Former Hopkins star Lauren Okafor had four points and four rebounds
in eight second-half minutes in her first game with the Atlanta Dream

Yesterday's WNBA doubleheader in Louisville was billed as a homecoming for former Louisville stars Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel but it was also a chance for a pair of players with Connecticut tie to take a step towards making the opening night rosters for their respective teams.

Former UConn standout Kelly Faris, in a fight to make the Connecticut Sun, certainly got a chance to show what she could do as her 22 minutes matched Alex Bentley for the team-high total in a 76-68 win over Indiana. Faris finished with four points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals and a blocked shot. Faris received at least twice the amount of playing time of the other players vying for the final roster spot as Kayla Pedersen played 11 minutes, Didi Simmons and Inga Orekhova played seven minutes each and Alyssia Brewer did not get into the game. It can be risky reading too much into playing time in preseason games because in the exhibition games the Sun will be playing on Wednesday and Thursday could see a totally different allotment of minutes.

The second game featured a dominating win by Washington over the Atlanta Dream as former UConn stars Bria Hartley (14 points, four assists), Kalana Greene (10 points, five rebounds) and Stefanie Dolson (10 points, four rebounds) were the only Mystics scoring in double figures in the 79-55 victory. McCoughtry and Schimmel were a combined 4 for 25 in the game although Schimmel did assist on the first professional basket by former Hopkins star Lauren Okafor.

Okafor, a third-round pick in last month's WNBA Draft, had four points and four rebounds in eight minutes for the Dream. Okafor checked into the game with 5:06 left in the third quarter and within 21 seconds had grabbed a pair of rebounds.

The news wasn't as good for a couple of other state natives as Stamford's McKenna Frank and Ridgefield's Meaghan O'Hara were among the players cut as USA Basketball whittled down a roster of 149 players trying out for the U-16 team to 70. There should be more cuts today before the team playing in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship is announced tomorrow morning. UConn commit Andra Espinoza-Hunter is among the prospects still in Colorado Springs vying for a national team spot.

Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley have been involved with so many glorious moments on basketball courts in the state of Connecticut so it seemed rather fitting that when it came time to help the Washington Mystics clinch a WNBA playoff spot, that special event would occur within state limits.

Hartley had 13 points, her 18th double-digit scoring game of the season, and Dolson added four points as the Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun 71-67 on Friday night to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The win erased much of the drama from the final weekend of the regular season. If Washington lost to Connecticut, Washington could have been knocked out of the playoffs with a loss to the New York Liberty today and a New York win over Indiana on Sunday. Now the Mystics can start preparing for the postseason.

Hartley admitted after the game that it was a bit ironic that the playoff clinch took place in Connecticut.

"I used to play for UConn and Coach T (Mike Thibault) going against Connecticut and he used to coach here," Hartley said.

"I think it is really important (making the playoffs as a rookie). It is a great experience. There are some rookies who don't get this opportunity but you are playing and gaining experience that you can take with you for the next few years."

Hartley, who was in the starting lineup, and Dolson predictably got warm receptions from the Mohegan Sun Arena crowd.

"It is nice when you come back here and you have a bunch of people who want you to sign stuff or want you to take pictures," Hartley said. "I always stop and do that. Just the fans showing love, it is always nice to come back to your college and where your college is and have the fan support."

Wins by Washington and San Antonio on Friday allowed the Mystics and Stars to clinch the final two playoff spots. Half of the eight playoff teams feature former UConn stars as Diana Taurasi is the leading scorer for Western Conference regular-season champion Phoenix, Maya Moore is not only the top scorer for playoff bound Miunesota but is the league's top scorer as well. In the Eastern Conference, Tiffany Hayes is the No. 3 scorer for an Atlanta team which will be the top seed while Dolson, Hartley and Kalana Greene are all members of playoff bound Washington.

Could former UConn stars Kelly Faris (34) or Kalana Greene (32)
be the final perimeter player cut by the Connecticut Sun this week?

Yesterday I made the trip down to Uncasvulle to get some stuff for the Connecticut Sun season preview. While I was there I took the time to pick the brain of Sun coach Anne Donovan of not only when the final cuts will be made but also what positions she is looking to make the necessary personnel decisions.

"We'll end up with seven guards/perimeter players and five posts," Donovan said. "It has been a little bit difficult because I still don't know where Bone (fits) she is going to be on the team, that is not a question but just how it is going to fit."

That led to the next question and that is whether she considers rookie Alyssa Thomas to be a perimeter player or a post.

"I told her from the beginning that you are going to be a perimeter (player) but what it has turned into is I want her on the floor so if that means a 3 (small forward) or a 4 (power forward), she tends to find her minutes," Donovan said. "She has really figured out how to play both spots, she does what she does whether it is post up a smaller guard or battle (inside), she can handle herself in the post and rebounding she is an asset no matter where she is."

After speaking with her, it looks as if one post player and one guard has to be let go. Obviously No. 1 overall pick Chiney Ogwumike and Kelsey Griffin, the only player to start every game for the Sun last season, will make the team and Donovan already stated that Bone (the last player to report to training camp) will make the team. That leaves two spots being fought for by the trio of Yelena Leuchanka (who practiced with the team for the first time on Saturday) and former first-round picks Kayla Pedersen and Kelly Cain.

"Yelena just came in today, Kelsey comes in tonight so we are probably going to go to the very end to figure out that last cut," Donovan said on Saturday. "It is going to be tough, Kelley Cain has made a great case for herself, Kayla Pedersen has come back and been a completely different player this year. It has been great, it makes for a really competitive camp."

As for the guards, Katie Douglas, Allison Hightower, Thomas and Alex Bentley won't be going anywhere. Renee Montgomery also figures to be on the final roster so that would leave three players vying for two spots with former UConn stars Kalana Greene and Kelly Faris joining Danielle McCray in the fight to make the team. I don't want to read too much into how the minutes were allotted in the two preseason games but McCray was the first of the trio summoned off the bench in Thursday's preseason finale. McCray and Greene both got playing time in the first half while Faris did not check into the game until 8:41 left in the game In the first exhibition game Faris was the first of the three to check into the game so perhaps it was simply the case of the coaching staff needing a longer look at McCray (who did not play last season) in the final preseason game rather than her being ahead of Faris in the pecking order.

It's not going to be an easy task for Donovan and her staff, especially when it comes time to cut loose one of the perimeter players. Greene played in all but one regular season for the Sun over the last three seasons after being acquired during a draft-day trade in 2011. She started 95 of the Sun's 102 games over the last three seasons. McCray played 62 regular-season games for the Sun during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and with 54 3-pointers and a 36.7 3-point percentage, she has proven to be the best perimeter shooter of the trio. Faris was showing tremendous growth during her rookie season before she was one of the many Sun players who had her 2013 season shortened due to injury. Faris displayed an ability to be a defensive stopper on the perimeter and she was the first draft pick of the post-Mike Thibault era with the Sun.

It is going to be interesting.

Ex UConn star Kalana Greene raves about  Moriah Jefferson

Watching Moriah Jefferson make the jump from timid freshman to dynamic sophomore led to debates of whether she improved more from her first to second season than any other UConn player in recent memory.

The only player I could even think about being in this discussion was Kalana Greene.

However, when I sat down the Greene at yesterday's Connecticut Sun media day, she was having none of that comparison.

"I wouldn't even put me at that level," Greene said. "Mo, she is pesky, she is a pest. The energy she brings, everything she does I would have to work 15 times harder just to get her results. She is the leader, she doesn't back down from anything or any challenge and she is fun to watch. She is probably one of the most exciting players I have ever seen play college basketball."

Greene is amazed at what Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck have accomplished since their arrival at UConn.

"The thing that is so crazy for me is that a lot of those guys are just sophomores," Greene said. "I remember me and the people I came in with, we didn't have it then and we lost, quite often. To do what they have done in freshman year and again as sophomores, for those guys, they get it that early and it is impressive."

Greene opted not to play overseas which gave her a chance to spend a couple of weeks in Connecticut where she got to see the team practice. She was also at the Final Four when the Huskies finished off a 40-0 season with impressive wins over Stanford and Notre Dame.

"Nashville was amazing, it was my third one (Final Four) since I came back," Greene said. "Last year I don't think anybody expected them to win and now it is even harder because the target is on your back and you are expected to win. I had an opportunity to watch them practice for a couple of weeks, see the lulls because in practice you get to see everything."

While Greene missed out on making some money by not playing overseas, she felt like she needed a break after a difficult season.

"It was a fun offseason," Greene said. "There was a bit of normalcy, I've never really had that, I was able to do things that normal people do. I think it was good for me to bring back a lot of energy, a lot of hunger and to miss the game. I miss it now, before it was like I am going over here, I am going overseas and then back here. Now I had a real chance to miss the game and I missed it.

"I did a bit of traveling. I stayed in South Carolina, went to places for a couple of weeks, I came to Connecticut for a couple of weeks, I was in Philadelphia with Tonya (Cardoza) and Temple for a couple of weeks. I wen t to Oklahoma, Charlotte, just spent time with people I don't get to see and I just enjoyed my time off.

"I did a lot of individual stuff, a lot of 1 on 1 stuff. Not as much 5 of 5 stuff as I would like. I could play more but you don't want to play too much 5 on 5 with the guys because you start showing them what you can do and they get a little offended. I got to work on my game and I think the big thing was rest, mental and physical rest, and I was able to take some time to shut down before I started back up."

Finally, I asked Greene what advice she would give to incoming freshmen Sadie Edwards, Courtney Ekmark, Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams.

"I think there is only a certain type of person, not a caliber of player, but type of person that can come and play there," Greene said. "I think they have a great group of upperclassmen especially that junior class and just work hard, know that your time will come. They are going to depend on their freshmen initially. There won't be any breaking in period. Coach (Geno Auriemma) knows what he is doing, take the message he is giving you and don't take the tone because of a lot of time you can be shell shocked by that. They have more than enough people to help them get acquainted and comfortable. I think having good upperclassmen is essential to having a good freshman class."

Former UConn stars Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi will
be teammates at next week's WNBA All-Star game.

Former UConn stars Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi were voted by the fans to be starters for the Western Conference for the WNBA All-Star Game.

Moore was the second-leader vote-getter among Western Conference players receiving 31,635 while Taurasi, who headed into Thursday’s game against Los Angeles averaging a WNBA-best 21.5 points per game, led all Western Conference guards by receiving 26,019 votes.

Reigning WNBA MVP and former UConn star Tina Charles finished as the No. 5 vote-getter among Eastern Conference players but was not voted as a starter.

The WNBA changed its format going from having one center and two forwards being voted as starters to having the top three frontcourt players earning starting positions. Under the previous format Charles would have edged out Chicago’s Sylvia Fowles to be the starting center for the Eastern Conference. However, forwards Elena Delle Donne of Chicago (who topped all players by receiving 35,646 votes), Tamika Catchings of Indiana and Angel McCoughtry of Atlanta earned the starting nods. They will be joined in the Eastern Conference starting lineup by former Rutgers stars Cappie Pondexter and Epiphanny Prince, who play for New York and Chicago respectively.

Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker of Los Angeles and Phoenix’s Brittney Griner are the other starters for the Western Conference.

Former Huskies Swin Cash of Chicago and Kalana Greene of Connecticut finished sixth and 13th respectively among Eastern Conference frontcourt players while Tiffany Hayes of Atlanta was eighth among Eastern Conference guards.

Reserves for the Eastern and Western Conference will be announced next week.
The WNBA All-Star Game will be played on July 27 at 3:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Tina Charles and Swin Cash are among six former UConn stars on the
WNBA's All-Star ballot which was announced on Thursday.

The WNBA released its ballot for next month's All-Star game (being played at Mohegan Sun Arena) with two guards and three front court players from each team being on the ballot.

Six of the 60 candidates played at UConn including reigning WNBA MVP Tina Charles of the Connecticut Sun, current WNBA scoring leader Maya of the Minnesota Lynx and five-time WNBA scoring champion Diana Taurasi. They are joined by the Connecticut Sun's Kalana Greene, Tiffany Hayes of the Atlanta Dream and two-time WNBA All-Star MVP Swin Cash of the Chicago Sky.

Other Connecticut Sun players on the ballot are Kara Lawson, Allison Hightower and Kelsey Griffin.

Balloting begins on Sunday with the starters for the Eastern and Western Conferences being announced on July 18 during a nationally-televised game between Phoenix and Los Angeles. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played on July 27 at 3:30 p.m.

Former UConn star Kelly Faris had a rebound and blocked shot in her WNBA debut

In the last couple of years there was no questioning what Kelly Faris' role was when she stepped onto the basketball court. However, the former UConn star wasn't quite sure how much time she would see during her first WNBA game.

Faris was summoned off the bench late in the first quarter to replace her former UConn teammate Kalana Greene. There was 1:57 remaining in the opening quarter when she came into the game. Her first entry into the score sheet was a foul which sent New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter to the free-throw line.

Faris played the rest of the first quarter and the first 5:13 of the second quarter. The highlight of her initial stint was a block of New York rookie Toni Young's shot which led to one of teammate's Kara Lawson's five 3-pointers.

Faris only played an additional 27 seconds in Connecticut's season-opening 81-69 victory.

"I didn't know what to expect going into my first game," Faris said. "My teammates, they've all done a good job making me feel comfortable."

Faris admitted she has some catching up to do after missing a large portion of training camp because of a foot injury she suffered in the final regular season game during her senior season at UConn.

"I still have a ways to go, I definitely have to get back in shape," Faris said. "I was out of wind a little too early for me. I need to make sure I get myself back into shape."

Although Faris didn't attempt a shot in her pro debut, she was excited about the potential of playing for a Sun team which clearly wants to push the pace this season.

"Coming from the program I was at, that is what you want, you want to run as much as you can no matter what," Faris said. "They got a little tired and that was when we had to push it."

WALKER EXCITED FOR CAL/UCONN MATCHUPS

Connecticut Sun forward Ashley Walker was a star at California the last time the Golden Bears faced UConn and to say she is fired up about the potential of Cal and UConn meeting in the regular season in the next couple of seasons would be a major understatement..

Walker had a team-high 21 points as Cal lost the eventual national champion Huskies 77-53 in the Sweet 16 in the 2009 NCAA tournament. That meeting was the first between the schools in 15 years but the programs are expected to play during the upcoming season at Madison Square Garden with a return game in Berkeley likely to be a part of the deal.

"Finally," Walker said with a laugh before Saturday's game against the New York Liberty. "They didn't want to play us when I was in school, they waited and we played them in the NCAA tournament. We got them in the Sweet 16 which sucked because we had such a great season that year but I so proud of my Golden Bears. Coach G (Lindsay Gottlieb) has taken the program to another level. When we were coming in, all of a sudden we are winning games and she came in behind (former coach Joanne Boyle) and to get them to a Final Four, she is an amazing coach. 

"She learned from Coach Boyle who I had. I think the program has changed, it is a new era for Cal and I am so proud to be there and get it going and just excited for them. I can't believe they are going to play (UConn). All of our big opportunities, they are finally getting them. I am going to kick them.

So how important will it be for the Cal program to play a Connecticut program which is coming off winning its eighth national title?

"Huge," Walker said. "When I was there we played Oklahoma, Baylor but we couldn't get the big schools to come out and play us, they would play Stanford but when we started beating Stanford 'OK maybe we will go play Cal.' I think it is huge for the program to get that national recognition."

Although Walker graduated from Cal in 2009, she still keeps tabs on her alma mater. That was pretty evident when Cal  beat Georgia to earn a spot in the Final Four.

"I was in Romania screaming at 4 in the morning, literally I did a happy dance by myself in my room," Walker said. "My teammates down the hall are like 'Ashley why are you so loud right now?' I said 'you have no idea, my team just got to the Final Four.' My parents actually went to the game supporting them, it was great. I didn't get to do it but I felt like I did it. We got to the Sweet 16 and we were happy with what we did but to know that they want to piggy back on what we did and what we started, it is huge."

UCONN RECRUITING TARGETS IN CONTENTION FOR U-16 TEAM
USA Basketball has whittled the initial list of 132 candidate for the U-16 national team down to 43 after a few days of trials. It is hardly a surprise that Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson, the only members of the Class of 2015 holding scholarship offers from UConn, are still in contention to make the 12-player squad. DeJanae Boykin, who is expected to make a visit to the UConn campus during the summer, also survived the cuts to date. However, Qalea Ismail who is the daughter of former North Branford High star Holly Oslander was among the players who were cut.

USA Basketball invited 33 players to the tryouts with the other canddiates earning spots by applying to be a part of the tryouts. A total of 31 of the initial invitees are among the 43 players still vying for the 12 spots on the team.

The 12-member squad which will compete in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship will be announced on Monday morning.

In recent weeks there have been no lack of updates on where Kelly Faris ranks on UConn's career charts.

However, when I think of what Faris contributes to the team it does not come down to the number of points, rebounds, assists or even steals that she gets on a nightly basis but the way that everything she does is about trying to win games. Faris, who will move into a tie with Ann Strother for the number of games played, is currently 10th all-time at UConn in the number of victories she has been on the court for..

Faris could finish as high as No. 5 on this list if UConn were to win the remainder of its games.

Here is the list
1. Maya Moore 150-4
2. Kalana Greene 148-9
3. Tiffany Hayes 147-7
4. Tina Charles 146-6
5. Renee Montgomery 139-11
6. Lorin Dixon 136-4
    Diana Taurasi 136-8
   Ashley Battle 136-13
9. Asjha Jones 135-9
10. Kelly Faris 133-9 (heading into tonight).

CURTIS EKMARK HONORED
Curtis Ekmark, the head coach and father of UConn commit Courtney Ekmark, was named the WBCA National High School Coach of the Year after leading St. Mary's to a 29-1 record and Arizona Division I state title.


Ekmark has a 154-21 record in six seasons at St. Mary's
.
Ekmark will also coach the Purple team in the WBCA High School All-American Game and one of the players he will be coaching is UConn signee Saniya Chong out of Ossining (N.Y.) High School. The roster of the Purple team has some familiar names as former UConn recruiting targets Taya Reimer, Diamond DeShields (who was named the WBCA National Player of the Year), Erica McCall, Stephanie Mavunga and Karlie Samuelson are all on that squad.

The game will be played on Apr. 6 at the New Orleans Arena. Courtney Ekmark, a junior guard, is planning to join Curtis at the Final Four.

Former UConn star Swin Cash will be the honorary co-captain of the Black team while Tamika Catchings will be the honorary co-captain for the Purple squad.

Freshman Breanna Stewart was named the MVP of the Paradise Jam's Island Division after UConn rolled past Wake Forest, Marist and Purdue over the last three days.

Stewart averaged 19 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.3 blocked shots while shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis also scored in double figures in all three games (although she did leave Saturday's game after suffering blow to the head and her status for Wednesday's game against Colgate is uncertain). Seven different Huskies had double-digit scoring games in the three blowout wins.

One of the greatest benefits from the tournament was that it gave junior guard Bria Hartley a chance to get back in the groove. Hartley missed nearly all of preseason camp and the first two games as she recovered from a sprained left ankle. Hartley averaged 15.3 minutes in the three games and averaged 7 points and 3 assists per game.

Next up for the Huskies is a game against Colgate on Wednesday at the XL Center.

South Carolina won the Reef Division of the tournament with a 3-0 record.

I just took a look at the 12 opening-day rosters for WNBA teams and it should not come as a surprise that UConn and Tennessee lead the way with the most alums.

There are 11 former Huskies currently on WNBA rosters while Tennessee grads account for 10 roster spots. Duke and Rutgers are next with seven each followed by Stanford with six. These are unofficial numbers. When I see a list of the official rosters (likely tomorrow) I will double check those figures.

I found it interesting that San Antonio is the only team without either a Connecticut or Tennessee product on its roster.

As for the cuts there are a few things that caught my eye. LaSondra Barrett was the only 2012 first-round pick who was cut. I could understand a veteran team like Minnesota or Connecticut cutting loose a first rounder but a team like Washington coming off a six-win season certainly should have had a spot for the 10th player taken in the draft. Making matters worse, I count six players taken after Barrett making WNBA rosters including No. 11 pick Sasha Goodlett (Indiana), second-round picks Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta), Riquana Williams (Tulsa) and Chay Shegog (Connecticut) and third rounders April Sykes (Los Angeles) and Lynetta Kizer (Tulsa) making the cut.

Another thing I noticed is that Sydney Colson was among the cuts by the New York Liberty. Why is that relevant? Well, the rights to Colson were what the Connecticut Sun gave up last year to acquire former UConn star Kalana Greene.

The WNBA season begins tomorrow when Los Angeles meets Seattle.

OKAFOR LEAVING PROVIDENCE
Former Hopkins star Lauren "Lady" Okafor is planning to transfer out of Providence.

The 6-foot-3 Okafor started 24 games last season when she led her team in blocked shots and was second in rebounder.

Her mother, in an email to the Register, said Okafor may end up in the ACC or Colonial Athletic Association and her final destination figures to be known in the next couple of weeks.

Okafor will have to sit out next season and will two years of eligibility remaining.

The Connecticut Sun released veteran forward Sidney Spencer on Wednesday meaning that unless the Sun picks up somebody off waivers that second-round pick Chay Shegog has made the team.

Spencer was signed by the Sun in the offseason to add some size and shooting ability at the forward position but obviously Shegog, a former North Carolina star, was impressive enough during the preseason to make her the only rookie on the 2012  Sun team. Shegog also provides some insurance in case Tina Charles' groin injury, which has reduced her to primarily being a spectator, limits the All-Star center.

Teams have until Friday to get down to the 11-player maximum. The Sun's 11-play squad consists of Charles, Asjha Jones, Kalana Greene, Renee Montgomery, Danielle McCray, Allison Hightower, Mistie Mims, Kara Lawson, Kelsey Griffin, Tan White and Shegog.

ESPN ANNOUNCES ITS WNBA BROADCAST SCHEDULE

ESPN released its 12-game schedule for the upcoming regular season.
Sun, May 20  Phoenix Mercury at Minnesota Lynx, 12:30 p.m. ABC
Wed, June 13 Los Angeles Sparks at Connecticut Sun, 8 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Sat, June 23 Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx, 12:30 p.m.  ESPN / ESPN3
                     Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury,  9 p.m. ESPN / ESPN3
Tue, June 26 Seattle Storm at Washington Mystics,  7 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Sat, July 7 Seattle Storm at Los Angeles Sparks 10 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Thu, July 12 Los Angeles Sparks at Indiana Fever, 7 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Tue, Aug 21 Minnesota Lynx at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Sat, Aug 25 Minnesota Lynx at Atlanta Dream, 7 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Wed, Sep 12 Seattle Storm at Indiana Fever,  7 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Tue, Sep18 New York Liberty at San Antonio Silver Stars, 8 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3
Sun, Sept 23Seattle Storm at Phoenix Mercury, 3 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN3

Tina Charles and Asjha Jones will play in the Olympics for the first time but there's no question that there's a different vibe surrounding the selections of two of the six former UConn players to the team.

Much of it is because Charles was pretty much considered to be a no-brainer pick and also she figures to have a chance at taking part in multiple Olympics. In the case of Jones, who is heading into her 12th WNBA season, this was likely her final chance to make the squad and the fact that she was the 12th and final player named to the team only added to the magnitude of the achievement,

"I was told I wasn’t on the team so I had no expectations of getting that 12th spot so for me I was already done with it," Jones said. "I was already moving on and I was still playing in Spain and I was worried about that.

"We knew that (Brittney) Griner had dropped out and I saw that Carol had called me She is texting me and saying you need to call me. I was at the Bank of America because somebody had stolen my card number and was shopping on it. I was there to fix that and that was when I talked to Carol outside the Bank of America so it was a pretty good day."

Perhaps only Asjha Jones could look at a day including somebody running up a tab on her credit card as a "pretty good day."

Jones joins her former UConn teammates Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi on the U.S. Olympic team. The fact that Bird, Cash and Jones were part of the same recruiting class makes the accomplishment all the more staggering.

The class already made history following up a perfect senior season by having Bird, Cash, Jones and Tamika Williams all go in the first six picks of the 2002 WNBA draft. Now three of them will be on the Olympic squad together.

"We are happy," Jones said. "Swin is all emotional about it about how all of us were going to play together again and how awesome it is. She is the type of person who puts things in perspective so talking to her made me think and made me realize how big it actually is, six (UConn players), four of us (from 2001-02 national championship team) and how amazing that was, she kind of put that in perspective for me."

Charles was among the first 11 players named to the team back in late March but even now the honor of being selected is something that means the world to her.

"It is definitely a special feeling, it is a blessing," Charles said.

"Especially with the time difference I would try to stay up and watch the Games or set my alarm clock so it is a dream come true for any athlete to go to the Olympics alone even if you win a medal or not, I think it is the ultimate.

I’ll be taking a lot of pictures, I will be looking forward to it but of course you have to key on the main task and that is the bring home the gold."

Montgomery was the only former UConn star in the player pool who failed to be named to the team. She was thrilled to see current teammates Charles and Jones as well as her former UConn teammate Maya Moore be named to the team  but was disappointed that she did not make the cut.
"It was definitely difficult," Montgomery said. "The Olympics are something that you don’t know where your body would be in four years and even though I am only 25 you don’t know what could happen with injuries or anything that could happen. Even in the Olympic year you could get selected and you could get hurt. It is not something you can take lightly because it is not something that next year I am going to go after it and I am going to make the team because it only comes around once every four years,. It goes from being a short term goal to going back to being a long term goal again and that is kind of tough. Obviously I wanted to make it in the worst way but then to see (three) of my real close friends make it, I am going to have a connection."

SPENCER REACTS TO PAT SUMMITT'S RETIREMENT
While former Tennessee star Kara Lawson is the Tennessee graduate from the Connecticut Sun who has been asked about Hall of Famer Pat Summitt's decision to relinquish day to day coaching responsibilities, there is another former Lady Vol playing with the Sun. So I asked Sidney Spencer about her take on Summitt's decision, which came about as a result of her battle with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

"She is an incredible coach, incredible mentor, incredible woman," Spencer said. "I think what she has done will continue to impact this game forever, I have a feeling that what she is going to do now as far as what she is going to contribute to different charity things will impact the world just as much as she has impacted the basketball world so I think there are great things to come.

"I have through word of mouth I have tried to call her. I know she has been pretty busy but I pray for her every night."

FIRST CUT COULD BE COMING THIS WEEKEND
With the Connecticut Sun having the maximum 15 players in training camp, a cut will need to be made when Mistie (Bass) Mims reports. That is expected to happen on Saturday so it will be interesting to see which of the players is the first to go.

Mims and Spencer, the other veteran added in the offseason, as well as returning players Jones, Charles, Montgomery, Lawson, Kalana Greene, Tan White, Danielle McCray, Kelsey Griffin and Allison Hightower won't be going anywhere. That leaves Jessica Breland, second-round pick Chay Shegog and undrafted players Dawn Evans, Brittany Carter and Stefanie Murphy (who is in training camp for the second straight year) as the candidates.

Speaking of Evans, she signed with Arras in the French pro league on Tuesday and on Wednesday the http://www.lovewomensbasketball.com/ site reported that Connecticut Sun first-round pick Astan Dabo also signed with Arras.

DATE ANNOUNCED FOR UCONN/MARYLAND GAME
It was already reported that UConn and Maryland will be playing in the 2012 Jimmy V Classic. Earlier today ESPN announced that the game will be played on Dec. 3. The game will be played on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at either Gampel Pavilion or the XL Center while the UConn men will play North Carolina State in the second game of a doubleheader on Dec. 4 at approximately 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.

The UConn women figure to be ranked second, only behind national champion Baylor, at the beginning of the 2012-13 season while Maryland should be a top 10 team so it will be a tough early test for both teams.

During the Final Four I asked Maryland's All-American sophomore forward Alyssa Thomas about the prospects of playing UConn.

"We are looking forward to playing them next year, they are a great team," Thomas said. "We are looking forward to playing them next year, they are a good team and a good program. Playing other teams from different conferences gives you different looks and prepares you going into the NCAA tournament."

The Tulsa Shock announced that it has invited former UConn guard Lorin Dixon to its training camp which, by my count, makes 12 former Huskies heading to WNBA training camps.

I'm not going to lie about being a little surprised about Dixon getting an invite. It will be interesting to see how she fares in training camp. I do think that her chance of making the Shock would increase dramatically if Tulsa were to schedule North Carolina in a preseason game or at least let Dixon go up against former North Carolina guard Cetera Degraffenreid, who seemed to bring the best out of Dixon.

All kidding aside, Dixon was a top prospect coming out of Christ the King who can be a disruptive force on the defensive end. She was not much of an offensive threat at UConn so for her to avoid being among the first cuts I would have to think she'd have to look for her own shot a little more than she did during her collegiate career. I'm hoping she'll be around long enough to take part in at least one preseason game. Tulsa plays at Atlanta in its first exhibition game on May 5 and wraps up its preseason schedule by hosting Seattle on May 11.

By my count seven of the WNBA's 12 teams will have UConn grads competing for roster spots. The Connecticut Sun leads the way with four players (Tina Charles, Kalana Greene, Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery) while Atlanta (Tiffany Hayes, Ketia Swanier) and Phoenix (Charde Houston, Diana Taurasi) also have more than one former Husky heading to training camp. Chicago (Swin Cash), Minnesota (Maya Moore), Seattle (Sue Bird) and Tulsa (Dixon) have one UConn product each.

Speaking of UConn guards, Bria Hartley was among the 5,500 fans who were at Rentschler Field for UConn's spring football game on Saturday. She was joined by Michala Johnson, who is finishing out the semester before transferring to Wisconsin.

Among the sizable UConn cheering contingent at Tuesday's Elite Eight game against Kentucky was Kalana Greene, a member of two national championship teams for the Huskies.

Once all the coaches and players departed, I was able to talk to Greene about  few different topics.

I asked her opinion on this UConn team reaching the Final Four without a dominant player like Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Diana Taurasi etc. etc. etc as well as what she thought about the performance of her former teammate Tiffany Hayes.

"It's impressive because if you would have spoke to the coaches two months ago they would have told you we weren't making the NCAA tournament," Greene said. "For them to make the Final Four going through what they are going through this year with a lot of things being questioned this year, without Maya Moore, it is absolutely amazing. I think a lot of people had a lot of doubts that we weren't going to make it back. For us to do it in this fashion is amazing.

"I think everybody has watched what Tiffany is capable of and  everybody would like to see if more but when it counts to go to the Final Four, those are the games that matter the most. I think it is great for her because I think she is a player who plays off confidence and to have this kind of game going into another big game definitely we need two more games like that."

Then I turned the focus to her career. She recently returned to the U.S. after playing in Israel for Raanana Hertzeliya where she averaged 7 points and 3.1 rebounds in eight games.

"It was pretty good," Greene said. "It is a beautiful country but I am happy to be home. When I was here, I ws trying to get out of here as fast as I could but now I am back and it is always good to be back in America."

Finallly I asked for her take on the player movement in the WNBA and the fact that her team, the Connecticut Sun, has not made any major moves. The Sun did sign Sidney Spencer, Mistie (Bass) Mims and Dawn Evans but plan on moving forward led by pretty much the same nucleus it had last season.

"When you look at all the transactions made either with free agency or with trades I think we are one team that didn't make a lot of major changes," Greene said. A lot of people changed things, in my opinion, that didn't need to change but by the same token I am not a coach and I am not a GM. I think we have a core group. We may not have the biggest names but we have faces on the team wit Tina and Asjha and I think we have a good supporting cast that they didn't mess with in the offseason which is great keep developing players, forming relationships and chemistry which I think is key which they understand. We should be a pretty good team this year."

If there is one statistic which best describes the sustainability and dominance of the UConn women's basketball program it is that the Huskies have not lost consecutive games since 1993. In other words, the players the Connecticut coaches are currently recruiting were not even both the last time the Huskies had a losing streak.

With that in mind, we don't often get to write about UConn losing games or how the Huskies plan to rebound from a loss. I was given that opportunity and my advance for tonight's game against Charleston is focused on how the players and coaches compare last year's season at Stanford to the one on Sunday at Baylor.

Speaking of Charleston, they are pulling out all the stops for tonight's game. According to a story in today's Charleston Post and Courier, former Charleston stars Regina Brown Hall and Lisa Washington will have banners in their own raised to the rafters at TD Arena at halftime. Before the game Charleston's AIAW powerhouse teams in the early 1980s will be recognized as will Kalana Greene, the only player from South Carolina to suit up for the Huskies and other dignitaries with ties to South Carolina.

The biggest news to come out of UConn's open practice on Tuesday is that Caroline Doty sprained her ankle last week and will not play in the Huskies' exhibition opener against Assumption (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.).

Unlike her knee injuries which have kept her sidelined quite often, the ankle injury is relatively minor.

"She landed on somebody's foot," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It just takes a long time to come back form the ACL thing and you get a little gingery. You are taking it one step at a time and you aren't sure. She was just starting to really go hard and she stepped on the kid's foot but she was out there today dribbling and moving around so hopefully it won't be too much longer.
"With those things, you keep icing it, keep doing the rehab and do what you do and when it is good it is good. You just don't know exactly how many days it is going to be. I am thinking a week or so."

In Doty's place, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is expected to start. Auriemma said that Mosqueda-Lewis has been the most consistent of the three freshmen. Mosqueda-Lewis, the top-rated recruit in the country, is excited for the opportunity.'

"Coach doesn't just give the starting spot away," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "There is pressure to be that person. I am excited to be able to start. If I didn't start, I wouldn't be upset about it but if I get a chance, I am going to try to do my best."

While Auriemma was quite complimentary of Mosqueda-Lewis, he was downright glowing in his praise of senior Tiffany Hayes.

"I think the best player in practice since practice started has been Tiffany Hayes, no question about it," Auriemma said. "Tiffany Hayes right now as a basketball player is 50 percent better than she was at any point in her career. No question about it. It's not one thing, it's everything. She just has complete command in what she is doing and what we are doing.
"We were just saying this the other day, how would you describe Tiffany Hayes. She has become a
way better basketball player, way better, a real complete basketball player. It has been really good to see."

Hayes has taken motivation from her mediocre performance in a season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the Final Four.
"The last game last year definitely was motivation," Hayes said. "That game, sometimes looking back on it, you don't dwell on it but at the same time I look back on it an you want to get better from that point on.
"After I got over it, in a couple of weeks, I thought  about it that I want to be the one helping my team, not hurting it so that was why whatever aspect of the game they wanted me to work on, I tried to work on this summer."

Among those in attendance at Gampel Pavilion were former Huskies Sue Bird and Kalana Greene.

After missing the playoffs for the last two years, the Connecticut Sun clinched a spot on Tuesday night.

It was far from an ideal way of getting into the playoffs as the Sun followed up a puzzling loss at Tulsa by losing 78-66 at San Antonio. But Chicago's loss to New York guaranteed Connecticut one of the four Eastern Conference playoff spots.

"This doesn’t feel real good," Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault said after the game. "You’d rather win to get in [the playoffs]. You don’t want to back in. We were going to get in eventually, but it’s not a fun way to have it happen. I’d rather walk off the court with a win and say we did something great tonight. We didn’t do much great tonight."

Veteran forward Asjha Jones, the only member of the 2008 Connecticut Sun team still with the squad, had a similar reaction.

"At least we’re in, right?" Jones said. "The last two years we haven’t gotten to the playoffs, so I guess that’s something to be thankful for tonight. We’re not too proud of our performance, but at least we’re in.”

Three years doesn't sound like a long time but just out of curiousity I looked at the Sun's 2008 statistics to see how much things have changes. Only six of the 14 players who suited up for the Sun in '08 are on active WNBA rosters (Jones, Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen, Indiana guard Erin Phillips, Phoenix guard Ketia Swanier, Washington guard Kerri Gardin and Tulsa forward Amber Holt). Tamika Whitmore, Barbara Turner, Sandrine Gruda, Svetlana Abrosimova, Jamie Carey, Jolene Anderson, Tamika Raymond and Danielle Page were all members of the 2008 Sun squad who haven't played in the league this year.

Think about this year's squad as seven of the 11 players were college kids back in 2008. Renee Montgomery, Kalana Greene and Tina Charles were all teammates at UConn, Kelsey Griffin was enrolled at Nebraska, Danielle McCray was at Kansas, Allison Hightower and Jessica Breland were college students at LSU and North Carolina, Kara Lawson was a member of the Sacramento Monarchs, Tan White was with the Indiana Fever while Jessica Moore played for the Los Angeles Sparks.

Former UConn star Kalana Greene realized that basketball is a business after a draft-day trade sent her from New York to Connecticut. Greene certainly took a business-like approach to her first game against her former teammates.

When I spoke to her on Saturday morning, Greene admitted to being more focused on helping the Sun to a much-needed road win than sharing the court with the players she called her teammates last season.

"We had to win," Greene said. "We can't come back from a road trip 0-3. At the beginning of the game, it is kind of weird going up against all your old teammates and after the game ... But for my team, I am just glad we got a win. It was a tough road trip and we came home. For me, it is a job. It is obviously nice to be back in that city."

Greene had a career-high four steals and finished with seven points in 28 minutes but her greatest contribution may have been in shadowing former teammate Cappie Pondexter. Greene helped disrupt Pondexter enough that the All-Star game starter was just 5 of 14 from the floor and had seven turnovers in Connecticut's 68-59 victory.

I was a bit surprised to hear Kalana say that she rarely defended Pondexter during practice last season.

"Not really that much, we had a lot of guys in practice so probably once or twice," Greene said.

Greene said she is still weighing her options before deciding which European team she will play in the winter.

WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR?Before the season, Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault said that if Spanish national team start Alba Torrens where to join the team after the European championships, the call would be Torrens' to make. On Saturday Thibault said he is not anticipating having Torrens play in the WNBA this season. However, next year is looking like a reasonable possibility for Torrens to join the Sun.

Spain was a real disappointment in the EuroLeague championships, failing to advance past the second round of pool play. Since they failed to finish in the top five at the EuroBasket event, Spain was not automatically invited to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women. If Spain doesn't get an invite for the qualifying tournament (which is appearing likely), they will not be headed to the Olympics which would free up Torrens to spend the entire 2012 season in the WNBA.

As for former Cheshire Academy star Johannah Leedham, it could be a longer wait. Leedham is a key member of the Great Britain team which is automatically entered into the 2012 Olympics as the host team so the earliest Leedham figures to give the WNBA a shot would be 2013.

"She is going to be in the Olympics so I haven't spent much time thinking about it," Thibault said. "She has played pretty well and she is a good player. I talked to Tom Maher, the head coach of the British national team and (he said) her best basketball is still two years away. He feels this experience without the pressure of having to make the team here will actually (hurt) her. Going to the Olympics and playing against those good players will make her more prepared coming into training camp. He didn't feel like she would be ready to make the team now."

It would be easy for Charde Houston to have emerged angry at the world after dealing with some rough and tumble times growing up in San Diego.

But even as she was forced to sleep in the family's car at times during her childhood, Houston vowed that if she was ever able to make the world a better place for others, she would do just that.

It was not just idle chatter. Since being drafted into the WNBA by the Minnesota Lynx, Houston's charitable endeavors have been something to behold. Obviously others have the same opinion as she was named the Houston's charitable endeavors were recognized when she was named the WNBA's Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award.

Back in 2009 Houston was quick to act when she heard the story of 11-year-old Aiyanna Bardwell left homeless after the murder of her mother. That was the same year that Houston founded Project Youth Opportunities Unlimited. Houston holds weekly mentoring sessions with seven Minnesota youths and both 2009 and 2010, the foundation has bestowed gifts on an underprivileged family during the Christmas holiday season.

"It means so much because so many people are recognized for their work on the court," Houston said. "It's not just myself but other WNBA players, we are so involved in the community that means so much to us.

"Throughout my childhood, I did not have a positive youth group I could capitalize on growing up. I just wanted to provide something that the youth could benefit from."

When I spoke with Charde on Friday, of course I took the chance to get her take on tonight's game against the Connecticut Sun which features four of Houston's former UConn teammates (Tina Charles, Kalana Greene, Renee Montgomery and Jessica Moore).

"I am definitely looking forward to playing against some former teammates and see how they are doing especially Tina with her coming off her Eastern Conference (Player of the Week and Month) honors," Houston said.

Houston had this to say about Charles' rapid development and emergence as one of the most dominant players in the WNBA in just the early stages of her second season.

"I'm impressed with her ability to get better," Houston said. "Not a lot of people can get close to 20-plus rebounds in a game. She is constantly improving her game, especially her leadership skills. She is more vocal now and she has just matured as a player."

She also talked about the adjustments Lynx teammate Maya Moore has had to make.

"She came not so much hesitant but trying to find her way and trying to get used to the WNBA game," Houston said. "With Maya, she looks for her shot, she is very vocal, she doesn't play like a rookie. She is starting to (adjust) to the physicality of the game. She has to guard the best players night in and night out so her, I don't think she's struggled but it is more so that she has been tested."

With the arrival of Moore and fellow first-round pick Amber Harris, the return of Candice Wiggins from an injury-shorted 2010 season, addition of veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin it has been a season of adjustment as well as one of limited participating for the former all-star forward.

Houston was a double-figure scorer both in 2009 and 2010 and in her first three seasons she averaged between 17.6 and 23.3 minutes per game. However, Houston had played 10 minutes in just one of Minnesota's first eight games.

"My role has changed," said Houston, who averaged 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 7.1 minutes in the first eight games of the season. "It is probably the least amount of time I have played in terms of minutes but at the same time, Coach (Cheryl Reeve) said you have to be ready. We have a deep, deep bench. Anybody can start for this team and you never know when your number is going to be called. I am just practicing hard and pushing the starters."

The Lynx/Sun game will be televised live on NBA TV beginning at 8 p.m.

All 11 former UConn players in the WNBA were in action today and led by scoring outbursts by Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles, it was a day to remember for most of the former Huskies as five of them scored in double figures.

Taurasi had a season-high 32 points as the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 93-89 in overtime for its first win of the season.

Charles had a career-high 31 points as well as 12 rebounds as the Connecticut Sun remained undefeated at home in 2011 with an 83-68 win over Chicago. Asjha Jones added 12 points for the Eastern Conference leading Sun.

Sue Bird had 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Swin Cash had nine points, four rebounds and three assists in the Seattle Storm's 74-50 loss to Los Angeles.

Maya Moore had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Minnesota Lynx won its fifth straight game, beating Atlanta 77-64.

Here are the other former Huskies in action on Sunday:
Kalana Greene, Connecticut: Matched season high with 7 points
Charde Houston, Minnesota: Season-high 7 points
Renee Montgomery, Connecticut: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Jessica Moore, Connecticut: Did not score but played a season high 8:20.

Another former UConn star was in action on Sunday but not in the WNBA as Svetlana Abrosimova had five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot but it wasn't enough to prevent Russia from losing to Lithuania 76-64 on day two of the EuroBasket tournament.

Former Cheshire Academy star and 2010 Connecticut Sun third-round pick Johannah Leedham had a team-high 14 points in 15 minutes in Great Britain's 60-45 loss to the Czech Republic.
Ketia Swanier, Phoenix: did not score