In the days leading up to the story I wrote on Bria Hartley, I looked up the stats of some of UConn's other top guards through the first eight games of their careers. Why eight games? Well, I think it gives a little more of a sample size than doing it after four, five, six or seven games and All-American Sue Bird's freshman season was limited to eight games so it made sense to do it now.

The numbers are pretty interesting especially how each one had either 25 or 26 assists through eight games.

Player Min FG-Att 3pt-Att FT-Att. Pts-Reb-Ast-Stl-TO
Sue Bird 160 16-41 6-19 3-4 41- 16- 25- 15-16
Bria Hartley 247 38-77 17-41 15-18 108- 23- 25- 11-15
Renee Montgomery 206 19-50 4-15 7-8 49- 14- 26- 15-20
Jen Rizzotti 271 30-73 8-23 28-41 96- 34- 26- 25-36
Diana Taurasi 160 22-46 11-29 17-21 72- 27- 25- 10-21

I think the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Hartley's offensive numbers are superior in large part because she is being asked to do more on the offensive end of the floor. Still, looking at Hartley's first eight games in this way provides a perpective of what she is accomplishing. If one number jumps out at me, it is that Hartley has just 15 turnovers in 247 minutes. Now that I said that, don't be surprised if a five or six turnover game is in Hartley's immediate future since this is right up there with television announcers stating that so and so has made xx consecutive free throws as they proceed to clang a foul shot off the back rim.

Another little tid bit worth passing on is that two UConn freshmen have scored in double figures in each of the last five games. I went back through the UConn record book all the way back to the 1998-99 season (when Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Keirsten Walters and Tamika Williams were freshmen) and could not find a run of five straight games with more than one rookie with at least 10 points. The closest I saw was a four-game run with games against St. John's, Quinnipiac, Villanova and West Virginia during the 1998-99 season. The game by game box scores in the UConn media supplement go back to the 1997-98 season but something tells me if I waded through the boxes from the 1992-93 season, Jen Rizzotti and Jamelle Elliott may have topped that run of five straight games since they both ended their freshman season averaging double figures in scoring.

Here's a breakdown of those games
Nov. 26, 2010: UConn 86, Howard 25: Bria Hartley 16 points, Stefanie Dolson 13 points
Nov. 27, 2010: UConn 81, Lehigh 38: Hartley and Samarie Walker 11 points each
Nov. 28, 2010: UConn 81, LSU 51: Hartley 15 points, Dolson 11
Dec. 2, 2010: UConn 80, South Florida 54: Dolson 16 points, Hartley 13
Dec. 5, 2010 UConn 86, Sacred Heart 32: Hartley and Walker 11 points each

Not sure if this is old news or not but former UConn star Tamika (Williams) Raymond's decision to leave her post as an assistant coach at Kansas definitely escaped my attention.

Raymond, a member of UConn's 2000 and 2002 national championship teams, stepped down so she could be closer to her husband, who lives in Dallas.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma is slated to appear on ESPN's SportsCenter Sunday around 10:40/10:45 a.m. He will also be featured on Outside the Lines on ESPN beginning t 8 a.m.

Among those select few on hand for Saturday's open practices were the parents of former UConn star Tamika Williams who were warmly greeted by the UConn players after the Huskies wrapped up their practice.

It was a rather interesting day at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The No. 1 image I'll take from the day was the mass of media surrounding former UConn star Diana Taurasi. Taurasi was arrested on July on suspicion of drunk driving and two driving infractions. Whether it was Friday or on Sunday when the Phoenix Mercury played at New York, Taurasi was going to be the focus of attention because of the legal bind she finds herself in. It happened on Friday. It was a scene right out of Super Bowl media day. I didn't speak to Diana since the Register's columnist Dave Solomon was handling the story but when I looked over, I saw the media three or four deep around Taurasi.

After one of the first questions about the DUI charge, one staff member asked with and I am paraphrasing "can we keep the questions to basketball related topics." Yeah, right. True to her nature, Diana answered all the questions. She wasn't happy with some of them but also made no attempt to bolt, not that she could have made it more than half a step considering all the media surrounding her.

I focused my attention on speaking to former UConn stars Swin Cash and Sue Bird for my story focusing on Bird, Asjha Jones (who I interview on Wednesday) and Cash who were teammates for four years at UConn. The stuff from Swin about how she dealt with the persistent back pain which threatened to sidetrack her career was pretty compelling stuff. Not sure when I'll be able to write all that stuff but trust me, it will be written.

I also spoke with Charde Houston as well as another former UConn star. Rebecca Lobo is a strong candidate to be including in the latest class which will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June in Knoxville, Tennessee. Naturally, Lobo was not about to spill the beans but I would be shocked if she wasn't one of the three players on the list that will be announced tomorrow at halftime of the all-star game.

"It would obviously mean a lot to me, it would be great," Lobo said. It doesn't seem like I have been out of the game to even be considered for something like that (she retired in 2003, playing her final season in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun) but I would be thrilled. I wasn't even aware I was even eligible so if it were to happen, I would be surprised, awed and really thrilled."

I also asked Lobo about having five UConn players in tomorrow's game and to compare the difference between UConn fans and Connecticut Sun fans.

"It's so great that you have five UConn people playing in this arena, one of them currently representing the Connecticut Sun because it is such a great program," Lobo said. "Coach Auriemma does such a great job with his players and his teams. It is not a surprise but especially when you look at that 2002 group, that team including Diana too, it is pretty amazing."

"They are both pretty passionate," Lobo said of the different fan bases. "I think people are surprised when I tell them it is two different fan groups. it is not UConn fans coming to the Connecticut Sun games, it is the Connecticut Sun fans."

FOWLES CONNECTS
My first interview of the day was Chicago center Sylvia Fowles. There was a half-court shooting competition with the winner earning $100. Former Connecticut Sun center Erika de Souza delighted the fans in attendance by hitting two half-court heaves but those were during warmups. Each of the 11 Eastern Conference players had three shots at it. It appeared as if nobody would connect when Fowles was dead, solid perfect on her final attempt.

"I don't wish to discuss the money. No, it was $100," Fowles said with a laugh when I asked her what her reward was for hitting the shot. "I am paying my teammates off, they pumped me up and helped me do it. A lot of pressure. I guess it was a good thing being the youngest on the team (the players went in order of age, oldest (Katie Smith) to youngest (Fowles)."

The doors will open tomorrow at 1:30 with the 3-point shooting and skills competitions being held from 2-3 p.m. before the game starts at 3:30 p.m.

OLYMPIANS TO BE HONORED
The seven all-stars who were members of the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team (Bird, Taurasi, Fowles, Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Tamika Catchings and Cappie Pondexter) as well as Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibault, one of Anne Donovan's Olympic assistant, will be honored at halftime for the run to the gold medal.

TAMIKA, GENO IN THE HOUSE
Got it confirmed from both Cash and Bird that UConn coach Geno Auriemma and their former teammate Tamika (Williams) Raymond will be among those in attendance at tomorrow's all-star game.

Considering that the WNBA will give the assorted media 30 minutes to speak to the 22 WNBA All-Stars tomorrow, I decided to corner Asjha Jones before yesterday's game to get a jump of the UConn reunion stories.

I'll save the details of the interview for the stories I will be writing but she did say that Tamika (Williams) Raymond is hoping to make it to Connecticut for the festivities. If that is the case, I believe it would be the first time all five members of the starting lineup of UConn's 2001-02 national championship team will be together since the celebrations after leading the Huskies to the third of the program's six national titles. As I am sure you have heard, the other four starters on that team (Jones, Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi) will be playing in Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game.

The big question is whether Tamika will be the approval to make the trip since the all-star weekend falls during the recruiting evaluation period and she is an assistant coach at Kansas. It would certainly add to a memorable weekend if she could be there to see her former teammates playing back in the state where they matured from gifted high school players to stars on quite possibly the best women's college basketball team of all time.

The Connecticut Sun return to the court tomorrow after a week off and the action on the court is not the only show in town.

WNBA president Donna Orender, former Olympic starting point guard Dawn Staley and former UConn/Connecticut Sun forward Tamika Raymond will be on hand for a press conference held in conjunction for the release of the All-Star ballot.

The four girls' high school state championship teams will be honored by the team at halftime and the Sun will conduct a collection drive for female armed service personnel.

Fans are encouraged to donate such items as baby wipes, lip balm, sunscreen
(45 spf or stronger), shower gel, soap, baby powder, foot powder, powdered
drink mixes, and power bars. No glass or aerosol items will be accepted.