Since I've been covering UConn (and my first season on the beat was 1999-2000) it's been pretty easy to see how Geno Auriemma's assistant coaches are utilized.

Chris Dailey would work with the post players as would another assistant (first it was Jamelle Elliott and more recently Marisa Moseley). The other assistant (first it was Tonya Cardoza and now Shea Ralph) worked with the guards.

Ever since seeing that Jasmine Lister will work with the guards after she was hired as an assistant coach, I was wondering if it would force a shift in Ralph's duties. I finally got around to asking Auriemma about how Lister replacing Moseley on the staff would impact the coaching responsibilities tonight at the first of the UConn Road Show events.

"There is no offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in our program," Auriemma said. "Shea's not going to move from where she is, she has such a great connection with these kids and as far as what CD is going to be doing, we've got some ideas moving forward about how we want to move our players around. We looked at our roster and it doesn't seem to me like we have a center so maybe we just say, 'OK, you guys down that end, you guys down this end' and not care much about who is where.

"There are just not that many big kids who want to play in the lane, the game has moved away from it in a certain sense. I still believe in it but I don't even know anymore what I see."

The players are back on campus meaning that the coaches get to see them (in small doses) playing pickup and going through conditioning drills so I got some updates.

First, the news is good on Mikayla Coombs return to the court. Her freshman season ended abruptly due to a blood clot issue forcing her to miss the NCAA tournament. That's a little different than a player coming off an ankle, knee or shoulder injury but Auriemma said things are progressing nicely.

"She's doing some individuals, haven't seen her play but a lot of the individual stuff she can go full (court) so we'll see where that takes her," Auriemma said. "If it is not completely gone, it will be. They have given her a clean bill of health going forward."

All-American Katie Lou Samuelson is no longer wearing a walking boot after undergoing surgery on the left ankle that she hurt early in the season but Auriemma said she is not yet cleared for basketball activities.

The best bit of UConn women's basketball related news I heard (actually I saw) was that Megan Walker headed to Missouri to go through workouts with Napheesa Collier. The sessions are run by Alex Bazzell who calls himself  a "NBA/WNBA Skills Trainer" on his Twitter account. One of the workouts was posted on Twitter and it showed Collier and Walker hitting jumping after jumper and going through a grueling workout. Bazzell's work with Collier played a key role in her development at UConn and I couldn't imagine a better role model for Walker than Collier. The competition didn't stop there. Samuelson can't take part in pickup games yet but she does make the call on which players are on which teams. Auriemma is delighted to hear that Samuelson makes certain that Collier and Walker are not only on opposing teams but have to guard each other.

"They had a little go at each today which I thought was good," Auriemma said. "I think the more of that, the better. (Lou) makes sure Pheesa and Megan are on opposite teams guarding each other so I think that will play out pretty well. I think it will help Megan a lot, Pheesa might be the best player she guards all year so not a bad way to start training."

It might already be out there but with UConn announcing that it will face Vanderbilt on Nov. 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase, it got me wondering if that was going to be the season opener. Fortunately, among tonight's attendees was UConn's Senior Associate Director of Athletics/External Relations Neal Eskine, who is the point man for the women's basketball schedule and he said that the home game against Ohio State will be the season opener.

A Hall of Fame player and the head coach of the reigning national championship team, Dawn Staley certainly has received her share of mail over the years. However, one letter than landed on her desk not long after Staley's first training camp at the U.S. Senior Women's National Team head coach really touched her heart.

UConn junior forward Napheesa Collier was one of five current college players who accepted invitations to take part in the national team camp. Staley had coached Collier with the U-18 national team in 2014 and on the FIBA U19 World Championship squad in 2015 so knew what kind of player and person that Collier was. Or so she thought.

"Napheesa I've had a number of opportunities to coach her on USA Basketball teams and a solid citizen," Staley said on Thursday at NCAA women's basketball media day at ESPN. "I've never received a thank you card from any player that I've coached but did that and that shows the true character of a person when they can do something like that. I love coaching Napheesa, just having all of them there I thought was a great thing."

Among those in attendance at media day was fellow national team training camp attendees Asia Durr of Louisville and A'ja Wilson of South Carolina.

Durr's summer also included a stint as the leading scorer for the U.S. team at U23 Four National Tournament when the U.S. posted wins over Australia, Canada and Japan. Collier was one of four UConn players who took part in the U23 training camp but with UConn embarking on a trip to Italy, they Huskies weren't available to play in the tournament. Still, Durr's roommate at the U.S. Olympic Training Center was none other than Collier.

Durr admits that through her previous USA Basketball experiences, she knew Katie Lou Samuelson better than Collier before her time at the U23 camp.

"Napheesa I met her in high school in the Jordan Brand game but didn't talk that much," Durr said. "We roomed together in Colorado so we got a chance to bond. She is a great person as well."

As enjoyable as it was winning another gold medal with USA Basketball with the U23 squad, Durr admitted to heading out to California for the national team camp was an entirely different experience.

"As a person and as a player I got the chance to be around a lot of really great players, it prepared me well especially going out to Santa Barbara and dealing with people who have been playing for 10-12 years," Durr said. "I think that was a great experience and I am trying to take that back to school.

"Sue Bird was somebody, the starting point guard for the national team. I got the chance to speak with her and have my coach (Jeff Walz) out there was really cool as well."

Speaking of having her coach out at the national team camp, that is something Wilson enjoyed as well. She joked that Staley wasn't raising her voice in her direction as much as she does during the college season. There was also a rather comical aspect of the camp when it came time to break into groups for positional skill work.

"I always laugh because when we went into post/perimeter (position groups) I was the only player who didn't go to UConn," Wilson said with a laugh. "I was like, 'sorry guys.' Everybody was looking around and saying A'ja is the only one because there's Kiah Stokes, Stefanie Dolson, Stewie and all of them down there so I am like, 'hey guys.'

"It was a fun experience being out there with the pros. You see how fast paced the game is and how everyone there, you see that their basketball IQ is through the roof. That is something I took and hopefully bring back to South Carolina is knowing that even on water breaks they run, tight huddles and just little things that can make such a huge difference. That is something I am going to bring back to South Carolina, we are going to have tight huddles, we are going to make sure we get through every drill and not slack off."

Wilson is no stranger to Collier and Samuelson through her previous USA Basketball experiences and of course the annual non-conference matchups between South Carolina and UConn.

"They are great players, great to be around," Wilson said. "Katie Lou, we always laugh, I don't even know why but we just kind of this relationship where we just laugh. It is always great seeing them at national camps or at USA teams, they are great people and great players so well so I always like playing with them."

Staley believes it was beneficial not only incorporating college players but younger professionals into the national camp experience.

"It was a great experience for them and me," Staley said. "As you can see the current roster on our national team, they are getting up in age so we have to come in and get some younger players ready to compete at that level."

Katie Lou Samuelson had 23 points, all in the first three quarters, five assists and two steals to lead the UConn women's basketball team to a 88-66 win over the Netherlands National Team on Tuesday in Rome in the second of four exhibtion games on its tour of Italy.

Kia Nurse, who joined the team after leading Canada to the FIBA AmeriCup title in Argentina, added 18 points and four rebounds. Napheesa Collier had her second consecutive double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Azura Stevens contributed 10 points (going 4 for 4 from the floor), six rebounds and two steals.

Gabby Williams had seven points, six assists and five assists as UConn led 82-42 after three quarters en route to sweeping two games against the Dutch National Team. Megan Walker added six points and four rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield had four points and six assists and Molly Bent had four points.

UConn will play the Italian All-Stars on Friday in Vicenza and will wrap up play on Sunday againat Celje in Trieste.

Samuelson is averaging 17 points in the first two games. Collier is contributing 14 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3 assists. Williams (11 PPG), Stevens (10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds) are also averaing more than 10 points per game. Walker has a pair of six-point games and a total of 10 rebounds in the two games while Dangerfield has nine assists.

UConn's Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams are among 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy.

Four finalists will be announced on March 17 with the winner being named on April 4.

Collier finished the regular season leading the Huskies in rebounding at 9 per game, blocks (56) and field-goal percentage (.686) while ranking second in scoring (20.4).

Samuelson is the leading scorer (20.7) and her 93 3-pointers is tied for the fifth most in program history.

Williams is averaging 13 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and posted team-leading marks with 152 assists and 79 steals.

Here's the list
Napheesa Collier, UConn SO F
Brionna Jones Maryland SR F/C
Kelsey Mitchell Ohio State JR G
Kelsey Plum Washington SR G
Katie Lou Samuelson UConn SO G/F
Brianna Turner, Notre Dame JR F/C
Victoria Vivians Mississippi State JR G
Sydney Wiese Oregon State SR G
Gabby Williams UConn JR F
A'ja Wilson South Carolina JR F

When your name is mentioned in the same breath as Kerry Bascom in discussions about UConn women's basketball, you are certainly doing something right.

Well, before this season Bascom is the only UConn women's player to see her scoring average jump by more than 10 points in one season - until now.

Bascom went from averaging 8.4 points per game as a freshman to putting up 22.6 per contest during her sophomore season.

Currently Napheesa Collier's scoring average is up 12.3 points from her freshman season and fellow sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson has made a jump of 10.7 points per game.

I've spent the last few days doing a little more research on this subject and among Division I women's players, Collier is eighth and Samuelson 12th in biggest scoring average improvement with Samuelson being the only player on the list who was a double-digit scorer a season ago. As a matter of fact, Samuelson and Collier have the two highest 2015-16 scoring averages of the players on the list.

Player, School                                    16-17 15-16  Tot  
Allison Arens, South Dakota                19.0  1.5   17.443
Madison Hovren, Army                        19.7  4.2   15.540
Cassie Broadhead, BYU                       18.7  3.9   15.301
Danni Williams, Texas A&M               17.5  3.1   14.361  Sunday vs. Auburn
Celia Garcia Paunero, Incarnate Word 17.5  4.2   13.373 
Candice White, Fresno State                14.5  1.2    13.318
Taylor Will, Brown                               14.4  1.7   12.754
Napheesa Collier, UConn                   19.1  6.8   12.306 Sunday vs. Tulsa
Sasha Dailey, Eastern Michigan           17.3  5.8   11.521
Destinee Walker, Radford                     14.4  3.3   11.065
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote, Pepperdine 15.3  4.5   10.827
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn             21.7 11.0  10.667 Sunday vs. Tulsa
Jaycee Bradley, South Dakota                13.7  3.5   10.155
Micah Robinson, E. Michigan               10.6  0.4    10.208
Taylor Gordon, Utah Valley                  15.0  4.9   10.062

One of the few luxuries this UConn does not have is depth. In the toughest games, the Huskies have relied on a seven-player rotation with Crystal Dangerfield and Natalie Butler seeing quality minutes off the bench.

Well, the number of options has been cut with the news that Dangerfield will miss the next couple of weeks to rest her foot. Dangerfield has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in her left foot. She will not practice or play in the next two weeks and will be reevaluated at that time.

Dangerfield leads all reserves with 322 minutes played and 86 points scored. UConn is not in danger of losing as the Huskies continue play in the American Athletic Conference but these next couple of weeks could have been valuable for Dangerfield as she continues to adapt to the college game and expectations placed on her by the UConn coaching staff.

I spoke to Dangerfield after Monday's practice mostly because she was squaring off against her former high school teammate Jazz Bond in last night's game but she also addressed what she was hoping to get accomplished moving forward.

"Right now it is not the physical part, it is about being able to come into practice and pay attention to the scout then going into the games and executing," Dangerfield said.

Time will tell if the time away sets Dangerfield back when she gets back on the court. At Monday's practice fellow freshman Molly Bent was seeing more time with the starters than at any practice I have attended. Now she's going to have a larger role moving forward.

Bent competes really hard but UConn coach Geno Auriemma said her issue comes when she tries to play too fast.
"(Bent) makes just enough shots to make you think she can help you and just enough plays and then she is 100 miles an hour and completely self destructs when she is out there," Auriemma said after Monday's practice. "Somewhere we have to find that middle ground where she can make a little bit of an impact and not get into that self destruct mode where and she is struggling to get anything done. If we can get her to slow down, that would help us a lot."

Bent has played in 13 of the 15 games and in a limited amount of work (9.8 minutes per game) she leads the team by making 60 percent of her 3-pointers and has a positive assist/turnover ratio.

Beginning on Saturday when UConn plays at SMU with a chance to set a new NCAA all-division basketball record with its 91st win in a row, Bent's minutes figure to increase.

"Things like this can happen at any time in the season so it is good that we are preparing for it," UConn junior forward Gabby Williams said.

The thing I noticed at Monday's practice is that Bent was reluctant to look at the basket. She is hardly the first freshman to have this issue but it is something she is going to have to work through because if she is out there with the starters, she will definitely be left open from the perimeter.

"Molly, she can do a lot," UConn senior guard Saniya Chong said. "She can put the ball in the basket, her shot is pretty good. She is very hesitant. Hey, I've been there and still go through that sometimes but she is learning. She has us and the coaches to help her out."

LIGHTING IT UP
Just as I did as UConn prepared to play its 10th game, I looked at how the offensive starts of Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier stack up heading into last night's game, the 15th of the season.

I have a binder that former UConn sports information director Randy Press put together that has every box score beginning in the 1997-98 season and going to the 2007-08 campaign. The game by game stats since 2008 are easy to locate on UConn's official site but occasionally you will see stats referring to the last 20 seasons and this is why. I hope that I have time to go through the box scores during the Kerry Bascom and Rebecca Lobo eras at UConn to provide more comprehensive updates as UConn plays its 20th game but in the meantime, here's some interesting stuff about Collier and Samuelson.

Dating back to the aforementioned 1997-98 season, here's a list of the most points scored by a UConn player through the first 15 games of a season.

359 Maya Moore 2010-11
304 Nykesha Sales 1997-98
301 Katie Lou Samuelson 2016-17
289 Napheesa Collier 2016-17 288 Diana Taurasi 2003-04
285 Maya Moore 2009-10
275 Maya Moore 2008-09
271 Breanna Stewart 2013-14
Here are the highest scoring tandems. Note: A duo would need to combine for 33 points per game to make this list and the only ones who did that from Auriemma's first season in 1985-86 to the 1996-97 campaign are Kerry Bascom/Wendy Davis in '88-89, Bascom/Davis in '90-91, Kara Wolters/Nykesha Sales in '95-96 and Wolters/Sales in '96-97

593 Maya Moore (359)/Tiffany Hayes (234) 2010-11
590 Katie Lou Samuelson (301)/Napheesa Collier (289) 2016-17
562 Maya Moore (359)/Bria Hartley (203)
549 Maya Moore (285)/Tina Charles (264) 2009-10
532 Maya Moore (275)/Tina Charles (257) 2008-09
512 Svetlana Abrosimova (269)/Shea Ralph (243) 1998-99
508 Nykesha Sales (304)/Svetlana Abrosimova (204) 1997-98
505 Katie Lou Samuelson (301)/Kia Nurse (204) 2016-17

Finally, the most 3-pointers during that span
50 Katie Lou Samuelson 2016-1745 Diana Taurasi 2001-02
43 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 2014-15
42 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 2012-13
42 Diana Taurasi 2003-04
41 Ann Strother 2005-06
40 Ann Strother 2004-05
39 Mel Thomas 2005-06
38 Renee Montgomery 2008-09
37 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 2011-12
36 Mel Thomas 2006-07
32 Bria Hartley 32 2010-11
32 Mel Thomas 32 2007-08
32 Kia Nurse 2016-17

3 HUSKIES ON WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST
UConn's Collier, Samuelson and Kia Nurse were among 25 players named to Wooden Award midseason watch list.

It's a pretty strong list of players but still, not seeing Gabby Williams listed among the top 25 players is definitely questionable. For the sake of full disclosure, I'm on Wooden Award panel that came up with the top 25 players and I did put four UConn players on my ballot including Williams.

Watching sophomores Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson get off to rip roaring offensive starts got me to wondering the last time the Huskies had two players putting up as many points as UConn's current dynamic duo.

Normally when I get to "wondering" it means it is time for research and this time it is no different.

If they have a typical game, they would post the second most points for UConn teammates through 10 games trailing only Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes during the 2010-11 season.

They could also finish among the top 10 player through 10 games since Geno Auriemma's arrival in 1985


TOP SCORING DUOS THROUGH 10 GAMES
410 Maya Moore/Tiffany Hayes 2010-11
377 Maya Moore/Bria Hartley 2010-11
365 Tina Charles/Maya Moore 2009-10
364 Tina Charles/Maya Moore 2008-09
361 Breanna Stewart/Morgan Tuck 2015-16
358 Renee Montgomery/Maya Moore 2008-09
353 Napheesa Collier/Katie Lou Samuelson 2016-17

TOP SCORERS THROUGH 10 GAMES
Maya Moore (10-11) 10-240
Kerry Bascom (88-89) 10-212
Breanna Stewart (15-16) 10-206
Diana Taurasi (03-04) 10-203
Maya Moore (09-10) 10-200
Nykesha Sales (97-98) 10-199
Maya Moore (08-09) 10-192
Kerry Bascom (90-91) 10-190
Nykesha Sales (97-98) 10-187
Kara Wolters (93-94) 10-186
Kara Wolters (95-96) 184
Breanna Stewart (13-14) 10-178
Katie Lou Samuelson (16-17) 9-178
Svet Abrosimova (98-99) 10-178
Renee Najarian (87-88) 177
Napheesa Collier (16-17) 9-175
Diana Taurasi (02-03) 9-175

Nationally they hold up pretty well as well.

Only Washington's Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor and Syracuse's Alexis Peterson and Brittney Sykes combine to average more points than the 39.2 Collier and Samuelson are contributing.

Washington Kelsey Plum 12-364 Chantel Osahor 11-151       12-515-42.9
Syracuse     Alexis Peterson 11-237 Brittney Sykes 11-195     11-432-39.3
UConn Katie Lou Samuelson 9-178 Napheesa Collier 9-175    9-353-39.2
South Florida Kitija Laksa    8-166 Arladna Pujol 8-144          8-310-38.8
Old Dominion Jennie Simms 8-213 Destinee Young 8-93        8-306-38.3
Northern Illinois Courtney Woods 9-173 Ally Lehman 9-168 9-341-37.9
Duke Rebecca Greenwell     11-228 Lexie Brown 11-187       11-415-37.7
California Kristine Anigwe 9-212  Courtney Range 9-113       9-335-37.2
North Carolina Stephanie Watts 10-200 Paris Kea 10-172     10-362-36.2
UCLA Jordin Canada 10-182 Monique Billings 10-172          10-354-35.4
James Madison Precious Hall 8-201 Kamiah Smalls  8-89      8-290-36.3

This was certainly not the way Crystal Dangerfield wanted to make her first career start.
Since arriving on campus, the highly-touted freshman guard has been grateful for all the assistance she has received from senior Saniya Chong. However, after being hit in the head in Wednesday's win at Notre Dame, Chong was suffering from concussion-like symptoms resulting in her being left at home when the Huskies made the trip to play at Kansas State on Sunday.
Dangerfield played 37 minutes and six points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals in the 73-58 victory.
"It is my first college (experience)," Dangerfield said after playing 61 combined minutes in wins over Notre Dame and Kansas State. "Mentally for me just trying to pick out the things I need to work on and listen to my coaches, listen to my teammates and just coming out 9-0 is huge for us and I am happy about it.
"Just being able to adjust to certain things, continue to adjust to them, see if things are technical and I need to go into the gym to work on them or if they are mental and just go back to it," Dangerfield said.
Dangerfield, who erupted for 19 points against Baylor in her second collegiate game, is in the midst of growing pains every freshman who has played for UConn coach Geno Auriemma have experienced.
One teaching moment came when Dangerfield was over aggressive in leaving Kansas State's top 3-point shooter Kindred Wesemann to help on defense only to give up a wide-open 3-pointer to the K-State senior.

"The first time we went zone in the game, the kid has the ball and passes it," Auriemma said, "The kid (Dangerfield) runs 30 feet away from her, she makes a 3 and she is like 'oh yeah.' So what we did in the second half is we didn't help off of her as much, as a matter of fact, we didn't help off of her hardly at all so by limiting  how many times she touched it, when she did get it, she wasn't kind of (ready to shoot)."
Dangerfield heard it from Auriemma after her defensive lapse and played better defense on Wesemann in the second half.
"Just knowing that I have to stay on her and know where she is," Dangerfield said. "They harp on me about my defense so I just wanted to be able to guard her."
It's been a grueling stretch for UConn with five games at five different arenas and in three different states in a two-week span. Even some of the veteran players showed signs of mental fatigue so it could be an even more daunting task for a young player like Dangerfield.
"At some points it was but now I think I will be used to it, after the finals we are back at it," Dangerfield said.
The team will practice sparingly during final exam week. The hope is that when the Huskies reconvene and begin preparations to host nationally-ranked Ohio State that Chong will be able to return to the court.
"Saniya, she took an inadvertent elbow to just about her eye and I knew she was pretty shook up during the game," Auriemma said, "It didn't really present itself until we got home so our medical stuff felt it would be best if we left her back and hopefully she will be able to play in the Ohio State game on the 19th, more important I hope she is OK because this is finals week starting so it is a big week for our players."

If Dangerfield maintains her current pace and the Huskies were to reach the American Athletic Conference and NCAA tournament title games, she would break Renee Montgomery's program record for assists by a freshman. While Chong figures to return to the starting lineup when she is cleared to return, Dangerfield will have plenty of other opportunities to start during her time at UConn.

"She did well," Napheesa Collier said "It is always kind of scary starting your first game especially as a freshman so I give her props."

COLLIER HONORED AGAIN
Collier was named the American Athletic Conference's Player of the Week for the second straight time.

Collier averaged 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 70.8 percent from the floor and 88.9 percent from the foul line in wins over Notre Dame and Kansas State.

ESPINOZA-HUNTER, WALKER EARN WBCA HONORS
UConn signees Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Megan Walker were among nine players to earn WBCA Player of the Week honors.

Espinoza-Hunter is averaging a staggering 43.6 points per game for Ossining (N.Y.) High School after scoring a season-high 51 points in Sunday's win over Our Lady of Lourdes while Walker already had three 30-point games for Monacan (Va.) High School.

When Morgan Tuck opted not to come back for another season, the Huskies bid adieu to a pair of All-American forwards.

Certainly there is no way that Napheesa Collier and Gabby Williams, who played so much on the perimeter during their high school careers, were going to be able to match the production of Breanna Srewart and Morgan Tuck, right?

Well, the numbers of Stewart and Tuck during their senior seasons are certainly more impressive than what Collier and Williams have put up but if you compare the statistics from Stewart's and Tuck's junior season, it is pretty close to what Collier and Williams have put up through the first seven games of the season. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons isn't included because the numbers weren't close to the other seasons.

Year       Players             Min FG-Att 3PT   FTs    Pts  Reb A  Stl Blk (TO)
16-17 Collier/Williams   408  87-142    6-13 25-37  205-  97-45-27-18 (29)
15-16 Stewart/Tuck         434 103-180 15-38 52-68  273-103-54-20-25 (25)
14-15 Stewart/Tuck         398  82-163  14-43 37-48  215-  84-33-16-  9 (31)
13-14 Stewart/Dolson     408  88-160 12-33 48-61   236-110-53-17-36 (36)
12-13 Stewart/Dolson     344  83-139   8-23  32-42  206- 89-34-16-18 (28)
11-12 Moore/Dolson       326  88-160 14-37 40-45   230- 81-43-22-12 (22)
10-11 Moore/Charles      345 104-170 11-28 40-53  259-113-37-24-19 (30)
09-10 Moore/Charles      357 103-169 11-27 41-59  258-121-41-22-27 (32)
08-09 Moore/Charles      305  95-144  5-13 26-49    221- 96-32-19-24 (22)
07-08 Charles/Houston   317  72-126  0-0  19-41     163-105-23-18-25 (27)
04-05 Turner/Houston     286  55-99   1-7  37-60     148- 60-21-12-14 (29)
03-04 Turner/Moore        357  68-117  3-7  33-56    172- 83-32-11-11 (29) 
02-03 Moore/Turner        265  46-81   1-3  15-23     108- 73-11-12-5  (23)    
01-02 Cash/Jones            319  85-148  1-2  27-41     198- 92-19-12-15 (26)

I also found it interesting that Williams is tied for the team lead with 32 assists and half of the helpers have come on baskets by Collier which is a remarkable ratio.

NOTRE DAME NO. 1 IN COACHES POLL
UConn jumped to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll yesterday, passing former No. 1 team Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish did remain No. 1 in the coaches poll receiving 18 of the 32 first-place votes to edge out UConn by three points after UConn finished two points ahead of Notre Dame in the writers' poll.

DOCUMENTARY SET TO AIR ON MARCH 1
Perhaps you have noticed more cameras than normal at UConn games. Not only are SNY or ESPN cameramen there getting footage but so those from HBO.

It was kind of being kept quiet - until now but HBO will be airing a documentary on UConn the season after the graduation of the top recruiting class in NCAA women's basketball history.

Here is the release from HBO

HBO Sports, a trailblazer in sports reality programming, is teaming up again with IMG’s Original Content unit for an unscripted series chronicling the 2016-17 season of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team’s pursuit of a fifth consecutive national championship. UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS debuts WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) with a special hour-long edition, followed by half-hour episodes debuting on subsequent Wednesdays.
           
UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS spotlights the players, coaches and support personnel, chronicling the hard work and high expectations game-by-game in the American Athletic Conference as they seek to continue their extraordinary run of berths in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Scheduled to run through the conclusion of the Huskies’ season, the show features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, offering a unique look at the personalities who shape the powerhouse program headquartered in Storrs, Conn.

The reigning national champions, the UConn Huskies have achieved unprecedented success in women’s college basketball and are on the verge of surpassing the UCLA men’s basketball record of 11 NCAA national championships. Under head coach Geno Auriemma, in his 32nd season with the team, the Huskies have earned berths in 28 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, going to 16 Final Fours and 11 national championships. Last spring, the team captured its fourth consecutive national championship, going undefeated for the sixth time.

 “We are always looking for fascinating stories that will appeal to our subscribers, and this project will shine a spotlight on one of the most successful athletic programs in America,” says Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. “Under Coach Auriemma, the University of Connecticut has built a tremendous program that excels year after year. Our goal is to explore why this program is so accomplished and to tell the backstories of the student-athletes who are committed to carving out a remarkable piece of history on the college basketball landscape.”
“The Huskies’ program is the gold standard in college basketball: outstanding leadership, a legacy of dedicated players and the ability to make history time and time again,” says Mike Antinoro, senior vice president, Programming and Production, IMG. “We are excited and honored to share their unique story in partnership with HBO.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to be involved in this project,” says UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma. “Knowing the kind of high-quality content that is showcased by HBO, I am already looking forward to watching the first episode. This offers a tremendous opportunity for a lot of people to get an inside look at our university and to see just what goes into building a championship team.”
Journalist Harvey Araton has written, “Perfection, or near perfection, has become a virtual state of Connecticut grace.”

For more than a decade, HBO Sports has been responsible for some of the most compelling unscripted sports programming, with a stylish and contemporary approach keyed by unrestricted access. “Hard Knocks,” launched in 2001 in partnership with NFL Films, has won 14 Sports Emmy® Awards, and the groundbreaking all-access reality franchise “24/7” has earned 18 Sports Emmy® Awards.

UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS marks HBO Sports’ second foray into a reality series spotlighting a college sports program. Last year, HBO and IMG teamed up for “Gonzaga: The March to Madness,” following that team’s march to its 18th consecutive NCAA men’s basketball tournament berth.

The show will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS is executive produced by Will Staeger, Mike Antinoro and Fred Christenson. For HBO: executive producer Rick Bernstein; supervising producer, Bentley Weiner.
 

There's plenty of basketball yet to be played and with five of UConn's next seven games against ranked opponents, we should learn plenty of this year's team sooner rather than later.

This much is already known, sophomores Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are just fine taking on larger offensive roles.

I did some checking and going back to last 20 seasons, Samuelson and Collier have combined for 197 points the third highest total for UConn teammates through five games. Also, Samuelson's 106 points is also third on the list during that time. The only UConn classmates to top Samuelson's and Collier's point total at this point of the season since the start of the 1997-98 season were Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph during their sophomore seasons.

Through the first five games of their freshman season Samuelson had 36 points and Collier had scored 35.

There's plenty of reasons for these numbers starting with impressive play from the two sophomores but also starting guards Kia Nurse and Saniya Chong are combining for just 12.2 shots per game. I would expect that number to rise especially on Nurse's end once she rediscovers her offensive mojo. Gabby Williams had her minutes cut due to foul troubles in the first three games of the season so she certainly figures to average more than the 8.8 field-goal attempts she has had in the first five games. Other than Crystal Dangerfield the Huskies don't have the offensive threats coming off the bench like they have in the past so that is resulting in more shot opportunities for Samuelson and Collier. Collier is shooting 65 percent from the field while Samuelson is shooting 48.6 percent from 3-point range which would rank her fourth on UConn's career single-season list if that's the number she finishes with. It currently is No. 37 in Division I but second among the Samuelson sisters as older sister Karlie is 20th in Division I at 51.4 percent.

POINTS THROUGH 5 GAMES
130 Maya Moore 2010-11
117 Breanna Stewart 2015-16
106 Katie Lou Samuelson 2016-17
103 Diana Taurasi 2003-04
102 Svetlana Abrosimova 1998-99
 98 Maya Moore 2008-09
 97 Shea Ralph 1998-99
 94 Nykesha Sales 1997-98
 93 Maya Moore 2007-08
 93 Maya Moore 2009-10
 92 Shea Ralph 1999-2000
 91 Napheesa Collier 2016-17
 91 Renee Montgomery 2008-09
 91 Breanna Stewart 2013-14

COMBINED POINTS THROUGH FIVE GAMES
208 Maya Moore (130), Tiffany Hayes (78) 2010-11
199 Svetlana Abrosimova (102), Shea Ralph (97) 1998-99
197 Katie Lou Samuelson (106), Napheesa Collier (91) 2016-17
189 Maya Moore (98), Renee Montgomery (91) 2008-09
183 Breanna Stewart (117), Moriah Jefferson (66) 2015-16
182 Maya Moore (93), Tina Charles (89) 2009-10

If there's been on constant in the early portion of this season it is that neither Napheesa Collier nor Gabby Williams miss when they get the ball within the shadow of the basket. So when Collier misfired on an easy shot in the lane in the early stages of the Chattanooga game it took me by surprise.

Collier certainly made up for her early game miss as she made her final 11 shots to finish with a game-high 23 points. If she had made the aforementioned shot in the paint, she would have broken Rebecca Lobo's program record for most consecutive shots in a game without a miss.

Lobo was 11 for 11 in a win over Iona on Dec. 23, 1994. Breanna Stewart threatened the mark when she went 10 for 10 against Creighton two years ago as did Williams (9 for 9 against Temple just nine months ago) and current assistant coach Shea Ralph was also 9 for 9 in a 1999 contest against Old Dominion.

"Let me fix it," Collier said was her initial reaction after her early miss. "It is frustrating especially when it is a shot you usually make so I just tried to adjust. I just feel good so I kept taking it in.
"I think everybody should have that mentality that when they get the ball that they are going to score."
Collier certainly has that belief with three 20-point games in the first five games of the season.
"She is unorthodox in a lot of ways," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "She is able to create space for herself that a lot of other people can't. When she gets the ball anywhere around the basket, she knows where the basket and she has a knack for (scoring). Some players they got it 10 times and five times she will turn the wrong way. She is going to do exactly what she has to do to get the ball up on the rim and score and that is why her shooting percentage is so high when she touches the ball. She has a great feel and it is not anything we've taught her."
UConn finished with 21 assists in the game and 10 of them came on baskets by Collier. All four of Williams' assists came on Collier's baskets while four of Saniya Chong's five assists set up baskets by Collier. Kia Nurse also had two of her four assists resulting in baskets by Collier.

Williams had one assist to Collier that I mentioned to her was Moriah Jefferson like as Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and instead of going up for the basket, she hit a cutting Collier for a basket.

Williams had another strong game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, four assists, no turnovers and one foul meaning that Williams has committed one foul in the last two games  after being whistled for 10 in the first three games of the season.

It wasn't all about stat stuffing. Chattanooga was 4 for 22 points en route to scoring a total of 39 points in a loss to Maine on Sunday. The Mocs had five 3-pointers and 31 points by halftime leading UConn coach Geno Auriemma to question his team's toughness and focus.

"You have to acquire it," Auriemma said. "A lot of times it comes from inside and you just have it and it needs to come out or somebody needs to whack you in the back of your head like my mother used to do and you find out hat you have that in you. Our guys on our team, forget getting whacked on the back of their head by their mothers, by the way you can't do that anymore. All you know is you show up, when is the game, there is food after, go back to our dorms or our apartments, living large and when is the parade? They don't know any different so they live in a fantasy world and after a while you have to face reality. People forget that Stewie's freshman year that they faced reality a lot, they got their butts kicked and they got tougher, by the time we got to March those guys were tough because they got their butts kicked along the way, they didn't like it. Maybe I am being picky."

There will be more on the toughness issue as well as the string of tough games in my advance for Thursday's DePaul game.

UConn played without freshman guard Crystal Dangerfield because of concussion-like symptoms. Auriemma is hopeful that she can play against DePaul.

"I don't know the ins and outs of how all of that stuff works, I just know that there are four different steps that you've got to go through, she went through two of them today which is really good, one tomorrow and she is good to go and one on Thursday at shootaround and she will be good to go on Thursday night," Auriemma said. "If she gets a thumbs up on Thursday she can play Thursday night, if one of them is a no-go, then she is a no go."

I also noticed that Williams ran off the court, consulted with a trainer and has spent time riding a stationary bike on different occasions. She downplayed any issues she was having.

"We are not quite sure what is going on, just getting a little tightness and cramping but I should be fine," Williams said.

It should be noted she quickly returned the game after experiencing the issue in tonight's game.

UConn freshman forward Napheesa Collier underwent a procedure on her hip earlier today.

The injury, first reported by the Manchester Journal Inquirer's Carl Adamec as a torn labrum, has bothered her since high school. She is expected to begin the rehabilitation process next week and is expected to be able to practice without restriction when UConn kicks off the preseason.

Collier joined Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams as the only UConn players to appear in all 38 games. She averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and had a team-leading 83 offensive rebounds. In the NCAA tournament she averaged 8.3 and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Collier shot 91.7 percent from the free-throw line, the highest for any freshman in program history to average at least one foul shot per game.

Recovery time for a labral tear tends to fall in the three to four month range.

Breanna Stewart's place as one of the greatest players in UConn women's basketball history is already secure regardless of how the rest of the season plays out.

However, the most time that passes the more she is putting her name alongside some of the sport's most iconic figures.

Earlier this season she joined Tina Charles, Rebecca Lobo and Maya Moore as the only UConn players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She is the only player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 300 assists and 300 blocked shots.

I did some research over the last couple of days and with two more steals she will become the seventh player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 200 blocked shots as she heads into the East Carolina game with 2,351 points, 1,018 rebounds, 365 assists, 198 steals and 354 blocked shots

Moore is on that list as are Women's Basketball Hall of Famers Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Miller and Sue Wicks. Former Long Beach State's Cindy Brown and Vanderbilt's Wendy Scholtens complete the star-studded list.

Player            School                  (Years) 
Cindy Brown Long Beach State (83-87) 2696-1184-348-400-318
Lisa Leslie USC (90-94)                          2414-1214-208-228-321
Maya Moore, UConn (07-11)                  3036-1276-544-310-204
Cheryl Miller, USC (82-86)                     3018-1534-414-462-320
Wendy Scholtens Vanderbilt (87-91)      2602-1272-305-211-217
Sue Wicks, Rutgers (84-88)                     2655-1357-289-287-293
(stats are incomplete for Maine's Liz Coffin and Villanova's Shelly Pennefather)

COLLIER THRIVING FROM CHARITY STRIPE
One of the most surprising things to take place in the Tulane game was that Napheesa Collier missed a free throw. It was her first miss from the foul line since the season opener. Collier made 24 free throws in a row. She was the first UConn player to make at least 20 straight foul shots since Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis back in 2013.

I went back to 2005 and couldn't find a UConn player with more consecutive free throws than Collier.

There have been players who have come into the UConn program and put on an offensive show game after game.

Seven of the top eight freshman scorers at UConn through the first 20 games are a part of the Huskies of Honor while Breanna Stewart will make it 8 for 8 when she is inducted later on this month.

Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson have combined to score at least 10 points a total of 20 times this season including five games when they both reached double digits, the biggest contributions they have made had come in other areas.

I went back to researched the top performances for UConn freshmen in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocked shots and 3-pointers through 20 games since Geno Auriemma has been the head coach. I should mention that getting all the box scores from Auriemma's first couple of seasons has been a bit of a challenge but I will still proceed.

Samuelson ranks third in 3-pointers made and just missed the top 10 in assists while Collier is tied for fourth in blocked shots, tie for fifth in steals and in the top 10 in rebounding. Also, Collier and Samuelson are currently the ninth and 10th UConn freshman to shoot better than 80 percent from the foul line while averaging at least one free-throw attempt per game played. Collier's FT percentage of 92.9 tops the list while Samuelson checks in at 87.5 which trails only Collier and Diana Taurasi (.878 in 2000-01). Neither Collier nor Samuelson have the minimum of 2.5 free throws made her game to qualify for the NCAA leader board but if they had, Collier would rank No. 1 and Samuelson No. 3 among freshmen.

Here are the freshman numbers through 20 games

REBOUNDS
Charles (2006-07) 162
Elliott (1992-93    148
Lobo (1991-92)    144
Moore (2007-08)  135
Stewart (2012-13) 126
COLLIER            123
Abrosimova (1997-98) 116
Houston (2004-05) 114
Bascom (1987-88) 111
Williams (2014-15) 106
(Kris Lamb had 137 rebounds heading into her 23rd game but don't have stats from games No. 21 and 22)                   

ASSISTS
Montgomery (2005-06) 74
Webber (1991-92)         72
Moore (2007-08)           71
Rizzotti (1992-93)         71
Hartley (2010-11)          61
Lishness (1987-88)        60
Nurse (2014-15)            56
Berube (1993-94)          54
Taurasi (2000-01)         54
Abrosimova (1997-98)  51
Strother (2002-03)         51
SAMUELSON             49

STEALS
Baer (1988-89)                53 (missing BC game)
Abrosimova (1997-98)    51
Rizzotti (1992-93)           46
Montgomery (2005-06)   36
Nurse  (2014-15)             35
Williams (1998-99)         35
COLLIER                      35
K. Johnson (2000-01)      33
Moore (2007-08)             33
Mosqueda-Lewis (11-12) 31

BLOCKS
Charles (2006-07)        42
Wolters (1993-94)       41
Stewart (2012-13)        32
Moore (2007-08)          31
COLLIER                   31
Houston (2004-05)      29
Lobo (1991-92)           28
Schumacher (1997-98) 23
Stokes (2011-12)         23
Dolson (2010-11)       19

3-POINTERS 
Mosqueda-Lewis (11-12) 52
Hartley (2010-11)             42
SAMUELSON                 36
Taurasi (2000-01)             34
Rizzotti (1992-93)            33
Moore (2007-08)              32
Abrosimova (1997-98)     31
Doty (2008-09)                 30
Nurse  (2014-15)              29

NURSE UP FOR PRESTIGIOUS HONOR
UConn sophomore guard Kia Nurse is one of eight candidates for the Syl Apps Award presented annually to the Ontario Athlete of the Year thanks to her remarkable summer leading the Canadian national team to the Pan Am Games gold medal as well as helping Canada earn a spot in the Olympics by winning the FIBA Americas Championship for Women.

NBA star Andrew Wiggins, Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto are among the other candidates for the award.

Moriah Jefferson moved to the top of one list at UConn during Friday night's win over Florida State but she wasn't exactly patting herself on the back for it.

Jefferson not only became the 11th Husky to dish out at least 500 assists but she has the best assist/turnover ratio (2.48 with 501 assists and 202 turnovers) of any UConn player with at least 500 assists. However, Jefferson had four assists and three turnovers in the 73-49 victory making the fourth time in eight games this season that she failed to have at least twice as many assists as turnovers. As a point of reference, it was the 18th game during her junior season when she had her fourth outing with an assist/turnover ratio under 2/1.

"It (500 assists) is a good number to be at and hopefully look to get some more," Jefferson said.

"I haven't done a good job of it (assist/turnover ratio) this season. I was talking to (assistant coach) Shea (Ralph), we were saying that if I do turn the ball over try to get it back the next play so that is something I need to keep working on but there turnovers they need to start going down at some point."

Jefferson's annoyance at turning the ball over resulted in a couple of her four steals as she came from behind to cause a turnover. She did the same after one of her missed shots resulting in what I consider to be perhaps the most pivotal stretch in the game.

Florida State was only down 12 points with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Jefferson missed a jumper and Leticia Romero grabbed the rebound. The talented FSU point guard was looking up the floor when Jefferson came in from behind, knocked the ball away and threw a pass to Breanna Stewart. Stewart quickly kicked a pass over to Kia Nurse for a 3-pointer. The Seminoles seemingly had a numbers advantage and could have pulled within 10 points (nine with a 3-pointer). Instead it was suddenly a 15-point lead. FSU wouldn't get closer than 13 the rest of the way.

COLLIER HAS SOLID FIRST START
Geno Auriemma has always loved the idea of bringing a game changer off the bench, somebody who can completely change the pace of the game.

While Gabby Williams was performing well as a starter, he simply thought that returning her to the reserve role she played so well as a freshman might be a way to add some energy off the bench.

What resulted is freshman Napheesa Collier and contributing six points, seven rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocked shots in 32 minutes in her first career start.

"She played really confidently," UConn forward Morgan Tuck said. "I think it was really good for her on a big stage, a big game to play her game and do a lot of things."

Auriemma said don't be surprised to see Collier remain in the starting lineup.

"I thought the combination of Napheesa and Gabbym if you look at them as one player that fifth spot, I think they had 10 points, 11 rebounds, six steals if that one player did that, you would say that is pretty good," Auriemma said.

"I always think your bench has to be dynamic and in whatever form that takes. Last year we watched the game and said what do we need coming off the bench, a lot of times we need Kiah Stokes to come in and block shots like she did in the game at Note Dame or the Texas game in the NCAA tournament  and I just don't know if we were getting that during the early part of the season so I kind of like the way it went tonight and if it keeps going like this in practice, I am going to stay with it."

REMEMBER ME?
The first sense I had that Florida State coach Sue Semrau made quite an impression on UConn's Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck while being an assistant coach on the U.S. U-19 team back in 2011 that included the two current UConn stars came last year when Stewart and Semrau were being honored by the Associated Press.

Stewart had received the AP Player of the Year award for the second year in a row when she congratulated Semrau for winning the coach of the year honor. There was just one problem, that hadn't been announced yet. Stewart got a little embarrassed but it was clear that she really liked playing for Semrau.

Fast forward to last night and I got a similar reaction from Tuck.

"She was such an energetic coach. I think she was one of my favorite coaches I played with on USA because she taught us to have energy and be passionate for our teammates, for ourselves in general," Tuck said. :She has such a love for the game and it rubs off on everybody she coaches."

Semrau was an assistant coach to Jen Rizzotti as the U.S. won the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Chile. The team not only included Stewart and Tuck, UConn's top two scorers, but former Huskies Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. Semrau didn't need much prodding to talk about either Tuck or Stewart.

"I think Morgan is an unsung hero," Semrau said. "She is somebody who in the short corner is just deadly and that is what I want Ivey Slaughter to do.

"She (Stewart) is one of the best players on the planet, what can't she do? I know if I were coaching her there would be a lot of things but as a spectator, as an opposing coach, I think she is a special player."

What's interesting is that not only did Semrau coach both Stewart and Tuck with USA Basketball but so did the head coach of UConn's next opponent. LSU's Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas was an assistant coach on the U.S. U-18 team in 2012 and 2013 U-19 squad featuring Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson.

Freshmen Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson have been receiving plenty of hype leading into the season. Their names were even mentioned by UConn coach Geno Auriemma along with Saniya Chong and Gabby Williams as a potential fifth starter. However. the third member of the freshman class can play a little bit too.

It hasn't been an easy last year for De'Janae Boykin. Most of her senior season at Flowers High School was spent on the sidelines after she injured her wrist. Then she was dealing with an Achilles' issue when she was at UConn.

Boykin recently returned to practice and wasn't little time making an impression on her coaches and teammates.

"The last three of four days she has been back and she looks good," Auriemma said at Monday's American Athletic Conference media day. "She had the Achilles thing so she is having a hard time going full speed but when she gets the ball around the basket, she knows what she is doing. She's going to be OK, she just needs time."

Senior guard Moriah Jefferson has also been impressed by the work being done by Boykin.

"She's impressive," Jefferson said. "I didn't get to see her play a lot in high school so I didn't get to see what she had and how much she had to battle with injuries but she does a lot of dirty work, she gets in there and finishes around the rim."

GENO ON TONIGHT'S CENTERSTAGE
The CenterStage broadcast featuring an hour of Michael Kay's interview with Auriemma will debut tonight at 10:30 on YES after the Bulls/Nets NBA game and postgame show.

I was in attendance at the taping of the show and Kay certainly did his homework.

Auriemma accepting the job at a local Dunkin' Donuts, his hiring of Chris Dailey as an assistant coach, his meeting with the legendary John Wooden are among the topics to look for. Even people who have seen Auriemma interviewed hundreds of times will enjoy this broadcast.

MILESTONE MOMENT FOR DARNELL NURSE
Ironically one of the topics I brought up with Kia Nurse at AAC media day was how her brother Darnell was handling being sent down to the AHL by the Edmonton Oilers. Little did I know that just two days later he would be called up with the Oilers dealing with some injuries on defense and he scored his first NHL goal last night.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Darnell Nurse this season. He is considered to be one of the top prospects out there and I really thought he would be in the NHL all season.

SAMUELSON'S FORMER COACH PASSES AWAY
Edison High School girls' basketball coach Dan Wiley died on Monday at the age of 61.

People who followed the career of Samuelson, the highly-touted UConn freshman, might remember that name because he coached Katie Lou when she was a freshman at Edison High School before she transferred to Mater Dei.

After Tuesday's pickup game inside the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center I mentioned to freshman Napheesa Collier that reigning national player of the year Breanna Stewart blocked her shot. Collier was quick to correct me saying that Stewart swatted her shot away twice.

During her brilliant high school career as well as during her successful stints with USA Basketball, it's safe to say that Collier didn't have her shot blocked on a regular basis. However since arriving at UConn she has been getting a basketball education from her veteran teammates.

"Everybody is going to be taller than me so I might as well get used to playing against people who block my shot now," Collier said. "I am used to being the tallest player and it is not going to be like that in college."

Or as fellow freshman Katie Lou Samuelson said, "There are no Breanna Stewarts or Morgan Tucks when I was playing in high school I can say that so I think this is really good for me because of the higher level, I am excited for it and I am ready to keep doing it."

With De'Janae Boykin, the third member of the freshman class, not taking part in the pickup games yet there has been plenty of attention paid to Collier and Samuelson.

"D's out right now so it kind of sucks that she is missing the early part but Katie Lou and Pheese, they are doing a great job," Tuck said. "They both play pretty hard which is why I think they are meshing right now so they need to focus on keeping that going. I think by trying to learn as much as possible. I work with Pheese more because she is more of an undersized post/wing kind of player and she is just eager to learn. Katie Lou, she is working a lot with Mo and Stewie so they just want to learn and do whatever they can to help us to make their mark on the team."

One thing that isn't being asked of Collier and Samuelson is to replace the graduated Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes. Things are going to be done a little differently without Mosqueda-Lewis, the NCAA's career 3-point leader, and Stokes, who is looking more and more like the WNBA Rookie of the Year with each passing day.

"I think this team is going to be different from last year's team," Samuelson said. "The coaches aren't really putting pressure on me that 'you need to do this.' They are saying that we need to get the most out of you and see what you can do for us."

Collier agrees with Samuelson.

"I don't know if there is pressure necessarily but you want to do well so you push yourself harder than you did before in new environment," Collier said.

SCHEDULE UPDATED WITH TIMES
The last couple of start times have been announced so now all the tip times are out for the upcoming season

Nov. 2 - vs. Lubbock Christian (exhibition) - XL Center - 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 - vs. Vanguard (exhibition) - Gampel - 2 p.m.
Nov. 16 - at Ohio State - Value City Arena - 5:30 p.m. ESPN2
Nov. 23 - vs. Kansas State - XL Center - 7 p.m. SNY
Nov. 28 - vs. Nebraska - XL Center -  1 p.m. SNY
Nov. 30 - at UT-Chattanooga - McKenzie Arena, 6:30 p.m. SNY
Dec. 2 - at DePaul - McGrath Arena - 7:30 p.m. FOX Sports
Dec. 5 - vs. Notre Dame - Gampel - 5:15 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 9 - at Colgate - Cotterell Court - 7 p.m. SNY
Dec. 11 - vs. Florida State - Mohegan Sun Arena - 6 p.m. ESPN2
Dec. 21 - vs. LSU - XL Center - 7 p.m. SNY
Dec. 28 - vs. Maryland - Madison Square Garden - 8:30 p.m. ESPN2
Dec. 30 - at Cincinnati - Fifth Third Arena - 7 p.m. SNY
Jan. 6 - vs. Tulsa - XL Center - 7 p.m. SNY
Jan. 8 - at Houston - Hofheinz Pavilion - 9 p.m. ESPN2
Jan. 10 - at South Florida - Sun Dome - 5 p.m. ESPN/ESPN2
Jan. 13 - at Memphis - Roane Fieldhouse - 6 p.m. SNY
Jan. 16 - vs. Temple - Gampel - 6 p.m. CBS SN
Jan. 20 - vs. Central Florida - XL Center - 7 p.m. SNY
Jan. 23 - at SMU - Moody Coliseum - 3 p.m. SNY
Jan. 27 - at Tulsa - Reynolds Center - 8 p.m. SNY
Jan. 30 - vs. Memphis - XL Center - noon SNY
Feb. 3 - at Tulane - Devlin Fieldhouse - 8 p.m. SNY
Feb. 6 - vs. East Carolina - Gampel - 1 p.m. SNY
Feb. 8 - at South Carolina - Colonial Life Arena - 7 p.m. ESPN2
Feb. 14 - at Temple - McGonigle Hall - noon ESPN2
Feb. 17 - vs. Cincinnati - Gampel - 7 p.m. SNY
Feb. 20 - at East Carolina - Minges Coliseum - 6 p.m. CBS SN
Feb. 24 - vs. SMU - Gampel - 7 p.m. SNY
Feb. 27 - vs. Tulane - Gampel - 1 p.m. SNY
Feb. 29 - vs. South Florida - Gampel - 7 p.m. ESPN2

Playing on a team with six college players, UConn incoming freshman Napheesa Collier was the U.S. star who led the gold medalists in rebounds, steals and minutes played as the U.S. won the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women for the sixth straight time.

While Collier did not have an eye opening of a stat line as she did in Saturday's semifinals, the 6-foot-1 forward had 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and six steals in a 78-70 win over host Russia in Sunday's championship game.

Collier had three double-doubles in seven games including ones in both the semifinals and final.

Collier's average of 9.3 rebounds per game not only led the team but was the third highest total for a U.S. player in the tournament as Alisha Jones pulled down 10.8 rebounds per game in the inaugural event in 1985, and current WNBA all-star Nneka Ogwumike averaged 9.9 rebounds per contest in the 2009 tournament.

Collier is the 13th current or future UConn player to represent the U.S. at the U19 tournament but the only ones to average more than 13.2 that Collier were eventual college national players of the year Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
"This is going to help me a lot, because it has showed me how to play with college players and against them," Collier said. "It gives me a little bit of extra experience."
Collier earned a spot on the five-member all-tournament team alongside of tournament MVP A'ja Wilson, a former UConn recruiting target who is going into her sophomore season at South Carolina.

The U.S. relied on its dominant frontcourt to win its sixth straight title as Wilson had 30 points amd eight rebounds, Duke's Azura Stevens had 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals and Illinois' Chatrice White came off the bench to add 10 points and five rebounds in addition to Collier's contributions.

"I had a great opportunity to work with A’ja and Napheesa last summer, so I think they were familiar with our style of play and how we like to play," U.S. and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "It was great to have their veteran leadership coming into a tournament like this and also playing well throughout, just setting the tone and setting the example of how we need to play and how we need to approach it to win in a tight situation like tonight in the gold medal game."
UConn commit Crystal Dangerfield finished with four points and five assists and she played most of the fourth quarter ahead of older guards on the roster.

Collier led the U.S. team in rebounding with 65 in the seven games, steals (17) and minutes played  (24.1 per game). She was also seventh in the tournament in rebounding  while Dangerfield had a remarkable 19/4 assist/turnover ratio (the best of any player in the tournament), was second on the team with 14 steals and averaged 7.5 points per game. UConn recruiting target Lauren Cox led all U.S. players with an average of 18.3 rebounds per 40 minutes.

One of the more impressive aspects of the run to the gold medal is that eight U.S. players averaged at least 10 points per game in last year's FIBA U17 World Championship for Women and FIBA Americas U18 Championship and the only ones to play in the tournament were Wilson and Collier.

Speaking of UConn, the Register has put together a slideshow of photos from yesterday's WNBA All-Star Game with the work of the Associated Press/ Jessica Hill featuring plenty of shots of former Huskies.

UConn incoming freshman Napheesa Collier has been a consistent producer for the U.S. team at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women but that was just a prelude to what she had in store for a very good Spain team in the semifinals.

Collier had 24 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot as the U.S. defeated Spain 80-65 to advance to Sunday's gold-medal game.

"Pheese is relentless," U.S. coach Dawn Staley said. "She is competitive. She doesn’t want to lose and she leaves it all out there every time she steps on the floor. Sometimes we have to think about how the tournament is set up (with seven games in nine days) and we didn’t want to play her too many minutes to give her a little bit of decompression for what we’ll face tomorrow. But, it’s hard to keep her off the floor because of what she brings to the table.

South Carolina's A'ja Wilson had 20 points and 16 rebounds while Duke's Azura Stevens finished with 11 points.

UConn commit Crystal Dangerfield added six points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal for the U.S. which will play Russia in the title game.

Here are quotes from Collier courtesy of USA Basketball.

It felt really good to come out like that. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow and that tonight was a little sneak peek of tomorrow.

On her play tonight:My teammates really helped get me open. I got the rebounds and stuff, but I couldn’t have done it without them.

On the play of Azurá Stevens and A’ja Wilson:They were big. They were so big. A’ja had 20 points, they were just both so awesome. They were playing off the boards and getting the put-backs.

What was your plan tonight?We had to be really focused, because playing a team three times in two weeks is really hard. But, we knew our scout really well, so we were just trying to execute it well. It helped us a little bit because we kind of knew what they were going to do.

On playing Russia for the gold medal:It’s going to be really tough, but I’m actually really excited for it. I can’t wait for tomorrow. To hopefully beat someone on their home court for a gold medal would be really exciting.

Another championship is within reach for UConn's Moriah Jefferson and Breanna Stewart.

Jefferson and Stewart led to UConn to national titles in each of their first three seasons and also won gold medals at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and 2013 FIBA U19 Championship.

However, if not for some late-game brilliance from former UConn recruiting target Linnae Harper, that streak would have come to an end in the Pan Am Games semifinals on Sunday.

Cuba led by 14 points and took a one-point lead after Jefferson lost the ball near midcourt resulting in Ineidis Casanova's layup. Harper, a rising junior guard at Kentucky, hit two free throws with seven seconds left to play and then a steal in the closing seconds as the U.S. held on for a 65-64 victory. The win puts the U.S. in the gold-medal game on Monday at 8:45 p.m. where Jefferson and Stewart will see a familiar face as UConn's Kia Nurse's Canada team rolled past Brazil 91-63 in the other semifinal.

Harper had eight of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and also had four steals.

In an interview with ESPN after the game Stewart said that Harper "won us the game."

Maryland's Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 15 points, four rebounds and four steals. South Carolina's Alaina Coates added 10 points and 15 rebounds while Jefferson had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Stewart finished with 10 points. Down the stretch Stewart was not an offensive factor as she missed her final three shots (all from 3-point range) and did not score in the final 8:53 leading to players like Harper and Coates stepping into the forefront.

Nurse who averaged 8.7 points in Canada's three pool play games, had nine points and three rebounds in the semifinal. Meriden's Damika Martinez is also playing in the Pan Am Games although her Puerto Rico team finished 1-2 in group play and was relegated to playing in the fifth-place game. Playing without leading scorer Carla Cortijo, who was injured late in the loss to the U.S., Puerto Rico lost 77-56 to Argentina to finish sixth. Martinez had nine points and three rebounds in the loss and finished with 25 points and nine rebounds in the four games.

Toronto is not the only location where UConn products are going after a gold medal.

UConn incoming freshman Napheesa Collier had 17 points and six rebounds and UConn commit Crystal Dangerfield had seven points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and had her second straight game without a turnover as the U.S. defeated China 88-62 to improve to 2-0 in pool play at the FIBA U19 Championship for Women in Russia.

South Carolina's A'ja Wilson had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Duke's Azura Stevens added 16 points and Florida State's Shakayla Thomas finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals. The U.S. wraps up group play against winless Egypt on Monday although the U.S. has already clinched the Group B title.