After UConn's open practice yesterday Geno Auriemma headed over to his Geno's Grille restaurant at Storrs Center for the taping of his weekly radio show with WTIC's Bob Joyce.

There were a couple of things I wanted to check in with Auriemma about so I headed over there for the final 10-15 minutes of the show which featured an entertaining back and forth with DePaul coach Doug Bruno.

After he wrapped up Auriemma said that Jan. 1 is the tentative date when injured freshman guard Courtney Ekmark could be cleared to return to the court. Ekmark has been sidelined with a stress reaction in her right foot. The good news is that Ekmark didn't have the protective boot on the foot at UConn's practice.

"I think every day she is getting a little bit better," Auriemma said after practice. "She was probably anxious to getting back to doing something so she got out of the boot and was doing some other stuff other than being in the pool, I think it is a huge win for her."
It will be interesting to see how much time she needs in practice before she returns to the court but it wouldn't be surprise to see her get a few minutes once she is cleared just to get her back into the flow.

Also, when I mentioned to Auriemma was Chattanooga on the verge of beating Stanford, the only team to beat the Huskies this season, he mentioned that they are playing Chattanooga next season. The news was reported on the radio show a couple weeks ago and Carl Adamec had more on the subject in his SNY blog

In an email seeking confirmation Corum, UConn's Senior Women's Administrator, replied saying the contract has not been signed yet.