I'm not sure what was more impressive, the dominating defensive effort by UConn in the Huskies demolition of Holy Cross or the performance of Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons in the post-game press conference.

Gibbons started off by telling the story of one of his golfing buddies making up "41 and Done" t-shirts and threatening to wear them to Friday's game. Gibbons begged him not to knowing the odds were slim and none that a Holy Cross team that lost to Yale would be able to snap UConn's 41-game winning streak.

Midway through his entertaining question and answer session, I asked him his impressions of Heather Buck since he recruited the former Stonington High star extremely hard and was disappointed when she chose to head to UConn.

"We (Gibbons and UConn coach Geno Auriemma) were kidding around during shootaround and he said 'I keep telling Buck that if she keeps playing like this, we are leaving her at Holy Cross but then Billy's going to send her back in a week,'" Gibbons said. "I said 'please leave her.' Obviously she is somebody we are missing, we lost out on her, we lost out on a 6-5 kid last year. It's been tough to get over the hump. She is such a great kid and I thought she has gotten bigger and stronger, real athletic. I would love to see her in purple and white. She is a going to get better in their system because she is going to get pushed every day in practice."

Buck spoke very highly of Gibbons when I spoke to her at Thursday's practice.

"It was a situation where it was close to home, I could have gone there, played and stayed with my best friend (Holy Cross guard Meredith Ward)," Buck said. "(Also) Coach Gibbons is one of the nicest people so it is hard to say no to somebody like that. They hung around for a long time."

A few other notes:
The win was the 699th of Auriemma's career. He will go for No. 700 on Nov. 27 when UConn meets Hofstra at 7:30 p.m. on the first day of the WBCA Classic at Gampel Pavilion.

While it is not news that UConn is playing at Stanford next season, the dates have been finalized. The Huskies will play in Palo Alto on Dec. 30, 2010, two days after starting the two-game California swing with a game against Pacific.

Gibbons said he wouldn't mind moving the UConn game back on campus to the Hart Center. The schools will continue the 2 for 1 deal meaning the game will be played in Connecticut the next two seasons and will be played in Worcester during the 2012-13 season.

Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibault and assistant coach Scott Hawk were at the DCU Center doing a little scouting. Jeez, I wonder who they were scouting, cough, Tina Charles, cough.

You will not see a better offensive move than Maya Moore' catch of a lead pass in the lane and her hesitation dribble leading to a layup. That was one sweet play.

Last night I headed to the Arizona State/Yale game to do a story on the close friendship between Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne and Chris Gobrecht of Yale, who hired Turner Thorne as a graduate assistant when she was the head coach at Washington.

After speaking to Turner Thorne about how her coaching career got started with the aid of Gobrecht, I changed the subject. Turner Thorne was the head coach of the U.S. team which won the World University Games. UConn's Tina Charles, Tiffany Hayes and Maya Moore were all members of that team although Moore was unable to play in the game because of a sprained knee. Here are her thought on the three Huskies.

"Maya Moore is just an incredibly special young lady and I did get to coach her up
until the first game, she was in trials, she was in training camp and was the instant leader of that team as a sophomore.

"Her maturity, her willingness to be coached, her willingness to try to do everything that you asked her was incredible."

"Tina Charles, obviously the light bulb just completely went on for her at the tail end of last year at UConn. I got the benefit of that. I was so proud of her, I got to see some of the Texas game and she has continued (to improve). We all know what Geno will say 'work harder, work harder.' She was real fun to coach and is just a fun person. If you motivate her, she will get to 30 (points). If she is fired up, she is going to get it done."

"Tiffany Hayes, wow what an athlete. There was a block, it was a huge play. There
was a scramble and they were about to score a layup, she took off from behind the 3-point line and in a split second blocked the shot against the backboard. This is Tiffany Hayes, about 5-10. She was a younger player on the team but she was
huge for us, very dynamic and Geno is going to get the most out of her. They are going to be incredibly tough to beat for the next couple of years."

Before heading to Yale, I asked Tiffany Hayes about her thoughts on Turner Thorne.

"With me being the younger player there, I would get down on myself and she would tell me 'calm down, this team has a lot of leaders and take what you can from them.' She told me to play my game and things will come. I learned a lot from her and am
glad to have had that experience.

"The most important thing she helped us with is when things weren't going well in the games, we were down or the other team would go on a run, she would calm us down. She would say 'hey, look everything's going to be OK. Just calm down, you guys
get it back together, come back together as a team.' She was that kind of a coach."

Speaking of Hayes, I asked her about what UConn learned about themselves playing against 10th-ranked Texas when she provided some unexpected comedy relief involving the nickname "omnu" the team gave freshman Kelly Faris.

Here's the transcript of the interview:

Hayes: Caroline and (long pause) Kelly stepped up. I was about to call her omnu and did a pretty good job.

Me: What do you call Kelly?

Hayes: Omnu. At our championship dinner, everybody was 'hi, how are you?' She was like 'I am Kelly, I am new.' We were like 'omnu?' And
we just started calling her 'omnu' that's her name.

Me: Who came up with that one?

Hayes: I think either Meghan or Kalana. We just call her omnu now and I completely forgot her name was Kelly. I was about to say omnu when you asked me that question.

While the general manager at WICC did not respond to my inquiry about whether they plan on remaining in the network of radio stations carrying UConn women's basketball games. Fortunately, UConn was kind enough to check and confirm that the only stations carrying the games at WTIC-1080 out of Hartford, WILI-1400 of Willimantic, Old Saybrook's WLIS-1420 and Middletown's WMRD-1150.

Last year's winner Maya Moore is joined by her UConn teammates Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes to give the defending national champions three of the 50 players named to the 2009-10 Naismith Trophy preseason watch list.

There are also 13 players who will face UConn during the regular season but shockingly none are named Nneka Ogwumike as her Stanford teammates Jayne Appel, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen made the cut.

Former Trinity Catholic star Da'Shena Stevens was on the list as was Delaware freshman Elena Delle Donne, a member of the UConn program for all of 48 hours before opting to head back home to Delaware.

Delle Donne is one of three freshmen on the list joining Baylor's Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame.

Looking quickly, another omission is Arkansas' Ciera Ricketts.

This list will undergo some revisions as the season wears on.

If Moore wins the award, she will become the first player to win two Naismith Trophies as a high school and college player.

Here's the complete list courtesy of Eric Oberman of the Atlanta Tipoff Club

2009-10 Naismith Trophy Preseason watch list:
Appel Jayne Stanford Center Senior
Barlow Ashley Notre Dame Guard Senior
Breland Jessica North Carolina Forward Senior
Charles Tina UConn Center Senior
Clark Alysha Middle Tennessee Forward Senior
DeHaan Allyssa Michigan State Center Senior
Delle Donne Elena Delaware Forward/Guard Freshman
Diggins Skylar Notre Dame Guard Freshman
Evans Dawn James Madison Guard Junior
Fitz Rachele Marist Forward Senior
Grant Tyra Penn State Guard Senior
Gray-Lawson Alexis California Guard Senior
Griffin Kelsey Nebraska Forward Senior
Griner Brittney Baylor Center Freshman
Hardy Lele Clemson Forward/Guard Senior
Harris Amber Xavier Forward Junior
Hayes Tiffany UConn Guard Sophomore
Hightower Allison LSU Guard Senior
Houts Ashley Georgia Guard Senior
Hughes Jareica UTEP Guard Senior
Jaeschke Amy Northwestern Center Junior
Johnson Shenise Miami Forward Sophomore
Lavender Jantel Ohio State Center Junior
Lucas Italee North Carolina Guard Junior
Marginean Gabriela Drexel Forward Senior
McCray Danielle Kansas Forward/Guard Senior
Monroe Jacinta Florida State Forward Senior
Montgomery Alex Georgia Tech Forward/Guard Junior
Moore Maya UConn Forward Junior
Morris Jené San Diego State Guard Senior
Naughton Deirdre DePaul Guard Senior
Pedersen Kayla Stanford Forward Junior
Phillips Ta'Shia Xavier Center Junior
Pohlen Jeanette Stanford Guard Junior
Prahalis Samantha Ohio State Guard Sophomore
Raven Brittainey Texas Guard Senior
Riley Andrea Oklahoma State Guard Senior
Robinson Danielle Oklahoma Guard Junior
Robinson Angel Marquette Guard Junior
Smith Jenna Illinois Center Senior
Stevens Da'Shena St. John's Forward Sophomore
Stricklen Shekinna Tennessee Forward/Guard Sophomore
Sverrisdottir Helena TCU Guard Junior
Sweat Ashley Kansas State Forward Senior
Swords Carolyn Boston College Center Junior
Thomas Bianca Ole Miss Guard Senior
Thomas Jasmine Duke Guard Junior
Vandersloot Courtney Gonzaga Guard Junior
Whipple Kalee Utah Forward Senior
Wright Monica Virginia Guard Senior

First, there is no truth to the rumor that Dee Kantner called two fouls on Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes as they made their way through the security checkpoint and headed to their gate at the San Antonio airport this morning.

I'm trying to figure out what was more distressing, that 85 fouls were called (many of the ticky tack variety) in the Tennessee/Texas Tech and UConn/Texas games at the AT&T Center Tuesday night, that the appearance of two Texas teams and the two most marketable women's basketball teams in the country drew only 4,586 or that 10th-ranked Texas, even with Charles and Hayes on the bench for the final 10 minutes of the first half, trailed by as many 35 points before losing 83-58. I honestly thought this was going to be a competitive game, silly me.

Before the UConn/Texas game hit the 10-minute mark, Charles and Hayes had two fouls each as did Ashley Gayle and Erika Arriaran of Texas. If this is what the powers that be are using to showcase women's basketball to a nation-wide audience, I have to question their judgment. I sat through (OK, actually I was standing up) Barb Jacobs' spiel about officiating points of emphasis in the game to the UConn team. The entire time I was thinking, shouldn't the points of emphasis center around not turning games into free-throw shooting contests. After what I witnessed last night, I guess the answer is no.

It's not a coincidence that most of the officials in San Antonio are WNBA officials because the UConn game was called with the same lack of common sense that I witness at WNBA games. More than once, a player from either Texas or UConn would have control of a rebound only to have a foul called which did not impact possession or the chance to get out in transition.

On a more positive note, perhaps the three plays which stood out to me was Maya Moore's hustling block in the first half, one ridiculous drive through the lane and finish by Tina Charles and Kaili McLaren's sweet pass to Moore leading to a layup later in the game when McLaren looked as if she was going to deliver a behind the back pass on the perimeter before delivering a perfect pass to Moore. Having McLaren back is a bonus for the Huskies especially since Heather Buck is still dealing with growing pains as she attempts to play her way into the UConn rotation.

A few other observations.

Maya Moore is kind of good.

Kelly Faris' basketball instincts are top notch.

Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma still don't like each other.

Kara Lawson is a very good color commentator offering insight without any biases shining through. She has the rare ability to break down a play without a condescending persona and without trying to show off how much basketball she knows.

If more post players in the country realized that they are most effective within a few feet of the basket which Tina Charles seems to get, it would be a better game.

I do have a suggestion to ESPN, have they ever considered showing Pat Summitt's halftime speeches?

When Maya Moore reflects back on the summer of 2006 when she helped the U.S. win the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women, one of the enduring memories is the infectious personality of teammate Brittainey Raven.

Raven, a senior guard at Texas, will be reunited with Moore and UConn senior center Tina Charles when UConn and Texas play tonight at 9:30 p.m. at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

"I remember playing with her on USA Basketball when I was 17," Moore said. "She's funny, she has a great personality, she is one of those people you always remember. She is very talented, quick and has a lethal shot.

Looking back to the U.S. Under-18 team the trio played on, Charles was the leading scorer (12.0) and rebounder (9.5), Moore averaged 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and had a team-high 15 steals in the four games while Raven averaged 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds as the U.S. defeated Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Canada by an average of more than 40 points.

For those who aren't able to make it to San Antonio for the UConn/Texas game tomorrow night, there are some viewing options closer to home (assuming you call Connecticut home).

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Hartford will host 2009 national championship finalist Louisville while nationally-ranked Arizona State will play at Yale on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Another game of some interest for UConn fans is Montini Catholic's season-opening game at Chicago's Marist High School on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. here in Connecticut). It will be the first game for UConn signee Michala Johnson, a senior forward for Montini Catholic, since she suffered a season-ending knee injury in last year's opener.

Here are the openers for the other four high school seniors who have signed with UConn:
Stefanie Dolson (Minisink Valley, Slate Hill, N.Y.): Dec. 9 at Monroe-Woodbury HS, 7 p.m.
Lauren Engeln (Laguna Hills, Calif.): Nov. 26 at Mission Viejo HS 6 p.m. pacific time
Bria Hartley (North Babylon, N.Y.): Nov. 28 at St. Anthony's HS, 10 a.m.
Samarie Walker (Chaminade Julienne, Dayton, Ohio): Dec. 5 at Dayton's Thurgood Marshall HS, 2:30 p.m.

Senior forward Kaili McLaren is considered probable to play on Tuesday against Texas. An MRI on her injured right foot showed no structural damage and she is diagnosed with a "sore right foot" according to an update I just received. She is listed as day to day.

McLaren injured her foot in practice on Friday and did not play in Saturday's season-opening 105-35 win over Northeastern.