Friday, February 22, 2008

A few notes to hold you over until tomorrow...

UConn assistant coach Jamelle Elliott is in Florida on the recruiting trails and checking in with one of next season's freshman, Tiffany Hayes, of Winter Garden, Fla. Meanwhile, Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey was supposed to be making her way to Texas to check out one of the nation's highly sought-after juniors, Kelsey Bone. Weather has made it tough for the Huskies to visit Bone in the past and this is no different. The snow storm has appeared to left Dailey waiting at the airport in Philadelphia.

Tomorrow's game against St. John's will be the first-ever locally produced UConn game to be broadcast in HD. If you are able to get CPTV in HD, be sure to check it out. Tickets for the game and the senior night presentation before hand, are a hot commodity. There were roughly 300 left as of this afternoon.

Brittany Hunter and Charde Houston didn't practice today, but Geno Auriemma said he expects both to be on the court against the Red Storm. He asked Hunter if she was going to play, considering her right knee makes her day-to-day, and she said she was playing. Houston, on the other hand, took an elbow from Tina Charles that forced one of her upper front teeth into the inside of her lip. Houston said she is OK and didn't need stitches. Recalling the play, Houston said that it took a couple of moments, but the pain increased significantly.

Just an observation -- Stonington High School product Jacquie Fernandes moves much faster in practice than she does in her limited game action. Is this because she knows what the plays are that are being run on both sides in practice or is it a matter of getting into a groove?

Hayes and fellow recruit Elena Delle Donne have been named to this year's McDonald's All-America team. It's a great accomplishment by both, who are expected to have great careers with the Huskies.

Some news that you would all like to hear -- Kalana Greene was shooting free throws today after practice. She would occasionally move in from the line by a few feet and she was getting some decent bend at the knees. Understandably, she isn't as smooth as she was pre -injury, but the fact that she is out there and trying to do things to keep some of her basketball skills fresh can't be seen as anything less that great news.

On the topic of Greene -- and fellow injured teammate, Mel Thomas -- Auriemma said he sometimes sits and imagines what could have been had both stayed healthy. While he won't say as much, you have to believe the coach doubts anyone in the country could have beat the Huskies at full strength. Not that a starting five next year of Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore, Greene and Delle Donne is chopped liver.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Elena DellaDonne is now starting for UConn? Funny, she doesn't look like her pictures, I always thought she was taller.