While making the rather interesting drive from Newark, Delaware to Tarrytown, N.Y. yesterday for the latest media availability for the U.S. national team, I wanted to come up with a little different story angle than yet another update on the five UConn graduates on the U.S. team.

Since I have seen plenty of caustic posts on Twitter about how the U.S. team has become little more than a chance for Geno Auriemma to get his former players on the squad (a laughable point of view when considering the qualifications of Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi), I thought it would be fun to get some people to weigh in on whether an all-UConn team could win the Olympic gold medal. I spoke with Bird, USA Basketball Women's National Team Director Carol Callan, assistant coach Doug Bruno and guard Lindsay Whalen on the topic for a story which ran in this morning's paper.

When I mentioned it to Bird, she said "who is on the team" since she wasn't sure if I meant active players or all UConn players so here is the breakdown of the 15 current UConn graduates in the WNBA.

Current  Olympians
Sue Bird: Averaging 12.5 points and league leading 6 assists per game. Is 241 assists shy of Ticha Penicheiro's WNBA career record. Tied for eighth with 573 career steals.
Tina Charles: Currently the WNBA leader in both scoring (21.4) and rebounding and one of the frontrunners with WNBA MVP. Could join Chamique Holdsclaw as only player to lead WNBA in scoring and rebounding in same season.
Maya Moore: Three-time WNBA champion is fourth in league in scoring (19.4) and sixth in assists (4.4). One of five players to be named WNBA regular-season and finale MVP.
Breanna Stewart: Winner of WNBA Rookie of Month three times, she is second in WNBA in rebounding and fifth in scoring
Diana Taurasi: Sixth-leading scorer in WNBA at 18.9 points per game. One of three WNBA players with more than 7,000 points in regular season and fifth all-time with 1,547 assists


Swin Cash: Ranks 13th in WNBA history with 5,075 regular-season points and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Key member of championship teams with Detroit and Seattle.
Stefanie Dolson: After averaging a career high 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for Washington last season, is contributing 8 points and 4.7 rebounds
Kelly Faris: Averaging 2.1 points and 11.9 minutes in 103 career games with Connecticut Sun
Bria Hartley: Averaging 6.5 points, 2 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 16.9 minutes with Washington Mystics. Since May 21 Mystics are 6-4 when she plays at least 15 minutes, 3-8 if she does not
Tiffany Hayes: Atlanta Dream's No. 2 scorer at 14.5 points per game. Averaging career highs in points, assists, steals and minutes played. Has seven 20-point games, Atlanta is 10-7 when she scores in double figures
Moriah Jefferson: Second on San Antonio in scoring (12.2), contributes 4 assists, 1.4 steals per game. Third among qualifying players with 45.3 3-point percentage. Averaged 17.1 points in last eight games before Olympic break
Renee Montgomery: Averaging 7.8 points per game for Minnesota, highest total since 2013 season. Hit game winner when Minnesota beat Los Angeles in showdown of undefeated teams. Minnesota is 7-2 when she scores at least 10 points
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis: Averaging 6.4 points and 16.7 minutes while shooting 47 percent from 3-point range in last seven games for Seattle
Kiah Stokes: Eighth in WNBA in rebounding (7.6), sixth in blocked shots (1.5). Second in league in rebounding per 40 minutes
Morgan Tuck: Averaging 7.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes as a rookie for Connecticut Sun. Averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in one three-game stretch in June.

There is already a portion of the women's basketball world tired of the "all UConn, all the time" coverage so a team of only UConn alums representing the U.S. in the Olympics might mean the end of Twitter but it was something worth pondering.

Four former UConn stars including three members of the undefeated 2002 national championship team were named to the list of the top 20 players since the inception of the WNBA.
The WNBA 20@20, which was voted on by a 15-member panel WNBA coaches and administrators as well as national media members, was unveiled on ESPN's 10 a.m. edition of SportsCenter.

Sue Bird and Swin Cash, the top two picks in the 2002 WNBA Draft, and 2004 No. 1 overall pick Diana Taurasi were selected along with 2011 No. 1 overall pick Maya Moore, the leading scorer in UConn history.

“To be included among the top 20 players in this league's history is a huge honor," said Bird in a statement. "Watching the level of competition rise over the years has been incredible and I am excited to see where the league goes in the next 20."
Tina Charles, the 2012 WNBA MVP, and Nykesha Sales were also nominated giving UConn six of the 60 nominees.

Lindsay Whalen is the only representative of the Connecticut Sun to be named to the list of top 20 players as she was the Sun's first-round pick in 2004.

The list is highlighted by the trio of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson who teamed up to lead the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships. Former MVP Lisa Leslie as well as Teresa Weatherspoon are the other original WNBA players honored by the league while Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Deanna Nolan, career assists leader Ticha Penicheiro and Katie Smith are other former WNBA stars to make the cut.

Seimone Augustus, Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter join Bird, Cash, Moore, Taurasi and Whalen are active WNBA players named to the top 20.
"I grew up watching the WNBA, and to be in a class of athletes of the caliber that this league has produced over the past 20 years is a huge honor,” Moore said. “It’s definitely a dream come true. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to compete at the highest levels and develop my talent to the point that I was even in consideration for this honor.”
UConn leads the way for four players honored, Southern California (Cooper, Leslie and Thompson) and Tennessee (Catchings and Parker) are the only other programs with more than one honoree.

UConn will playing its final regular season home game on Saturday against Memphis and there will be a familiar face handling the studio analyst duties.

Swin Cash won't be in Storrs for the festivities as that will fall to Brent Stover and former Marist star Julianne Viani. But she will be asked to offer her insight during the game as part of the CBS Sports Network crew. The folks at CBS SNT were nice enough to get Cash on the phone for me which allowed me to address a variety of topics with Cash, one of 15 players currently in the Huskies of Honor. The number will reach a Sweet 16 when Mosqueda-Lewis is added to that list on Saturday.

First, I had her reflect on what her Senior Night/Day experience was like.

"I remember Senior Day. I was going through some pictures and saw some pictures of us," Cash said. "It is really an emotional time. The reality is you think about, you never really think when you come in as a freshman there is going to be an end but when you walk out on Senior Night, it really kind of hits you.

I just remember being on the bench and we wanted to make sure we got up and out early. We really wanted to make sure we could sit on the bench and really take it in. I remember laughing, joking on the bench with Sue, 'Mika and Asjha, those are the memories that you take with you. Taking them all in, from her on out it is one of those mentalities of appreciating every single game."

UConn rolled past Providence 106-41 in the final home game for Cash, Sue Bird, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams en route to an undefeated season and a second national title in a three-year span.

Current seniors Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes won't have an undefeated season to shoot at during their final season since the Huskies lost at Stanford in the second game of the season. However, they could leave as members of a national championship squad for the third year in a row.

"I think they are going to have a lot of emotions," Cash said. "I think the great thing for them is they have both been part of not only winning championships but a winning tradition. They are exactly where any senior wants to be in their senior year, in a position to do it again (winning) back to back to back (championships). I think they won't be thinking as much about the moment but they will be thinking about the overall finish because they have had a great legacy so far."

Cash was a key member of one of the greatest women's collegiate basketball teams of all time as her senior year the Huskies were absolutely unstoppable. The four seniors all went in the top six picks of the 2002 WNBA Draft. Cash loves the on-court chemistry she sees from this year's team.

"It is clear that they understand their roles on the team pretty much to a T and that is what kind of separates them from a lot of teams this year," Cash said. "They all really are playing to the best of their ability and not getting going outside of that, it kind of looks beautiful to watch the passes, knowing where each other are on the floor, getting to the right spots on the floor, getting to the right spots."

Cash is especially impressed with the way reigning national player of the year Breanna Stewart works with fellow starting post Morgan Tuck.

"I think one of the most underrated things that people don't understand is that chemistry," Cash said. "Chemistry cam be built by having great leaders on the team that are selfless. I think Breanna and Morgan are both kind of selfless kind of players so having them in that position and here comes Moriah (Jefferson) and how she is playing, you can just see that the chemistry is built. Even watching their practices, how hard they compete in practices that is where the chemistry is built. The games
are just fun."

I had to ask Cash about the transformation of Gabby Williams from high school guard to playing an undersized post as a freshman because Williams' energetic style of play often times reminds me of the way Cash played.

"I am impressed," Cash said. "For any player, it is a hard transition. Asjha and I came in with our backs to the basket, we had to learn how to expand our game a little bit. We had to work with Chris Dailey and Jamelle Elliott on that part. I think the fact that Coach (Geno Auriemma) saw in her an ability, how athletic she was and how willing she was to learn. I think that has really helped her out a lot because her mindset is already open to change. I am sure that the coaches have had a field day with her. You look at what she is doing on the floor, it is really amazing to think she was playing the guard position."

Cash has had the opportunity to work in the studio and also serve as a color commentator. She loves the different experiences she has be subjected to as an announcer.

"I enjoy the studio work," Cash said. "It is awesome because I have been able to go out, see some games, I am able to do some feature pieces and I am really exploring all the options that are out there.
I will be in studio for the next week or so but during the tournament I will actually be at the men's Final Four doing some work there, hopefully I can catch up with the women's (team at the Final Four) as well."

Cash has played for five different teams since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft. After beginning her career playing six seasons in Detroit and another four in Seattle, Cash has played for three teams in the last four seasons.

While she was not ready to reveal the team she would be playing for in the upcoming WNBA season, she is extremely excited to be coming back for a 14th WNBA season.

"That will be coming out in about a week," Cash said. "We are still in the free agent period right now. I am really excited about the upcoming season. The feeling I have is really good, I am excited to play and there is something to be said about coming into a season without stress, pressure and dealing with a whole lot of baggage so I am excited."

What about the WNBA futures of Mosqueda-Lewis and Stokes?

"I think they have a set of skills that help them at the next level," Cash said. "It really just goes to where you are drafted, the system, how the coaches run the system. You have the best players in the world but when you look at players who have had success, it has come down to they been on teams with coaches who have put in systems for them to be successful. I am sure they are going to end up sticking somewhere because at the end of the day people want to have players from Connecticut on their team because they understand that the players have been coached well, they understand about being a pro and they also understand that they are going to work tremendously hard to help you win. I think both of them will be OK."

One last item on the announcing crew, I remember interviewing Viani when she was a senior in high school. She played in a game back in December of 2001 at the Westchester County Center and had 24 points to lead Our Lady of Lourdes High School to a 58-53 win over California power Narbonne, which was led by future UConn forward Willnett Crockett. I couldn't find the story online but she had some nice things to say about Crockett, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds in the game.

UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer for the gold-medal
winning United States team at the FIBA U17 World Championship tournament

With UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson dealing with foul trouble throughout the game and Spain's Angela Salvadores torching whichever United.States player attempted to guard her, the U.S. needed others to deliver to lead the two-time defending championship to a third straight gold medal to a 77-75 victory.

It was UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox, Asia Durr and Arike Ogunbowale who stepped to the forefront. Cox had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks while Durr finished with 17 points and four assists and Ogunbowale had 15 points and eight rebounds. The trio combined to score the final 10 points for the U.S.

Cox grabbed an offensive rebound in transition and scored to snap a 71-71 tie and blocked a shot at the other end while Durr had a crucial jumper to help the U.S. survive a fierce challenge from Spain.

Salvadores had 40 points, hitting 16 of 29 shots from the field including 5 of 7 from 3-point range in a truly sensational performance. She was named the tournament's MVP while Samuelson was joined on the all-tournament team by her U.S. teammate Joyner Holmes. Salvadores had 13 points in the fourth quarter as Spain led for nearly 4 1/2 minutes in the final period. She ended up as the tournament's leading scorer (19.9 points per game), was first in steals (3.7), second in assists (3.6), third in 3-point percentage (50.0), fourth in field-goal percentage (49.6), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.8) and 10th in rebounding (7.4).

Samuelson finished with seven points and three rebounds while fellow UConn commit De'Janae Boykin had five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Asia Durr finishes FIBA U17 tournament
ranked second in assist/turnover ratio

Lauren Cox nearly had a triple-double in title
game at FIBA U17 World Championships

Samuelson finished with a team-leading 97 points and 19 3-pointers in the seven games. She finished tied for seventh in scoring which finished tied for seventh among all tournament scorers and was second in 3-pointers made. Durr (13.4 points per game), Ogunbowale (10.7) and all-tournament selection Joyner Holmes (10.6) were the other double-digit scorers for the U.S. in the tournament. Durr also finished second in the tournament in assist/turnover ratio.

Cox finished as the team leader in rebounding (8.4) and blocked shots (19), finishing fifth and second in those categories in the tournament. Cox set the single game and tournament U.S. records in blocked shots while Samuelson's 19 3-pointers matched the U.S. mark set by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in 2010. UConn commit De’Janae Boykin, one of three U.S. players to start all seven games, averaged 5.1 points. She was the team’s second-leading rebounder (6.1) and tied for second on the team with 16 assists.

Here are quotes from Boykin, Cox, Durr, Sabrina Ionescu, Ogunbowale and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball.

De'Janae Boykin
What does it mean to get a second gold medal?
This means a lot to be world champions, it’s great, it’s a great feeling.

What did you think about the game against Spain?
It was a very intense game; very hard, they worked very hard. They’re a great team and so were we, we came out and worked hard and we got the W.

What does this experience mean to you?
This experience means a lot. Just to come out here, we’ve been out here for almost a month, just to come together as a team and come out here and work and it just means a lot that we got the win today.

What do you think is going to stay with you from this experience? 
Just this experience, knowing I’m part of the USA Basketball family and stuff like that.

Lauren Cox
On winning the gold medal:
It’s awesome. It’s a great experience. I’m really blessed to be here to play with this amazing team and these awesome coaches.

On her game against Spain:
I just came into the game wanting to work hard and play hard inside. I knew it was going to be tough. They have big girls inside, so I just had to work hard.

Was there ever any doubt that you might not win?
Spain’s a good team, so we just had to get out there, play good defense and convert on offense.

What’s been the best part of this experience for you? 
Spending time with this awesome team. These coaches are awesome, too. It’s just been a great experience.

Asia Durr
On the gold medal game against Spain:
It was definitely a fight. They have some great shooters on their team. One girl put up 40 or so. It was a hard-fought game for 40 minutes.

Were you ever nervous, were there ever any doubts? 
It wasn't doubt. It was pressure, of course, because they were making every single shot. So, there was definitely pressure.

Do you feel like you executed the game plan or was it all heart?
It was both. We came out there, fought hard and played like there was no other game out there.

Was it the USA’s depth that helped in the end?
Definitely. We have a group of girls who are 12 deep and they all went out there and played their hearts out.

What does it feel like to win your second gold medal?
It’s definitely a blessing. I thank God for all of this.

What will you take away from this experience? 
Meeting a new group of girls, playing with a great group of girls and winning another gold.

Sabrina Ionescu
What does it feel like to win a gold medal?
It feels great. We’ve been practicing for the last, I don’t even know how long, and to finally come here and achieve what we’ve been reaching for this whole time feels great.

What do you think is going to stick with you? 
Definitely the whole learning experience. I’ve learned a lot from Coach Sue and the coaching staff and these girls. It’s a blessing playing with all of these great players so I think playing with all of them gets you better individually and as a team player.

Is there an area in your game you feel like you got specifically better at?
I think the fact that it takes all 12 players to win a gold medal; it’s not just one or two individuals. So the fact that everybody came together through these last couple of weeks; not knowing each other and just coming in and playing and working hard and winning a gold medal.

Arike Ogunbowale
On the game:
I love close games. It was nerve-wracking and crazy, but we kept our composure and played hard.

What do you think was the difference?
They’re a great team, a well-coached team. They’re physical and they have skill like us, so we just had to try to play greater than them. We played really good. They played great, too. But we had to execute at the end of the game and we hit our free throws, which were crucial.

Were you nervous at all?
There’s always nervousness going into big games, but we knew what we had to do. So, we were okay.

What’s it like to win your third gold medal? 
It’s crazy. I’m super excited. I’m super blessed to be able to do this before my senior year and everything that USA Basketball has helped me with, so I’m super blessed.

What have you learned from this experience?
Never give up. We were down in the fourth quarter and we just kept going. Really, just never give up and work with your teammates.

Katie Lou Samuelson
On being named to the all-tournament team:
It’s amazing. I’m just in shock that it all happened that way. I thought I played solid, but I didn’t expect anything like that. I wasn’t trying to go for anything like that, but it’s amazing just to be able to get that and to win the gold medal. It’s amazing.

How does it feel to win your third gold medal?
It’s amazing. It never gets old. It’s the same feeling every time. But, this one was really special. It was such a close game and we played well all the way through to the end. So, it was amazing.

What did you learn from this tournament?
I learned that I have to trust my teammates and just rely on them, because they’re going to come through. I thought everyone played great today. Everyone stepped up when they needed to.

MILESTONES FOR FORMER HUSKIES
A pair of former UConn stars reached scoring landmarks in the WNBA.

Diana Taurasi moved by Katie Smith to become the second all-time leading scorer in the WNBA. Taurasi headed into today's game against Los Angeles with 6,457 points in 316 career regular-season games. Smith scored 6,452 points in 482 career games. After the 87-69 win over Chicago on Wednesday Taurasi said she considered Tina Thompson's WNBA record 7,488 points to be unreachable for her. I'm not so sure as if she continues to score at the 20 point per game rate she has maintained since arriving in the league, she would need 52 more games to get there.

Speaking of impressive stats, five of the WNBA top scorers played at UConn including four on the 2002 national championship team. Swin Cash and Sue Bird rank 14th and 16th on the career scoring charts with 4,731 and 4.678 points respectively. Nykesha Sales is 24th with 3,955 points and Asjha Jones checks in at No. 27 with 3,834 points.

As for the other milestone, Renee Montgomery scored her 2,000th career point in Saturday's win at Tulsa.

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.

Former UConn stars Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury rank second and third in WNBA All-Star voting among Western Conference players and if the voting ended today they would be in line to start in the July 27 game which will be held at Mohegan Sun Arena.

One-time UConn recruit Elena Delle Donne, a rookie forward with the Chicago Sky, leads all players with 16,761 votes while Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks leads all Western Conference players with 15,623 (495 ahead of Moore). Taurasi leads all Western Conference guards with 12,625 votes.

Voting runs until July 14 but based on the first announced returns, the Eastern Conference starters would be Delle Donne, Tamika Catchings of Indiana, Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry, Epiphanny Prince of Chicago and New York's Cappie Pondexter. Parker, Taurasi and Moore would be joined in the Western Conference starting lineup by Brittney Griner of Phoenix and Seimone Augustus of Minnesota.

Reigning WNBA MVP Tina Charles of the Connecticut Sun is fourth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players with 8,066 votes, Swin Cash is sixth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players while Tiffany Hayes is eighth among Eastern Conference backcourt players.

Here are the voting totals:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Guards: Cappie Pondexter (NY) 8,670; Epiphanny Prince (Chi) 6,898; Ivory Latta (Wsh) 6,772; Kara Lawson (Con) 5,785; Katie Douglas (Ind) 5,230; Briann January (Ind) 4,098; Courtney Vandersloot 3,467; Tiffany Hayes (Atl) 2,534; Allison Hightower (CON) 1,832; Armintie Herrington (Atl) 1,749

Frontcourt: Elena Delle Donne (Chi) 16,761; Tamika Catchings (Ind) 13,399; Angel McCoughtry (Atl) 8,660; Tina Charles (Con) 8,066;Sylvia Fowles (Chi) 6,633; Swin Cash (Chi) 5,854; Shavonte Zellous (Ind) 3,139; Kara Braxton (NY) 1,883; Erlana Larkins (Ind) 1,819; Crystal Langhorne (Wsh) 1,798; Erika de Souza (Atl) 1,783

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Guards: Diana Taurasi (Phx) 12,625; Seimone Augustus (Minn) 9,095; Skylar Diggins (Tul) 7,764; Lindsay Whalen (Minn) 6,834; Kristi Toliver (LA) 3,797; Lindsey Harding (LA) 3,776; Becky Hammon (SA) 2,984;  Danielle Robinson (SA) 2,420; Candice Wiggins (Tul) 2,178; Temeka Johnson (Sea) 1,195

Frontcourt: Candace Parker (LA) 15,623; Maya Moore (Minn) 15,128; Brittney Griner (Phx) 10,620; Glory Johnson (Tul) 6,031; Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 5,556; Rebekkah Brunson (Minn) 4,862; Tina Thompson (LA) 4,713; DeWanna Bonner (Phx) 4,560; Candice Dupree (Phx) 4,308; Janel McCarville (Minn) 2,604; Alana Beard 2,563; Liz Cambage 2,017

WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES SEMIFINALS, FINALS TO BE TELEVISED
ESPN is planning to televise the women's basketball semifinals and gold-medal game at the World University Games on July 13 and 15 respectively on ESPNU and ESPN3.

The U.S. team includes UConn's Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.

ESPN announced that former UConn star Swin Cash is one of 21 athletes who will appear in ESPN The Magazine's "The Body Issue" which hits the newsstands on July 12.

Cash, a member of two national championship teams at UConn, is in the midst of her 13th WNBA season as she is averaging 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game for the Chicago Sky.

New York Mets pitchers Matt Harvey, a former Fitch High star, and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick are among the others who will appear in the fifth annual "The Body Issue."

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.

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.

The EuroLeague regular season came to an end yesterday and former UConn star Tina Charles finished as the EuroLeague leader in nine different categories including scoring (24.1), rebounding (12.1) and double-doubles (7) for Wisla Can-Pack.

Charles was also the leader in defensive rebounds (9.3), 2-point field goals attempted as well as total field goals attempted (19.0), field goals made (10.0), 2-point field goals made (10.0) and minutes (36.8).

The playoffs kick off  with best of three series starting on Feb. 19. Charles and Wisla Can-Pack will play Bourges Basket in the round of 16. Among the players on the Bourges Basket team is former Cheshire Academy star Johannah Leedham, who averaged 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two games she played in late in the regular season.

Renee Montgomery, Charles' former UConn teammate and current teammate with the Connecticut Sun, is the second-leading scorer for the Nadezhda squad which plays CCC Polkowice in the first-round series. Montgomery averaged 14.2 points per game during the regular season.

UMMC Ekaterinburg, which features former Huskies Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, received a bye into the quarterfinals.

Also, former UConn stars Swin Cash and Maya Moore will be taking part in the Shooting Stars competition at the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in Houston. Cash will be on the East squad along with Chris Bosh, Tamika Catchings, Brook Lopez, Muggsy Bogues and Dominique Wilkins while Moore will team with Sam Cassell, James Harden, Robert Horry,  Tina Thompson and Russell Westbrook on the West squad.

Make no mistake that there are few people Geno Auriemma admires more or has more respect for than the Indiana Fever's Tamika Catchings, who helped the Auriemma coached U.S. teams win the 2010 World Championship and 2012 Olympic gold medals. But with five of his former UConn players on the Connecticut Sun, there's no questioning where his allegiances rest in tomorrow's decisive game in the Eastern Conference finals.


"It is always good when other people say it but I don't know any other school that has won more titles than ours," Auriemma said. "I don't know any other school that has had more people win WNBA titles than we have with Sue's two, Diana's two, Swin's three, Maya that is a lot. I like a lot of the kids that I coached this summer but selfishly I am rooting for a Connecticut/Minnesota final so I can hopefully get a chance to see them play."

Auriemma will be hosting recruiting Saniya Chong and Erica McCall, who are on their official visits, so he won't be able to make it to Mohegan Sun for tomorrow's game. But if the Sun win Auriemma would like to make it down there for game three and game four (if necessary) next weekend.

UConn's all-time leading scorer Maya Moore (right) has a chuckle as fellow
former Husky Sue Bird bites into her Olympic gold medal after the UConn
dominated U.S. team won its fifth straight Olympic championship.
(photo courtesy of USA Basketball and NBE/Getty Images)

Six former UConn stars and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma will be returning from London with gold medals after the United States women's basketball team won its fifth straight Olympic gold medal with a 86-50 win over previously undefeated France on Saturday.

Former Tennessee star Candace Parker led the U.S. with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Former UConn stars Sue Bird (11 points, three assists) and Diana Taurasi (nine points, six assists) also played starring roles as they won their third consecutive gold medal. Former Huskies Maya Moore (six points, seven rebounds), Asjha Jones (four points), Tina Charles (four points) and Swin Cash (three points) were also members of the U.S. squad.

It is the second gold medal for Cash while Moore, Charles and Jones were first time Olympians. It is also the second gold medal for Auriemma, who was an assistant coach on the 2000 squad (even if he doesn't actually receive medals).

The overall tournament scoring champions were former Cheshire Academy star Johannah Leedham of Great Britain as well as Brazil's Erika de Souza who each averaged 16.2 points per game. Taurasi finished as the top scorer for the United States as she averaged 12.4 points a contest.

Here are the stats for the six former UConn stars

Bird: 6.1 points, team-leading 4.5 assists
Charles: 10.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Cash: 3.3 points, 1.4 rebounds
Jones: 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds
Moore: 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals
Taurasi: 12.4 points, 3 rebounds, 2.9 assists (had 15 of the U.S. 32 3-pointers)

Proving it was a team-first approach, there were no U.S. among the tournament's top 10 scorers however here is where the U.S. players ranked in other categories

Rebounds: Candace Parker 4th; Charles 5th
Assists: Bird 2nd
Steals: Angel McCoughtry 2nd; Tamika Catchings 6th; Moore 8th
Blocks: Parker 7th
FG percentage: Parker 6th
3-point percentage: Taurasi 9th
Double-doubles: Charles and Parker tied for 1st

Here are quotes from Auriemma and the six former Huskies courtesy of USA Basketball.
GENO AURIEMMA
You know, you go into every game thinking that there’s going to be some things that you have to do, and if you do those things you’re going to have a chance you can win it. You know, France was probably playing as well as anytime I’ve ever seen them, since I’ve been the coach anyway. And when you’re going into it the way they’re playing, they got a lot of confidence. And we tried to really disrupt them and get them into the kind of game they weren’t comfortable playing, and I think we did that right from the beginning. When Candace Parker came in the game, the game changed completely. You know, I thought she was the biggest difference in the game tonight. We all just kind of took that and ran with it. We beat a really good team, but we’re a great team.
On why Candace Parker shined tonight:
You know, as coaches we know a lot about a lot of things, but that’s a question I can’t answer. I think that Candace (Parker) would be better able to answer that question. Candace has a lot of skills, and some nights she really tries to use them and other nights she forgets the kind of skills that she has. Luckily for us, tonight she remembered.
On if this is the best U.S. Women’s team to-date:
You know, I hate to say it was the best; it’s like comparing your children because I didn’t coach those other teams. If I did, I would probably say yeah, this was the best because you always get attached to the one you’re coaching. I’m sure every other coach thought that the team they coached was a great team, but you know, the United States has had unbelievably great teams since 1996 and I think we’re just another one on the list. Down the road if people want to make those comparisons, you know, it’s okay, but right now we accomplished the same thing they did, so I don’t know that that separates us from them. I think it just makes us equal with them.
On the French team:
Sometimes a team just finds itself during a tournament, and I thought the French team was the team of the tournament. I think if you take us out of the tournament, honestly I’m partial to our team; I thought France was the team of the tournament. The way they played consistently from day one all the way to the end, and I thought Celine (Dumerc) was the most important player and the most impactful player in the tournament, and I just want to say congratulations.
On the competitiveness of women’s basketball to U.S. fans versus sports like soccer and gymnastics:
Yeah, I mean, you can’t apologize for being really good. The reason they don’t think there’s any competition is because they don’t have to be here playing. We know what the competition is, we know how good these other teams are, and we know how hard we have to work to make it look easy, because it’s not as easy as it looks. We do what we do in the United States and we take great pride in our basketball program. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, it doesn’t matter who the players are, there’s a certain level of expectation when you coach and play for USA Basketball. That expectation is to win, and we take it very seriously. Maybe in those other sports, there isn’t that same expectation in the United States that you’re going to win all the time, but we’re not going to start losing just to make them feel better back home.
On what he appreciated about this experience:
You know, I appreciate how smart some of these coaches are over here. Everybody has this impression that because we invented the game, that we’re the only ones who know how to coach it. I’ve been unbelievably impressed with how much you have to prepare to beat these guys because, because like Celine (Dumerc) said, they spent every summer together for five years. We’ve been together 10 days, 12 days of practice, so they know exactly what they’re doing and they know how to do it, and they capitalized on their mistakes. They have great strategies; they have great schemes on offense; they know how to use their players. I’ve been really, really impressed. And again, if you took our team out of the tournament – if you took our team out of the tournament and took Angola out, the top team in the tournament and the team that lost probably by the biggest margins – if you took those two teams out, you’d have a hard time separating the other 10. So, that’s a heck of a tournament – it really, really was. I’ve been impressed with the level of play every single night out.
On what he learned from this team:
You know what the funny thing is about professional basketball players? They think they’re smarter than you are. That just boggles my mind, because, if they were, why would USA Basketball have coaches? So, I’m constantly amazed by some of them, how much they think they know. It’s a warning for me, as a college coach, to see that no matter how good some of these players are that play professionally, they need coaching. They need direction, and you know what, the great ones want direction. They want to be kind of guided and driven to another place. I always thought that, but this kind of proved it to me – that idea that pros have you go step on each others toes, don’t like to be told what to do, don’t like to be coached. I’ve found just the opposite – they think they don’t want it, they think they’re really smart, they think what they’re saying makes sense. I wish I could tape them and play it back to them, so hopefully they learned something, and I know for a fact that I learned something – no question.
On the relationship between the men’s and women’s USA Basketball teams:
You know, the players probably have the most respect for each other of anybody else. They know exactly what each other has to do to be prepared and what it took to get here. So, the players on the men’s team, they probably appreciate the women’s team more than anybody back in America. I know that our players appreciate and interact with the guy’s players like they’re peers. Part of that is because we’re all Team USA and the other part is because I think they respect each other’s talents. So, that’s been great. It’s really been a lot of fun for me to watch. I know Coach (Jim) Boeheim really well – he and his wife Juli – so that’s been really easy for me and my staff. I got to know Coach (Mike) D’Antoni a few years back, so getting reconnected with him is great, and I’ve known Coach (Mike) Krzyzewski for a long time. For me, we’re just one team – Team USA. We’re not men’s basketball and women’s basketball, we’re Team USA.

SUE BIRD
On what this gold medal means:This team was so talented and so deep and it really felt like we had the shortest training camp of any other Olympics that I’ve been in. They are all short, but this one seemed extra short. So for us to kind of put it together the way we did it’s very, very gratifying and for me it is my third and in a sense nothing really beats your first, but at the same time my role has really changed and I’ve had to become one of the older players, a veteran, a leader, and to have that evolution occur and to be where I am now, it feels good to win this one as well.
On whether it was important to create her own shot:
As a point guard you’ve got to take what the defense gives, especially on this team where there is so much talent … it’s the easiest job in the world, let’s be honest. I basically have to pass to the best shooters and the best post players that there are and let them go to work. But occasionally openings do happen for me too and I have to be ready to knock them down because as a point guard I can score as well, as well as Lindsay can.
On what the key was to handling adversity:
I think our depth is by far the biggest key for us. We are able to wear teams down. Not very many teams go 12 deep and with that over a two-week tournament, these teams they have to play a lot of minutes ... seven, eight players play a lot of minutes and I think none of us have to. So we are just able to wear teams down and by the end for the most part you can see, teams get tired and that’s where we really capitalize.

SWIN CASH
On how tonight was different from other games in the tournament:I think it was business as usual. I think we all understood what the task was at hand, and the expectation. I think Coach (Auriemma) just really summed it up. He was saying that people come and play in these games for a reason, you know, and there wasn’t much needed to be said up to this point.
On what Coach Auriemma said to the players after the game:
Just that he was really thankful that all of the coaching staff and everybody who don’t usually get to experience this big moment were able to be a part of it.
On the performance of Candace Parker:
I thought it was great. I thought she was just being Candace and playing at a high level and I was really proud of her.

TINA CHARLES
On what the gold medal means for the country and for women’s basketball:It means everything. It means they put a great group of 12 girls together to go out there and get the job done and we did.
On what it means for her:
It’s awesome. It’s everything. I don’t even think it hit me yet.
On the game vs. France:
We just came out with a determination to get the gold tonight. I think just every game that we played, every practice that we had all put it together in this game and we dominated France.
Did you ever think a gold medal game would go like this?
I never even envisioned winning a gold medal. I never envisioned being on an Olympic team but with hard work and perseverance, just me having my faith, I was able to get it done.
Has it hit you yet what you accomplished?
It still hasn’t. Maybe tonight when I sleep and wake up with it on my neck, I’ll feel it.
How was the gold medal ceremony for you?It was really cool. That moment was really epic. When I was watching Lisa Leslie and them, when they stepped up all together, have their hands up and wave. That was really nice.

ASJHA JONES
On winning the gold with some of her college teammates and college coach:It’s amazing; it’s an amazing feeling. I’m just really proud to be here, proud to be a part of all it. And just excited to watch how well we played all together.
On her thoughts when she received the gold medal:
I don’t know. It was surreal for me. It was my first time, and I just can’t believe I was here. You dream about this stuff when you were a little kid and I to live it is a dream.
On what she is going to do with her gold medal:
I’m going to sleep in it. I’m going to take it off to shower … probably. But I am going to live in it.

MAYA MOORE
On the hard work it took to reach this goal:I think you have to look at our overall schedule in order to appreciate this month of what we just put together. We go from … overseas for us, European League or Asia and you plat for six to eight months, and then you hop right in to the WNBA season and you play for five straight months in the most intense basketball in the world, and in between that you’ve got some USA Basketball training camps when you are supposed to be vacationing. So we choose to come in and train and work hard and compete against each other and then squeeze in some Olympic games in between our WNBA games when we could have been relaxing for a little while. But we came together and put it on the line for our country because we re are so blessed to have the opportunity to play in the United States of America and around such great talent and such great coaches a place that actually develops us as people and as basketball players. I think of all that and to have this moment to kind of put the icing on the cake, it’s very sweet.
On how important it is to put individual goals aside:
It’s hard. That’s why team sports are so much fun to watch because it’s really an artwork of and a game of how can you fit these pieces together knowing that anyone of us could score 30 if we had to, but we don’t have to. So it’s kind of hard to do what you are usually not called on to do. But we made it work and it was beautiful.
On Candace Parker’s performance:
When she’s aggressive she is going to get anything she wants. I think one of her best abilities is to start the break. She’ll get a rebound, start it in transition, give it up and get it right back. Or come off of a screen-and-roll, Diana or someone will draw someone’s attention and find her and she’ll finish inside. She really has so many ways to score in her game. When she brings it like that it is almost impossible to beat our team.

DIANA TAURASI
On the impact of Candace Parker tonight:
She had a really good game. I know she was really disappointed after her game the other night. I think today she came out with a little bit more energy and a lot more force, and it showed throughout the game.
On the versatility of Candace Parker:
She’s one of those players that can really do anything on the court, and that’s what separates her from a lot of players. I think that’s just another example of how great this team is that any given night, someone can step up and kind of take charge of it. You can probably go back to the game logs and (look at) the leading scorer in each game … I think that’s what coach has preached and, the team, that’s the way we wanted to play. Tonight, looking up and down, we had a lot of people contributed and that feels good at the end of the day.
On winning an Olympic gold for the third time with Tamika Catchings and Sue Bird and on if Tamika will play in Rio in 2016:
I mean, we shook on it, so she’s in. You know, I usually don’t get very emotional when you win something, but for some reason when we walked into the arena afterwards, it kind of hit me that this might be my last, it might not be, but after three golds, they’re really hard. Even if you win a game by 30, if you win by 10, the whole process is really difficult to try to get 12 really good players to kind of just buy into one thing. It takes awhile; it takes a lot of effort. By the end of it, I think we succeeded in what we wanted to do, we were lucky enough to win a gold medal doing it.
On if it ever gets old winning championships:
No, I mean this tournament was a lot different than the other ones. I think mainly just the way we set up, because we did play Australia in the semis and I think coming in, probably against France, I don’t think they were playing the best basketball in the tournament. So, I think coming into this game we were, not scared, but we knew that this team was going to be playing really well. I think for those first 20 minutes, they probably matched our intensity, and, you know, over the course of the game, we kind of wore them down. I don’t think it gets old. To see how happy Maya was, to do it with Coach (Auriemma) this time, you know, everyone has had a different element to it. To see Sue (Bird) and (Tamika) Catchings – this is our third one. It’s different and it feels really good.
On winning again with Coach Auriemma and their special bond:
I mean, there’s really no better feeling. I wouldn’t want to be up here with anyone else. Coach (Auriemma) knows me more than any person on this earth, including my family, so it means a lot.
On the dynamic of her and Sue Bird:
You know, we just work really well on the court. We just find a way to really control the game in a lot of ways. When you get on these teams, you have so many great players and so many great scorers, we’ve really taken the role of more facilitators, getting people in the right spots. We’ve been lucky enough to play for Coach (Auriemma), and he’s really taught us how to manage a game in more ways than just scoring. I think we just understand each other really well on the court. We’re best friends and that all has helped us in our careers, here with USA Basketball, in Connecticut, overseas, just having a great feeling of synergy on the court.
On the flow of the game with so many contributors:
Well, we knew it was going to be a difficult game. We all knew the French team really well. We know how hard they play on every possession, how physical they are, how they pride themselves on defense, starting with Celine (Dumerc) over here. We know how difficult it is, and they don’t let you get anything easy. I think we just try to really share the ball and make that our strength and I think that throughout the 40 minutes we did that.
On whether Diana will play in Rio in 2016:
Oh yeah. If it was up to me, I would be on the team, but four years is a long time. It’s a long time and you don’t know what can happen in four years, but would I love to be on the team again? Sure. There’s no better feeling to putting on the jersey and representing your country. It’s one thing I always look forward to.

Former UConn star Diana Taurasi had 22 points and four steals to lead the United States to a 114-66 win over China to wrap up the top spot in Group A.

Taurasi was one of three former Huskies to score in double figures as Tina Charles and Maya Moore had 12 points each as the U.S. tied the country's single-game record for the most points scored while setting a record with 33 assists.

All U.S. players scored in the win including another impressive effort from former Louisville star Angel McCoughtry was had 16 points (on 8 of 8 shooting) to go with six rebounds, six assists, five steals, a blocked shot and no turnovers in 21 minutes. McCoughtry is the United States' top scorer (averaging 13 points per game) and also leads the team with 14 steals, 19 free throws and 23 free-throw attempts. Tina Charles (12.8 points and team-leading 8.6 rebounds), Diana Taurasi (12.2 PPG) and former Connecticut Sun guard Lindsay Whalen (10 points per game) are also scoring at least 10 points per game. As for the other former Huskies, here are their stats

Maya Moore: 9.2 points, 6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1 steal
Sue Bird: 4.6 points and a team-high 26 assists in five games
Asjha Jones: 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds
Swin Cash: 3.4 points, 1.2 rebounds

Next up is a quarterfinal game against Canada on Tuesday. It will be the first of the four quarterfinals tipping off at 2 p.m. in London (9 a.m. here in Connecticut). With a win the U.S. will play the winner of the China/Australia game in the semifinals which means there will be a new gold-medal matchup after the U.S. and Australia have met in the last three Olympic finals.

Here are quotes from UConn and U.S. coach Geno Auriemma and former Huskies Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Moore and Taurasi courtesy of USA Basketball.


Geno Auriemma
On tonight's game:
First off, there’s the way the game began, the team from China is for us especially in America it’s hard for us to play defense against them because their three point shooting and their quickness is a problem for everybody.   But, you saw the one three that the one kid made was like a 40-footer even when we had them guarded.  So, we knew that might be a problem, so we have to outscore some teams.  Some teams you’re gonna beat them just cause defensively you’re gonna be able to shut them down.  Today we came out really focused.  I thought everyone of our players was really locked into what we were trying to do.  And when Diana Taurasi plays the way she did, that is infectious; the entire team gets caught up in her and makes everybody on the team better.  When Candace Parker came in later in the first quarter and the whole second quarter changed the game completely.  So we’ve got a couple players that are game changers.  And that’s what happened today.  And having Syl (Sylvia Fowles) back is great news for us going forward and I think she showed everybody today why she’s gonna be so important this coming week.
On Diana Taurasi---Was this a conscious decision by her to step it up because we are getting in the medal round games where it gets important?
Yeah, I’ve coached Diana since before her freshman year in college.  In the US Junior Qualifying tournament, and, the first five games that we played in Argentina I think she averaged like nine points a game.  And right before we were playing Brazil I said ‘Look stop screwing around and trying get everybody involved, and we need you to get 30 tonight.’  And she got 29.  I think Diana understands more than anybody I’ve ever been around what the big stage is, when the lights are the brightest, when the games mean the most.  Today’s game against China was to win our pool, and that’s when Diana is at her best, always has been, and never lets you down, never disappoints.  And the rest of the team I think really really gets their confidence from her.  And that’s why she is who she is.   That’s why she’s won as many championships as she won.
On what teams have impressed him so far and not matching up against Australia in the Finals:
Well, that’s the problem with assuming that, I’m sure everybody in Australia thought that the finals were gonna be between the United States and Australia.  And everybody in America thought that it’s gonna be the United States and Russia or Australia….And ya know when you go into the Olympics or World Championship, you can’t make any assumptions about anything.  The French team and the Turkish team to me have been the two most surprising teams here that people weren’t talking about coming into the tournament.  With all the talk being about the US, and Russia and Australia, I think Turkey and France have had the biggest impact on our coaching staff and our players, not that we’re surprised….But, I think everybody knew that they were gonna be really good but I think they’ve played exceptionally well and it’ll be interesting to see what happens in these crossover games. 
On the second straight game starting Maya and Candace coming off the bench:
Well, I’ve always liked having three shooters in the line-up to start the game.  And by having Sue (Bird) and Dee (Diana Taurasi) and Maya (Moore), we’ve got three great three-point shooters…so it spreads the defense out and it allows Tamika (Catchings) and Tina (Charles) to start getting more single coverage inside.  Having Candace come off the bench, you saw what she did today.  When she came in off the bench she changed the game completely, because whoever she’s playing against is tired and whoever the other team brings in isn’t as good as her.  So she’s got a huge advantage in that situation.  And maybe she’s pissed at me ‘cause I’m not starting her and that’s why she’s playing the way she does, ya know what, I’m okay with that.
On playing half-court offense in fourth quarter:
Once it got to a point where the game was over, there’s no point in just running transition basket after transition basket, that doesn’t help them, doesn’t help us, it doesn’t help anybody.  So, there was a point where we just said ‘that’s it, no more’. 
On the scoring record and falling short of it:
As far as records I had no idea, I had no idea what the record was, I wasn’t, and even if somebody would have told me, I could care less.  I remember at Connecticut taking kids out and somebody would tell me on the bench ‘Hey, I need two more points to set this record’, tough, they haven’t set it by now I’m not putting them in now just to set it.  I don’t buy that, I don’t believe in that, it either happens while you’re playing, so, you’re not going to win Olympic Gold medal by just running up and down the floor, they’re going to have to be really good in the half court set.  So any opportunity that you get to do that you take advantage of.   We haven’t had much practice, so any opportunity that we get to work together really helps us.


Sue Bird
About France who many feel next to the U.S. is playing the best basketball right now.
I think they have experience, they have a team that’s hungry, a team that didn’t qualify for the Olympics four years ago (in 2008). So for some them, someone like Edwidge (Lawson-Wade), she’s a leader on that team and even though her Olympic experience may not be the same as for some other players, believe me she has played in a lot of big games.  Yeah, and then there is their size, their versatility.  They’re probably the one team that can really change it up with their lineups and how big they can go. Just from watching them I know it’s going to be tough and we played them in the world championship two years ago and that was our toughest game.
You guys set the assist record and put up 114 points.
I think that speaks to our talent, our unselfishness and just us playing together. It was as simple as finding the open person and getting them the ball. We have such great shooters and people who can do some pretty amazing things with the ball to create some easy shots. I think that’s all it was.
How much fun was this game?
It was a lot of fun and for a point guard, just very easy. This is the easiest job in the world right now, just kind of pass it to these players and let them do the rest.
Were you surprised how easy this was?
Yes and no. China is a tough team and I know the scoredoesn’t necessarily tell the story, but they make you work. They’re very disciplined and the minute you make a mistake they capitalize on it, that’s always how they’ve been historically in my experience. Even though the score kind of said one thing, it wasn’t easy, I just personally meant for a point guard to be able to just pass was easy.
Looking to next game
Now is when the real tournament starts; now it’s one and done and you have to come and play every night, you can’t have an off night unlike pool play where maybe you can and potentially recover from it. There’s no recovering from losing in the quarters, semis or final. So it’s one and done now.


Swin Cash
The team looked really good tonight, do you see an improvement from your first game?
I thought it was our best game thus far. You can really see that as the games have progressed, we’ve really started to gel. That’s important going into the next round, which for us is the big dance.
On the assist record:
We just have a team of super stars who are very unselfish and understand what the goal is at hand. I think it makes everyone’s job a lot easier when you have a team that’s built like that.
On the return of Sylvia Fowles:
It’s really important to have her back. If you look at what’s possibly down the road for us in match-ups, it’s great to have Syl back, because she’s a big presence, a big body inside. Her ability to command double teams opens things up for our shooters as well. With a versatile team like ours, we’re going to need all hands on deck.
Does it take a while to come together?
It takes a while, but we’ve been getting our practice through games and letting coach see different combinations on the floor and now it’s go time.
Are you bonding with the younger Huskies.
I think we’ve all had a bond coming into this game, obviously I’ve played with some of them during the World Championship (201), but right now it’s just all about our team and that one goal we have.

Maya Moore

Can a game like this be a double-edged sword because you win so easily and then you go to the quarterfinals and you relax?
It can if you let it.  I don’t think we’re that type of a team I think we’ve got too many veterans and too much experience to let that happen.  That kind of a thing is purely up to us and our mind set so we want to make sure were getting better every game and that’s what we’ve tried to do. We try not to play to the score. We want to play and evaluate our efforts and performance base on our standards.
About facing Canada next in the quarterfinals.                                                                                    
They’re tough, scrappy team, that never quits. Every team that they play they’re going to make you earn it. That’s exactly the kind of ball game we want. We want to face the best and Canada is next for us.
Considering the dominance of this team is it just about winning or is it about dominating?
Winning is the goal obviously, to get the W. But you want to do it in the best way possible and for us we know that we’re capable of dominating. We want to make sure that everybody comes in and brings what they do best out on the court and some how do that all at the same time. And that’s the challenge of coming together as a national team with so many greatest players is finding out what my role is. I don’t necessarily have to do as many things as I do on my WNBA team. If I’m good at running the break and finishing an alley-oop I’m not going to try and necessarily bring it up and cross five people over, I’m going to pass to Lindsay Whalen and run ahead and get it and finish.

Diana Taurasi

On how the team is feeling:
I mean, we feel good, we feel like we have improved every game a little bit.  And that’s what we, that’s what our goal for these pool play games and now it’s time to play the real games where if you don’t bring your best effort you’re probably going home.
On preparing for Quarterfinals:
We will have practice tomorrow. Work on the things that we’ll need for Canada and then go from there.
On things coming together:
I think so.  And you can really see it when we share the ball like that.  When you start getting the concept of how we want to play and how many great players we have and you gotta give yourself and your teammates an opportunity to do that.  And I think we’re getting to that point.
Is it easier for people like you that understand Geno’s system, or is that irrelevant?
No, I mean obviously his philosophy and the things that he wants done, playing for him helps you get there.  But, I think his concepts really are play as a team, play really hard.  And I think anyone can relate to that.
On peaking at the right time:
Yeah, I mean this was the first game that meant something.  First place in our group.  To win all five games against five really good teams, I think is a good step for us.  And now on to the next round.
On the half-court defense and half-court trap:
I mean that’s our strength, the depth of our team, the energy, the athleticism. And today I think you saw that throughout the forty minutes.  And it really helps us on both ends get easy baskets being able to get back into that pressure.  And I thought today we did a good job.
Was tonight the most effective and complete game you played as a team in the tournament?
Probably, I’m sure we will go back and watch a little film and won’t feel like it.  But, I think people are starting to feel a little bit more comfortable.  Starting to feel like what we need from each other to be really good and that alone is a good feeling.
How are you feeling offensively, is it more of a comfort factor, or is it what they need from you in these games?
Um, it’s a little bit of everything.  You know, if you go through three games and you don’t adjust anything well then you’re not a very good basketball player.  So I’ve had to adjust a little bit in the things that I was doing to make sure that you know I help this team in whatever way. And I think everyone feels that way.

Candace Parker had 14 points and 121 rebounds, Seimone Augustus had 13 points while former UConn star Maya Moore added 11 points, was 5 for 6 from inside the 3-point line to go with five rebounds and four assists to lift the four-time defending U.S. squad to a 90-38 win over Angola in the second of five pool-play games.

Angel McCoughtry added 10 points , Lindsay Whalen had nine points and four assists while former Huskies Swin Cash (eight points), Diana Taurasi (six points and four assists) and Tina Charles (6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) also had solid games.

Sylvia Fowles did not play as she rested a tender foot but the other 11 U.S. players scored including Asjha Jones, who had two points in her Olympic debut after being held out of the opener.

Here are some quotes courtesy to the people at USA Basketball

Geno Auriemma (head coach, USA and University of Connecticut) Thoughts on the game:I agree with what our opponents have said because it’s obvious that there is a level of talent that’s … the gap is really, really wide. And it’s important that in a game where you know that there is that disparity that you just do the things you need to do to be a better team; to work hard; to make sure we get the kind of ball movement we want; make sure we get the shots we want. The fact that we had 25 assists on 36 baskets, that’s an incredible number. I think that’s the kind of team we have. I wanted us to get better from Saturday’s game, and I thought we did.
On Candace Parker’s performance:
I thought it was a tremendous performance by Candace. We saw a little bit of everything that she’s capable of doing. There are things that Candace can do that no other player can do. Tonight was a perfect example of that. And it started right from the beginning of the game.
The one thing that we’ve been really, really, really harping on Candace is to really sprint the floor and get herself in situations to score before the defense gets set, and to be a factor in every possession and I thought tonight she was . 
On whether the team is gelling:
Yeah. It’s been a little bit challenging. We played one game and one scrimmage in Seattle, and then we played one game in Washington D.C.; we played one in Manchester and we played two in Istanbul. And that’s the extent of this team’s preparation. You watch China play, and see how well they are playing. They played 30 games before they even finished these games. We would love to have had that preparation but it just doesn’t allow for it.  So, every practice the day before a game, every shoot around the day of the game, every game, we have to use it as another training session to get better and better. Where other countries have been able to do it other ways we have to be able to do it while we are here. Fortunately, we’ve got the kind of players who are able to adapt and adjust very very quickly. But it’s not going to look pretty all the time. Sometimes it’s going to look great and sometimes not so great. Today, there were stretches where we looked really really good.  
On subbing for the starting five in the first quarter … was there something you were upset about?
No, no. I had planned on doing that. We did it in the first game, in the second half. I like that second group as a unit. They change the tempo of the game. When they come in it’s a lot different. There were things that were frustrating but that wasn’t the cause of the substitutions; that was planned.
On whether late start times allow morning shoot around to function as a practice:
This morning we did. This morning we had a workout for about an hour, so that helps. Tomorrow we’ll have practice. We’re staying … it’s a 45-50 minute ride to where we are staying in the city, so it’s not easy to get here and back on game days, but the players want to get together. Again, it’s an opportunity for us to get better. No matter how much they know each other from playing against each other and playing together, just putting players together doesn’t make a good team. We’ll work out tomorrow morning, I think like 11:30 or so, and we’ll get better; we’ll improve on what we did today and hopefully that will be evident against Turkey. Because we’ve got a really, really tough game coming up. They are a very, very good team. As a matter of fact, the next three games are going to be very difficult.
On whether he saw Turkey play earlier in the day, and areas that still need improvement:
France is one of the best teams in the world, so whenever you’re playing one of the best teams in the world, I don’t know that … I guess it was a mild upset, but you can understand teams winning here at the Olympics. Everyone thought the China win over the Czech Republic was an upset. Then you see China play again and realize, maybe it wasn’t such an upset. They are really good. Turkey is very good and they proved it at the European Championships. I saw them play a lot. And then when we went down there to play … yeah, they cause a lot of problems for you. They are big and they are smart and physical. They are really, really well coached. And for us, every game is a practice for us. So it may take us 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes … I don’t know how long for us to figure out what we are trying to do. We played Croatia in Istanbul and beat them by 50 and it was a great game when we played them here, so I’m sure that the same team we played in Istanbul when we played Turkey probably won’t be the same team we play on Wednesday. But they are not going to be playing against the same team either, so it all evens out.  



Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)How much did Coach Auriemma get on all of you after the Croatia game?
He’s actually been, in terms of getting on us, very laid back. I think it’s because he knows that we know what we need to do. Right now we’re just feeling each other out, getting comfortable. In that Croatia game there was a moment in the first and second quarter where we probably could have put them away. Because we didn’t, we gave them life. And it became a little bit of a problem for the rest of the game. But, we know that we have to kind of play within ourselves. We’re so talented that we don’t have to make spectacular plays or crazy plays or try to go for the touchdown play every time. If we just play within ourselves, we’ll be fine. And that’s what he’s been telling us.
Tonight you’re up by a lot and yet you’re still pressing and double-teaming. What kind of message are you sending out?
If somebody got a message, great. For us, it’s really about how we play. We’re not really worried about the competition. Obviously we talk about them and prepare, but it’s more about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, no matter what the score is. We can really use games like this to get to know each other better and to learn because the training time has been limited. So, whether it’s practice or a game, we still have to work on things.
On the play of Candace Parker:
Early in the Croatia game she missed a couple easy ones that she normally makes and I think she kind of had that in the back of her head and she really wanted to come and was focused. Coach Auriemmma told her in the beginning of the game anytime we get a rebound on the defensive end she should just get out and sprint, and she did that. She was able to score easy, we were able to get her looks and she obviously did the rest from there.
Are you where you want to be?
No. I think we can get a lot better, I really, really do. It’s good to have a test early against Croatia, maybe a game like this and now we’re going to have another test with Turkey. That’s all going to help prepare us for hopefully what will end up being the gold medal game.


Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
Turkey’s a good team.  They’ve played together for a long time.  They’re well-coached.  They’ve had a great tournament so far and we just hope we play really well.
On the game tonight?
We played well.  We did some good things.  We improved from the Croatia game so I thought it was overall a good 40 minutes for us.
Thoughts on Angola:
They’re African champions.  We have a lot of respect for them.  They went out there and played hard no matter what the score was.   That was good for them.
What was the difference in the game tonight?
Sometimes there is a fine line … I mean we held that team to zero points in the first eight minutes.   Offense part of it, it always take a little bit of time.  I think today we found a little bit better organization within ourselves and you can tell on the court.
On the improved play of protecting the ball in the second half:
We probably turned the ball over a little bit too much in the first half.  In the second half, we only had three so I think that was good for us to know against better teams you can’t give away possessions so that was really good for us.



Speaking of the Olympics, here is a link to a nice story on how UConn and U.S. coach Geno Auriemma invited former UConn men's coach Dee Rowe, who was an assistant coach on the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team which did not get to compete because of a boycott ordered by President Jimmy Carter, to take in the Olympics first hand.

Former UConn star Sue Bird brings the ball up the
court in Saturday's 109-55 victory over Croatia.
(photo courtesy of USA Basketball)

The day after the funeral of her stepfather former UConn star Sue Bird was back with the U.S. Olympic team and in action for an exhibition game against Croatia in Istanbul, Turkey.

Bird had eight points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists in a dominating 109-55 win. Bird talked about the death of Dennis Burden following the game. Here's a link to Doug Feinberg's Associated Press story on Bird's return and emotional week

Sylvia Fowles led the U.S. with 15 points (on 6 of 6 shooting). Candace Parker (14 points, 6 rebounds), Seimone Augustus (12 points) and former Husky Tina Charles (11 points) also scored in double figures. As for the other former UConn players Diana Taurasi had nine points and four assists, Swin Cash scored eight points, Asjha Jones had six points and Maya Moore had four points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Here are some quotes from Geno Auriemma, Bird and Taurasi courtesy of the USA Basketball site


Geno Auriemma
On tonight’s game: 
It’s a little odd, for us and for them I’m sure, to know we are playing them a week from today, so we wanted to make sure we found out a little bit about them and more importantly, kind of start getting into some kind of flow ourselves. Having Sue back really helps an awful lot. It’s fun to watch us when our defense is generating all of our offense for us like it did that first 10 minutes. You score as many points as we did that first quarter, that’s a great sign for us because we have 12 scorers on our team. So, as long as the ball is moving, as long as everybody is on the same page and our defense is the catalyst, we’re obviously capable of being a really, really good team just like we were tonight.

With a big lead throughout, were you able to accomplish some things?
Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. I thought in this instance we tried not to get too complicated. We stuck with just two or three things, and I thought because we didn’t try to do 15 things, the two or three that we were working on, there’s a little more familiarity now. Players were talking on the bench about how we are starting to get into a rhythm because players are starting to understand where to go next, what to do, who likes the ball where and when. So in that respect, regardless of the lead, we managed to make some players feel more comfortable on the floor, and that’s good.


Sue Bird
On returning to the team after returning home following the death of her stepfather figure:
In a way, this is kind of my normal routine, being with a team, being around these guys. It feels real good to get back to that. It was obviously also really good to be home with my family and my mom last week.





Diana Taurasi
On tonight’s game:
I hope we got a little bit better today. The last couple of days we’ve been working on some things, trying to get a little bit more organized on both sides and I think it showed a little bit today.
On the USA’s 70.8 shooting in the first quarter:
That’s a product of getting really good looks and people sharing the ball. Obviously you still have to make it, but if you get good shots, you can live with them. Today that’s what happened.
Have you been working on defense a lot?
I think it’s one of our strengths. We have so many athletic, energetic players and that’s something coach wants us to do, get after it a little bit, put a lot of pressure on them and then turn that to offense.
You played two seasons in Istanbul, including last season on this court. What was it like stepping back onto your home court?It was great. The fans here were great. Tomorrow night when we play Turkey, it’ll be a great scene for basketball. The people here love basketball. They love us.
How happy are you for your Turkey teammates that they qualified for the Olympics?
I’m excited for them. They’ve worked really hard. We’ve played against them in the EuroLeague for a long time You can just see their development every year, getting better, getting more competitive. For them to make the Olympics is a big deal. I think they’re going to go into the Olympics and make some stuff happen.