Congratulations Phoenix Mercury and of course Diana Taurasi (and Kelly Schmaucher) for winning the 2007 WNBA Championship!!! The former UConn great DT along with Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers) and 2006 WC MVP Penny Taylor (Australia) led the Mercury to their 1st Championship and in lightning-quick, dramatic fashion.

Bad News Alert!! :( UConn-commit Caroline Doty tore her ACL playing in a H.S. soccer game and will come up to Connecticut to have surgery late in October. You can hear the disappointment in her words, but she's a fighter. Her focus now is her freshman year at UConn. Good Luck CD!! Take your time and come back stronger and better.

THE BIGGEST NEWS OF THE YEAR:

The #1 Recruit in the country for the 3rd year in a row has just verbally committed to play for the UConn Huskies. 6'4 SF Elena Delle Donne will follow Tina Charles and Maya Moore to the Storrs campus and make her debut in the blue and white in the Fall of 2008. EDD says she plans on rooming with longtime teammate and friend UConn-commit 5'10 SG Caroline Doty. She chose UConn over Tennessee, Middle Tenn State, and Villanova. Welcome to Storrs, EDD!!!!

BUT.....

She wasn't the only big name recruit to verbal to the Huskies over the weekend. In-state recruit and reigning CT H.S. Player of the Year, 6'4 C Heather Buck, committed to UConn on Saturday. She chose UConn over Maryland, Stanford, and Holy Cross. Welcome to Storrs, Heather!!!!

The 2008 Recruiting class now sits at 4 with one scholarship left and an offer still on the table for 6'3 PF Chelsey Lee out of Miami, FL (an AAU teammate of UConn-commit 5'11 SG Tiffany Hayes). Lee will make her official visit to Storrs during the Huskies' First Night (Midnight Madness and the SuperShow rolled into one night) along with Hayes and Delle Donne.

Three Huskies donned the USA red, white, and blue jersey this summer and all 3 returned home with GOLD!!!

First, Seniors Mel Thomas and Charde Houston helped the USA Pan Am team to a gold medal in the 2007 Pan Am Games down in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Thomas averaged 8.3 ppg in 16 mpg off the bench in 3 games and Houston averaged 4.8 ppg and 5.0 rpg in 14 mpg off the bench in 4 games (although she did have one start).

Then Freshman Maya Moore led the USA Under 19 team to a gold medal in the 2007 Under 19 World Championships for Women in Bratislava, Slovakia. Moore averaged a team leading 16.3 ppg to go along with 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.9 spg, and 0.9 bpg in 23.2 mpg. In the gold medal game, Moore had 19 pts., 13 rebs., 6 asts., and 3 stls. (all game highs).

GO UCONN!!!! GO USA!!!!

I tried to stay away from the UConn-Tenn series ending drama for as long as possible, but the recent articles involving Tenn's allegied attacks at UConn's recruiting tactics have just plain P'd me off. In my honest opinion, I do NOT believe for ONE milla-Second that UConn did nor has done anything wrong in the recruiting battle for past and current un-named recruits (left un-named b/c I personally feel it is wrong to involve them by name even if some names have become public already). For whatever reason, Tenn has decided to not renew the series and they are the ones left with having to look at themselves in the mirrors every morning. It is a shame that women's college basketball as a whole will be damaged GREATLY FOREVER by this decision, but the decision has been made. Maybe the WCBB world will rally together and show their undeniable displeasure with this decision and call for some action.

SO I SAY TO ANYONE WHO READS THIS POST AND IS UPSET WITH THE DECISION TO END THE UCONN-TENN SERIES, SEND YOUR THOUGHTS........HERE!!!

Today, Houston and Thomas were named to the 2007 PanAm Games USA Basketball roster. They will compete down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil starting on July 20th.

Injury update:

Charles progressing nicely from right shoulder surgery. Still no contact until August. Continuing to work with the left hand.

In UConn recruiting news, Elena DelleDonne has cut her list down to 4. She has also decided to take a 2-month hiatus from the competitive basketball world (which by the way I think should be mandatory for all competitive athletes throughout their respective careers, to decrease injury and burnout as well as increase passion and commitment for their sport - SO KUDOS TO YOU EDD!!!). The Final 4 schools still in the running for the Phenom's services are Connecticut, Middle Tenn State, Tennessee, and Villanova. All have been kindly asked by EDD to not contact her at all during this 2-month period or they risk jeopardizing her decision to attend their school.

AND DONE!!!

The perennial UConn-Tenn game is OVER. No reason (as if any would be good enough) was given by Tennessee officials on why they decided NOT to renew the series contract. Also over, is the inaugurial ESPN Women's College Game Day that would have featured the game on ESPN instead of CBS. UConn will replace the series be renewing their series with SEC-rival LSU.

Seniors Houston and Thomas and incoming freshmen Moore and Dixon have been invited to the USA Basketball trails in Colorado Springs, CO May 17-20. Houston has a shot at the U21 and PanAm squads, Thomas the PanAm squad, and Moore and Dixon will fight for spots on the U19 squad. Rumor has it Montgomery and Greene declined invites for unspecified reasons.

Also, Geno Auriemma, Connecticut was just named the Vice President of the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) under President Sherri Coale, Oklahoma for 2 years beginning in August 2007 upon which he will succeed Coale and become (only the 3rd male) President for 2 years beginning in August 2009.

Most of the 2007-08 UConn Schedule has been released...the Huskies will open with a home meeting against Stony Brook on Nov. 11th. They will also play an exhibition game against the newly crowned but coachless D-II Women's Basketball National Champions SCSU. The annual Rutgers home and away rivalry will continue for the 3rd straight year in the New Big East.

Just one more honor for Mrs. Maya Moore...

Today she was named (Suprise, Suprise!!!) 2006-07 USA Today National H.S. Player of the Year and 1st team All USA Today. Her coach Tracy Tipton won Coach of the Year as well. UConn recruit Elena DelleDonne comes in at a surprising member of the 3rd team (I think everyone expected her to be higher...I think her team's record may have played a part and the fact that she's only a junior...not that either were justifiable reasons).

Today Taurasi was named Superleague Player of the Month for March 2007 in the Russian Superleague. Taurasi & company recently added Bird's WNBA Seattle Storm teammate Lauren Jackson to their Spartak Moscow roster for the Superleague playoffs which start April 14th and go until May 10th.

In some coaching news, UConn Assistant Coach Jamelle Elliott is interviewing for the Fairfield head coaching job tomorrow while it is rumored that UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has contacted Penn State on behalf of Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey for their head coach vacany. Boy, would the sidelines at Gampel (and the HCC) look VERY, VERY different next season.

Yet another H.S. Player of the Year honor for incoming freshmen Maya Moore. Today she was named the 2007 Parade Magazine H.S. POTY and to the Parade All-American 1st team. UConn commit Caroline Doty was named to the 2nd team and fellow incoming UConn freshmen Lorin Dixon was named to the 3rd team.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Now that the 2006-07 WCBB season is now officially over (Congratulations Tennessee Lady Vols on #7!!!), I offer MY 2007-08 Pre-season Top 25:

1. Tennessee
2. Connecticut
3. Rutgers
4. LSU
5. Maryland
6. Duke
7. North Carolina
8. Stanford
9. Notre Dame
10. Oklahoma
11. Arizona State
12. Texas A&M
13. Georgia
14. George Washington
15. Pittsburgh
16. West Virginia
17. Baylor
18. DePaul
19. Ohio State
20. California
21. Louisville
22. Michigan State
23. Texas
24. Purdue
25. Vanderbilt

With the WNBA season on the horizon, it's time to update former UConn stars playing overseas until May.

Today Abrosimova, Bird, Taurasi and Russia's Spartak Moscow won the 2006-07 Women's Euroleague Championship defeating fellow USA Senior National teammate and WNBA rival Washington Mystics DeLisha Milton-Jones and Spain's Ros Casares 76-62. Watch the video interview here with Taurasi & others. Taurasi finished with 23pts., 5rebs., 3asts., and 1stl. Fellow Spartak and USA Senior National teammate and WNBA rival Houston Comet's Tina Thompson finished with 24pts. and 8rebs. was named MVP of the Final 4 and scoring champ of the Euroleague at 21.1ppg.

The honors continue to roll in for Charles. Today she was named the 2006-07 USBWA National Freshman of the Year joining only Shea Ralph as UConn freshmen to win the award.

1 Connecticut Huskies (32-4)

Results: Louisiana State 73, Connecticut 50
Player of the Game: Jr. C Sylvia Fowles
Defensive Player of the Game: Jr. C Sylvia Fowles
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. SG Allison Hightower
Stat of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles - 0-5 FG, 1-2 FT for 1 pt, 3rebs, 1blk, 1 stl