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Press conference tomorrow at XL Center
There is a press conference tomorrow when the Big East Conference and the XL Center are expected to announce an extension to the agreement to hold the Big East women's basketball tournament at the site.
The tournament has been held at the XL Center since 2004 but the contract had expired following the 2011 event. The Big East accepted bids from other sites with Mohegan Sun Arena among those which showed interest but the Big East obviously believes it has a good thing going in Hartford.
The Big East had held its tournament at campus sites in the first 21 years of the event before switching gears and agreeing to make the Hartford Civic Center (now the XL Center) the first non-campus host site. While there are pockets of dissenters in the conference who believe UConn receives an unfair advantage since the tournament is played on one of the Huskies' two home courts, the attendance was strong enough for the event to be held in Hartford for the last eight years. Of course, the men's Big East tournament has been played at St. John's home court (Madison Square Garden) for years without too many complaints from the men's teams in the conference.
TOUGH WEEK FOR WNBA COACHES
First it was Tulsa's Nolan Richardson and then it was Jen Gillom of Los Angeles being let go or stepping down depending on your preference.
In their place, Teresa Edwards and Joe "Jellybean" Bryant have taken over the Shock and Sparks.
Of particular interest to me was the situation in Los Angeles and not just because Kobe Bryant's father is now coaching the Sparks but I figured it could cause a shift in the Geno Auriemma's 2012 Olympic coaching staff.
Gillom joined the Atlanta Dream's Marynell Meadors and DePaul's Doug Bruno as Auriemma's assistants at the 2010 World Championships. While they were listed at court courts in the recent U.S. training camp, USA Basketball history would indicate that the U.S. coaching staff in the Olympics would feature the same group of coaches who worked together at the World Championships. With Gillom no longer holding a WNBA job, I thought that would take her out of contention. That is not correct. In order to be eligible, USA Basketball guidelines stipulate that the WNBA coach must be a WNBA head coach for two of the last three years at the time of selection.
The Olympic staff is not expected to be announced until after the WNBA season is over.
The tournament has been held at the XL Center since 2004 but the contract had expired following the 2011 event. The Big East accepted bids from other sites with Mohegan Sun Arena among those which showed interest but the Big East obviously believes it has a good thing going in Hartford.
The Big East had held its tournament at campus sites in the first 21 years of the event before switching gears and agreeing to make the Hartford Civic Center (now the XL Center) the first non-campus host site. While there are pockets of dissenters in the conference who believe UConn receives an unfair advantage since the tournament is played on one of the Huskies' two home courts, the attendance was strong enough for the event to be held in Hartford for the last eight years. Of course, the men's Big East tournament has been played at St. John's home court (Madison Square Garden) for years without too many complaints from the men's teams in the conference.
TOUGH WEEK FOR WNBA COACHES
First it was Tulsa's Nolan Richardson and then it was Jen Gillom of Los Angeles being let go or stepping down depending on your preference.
In their place, Teresa Edwards and Joe "Jellybean" Bryant have taken over the Shock and Sparks.
Of particular interest to me was the situation in Los Angeles and not just because Kobe Bryant's father is now coaching the Sparks but I figured it could cause a shift in the Geno Auriemma's 2012 Olympic coaching staff.
Gillom joined the Atlanta Dream's Marynell Meadors and DePaul's Doug Bruno as Auriemma's assistants at the 2010 World Championships. While they were listed at court courts in the recent U.S. training camp, USA Basketball history would indicate that the U.S. coaching staff in the Olympics would feature the same group of coaches who worked together at the World Championships. With Gillom no longer holding a WNBA job, I thought that would take her out of contention. That is not correct. In order to be eligible, USA Basketball guidelines stipulate that the WNBA coach must be a WNBA head coach for two of the last three years at the time of selection.
The Olympic staff is not expected to be announced until after the WNBA season is over.
posted by Jim Fuller at
11:35 AM
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