating out her own teammates in what was a fairly close contest.

Stewart came off a sensational performance to lead the Huskies to an eighth national title six months ago. Stewart averaged 26 points per game in wins over Notre Dame and Louisville to earn Most Outstanding Performer honors at the Final Four. Now she looks to build on the impressive ending to her freshman season.

“It is a nice honor, but what it is saying is if you play well and you do really well this year then maybe this will happen,” Stewart said. “I want to obviously play well and start off in practice.”

There could be plenty to celebrate as UConn returns more than 80 percent of the scoring and rebounding from last year’s team.

“It is going to be real interesting this year, real interesting,” Auriemma said. “I think this is probably the most experienced, most successful team we’ve had coming back since 2001 when we won the national championship in 2000, we had everybody coming back in 2001 and we added Di-ana Taurasi. This will be interesting because that was the most talented team I have ever coached, the deepest and it didn’t work out (as UConn lost in the national semifinals to Notre Dame). Things kind of happened along the way to kind of derail us (including the season-ending injuries suffered

by Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph), so I know the pitfalls that are out there.”

Louisville, which lost to UConn in the na-tional title game, was picked second and received the only other first-place vote since Auriemma was not allowed to vote for his own team.

South Florida and Rutgers were picked third and fourth.

UConn’s Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis joined Stewart on the All-AAC team which Bria Hartley was an honorable men-tion selection.

Stewart, Dolson and Louisville’s Shoni Schimmel were the only unanimous selections.

Stewart’s coaches and teammates are expecting that the struggles she had during the regular season as a freshman will be a thing of the past.

“I think it is a matter of being more consis-tent. She was consistent for the whole month of November last year and chunks of December and she was really consistent for all of March,” Auriemma said. “Now it is ‘what are you going to do in between.’ I haven’t talked to her about it yet, but I know it is a big emphasis to be really consistently good every night instead of having those peaks and valleys she had last year.

“I think the fact that we have a veteran team coming back and even still it is a young team, we have three sophomores that are going to play a lot and fortunately we have two seniors (Dolson and Hartley) who are going to be great leaders. She won’t feel the pressure as much as she did last year. I think we, the coaches, fans underestimate what that does to you when you are a freshman. You look at her numbers at the end of the year and you say what did she average. How many points? How many rebounds? Any other fresh-man they would have been ecstatic, but with her it was ‘oh, she had a lousy year’ so standards are different for her.”

13Brianna Banks

Year: Jr.Height: 5-9Position: GuardHometown: Newnan, Ga.

BRIANNA’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTBanks pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in a non-conference victory against Ohio State on Dec. 13.

No Surprises: UConn Picked to Win AACStory by Jim Fuller | 10.14.2013

CHAMPION PROFILE

< BReanna stewaRt and BRianna BanKs | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

Banks was named

Georgia’s

Miss Basketball

in 2011

after averaging

16.2 points,

5.5 rebounds

and 5.1 assists

for Fayette County

High School.


National ChampsHistoric Huskies2013-14: Memorable Season

468

1012141618202224262830

No Surprises: UConn Picked to Win AACNew League, Same Expectations for Huskies

Almost Perfection Against StanfordWin Over No. 2 Cardinals Sets Tone for Season

Plenty in Reserve with Chong, BanksUConn Bench Steps Up When Needed Early

Jefferson Feels Right at Home in TexasHomecoming a Pleasant One for Sophomore

Not Always So Easy for Mosqueda-LewisGuard Battles Through Adversity to Help Huskies

UConn Has Answers for Its Few CriticsHuskies React to Raucous Crowd at Baylor

Auriemma Enters Wooden TerritoryNine National Titles Puts Geno in Select Company

Coach Has Bond with Dolson, HartleyAuriemma Has Respect for Seniors as Players, People

UConn Has Respect of Rutgers, StringerRival Hall of Fame Coach Impressed with These Huskies

Rolling to a Perfect Regular SeasonFor Seventh Time UConn Ends Regular Season Undefeated

AAC Championship Always in the CardsHuskies Handle Louisville for Third Time to Win First AAC Title

A Seventh-Straight Berth to Final FourUConn Earns Trip to Nashville with Win Over Texas A&M

Victory Sets Up Perfect ChallengeHuskies Topple Stanford to Face Undefeated Notre Dame

Historic Conclusion to a Perfect SeasonUConn Wins Unprecedented 9th Women’s Championship

< uconn women celeBRate duRing PaRade | aRnold gold — new haven RegisteR

DID YOU KNOW?

UConn has earned

26-striaght berths

into the NCAA

tournament, trailing

only Tennessee (33)

and Stanford (27).

The Huskies’

.851 winning

percentage

is the highest

of any program

in the

women’s

tournament.

CHAMPION PROFILE

NCAA 2014 ChampsUConn Women — 40-0

CoachGeno

AuriemmaYear: 29thHometown: Norristown, Pa.

GENO’S SEASON HIGHLIGHTAuriemma passed Pat Summit to become career leader for NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaching titles with his ninth.

UConn Women history in NCAA tournament

1989 — lost to La Salle 72-63.1990 — lost to Clemson 61-59.1991 — beat Toledo 81-80; beat N.C. State 82-71; beat Clemson 60-57; lost to Virginia 61-55. Final Four.1992 — beat Saint Peter’s 83-66; lost to Vanderbilt 75-47.1993 — lost to Louisville 74-71.1994 — beat Brown 79-60; beat Auburn 81-59; beat Southern Mississippi 78-64; lost to North Carolina 81-69.1995 — beat Maine 105-75; beat Virginia Tech 91-45; beat Alabama 87-56; beat Virginia 67-63; beat Stanford 87-60; beat Tennessee 70-64. NCAA champion.1996 — beat Howard 94-63; beat Michigan State 88-68; beat San Francisco 72-44; beat Vanderbilt 67-57; lost to Tennessee 88-83, OT. Final Four.1997 — beat Lehigh 103-35; beat Iowa 72-53; beat Illinois 78-73; lost to Tennessee 91-81.1998 — beat Fairfield 93-52; beat George Washington 75-67; beat Arizona 74-57; lost to N.C. State 60-52.1999 — beat St. Francis (Pa.) 97-46; beat Xavier 86-84; lost to Iowa State 64-58.2000 — beat Hampton 116-45; beat Clemson 83-45; beat Oklahoma 102-80; beat LSU 86-71; beat Penn State 89-67; beat Tennessee 71-52. NCAA champion.2001 — beat LIU 101-29; beat Colorado State 89-44; beat N.C. State 72-58; beat Louisiana Tech 67-48; lost to Notre Dame 90-75. Final Four.2002 — beat St. Francis (Pa.) 86-37; beat Iowa 86-48; beat Penn State 82-64; beat Old Dominion 85-64; beat Tennessee 79-56; beat Oklahoma 82-70. NCAA champion.2003 — beat Boston University 91-44; beat TCU 81-66; beat Boston College 70-49; beat Purdue 73-64; beat Texas 71-69; beat Tennessee 73-68. NCAA champion.2004 — beat Pennsylvania 91-55; beat Auburn 79-53; beat UC Santa Barbara 63-55; beat Penn State 66-49; beat Minnesota 67-58; beat Tennessee 70-61. NCAA champion.2005 — beat Dartmouth 95-47; beat Florida State 70-52; lost to Stanford 76-59.2006 — beat Coppin State 77-54; beat Virginia Tech 79-56; beat Georgia 77-75; lost to Duke 63-61, OT.2007 — beat UMBC 82-33; beat Green Bay 94-70; beat N.C. State 78-71; lost to LSU 73-50.2008 — beat Cornell 89-47; beat Texas 89-55; beat Old Dominion 76-63; beat Rutgers 66-56; lost to Stanford 82-73. Final Four.2009 — beat Vermont 104-65; beat Florida 67-59; beat California 77-53; beat Arizona State 83-64; beat Stanford 83-64; beat Lousiville 76-54. NCAA champion.2010 — beat Southern U. 95-39; beat Temple 90-36; beat Iowa State 74-36; beat Florida State 90-50; beat Baylor 70-50; beat Stanford 53-47. NCAA champion.2011 — beat Hartford 75-39; beat Purdue 64-40; beat Georgetown 68-63; beat Duke 75-40; lost to Notre Dame 72-63. Final Four.2012 — beat Prairie View 83-47; beat Kansas State 72-26; beat Penn State 77-59; beat Kentucky 80-65; lost to Notre Dame 83-75, OT. Final Four.2013 — beat Idaho 105-37; beat Vanderbilt 77-44; beat Maryland 76-50; beat Kentucky 83-53; beat Notre Dame 83-65; beat Louisville 93-60. NCAA champion.2014 — beat Prairie View 87-44; beat Saint Joseph’s 91-59; beat BYU 70-51; beat Texas A&M 69-54; beat Stanford 75-56; beat Kentucky 60-54; beat Notre Dame 79-58. NCAA champion.

SCHEDULEUC OPP89 . . . . . . .Hartford . . . . . . 34 76 . . . . . . .Stanford . . . . . . .57 72 . . . . . at Maryland . . . . . .55 71 . . . . . .at Penn St. . . . . . . .52 114 . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . .68 96 . . . . . . Boston U. . . . . . . .38 100 . . Monmouth (N.J.) . . . .46 88 . . . .St. Bonaventure . . . .39 70 . . . . . . .Ohio St. . . . . . . . .49 97 . . . . . . UC Davis . . . . . . .37 83 . . . . . . . at Duke . . . . . . . .61 80 . . . . . . California . . . . . . .47 67 . . . . . .Cincinnati . . . . . . 34 77 . . . . . . . at UCF . . . . . . . .49 90 . . . . . at Memphis . . . . . .49 90 . . . . . . .Houston . . . . . . .40 80 . . . . . . . Temple . . . . . . . .36 66 . . . . . . .at Baylor . . . . . . .55 94 . . . . . . at Rutgers . . . . . . .64 83 . . . . . . Memphis . . . . . . .49 81 . . . . .South Florida . . . . .53 93 . . . . . . at Temple . . . . . . .56 86 . . . . .at Cincinnati. . . . . .29 102 . . . . . . . SMU . . . . . . . . .41 81 . . . . . . Louisville . . . . . . .64 63 . . . at South Florida . . . .38 83 . . . . . . . . UCF . . . . . . . . .35 92 . . . . . .at Houston . . . . . .41 81 . . . . . . . at SMU . . . . . . . .48 73 . . . . . . . Rutgers . . . . . . . .35 68 . . . . . at Louisville . . . . . .48 72 . . . . . Cincinnati-x . . . . . .42 83 . . . . . . Rutgers-x . . . . . . .57 72 . . . . . Louisville-x . . . . . .52 87 . . . . Prairie View-y . . . . 44 91 . . . .Saint Joseph’s-y . . . .52 70 . . . . . . . BYU-y . . . . . . . .51 69 . . . . Texas A&M-y . . . . .54 75 . . . . . . Stanford-y . . . . . . .56 79 . . . . Notre Dame-y . . . . .58 x-AAC tournament

y-NCAA tournament

< uconn PlayeRs caRRy coach geno auRiemma | the associated PRess

DID YOU KNOW?

UConn has won

30 or more games

in nine-straight

seasons and in

19 of the past

21 seasons.

The Huskies have

won 35 or more

games six times,

including each of

the past two seasons.

HistoricHuskies

2013-14: MEMORABLE SEASON

UConn Women Win 2014 NCAA Title

NEW HAVEN REGISTERTHE MIDDLETOWN PRESS

THE REGISTER CITIZENCONNECTICUT MAGAZINE

historic_huskies.compressed

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beat washington

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