Another day and some more WNBA history for some of UConn's greatest players.

Tina Charles and Maya Moore earned All-WNBA first team honors for the third season in a row marking the fifth straight time that at least one former Husky earned All-WNBA first team recognition, a WNBA record. Also, this is the 16th season in a row that at least one UConn grad earned first team All-WNBA recognition which is twice as long as the previous record.

Wait, there's more. With Diana Taurasi earning second-team honors, she ties Lisa Leslie and Tamika Catchings for the most selections in WNBA history.

 Charles finished third in the league in scoring with an average of 19.7 points per game and her average of 9.4 rebounds per game ranked fourth. Moore, who has her Minnesota Lynx team in the WNBA championship series for the sixth time in her seven-year career, averaged 17.3 points, 5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

There was at least one University of Southern California alum on the WNBA first team in each of the first eight years in the league while Tennessee had a seven-year run with at least one first-team honoree from 2008-14.

Taurasi was named to the second team for the third time in her career. It was the 12th time she was selected to either the first or second squad tying the WNBA record first set by Lisa Leslie and then tied by Tamika Catchings.

Jonquel Jones of the Connecticut Sun was named to the second team after setting the WNBA regular-season record with 403 rebounds. It was the first All-WNBA selection for Jones, who just finished her second season in the league.

NATIONAL CAMP TO KICK OFF TOMORROW
The members of the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx are sort of busy trying to win the WNBA title so players invited from those two teams who were invited to the Dawn Staley's first national team training won't be taking part. So that takes Moore out of the mix and now comes word that Tina Charles is dealing with injury and won't be there either. Still, there will be nine current or former UConn products set to take part in the training camp.

Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and  Taurasi headline the list of expected attendees. Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kiah Stokes and Morgan Tuck will be there while current UConn stars Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are among fifth active college players among the 20 players who will be at the three-day camp.

I caught up with Tuck and Taurasi before the Connecticut Sun/Phoenix Mercury playoff game so I could ask them about not on their participation in the national camp but also what that could mean for college players like Collier and Samuelson.

"Once you have been away from USA Basketball for a little bit like I have been, you kind of don't think about it," Tuck said. "I am really excited, this is where you want to be when you in the USA (program) when you were younger

"It is great for them. It is really exciting, I am excited I get to be on the court with Pheesa and Lou again and play with them. I am sure with them, just like me I am sure they are nervous but they deserve to be there."

Taurasi still recalls being the new kid on the block in terms of the USA national team pool





"I had the opportunity to do it, get on the court with Hall of Famers and I learned a lot just by watching it and being around. USA Basketball is a program, it certainly is about doing things that have been set for a while now . It will be good for them to get that early and see it, show what they can do, it is a great opportunity for the young kids to put their foot in the door.

"As a kid, you go out there and show some respect, then you go out and play as hard as you can and show what you can give to the program. It is a balancing act but at the end of the day, you have to go out there and compete, play hard."

Count Taurasi among those in the women's basketball world impressed by the jumps Collier and Samuelson made from their freshmen to sophomore seasons.





"They played great," Taurasi said. "Lou probably made the biggest stride from freshman year to sophomore year that I have seen in a long time in college basketball, that is about confidence, attitude and being confident in what you are doing on the court. Napheesa is so versatile in so many ways, she has this calm presence about her on the court, they've had a great sophomore year but they have to keep going."