Women's Hoops Guru

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA _ The Guru, after continuing to execute a little journalism, had a late-night philly cheesesteak in the neighborhood of the home office with the South Carolina coach-select and one of her longtime assistants Wednesday, who is also heading to Columbia, as Dawn Staley took a brief break from packing up her current Temple office.

Watching all the mementos being assembled for transfer reminded the Guru of those scenes in Washington when the presidency undergoes a change and movement day arrives at the White House.

"Enjoy this," Staley grinned to Lisa Boyer. "These kind of places won't be open at this hour in Columbia, nor will several others on Sundays."

Why is the Guru even bothering to note this?

Because he realized the main reporting of Wednesday's news is all on the Inquirer sports print-side of Philly.com and he was looking for a way to detour all that wonderful record web traffic that has been flowing through here the last several days.

Philly.com gave the Guru a count of about 5,000 hits off of Tuesday's initial reporting of Staley's accelerated negotiations with South Carolina at the time.

Meanwhile, although the Guru's alma mater, Staley's lame-duck employers, are not paying the Guru to be a way station for those interested in becoming the next Temple women's head coach, more names are floating in this direction since the Guru first created a long list of possibilities earlier this week.

Since that posting, some additional names either whispered in our direction directly or through intermediates, some of which have yet to be confirmed, and especially those with Philly ties are Loyola of Maryland coach Joe Logan, a former St. Joseph's assistant to Cindy Griffin; Rhode Island assistant Ervin Monier, who was one of Staley's early Temple assistants responsible for the finding of one Candice Dupree; former Temple star Marilyn Stephens, who is coaching in Florida and is a graduate of Gratz; Connecticut assistant Tonya Cardoza, Baylor assistant Rich Barron, who previously was in this area as the head coach of Princeton; and former Illinois coach Theresa Grentz who is back in the area as assistant to the president at Grentz's alma mater of Immaculata.

The Guru will be on that phase of the Temple story once athletic director Bill Bradshaw returns from football meetings in Phoenix and the search team is assembled. The names heading in this direction is quite a different story than in 2000 when the last vacancy existed before Staley's hire.

If he catches the right train, the Guru will be making a quick trip to Manhattan for the late morning WNBA exhibition game in Madison Square Garden between the host New York Liberty and Washington Mystics.

On Saturday, it's off to the 30th anniversary salute to Villanova coach Harry Perretta on the Wildcats' campus for his three decades of coaching the women.

Penn State coach Coquese Washington will be in the area as part of the Nittany Lions' annual statewide tour of alumni groups that will also include football coach Joe Paterno and men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis.

Incidentally, Philly.com is undergoing a move to a new platform this weekend but our own Jonathan Tannenwald, who is deeply involved in the transition, informs the Guru site will be handled with care if involved this weekend.

-- Mel

by Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

Temple women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is officially leaving for South Carolina, Mel reported over on the main Philly.com site this afternoon.

You can read Mel's story, including details of Staley's new contract, by clicking here.

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA _ Talks have accelerated between Temple women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and University of South Carolina officials over the vacant Gamecocks coaching position, several sources familiar with the negotiations said late Monday night.

When noted that the annual Black Tie & Sneakers gala on behalf of Staley’s Foundation is several weeks away (May 22) and which Temple is very involved because of its high-profile women’s coach, one of the sources noted that if a deal is made it could be completed well before then.

“It’s very active,” the source said of the negotiations although it is not known if South Carolina has actually made Staley an offer.

Citing the different estimates of Staley’s Temple lucrative salary that have been recently reported, though none of the numbers have been confirmed, the same source acknowledged that South Carolina may have figured out how to tap Fort Knox to pry the three-time Olympic gold medalist and former WNBA all-star from her comfortable surroundings in her native Philadelphia.

On Friday, the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee estimated Staley’s annual salary at $400,000, not counting income from camps and other incentives, which would be double the pay of former South Carolina coach Susan Walvius, who resigned under pressure April 14, after 11 seasons.

Walvus, incidentally, previously coached at Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond.

The Tennessee publication is pursuing the story because of the candidacy of longtime Vols assistant and former Tennessee star Holly Warlick, who had a second interview Friday, according to the News Sentinel.

South Carolina officials are not commenting on their search, but The State in Columbia reported on April 28 that officials were planning to interview Staley, who was in China at the time as an assistant with the United States women’s senior national team at a tournament in Beijing.

Staley has since been interviewed, the News Sentinel reported, and another source confirmed.

A year ago, Staley’s name was on most everyone’s shopping list when an array of high-profile jobs became vacant, but Temple officials were able to sign the fabled coach to a six-year extension.

That deal includes a sizeable buyout, although the numbers haven’t been reported or confirmed.

North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell, who has South Carolina roots, was briefly involved and interviewed by South Carolina, but withdrew Thursday, the News Sentinel reported.

Besides the buyout and keeping Staley’s salary at a high value, South Carolina would have to accommodate her current staff of assistants, all of which she could be expected to want to bring to Columbia if she becomes the new coach.

Another person thought to be a potential candidate is Chattanooga coach Wes Moore, who has led his team to seven Southern Conference titles in the last eight seasons.

But a source in the Southeastern Conference believes that South Carolina, which was 11th in the SEC last season, has made it a priority to hire a minority female as its new coach.

Click here to keep reading

Continue reading "Sources: Staley-South Carolina Talks "Very Active"" »

(Guru's Note: Updating late night Saturday while working the desk in the home office, here are the Associated Press accounts of Candace Parker's exhibition debut followed by an advance on her WNBA impact, which moved earlier this weekend for editions. The advance story may not make print versions in many areas and may not have been seen by the friendly nation sites -- whoever you think you are -- that link back and forth to the Guru's blog.).)

By GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA — Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie gave the WNBA its first glimpse of just how dangerous the Los Angeles Sparks could be this season.

Parker, the league’s No. 1 pick, had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Los Angeles’ 86-80 exhibition victory over the expansion Atlanta Dream on Saturday night.

Leslie played her first game since missing all of 2007 on maternity leave, but the three-time league MVP still finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

After leading Tennessee to a second straight NCAA title last month, Parker is eager to help the Sparks win their third championship under coach Michael Cooper.

“I pulled Coop aside and said, ’Man, I love having someone to run the floor with me,” Parker said as she smiled at Leslie. “It’s like, ’Pick your poison.’ I mean if you stop the layup, I’m going to hit her, and she’s going to make a move, cut back or whatever. I was on the floor and just had pinch myself, honestly.”

Cooper, whose team led 70-49 at the end of the third quarter, pulled Parker out of the game with three minutes left in the period. Leslie was already resting on the bench, her night finished after less than 20 minutes.

“Tonight I was in ecstasy,” said Cooper, a five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers. “It was truly a pleasure to watch these ladies play.”

Carla Thomas and Tamera Young each scored 15 points to lead the Dream, who were outscored 18-6 on the fast break and 38-18 in the paint.

An announced crowd of 7,932 watched at Philips Arena, which hosted the Atlanta Hawks’ Game 6 playoff win over Boston the night before.

It wasn’t the first time Thomas tried to defend Parker. At Vanderbilt, Thomas faced Parker and the Lady Volunteers many times.

“She showed what she’s capable of doing,” Thomas said. “She can hurt you in so many ways on the floor.”

Parker’s problematic left shoulder was iced after the game, a customary procedure after getting injured in the NCAA tournament. She wasn’t concerned about irritating the shoulder after missing a fastbreak dunk early in the third.

“I was not warm, so I probably should’ve just laid it up,” Parker said. “Lisa made a little behind-the-head pass, so something came out of it.”

After the Sparks went 10-24 last season, Cooper feels rejuvenated. Los Angeles opens the regular season May 17 at Phoenix in the first of four straight road games.

Leslie’s return only reaffirmed Cooper’s belief that the Sparks have a chance to go deep into the playoffs.

“You kind of take her greatness for granted,” Cooper said before nodding at Parker, “and it is a true joy to watch (Parker) play and the way she plays. The exciting thing about it is she plays the game above the rim. Both of these do, so it’s fun to watch and it’s fun to coach.”

Leslie had no trouble with any aspects of her game.

“I felt pretty good,” she said. “We started out the game pretty strong. It’s just really exciting basketball to be out on the floor and obviously to have Candace as a teammate. I can’t stop smiling. I don’t know how we got the No. 1 pick.”

Cooper, sitting to her left, quickly interrupted.

“We were losing,” he said with a grin.

Leslie’s response was immediately.

“Well, I didn’t lose, so I was just used to winning and then we got her as the No. 1 pick,” she said. “I’m happy, and we have so many other great teammates around her.”

Parker Impacting WNBA Way Ahead of Season Oepeners
By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK — Kathy Goodman admits she was wary of the hype about the impact Candace Parker would have on the Los Angeles Sparks if they selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA draft.

“I am the cynic of the group,” the Sparks’ co-owner said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. “I’m the one that’s like ’Yes I know there’s a lot of hype and let’s not believe our own hype. This is still going to take some work.’ And I have to admit, that even I was pleasantly surprised by the response.”

Although Parker has yet to make her debut with the Sparks, the former Tennessee Lady Vols star is already boosting the team and the rest of the league at the box office, in merchandise sales and on the Web.

Los Angeles sold seven times the number of season tickets during the first week after the April 9 draft compared to the same period last year. Also, individual game ticket sales for the first eight days after the draft increased nearly threefold.

No doubt, the Sparks’ ticket sales are also being fueled by the return of Lisa Leslie. The perennial All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist is back after a one-year absence following the birth of her daughter last June.

“It has been really overwhelming to see,” Goodman said. “The combination of Candace joining the team and Lisa Leslie being back on the team, both of those things have been a matter of a lot of buzz in the community.”

And that buzz hasn’t been limited to Los Angeles. According to the WNBA, teams around the league are selling three times as many individual game tickets for when the Sparks are scheduled to visit compared to their overall average.

“I feel like it’s a huge responsibility,” Parker said. “Obviously we’ve gotten people to buy tickets to the games, but it’s a matter of getting them to come back. I guess a little bit of added pressure to perform when we play ... not to take any nights off because there’s always going to be somebody watching you for the first time.”

Being a draw isn’t new for Parker. Tennessee is usually among the attendance leaders in women’s college basketball — at home and on the road. The Lady Vols averaged a school-record 15,796 at home this past season en route to their second straight NCAA championship, and eighth overall.

“It’s something I am used to in a way, coming from a storybook program at Tennessee,” Parker said. “We had a lot of sold-out away games this year, a lot of people wanted to see us play. I’m used to it, but it’s something you can’t take lightly.”

A few more numbers to quantify Parker’s impact:

—The league sold more Parker jerseys on WNBAStore.com in the first two weeks after the draft than any other rookie in league history during a similar time period.

—Parker’s page on WNBA.com received 70,000 page views in the week of the draft (April 6-12), trailing only the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul when compared to NBA players.

—The Sparks’ Web site has already set all-time monthly traffic records during April for page views, and set a single-day record on the day of the draft with more than 40,000 visits.

“Obviously she’s a spectacular player and she’s also an incredibly charismatic personality. People are really drawn to her,” Goodman said. “She can be a gateway player where people get hooked on her but they realize ’Look at all these other great players we didn’t know about.’ This is not like this is a league that has nobody in it except for her. People will come to see her and stay to see the rest of the teams and the rest of the players.”

Parker knows she doesn’t have the pressure that usually falls on a No. 1 pick, of being the focal player for a struggling franchise. Although the Sparks were 10-24 last season, they had to contend with Leslie’s absence, injuries to key players like point guard Temeka Johnson, and the sudden retirement of six-time All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw five games into the season.

Not only is Leslie back this year, Los Angeles also reaquired two-time Olympian DeLisha Milton-Jones, who was on the Sparks’ championship teams in 2001 and 2002, from Washington last month.

“The team went 10-24 last year, but this year’s team isn’t a 10-24 team,” Parker said.

The Naperville, Ill., native admits she is looking forward to the Sparks’ visit to Chicago on June 3. And an added bonus to her rookie season is a likely trip to Beijing for the Olympics this summer as part of U.S. national team.

“The opportunity to represent my country is something I’ve wanted to do from the time I picked up a basketball,” she said. “It’s a neat experience that very few people get.”

The Sparks’ season-opener is on the road against defending champion Phoenix on May 17. Parker still has some unfinished business back in Tennessee before that.

“I’m trying to see if I can go back for graduation (on May 9),” she said. “I haven’t got that situated yet.”

By Mel Greenberg

There's one program up in New England the Guru and the rest of the media crowd comments much about of which there's a belief next season's contingent could be coached blindfolded.

Now there's another program in the same general locale where its new head coach has already achieved one blindfold stunt.

The news earlier this week that former North Carolina star Sylvia Crawley had become the head coach at Boston College recalls an act she performed at halftime of the All-Star in the former American Basketball League during the 197-98 season at Disney in Florida in which she successfully dunked the ball blindfolded.

However, considering the competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference in which she once went up against on the court, Crawley could be counted upon this time around to coach the Eagles with her eyes wide open.

Meanwhile, as Crawley was taking over the helm in Beantown, several days later former Boston College associate head coach Erik Johnson was named Wednesday as the new head coach in Denver.

Calling It 30 for Perretta

In the newspaper business before email and contact information signoffs became the vogue in the modern era, reporters usually placed a "30" or an "endit" at the bottom of their copy to let editors at the next stop know that the file had been concluded.

The Guru mentions this only to note that the number 30 will loom large on the Villanova campus a week from Saturday when Harry Perretta is honored for his three decades running the Wildcats.

Unlike the denotation of the number in our copy, Perretta is not considered likely to be leaving the Main Line anytime soon.

There may be some roasting, but for the most part the event will be tributary from former players, associates and others who have enjoyed the pleasure of Perretta's relationships over the years.

And no, don't look for any "Spirit of Camp Perretta" accords to be signed by Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma and Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

Although the two Hall of Famers are at odds over Summitt's accusations to the NCAA through the Southeastern Conference of recruiting violations by Auriemma, the two both enjoy Perretta's friendship.

Neither, however, is expected to be in attendance.

Coast-to-Coast Bonding With the Sparks

While checking out a rumor, which proved unfounded, over the weekend, the trail led the Guru, initially, to send an email inquiry to Kathy Goodman, one of the two women who became owners of the Los Angeles Sparks last season.

A response came back within the hour in which the Guru, who had included some introductory paragraphs, was told by Ms. Goodman, she had his blog in her internet favorites bookmarks long before she became part of the Sparks hierarchy.

Since the Guru is known to conduct late-night calls from the East to still-early-night calls to the Pacific Time Zone, as the general manager of the WNBA-champion Phoenix Mercury can verify, a marathon conversation later ensued Sunday evening.

The Guru will simply state for now, there certainly seems to be has much energy in the front office as the Sparks are expected to produce in the Staples Center this season with the post-attack tandem of Lisa Leslie, returning from missing last season due to pregnancy, and first-round draft pick Candace Parker.

-- Mel

(Guru's note: This is an enhanced version on a print story in Sunday editions.)
By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA _ Temple women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is high on the search list for the vacancy at South Carolina, and school officials plan to talk to her next week, The State in Columbia, S.C., reported in Saturday's editions.

Susan Walvius resigned earlier this month after 11 seasons. The Gamecocks finished 15-15 overall and 4-10, in 11th place, in the Southeastern Conference.

North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell, who has roots in South Carolina, was interviewed last week, the paper reported. Tennessee assistant Holly Warlick is also on the list.

Hatchell's talks come at a time that the Carmichael Auditorium, the home of the Tar Heel women, is in the early stages of an extensive renovation that will continue through next season.

Staley, who signed a six-year contract extension with Temple a year ago, was in Beijing Saturday as an assistant coach with the U.S. national team, which lost to host China, 84-81, in the championship of the Good Luck Beijing Tournament. She could not be reached for comment

South Carolina officials are not commenting during the search.

Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw did not say whether South Carolina had called for permission to talk to Staley, who has led the Owls to six NCAA tournament appearances in her eight seasons guiding the team.

“Dawn and I have an agreement not to talk about those situations when they come up,” Bradshaw said.

“There’s no NCAA rule; it’s a matter of ethics. Some schools never call,” he continued. “It’s different than in the NBA.”

Former Tennessee star Michelle Marciniak of Allentown, an assistant at South Carolina, is not a candidate.

“We’re not in the mix, and the names I hear are the names everyone else has heard,” she said Saturday.

“We don’t know who will be retained, but I was already looking at moving up to an associate or head coaching position.”

taley is the winningiest women’s coach in Temple’s history at 172-80.

She quickly appears on wish lists when vacancies occur because of her success that includes four Atlantic Ten titles.

But schools would have to pay substantial money to extract her from Temple, especially when it comes to also providing salaries for a staff.

Details about either Walvius' salary at South Carolina or Staley's at Temple are not available but ooff of Staley's last contract and projected increases for this year, it appears that the Gamecocks would have to make a major commitment to lure the native Philadelphian from comfortable surroundings.

"Plus most of these deals involve a lot of money if someone leaves early in the deal," Bradshaw said speaking in general of contract arrangements with high profile coaches.

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma recently spoke of the situation involving staffs of new hires in terms of his own assistants, who often get mentioned when head coaching jobs become vacant.

If any of them such as Jamelle Elliott or Tonya Cardoza got a head coaching job, Auriemma said, they couldn’t hire assistants at many schools because “they can’t afford to live here on what they’re going to get paid.”

]The one place believed that would have a good shot at attracting Staley is Virginia, her alma mater.

But longtime coach Debbie Ryan, who will be inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June, is not expected to be leaving anytime in the near future.

The challenge of coaching in the SEC would be inriguing, but frontrunners Tennessee and LSU remain formidable opponents even as teams in re-tooling positions next season.

At Temple, it did not take long for Staley, who previously never coached, to quickly establish the Owls as a power in the Atlantic Ten and locally in the Big Five.

Temple has won a record 18-straight Big Five games and a record four straight 4-0 titles. Staley produced successive WNBA first-round picks in 2006 and 2007 with Candice Dupree becoming an All-Star with the Chicago Sky and Kamesha Hairston landing with the Connecticut Sun.

Warlick, if offered and accepted the job, would be the second loss for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Nikki Caldwell was recently named head coach of UCLA.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

Everyone in blog land will be linking to this one so why should the Guru be different.

Three days after Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma at his wrap-up press conference on campus characterized what he said the reason was for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt cancelling the 13-year annually anticipated regular-season rivalry, ESPN detailed a series of complaints Tennessee had made to the NCAA about Connecticut recruiting.

Tennessee released the document under the Freedom of Information Act, which ESPN had used to obtain the information.

Here is the ESPN link:

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

In a late breaking email from Baylor before the stroke of midnight Eastern Time Friday night, the news was worthy enough to stop our departure from the desk shift to Chinatown to inform that former Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore is coming out of retirement to be an assistant to Kim Mulkey at Baylor.

Mulkey was one of Barmore's early stars and was an assistant coach to him for 15 seasons with the Techsters and considered the heir apparent until the school and Mulkey couldn't agree on contract terms when Barmore retired the first time.

She went on to take the Baylor job, rebuilding the Bears into a Top 10 power and guide them to the NCAA title in 2005.

Barmore then ended his retirement briefly to return to the Techsters.

Ironically, Teresa Weatherspoon, another former Techsters all-time great, recently became an assistant coach at her alma mater.

At one time it was thought if Barmore got a WNBA coaching job, Weatherspoon would join him on the sidelines after her retirement.

“There are only two schools that could have gotten me out of retirement, Louisiana Tech and Baylor," Barmore said in a statement in the Baylor release. "At this time in my life I have no desire to be a head coach but I missed the game and still wanted to coach.

"After several talks with Kim, I decided Baylor was a perfect fit for me. I get to work for someone I know and respect, someone that has the same ‘doing it right’ attitude that I have and someone I know will take care of me. What Kim has done at Baylor is one of the most amazing success stories of all times and for a few moments, I’ll get to be a part of that. I appreciate Kim and Baylor for giving me this opportunity,”

Mulkey is looking forward to the reunion.

"I am really looking forward to working with Coach Barmore again," she said. "I have always thought that he got out of the game too early.

"He has a wealth of experience and a tremendous basketball mind that will greatly benefit our program. It is exciting that he thinks enough of me and this program that he would come out of retirement; we have high respect for each other," Mulkey continued.

"He's a Hall of Fame coach that has many more contributions to make to women's basketball. I welcome him to our program and look forward to him becoming a part of our Baylor family," said Mulkey, who is also expected to make another hire to her staff in the coming weeks.

Both Mulkey and Barmore are in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville and Barmore is also a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Words can’t express how excited I am that Coach Barmore has decided to join the Lady Bear staff,” Mulkey said. “This has to rank as one of my best recruiting jobs, albeit in a different way. I’m confident that Coach Barmore will have an immediate impact with our players and staff as we continue to build upon the success we’ve enjoyed the past eight years.”

The reversal at Baylor is somewhat similar, but not totally, to one at Temple where Lisa Boyer is one of Dawn Staley's assistants after the fabled point guard had played for her with the Richmond and Philadelphia Rage in the former American Basketball League.

Here is the data off the Baylor release:

A 2003 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Barmore orchestrated one of the most dominant programs in women's basketball history, guiding the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters to 13, 30-win seasons and 19, 20-plus win seasons. Barmore, the fastest coach in women's basketball history to reach 500 wins, retired Aug. 22, 2002, after 20 years as Louisiana Tech's head coach, posting an amazing career record of 576-87. In fact, his .869 winning percentage still ranks as the best in women's college basketball history.

In his 20 seasons at the program's helm, the Lady Techsters made 20 trips to the NCAA Tournament, which included a national championship in 1988, four NCAA runner-up finishes and four NCAA Final Four appearances. During his tenure, the Lady Techsters were ranked among The Associated Press Top 25 for 179 straight weeks and fashioned a 54-game winning streak. In addition, Barmore coached 12 WBCA All-Americas, four Olympians and 37 first-team All-Conference selections.

Prior to joining the Baylor staff, Barmore spent his entire career at Louisiana Tech as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

--Mel

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA - Although announced several weeks ago in advance of Wednesday night's annual Big Five women's banquet, which broke with tradition, the stars of the five local schools who play in the round-robin received their awards at the Holiday Inn near the stadium complex in South Philadelphia.

During the dinner, junior Laura Kurz informed the Guru that a group of past and present Villanova stars were being assembled to be a "monster" team this summer in the annual Philadelphia Department of Recreation NCAA Women's Summer League.

La Salle sports information director Kale Beers was the emcee.

Missing at the dinner due to basketball commitments elsewhere were Villanova's Stacie Witman who is currently a practice player at WNBA Connecticut Sun training camp in New London; Temple's Lady Comfort, who signed a training camp roster with the Los Angeles Sparks, and Temple coach Dawn Staley, who is in Beijing, China, as an assistant coach on the USA Women';s National Team at the Good Luck Beijing Tournament.

At the same time the Big Five tributes were being given, Drexel had its annual postseason salute to its men and women on campus as junior Nicole Hester received the V Foundation Comeback Award for coming back this season after being sidelined the previous 12 months battling Hodgkins' Lymphoma.

The national award was created to honor the memory of Jim Valvano, the late basketball coach and ESPN commentator, whose personal battle with cancer inspired the creation of the V Foundation. It is presented annually to a male or female college basketball player who has triumphed in the face of true adversity.

Here is the list of Big Five winners in case they haven't made it into print previously because the Guru was traveling at the time of the announcement..

Individual Honors:

Player of the Year: Carlene Hightower, SR. - F, La Salle University
Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, Temple University
Rookie of the Year: Sarah Acker, FR. - C, Saint Joseph's University
Most Improved Player: Ashley Morris, SR. - G, Temple University
Sportsmanship: Mary Kate McDade, JR. - G, Saint Joseph's University

1st Team All-Big 5

Sarah Acker, FR. - C, Saint Joseph's University
Lady Comfort, SR. - C, Temple University
Carlene Hightower, SR. - F, La Salle University
Laura Kurz, JR. - F, Villanova University
Ashley Morris, SR. - G, Temple University
Stacie Witman, SR. - F, Villanova University

2nd Team All-Big 5

Carrie Biemer, JR. - F, University of Pennsylvania
LaKeisha Eaddy, SO. - G, Temple University
Margaret Elderton, JR. - G, La Salle University
Timisha Gomez, SR. - G, Saint Joseph's University
Lisa Karcic, JR. - F, Villanova University

All-Academic Team

Candice Borrows, SR. - G, Temple University
Melanie Gibbons, SR. - F, La Salle University
Timisha Gomez, SR. - G, Saint Joseph's University
Siobhan O'Connor, JR. - G, Villanova University
Anca Popovici, JR. - G, University of Pennsylvania

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

STORRS, Conn. - Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma isn't running for political office in Pennsylvania anytime soon.

However, when the subject of Tuesday's presidential primary in the Keystone State came up during Auriemma's wide-ranging postseason press conference in Gampel Pavilion Tuesday on Connecticut's campus, he mused he had the potential for success in the state in which he spent his formative years.

"I could run," said Auriemma, who grew up in Norristown after being born in Italy.

"I'd get the Catholic vote," he grinned. "I'd get the Italian vote. And I'd get the Philadelphia vote -- that would be real big."

He also agreed he would attract a lot of ballots in Pittsburgh, because former Huskies star Swin Cash was from the major city in the western part of the state.

"And now that (Former Penn State coach) Rene's (Portland) isn't there anymore, I'd probably get a lot of votes in State College."

When it comes to campaigning style, Auriemma said he'd drink Ballantine Beer during his stops in Philadelphia.

"I'd do it to honor Buddy Gardler," Auriemma said of his former high school coach at Bishop Kenrick and who's daughter Meghan plays for him at UConn.

"The only award I ever got when I was there was he once made me the Ballantine player of the game. -- Three rings," Auriemma said of the beer company's marketing logos.

"It was like the Olympic symbol. Three zeros. That was me. The boxscore said 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists,."

Meanwhile, don't expect the teams of Auriemma and Tennessee coach Pat Summitt to be on the same game ticket anytime soon unless it involves the NCAA tournament in doubleheader or head-to-head competition.

Summitt cancelled the decade-plus regular-season rivalry just before last summer but never quite elaborated on her reasons.

During the season it was reported that she was unhappy with his recruiting of Georgia's Maya Moore, who helped lead the Huskies to the Final Four and was the nation's top freshman.

Auriemma had said several months ago he would discuss the topic once the season was over, but when reporters got around to the issue during Tuesday's session, he playfully hesitated at first.

"I just said that to get everybody to stop asking about it," Auriemma said.

Biut then the words started to gush out.

"(Summitt) knows why we’re not playing," Auriemma said. "I’m not the one that made the decision not to play. So she should just tell you why we’re not playing instead of saying `Geno knows.’ I do know. She accused us of cheating at recruiting. She doesn’t have the courage to say it publicly. So, yeah, Geno does know. And I’ve said it."

Complaints out of the Southeastern Conference to the NCAA, reportedly instigated by Tennessee, had stated that former Huskies stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird had given Moore a ride in Atlanta to an awards show.

That later was refuted when it was determined that both WNBA All-Stars were playing overseas in Russia when the alleged violation occurred.

A second SEC protest, which was later considered to be a minor NCAA violation, involved a member of the Connecticut basketball office, who was not named, helping arrange a tour of ESPN in nearby Bristol for Moore and her mother during an unofficial visit in 2005.

There had been some speculation that Connecticut and Tennessee would resume the rivalry in December at the Maggie Dixon Classic in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Auriemma nixed that matchup Tuesday, although he expressed enthusiasm for playing in the event named for former Army coach Maggie Dixon, who died suddenly right after her first season as a head coach in which she led the Black Knights to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2006.

"If you’re not going to play here or there, you’re not going tovolunteer play them at Madison Square Garden in a charity event that’s supposed to help a good cause," Auriemma said. "How could they be involved in that? That would be something that’s good for the game."

Connecticut will play Penn State, while Rutgers will again play Army, although the official announcement has yet to be made naming the doubleheader participants.

Asked under what circumstances Tennessee and Connecticut could play again if Summitt so desired, Auriemma jested a comparison to a recent Notre Dame-Connecticut football longterm football proposal that would not include any home games in the Huskies' stadium in East Hartford.

Auriemma said the series would have to be ten games -- eight in Connecticut, with the other two being in Nashville and Memphis, which would be in the Volunteer State, but not in Knoxville, where Tennessee's campus is located.

``That would be my proposal to them,’’ Auriemma said. ``That’s the only way I would do it.’’

Auriemma said at this point the only reason the breakup of the series is still discussed because the media won't let the story go away "even though everybody else has."

``It doesn’t irk me,’’ Auriemma said. ``With some people that’s just their style. They’re passive-aggressive. They always want to have somebody to blame for what’s going on. There’s a lot of things I know about a lot of people. That doesn’t mean I cancel the series. This is the same person who said if the Duke fans didn’t treat her players right she was going to cancel that series. So if people don’t stop misbehavin’ they’re only going to play a regular season scheduled with conference games. Unless that starts to bug them. So the bottom line is it’s not going to change. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not going to change.’’

Auriemma was presented with the coach of the year award from the Naismith Club in Atlanta.

He did have some serious and introspective comments about that honor, as well as addressing several other topics.

But since the Rich Elliott, the Guru's colleague at the Connecticut Post already transcribed all those remarks, the Guru will send you over there with this link and if more posts have just been added, you want to read the one called: Geno Being Geno.

And the Guru being the Guru, the ride back to Philadelphia is still ahead.

-- Mel .