Women's Hoops Guru

(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 .

By Mel Greenberg

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut Sun, at least those of the WNBA Eastern Conference power who are not finishing off overseas competition, opened training camp Monday at Connecticut College with a new look sprinkled with accents of area collegiate stars of the past.

“It’s never going to change, it’s only going to get harder,” said Connecticut coach Mike Thibault of the annual delay in getting a full roster to arrive. “The good thing is they’ll arrive in pairs as they finish playoffs. When Lindsay (Whalen) and (Tamika) Whitmore get done playing each other, they’ll both come back. I could probably root somewhere in there for a series sweep by either side to end it (quicker).

“It could be that Asjha (Jones) and (Sandrine) Gruda won’t play in exhibition games, depending when they get done. Gruda hasn’t stopped playing in two-and-a-half years, so she will go home for a couple of days. It’s possible we won’t have her and (Evanthia) Maltsi for the first game.”

The team is without Katie Douglas, who was traded to Indiana, and Nykesha Sales, who is taking the year off to heal a series of nagging injuries, while center Margo Dydek is taking the year off due to pregnancy. Additionally, Erin Phillips, recovered from being sidelined all last season with a knee injury, is with the Australian national team until after the Olympics.

“This camp is an open tryout in a sense that for our wing positions in many ways,” Thibault said. “We might keep one more post player. That’s open to debate as camp goes along. We have probably 10-12 people who can play the two and three competing for five or six spots. Whoever earns it, earns it.

“There’s more opportunity. Once we traded Katie and Keesha said she wasn’t playing, I had agents calling me, `I’m going to send my kid to your camp.’

“But it’s healthy in a lot of ways. People have to earn a spot, make a name for themselves, and we’re going to give them some time to do it. All those people competing for those spots are here.”

Despite Sales’ absence, the roster has a strong dash of former University of Connecticut personnel. Tamika (nee Williams) Raymond , who had played her whole WNBA career in Minnesota since 2002, comes by way of a trade that sent Kristen Rassmusen to the Lynx.

“This is home,” Raymond said Monday in a discussion indicating you can look at the media to approach her frequently for postgame sound bites. “When my mother drove me to the airport, it was the same place she took me to when I flew to play at Connecticut. Coming here, to put a word on it, is a rejuvenation.”

Raymond was part of the senior bonanza of UConn players, including Sue Bird, Jones, and Swin Cash, who all went quickly in the first round of the 2002 WNBA draft.

“At 27, I think she has seven more years if she wants to play that long,” Thibault said of Raymond’s ability and downplaying the perception of her as an aging veteran.

“Part of that is she’s had injuries and she played for a team that didn’t win. She has a bounce in her step that’s going to be great.”

Raymond had been an assistant in recent season’s to Ohio State’s Jim Foster.

“She’s coming into a comfort zone and she knows we need some more veteran leadership in our lockerroom,” Thibault said.

A year ago, Barbara Turner, another former UConn star, was being pressured by former Seattle coach Ann Donovan to get back from Europe when final roster spots were being determined on the Storm and then found herself quickly cut after she arrived.

She later signed with Houston.

“It’s a lot different,” Turner compared this camp’s start with her experience of a year go. “But things happen for a reason. I’m here. I’m happy.”

Ketia Swanier arrives as a first round draft pick off the UConn Final Four contingent.

Former Temple forward Kamesha Hairston, a first-round draft of last season, played in Israel in the offseason to improve her shot.

“It helped a lot,” Hairston said of driving against other post players.

Another newcomer in camp are former Duke star Jessica Foley, who was acquired as part of the Indiana deal involving Douglas. UConn remember her for the long three-pointer in Hartford at the buzzer tha enabled the Blue Devils to come back from a deep halftime deficit and end the Huskies' NCAA record home-win streak.

Jolene Anderson, a second-round draft pick, 27th overall, is here out of Wisconsin. Former Iowa State star Tracy Gahan is here as a training camp signee, while first-round draft pick and ninth overall Amber Holt out of MiddleTennessee was also in practice attire Monday,

Meanwhile Villanova senior Stacie Witman arrived shortly after the players began some warmup drills. She will be working as a practice player to get some experience.

“I’m a sleeper,” Witman laughed after getting her practice gear.

The Guru responded, “I hear you’re a deep sleeper.”

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

Sylvia Fowles' "monster" game led the United States into the victory column Sunday with a 92-60 victory over Cuba in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in China.

Full details are over at the USA Basketball site, but, essentially, the former LSU star and second overall WNBA draft pick of the Chicago Sky towered over the Cubans with 25 points, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Fowles had not played much in the opening loss to Australia, Saturday, because of foul trouble.

The Detroit Shock's Katie Smith added 19 points, while new Seattle Storm player Swin Cash, an Olympic veteran as is Smith, scored 12 points. The United States also got 10 points each from Los Angeles Sparks and Olympics veteran Lisa Leslie, along with former Maryland star Crystal Langhorne, the sixth overall WNBA pick by the Washington Mystics.

Cuba and the United States are each 1-1.

By the time most of you are reading this, the USA squad will have played South Korea in a game that was scheduled to tip off at 2:30 a..m., early Monday morning, EDT.

"I'm really pleased with how we came out today, we started the game really well," said USA head coach Anne Donovan. "It was our focus to start the game very strong and aggressive. We felt like we needed to come right at Cuba and attack them early and we executed that game plan very well.

"I think Sylvia was extra motivated today since she wasn't on the floor very much yesterday due to foul trouble. She came out and had a monster game and Lisa (Leslie) came out and took a smaller role today. It's nice to see the versatility of our players."

Fowles said she was "more focused" in her second outing.

The squad is a youthful group with such Olympic favorites to make the team as Phoenix's Diana Taurasi and potentially Cappie Pondexter, not on the trip. The Los Angeles Sparks' overall top pick Candace Parker of the Tennessee two-time defending NCAA champs is also away from China.

After South Korea, the U.S. takes a day off in preliminary action before meeting New Zealand on Wednesday (10:15 a.m. EDT) and hot China China on Thursday (8:00 a.m. EDT).

Connecticut double: The Guru is taking a quickie trip North on Monday and Tuesday to drop by the WNBA Connecticut Sun's Media Day followed by a visit to UConn for women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma's wrap-up media session.

Besides the array of players with UConn backgrounds who are in camp such as Barbara Turner, rookie Ketia Swanier, and Tanika (nee Williams) Raymond, two former Big Five players will be in Sun camp. One is former Temple star Kamesha Hairston, who was a first-round draft pick a year ago. The other is Villanova departing senior Stacie Witman, who has been signed as a practice player.

Head coach Mike Thibault, an assistant on the USA national squad under Donovan, is stateside and will be at the Connecticut College facility Monday.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

The USA Women's National Team Good Luck Beijing Tournament roster illustrates how quickly things change when it comes to local identification.

Candice Wiggins -- Stanford is now transformed to Candice Wiggins -- Minnesota Lynx in the primary affilation column.

Sylvia Fowles -- Louisiana State is now Sylvia Fowles -- Chicago Sky

And although new WNBA team identifications have severed the longtime court togetherness of Crystal Langhorne of Willingboro and Laura Harper of Cheltenham, dating back to their Philadelphia Belles AAU days and successful run at Maryland, the two remain on the same side this week as USA teammates for the trip to China.

Of course the two have been gold medal winners in the past on other USA squads.

But after the trip to the Olympic city for this year's summer games, the duo post tandem will be on opposing sides as soon as Monday night, May 5 when Harper debuts in Washington with the Sacramento Monarchs in a preseason game against Langhorne's new Mystics team.

And for those Rutgers fans who haven't hunted down the first former Scarlet Knights teammate confrontation of Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, that will occur on Friday night June 6th, when Ajavon's Houston Comets squad visits Carson's New York Liberty squad at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Helen, at women's hoops, who never sleeps, apparently, has all the details of the USA trip, as does the USA basketball site.

We also were recently appreciate of Helen's advice in a Spanish restaurant in a city south of the Mason-Dixon Line that was in the news during Final Four week.

Helen noted that eating the deserts first in order of courses avoids not getting there because of the major selections on the main entree menu.

Upon further review: We tongue-in-cheek recently noted that we can no longer talk about former Colorado star Kate Fagan, who will soon join the sports department here in the home office.

But since that won't occur for another week or two, her impending arrival to the City of Brotherly Love didn't stop the Guru from using his connections to set in motion her appearance on the draft list for the heavy-duty Philadelphia Department of Recreation NCAA Summer Women's League.

No. 1 vs. No. 2 -- No, we're not talking about UConn-Tennessee, which could come up in discussion Tuesday when Huskies coach Geno Auriemma holds an end-of-season press briefing.

Rather, it's a preseason game in the WNBA -- Los Angeles at Chicago on Thursday, May 8.

The Sparks will visit with former Tennessee star Candace Parker, the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, while Chicago's Sylvia Fowles was the overall No. 2.

The last time they were on opposing sides was in the NCAA semifinal when Tennessee edged the Tigers just before regulation expired.

-- Mel

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Just in case it wasn't clear from the post below.

By Mel Greenberg

Crossing Paths – I: The selection of Maryland senior Crystal Langhorne of Willingboro, N.J., by the WNBA Washington Mystics in last week’s draft reunites for the moment two former prominent Philadelphia Belles AAU stars.

Gillian Goring was drafted a year ago out of North Carolina State after a sort of gypsy career caused in part by academics.

She was originally headed for Connecticut but didn’t meet NCAA eligibility standards and gravitated to a junior college from which she ultimately moved on to be productive for Kay Yow with the Wolfpack.

Langhorne, who has been cited for her academic success besides her work on the court that made her the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, had also been recruited by Connecticut but joined Belles teammate Laura Harper of Cheltenham High in signing with the Terrapins. The duo, of course, gave Maryland an NCAA title in 2006.

Crossing Paths – II: During the Villanova golden season of 2003 that featured the Wildcats reaching the NCAA Elite Eight and ending Connecticut’s record 70-game win streak in the Big East championship, Harry Perretta’s group recorded two upset wins of Colorado, including one in the Sweet 16 by a score of 53-51.

The Buffs, as the sixth seed, upset No. 3 North Carolina to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Guru covered that ‘Nova-Colorado contest in Knoxville and one of the Colorado stars was a three-point shooting guard out Warwick, R.I. who had nine points and six rebounds in the NCAA contest.

Kate Fagan went on to play a season with the winter pro-league Colorado Chill but then moved on to journalism.

Most recently, she has been at Glens Falls, N.Y. and also reviewed Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer’s new memoir for the Inquirer Book Section.

On Wednesday, Kate became a Sports Department hire primarily covering South Jersey high schools, making her, unlike the Guru, someone who actually played the sport.

It also means that this is the last we’ll comment on her career to avoid conflict of interest issues now that she is a colleague. But we will add she was also an academic star in the Big 12 and with that we’ll leave it up to the Guru's colleagues in the Big 12 to write any further reference as needed.

Remembering Randy: The Guru was shocked by the news Monday of the sudden death of Manchester (Conn.) Journal Inquirer sports editor and columnist Randy Smith.

Our paths first crossed in 1995 as the Connecticut women rose to prominence and won their first NCAA title. Although he covered all sports in the Nutmeg State, he was a women’s hoops fan and was a delight to be around – especially when he had differences of opinions with UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Just recently he asked the Guru if he thought that Renee Montgomery was better than Sue Bird when she played for the Huskies.

The Guru asked where did that observation come from.

Randy simply nodded in Auriemma’s direction and smiled without further comment.

Other Notes: Temple’s Lady Comfort did not get drafted but on Wednesday she signed a free-agent rookie contract with the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.

That’s the same team that made Tennessee junior Candace Parker the overall No. 1 draft pick last week.

Last winter after the Phoenix Mercury won the WNBA title, general manager Ann Meyers Drysdale , anticipating grabbing a post player in the draft, had quietly hoped Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike would be around since she didn’t think she would have a chance at the bottom of the first round to grab North Carolina’s Erlana Larkins.

As it evolved, both were still up for pickings, but Phoenix went instead for another Tar Heel – LaToya Pringle, whose stock began to rise substantially soon after that conversation had occurred.

The Guru will cut it short by noting for those who inquirered that he will celebrate his decades-ago arrival on the planet Wednesday by going to the St. Joseph’s postseason dinner.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg
I
f Tuesday was quite a night for Tennessee in taking the NCAA women’s basketball championship over Stanford at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., then Wednesday was equally sensational.

After spending little sleep time after accepting the trophy, the four Vols seniors and junior sensational Candace Parker gave valedictory addresses at a morning press conference and then all headed off to the WNBA a few hours later in nearby Palm Harbor to become draft picks of the 14 teams in the pro league.

Parker, the nation’s top player and eligible to be selected, became the first overall pick of the three rounds as the Los Angeles Sparks quickly made the move everyone expected to make her Leslie Leslie’s new teammate.

However, the Chicago native will report to camp with one of her college teammates – guard Shannon Bobbitt, who was taken by the Sparks at the top of the second round and 15th pick, overall.

Alexis Hornbuckle was a first-round pick, the fourth overall selection by the WNBA runnersup Detroit Shock.

Right after Bobbitt was chosen, the Minnesota Lynx, who took Stanford star Candice Wiggins as the third overall pick, selected Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike. Alberta Auguste was not abandoned -- she went 35th overall in the third round as a selection by the New York Liberty.

While Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was able to celebrate her eighth title, she certainly let everyone know at the Hyatt Hotel press conference prior to the draft what lies ahead once the hoopla dies down in Knoxville.

“I’m not going to be nearly as smart this next year,” Summitt said. “We’re going to have a young team, but we’re going to have talent. It’s going to be quite a different transition but I’m looking forward to our incoming freshmen and I’m just excited to start working with them when classes start.”

As for her departing players, the Hall of Famer saluted them, saying, “This is a special class. I love them all. I’m obviously going to miss them, but they are going on to pursue their dreams in the WNBA and I wish them all well. They certainly gave so much to our program.”

Summitt may also lose assistant coach Nikki Caldwell, who is considered a leading candidate for the vacant UCLA job.

“I have a great staff,” Summitt said of potential changes. “There are a lot of jobs out there that are actively pursuing our staff. I would never hold back one of our staff from being a head coach and running their own program. We will know something in about a month or so with people trying to make decisions after the Final Four.”

Summitt did not join her players at the draft, opting to return with the undergraduates to Knoxville for a fan celebration later in the day.

In discussing Parker’s future as a pro, the Tennessee coach said, “Candace is going to have a great impact on the league. With her talent, her skill set, and her ability to play multiple positions, she will go in and be able to have an immediate impact. I’m really proud of how hard she has worked to expand her game. She’s worked very hard in all aspects and will be a very positive player in the league. She will be a great spokesman for the WNBA.”

Parker was asked if she might still be around if a WNBA team in a lesser market than Los Angeles owned the first shot at the lucrative senior class from across the nation.
“One thing that I live my life by is the certain. I don’t go by the what-ifs. I just try to live in the moment. Going into the WNBA… I just feel like it is my time,” Parker said.

She was asked about Sunday’s semifinal in which she executed the offense in the last seven seconds to enable Tennessee to edge LSU just before time expired.

“We have a coaching staff that prepares us for different decisions, for every situation,” Parker said. “I think at the time, we didn’t quite understand coach’s thoughts and the logic of making us run drills over and over and over again. In the end, we did it.

“ It’s weird how everything at the end comes together. There is something special with our team, and down by one point, we were going to find a way to win. That’s what great teams do. Some people call it luck, but we practiced that. I just call it pulling together and winning the game. I think it encompasses everything that we are.”

Auguste and several other players compared last year’s title experience with Tuesday night’s triumph.

“Last year I did not know what to expect, this year was different because it was a special team and we were all seniors and we wanted to go out with a bang,” she said.

Hornbuckle added, “Last year’s championship was more exciting, we didn’t know what to expect …we came out and tried to play hard. There was a lot of pressure on us to win.”

Anosike observed, “There was more pressure this year. We had to go out with a bang. We did all we could for this program. I’m more satisfied this season than I was last year.”

She was asked about Parker’s WNBA future: “As long as we aren’t playing against each other I think she’ll have a great impact. No, I’m just kidding. She’s a great player I don’t know what she’ll do without me. I’m just kidding. She has great versatility. No matter what happens she’s going to be successful.”

--Mel

(Guru’s note: A print version of the WNBA draft is at Philly.com in the Inquirer section)
By Mel Greenberg and Stephen K. Lee

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer and Maryland coach Brenda Frese beamed with pride Wednesday afternoon as they each watched two of their respective building blocks move on to the WNBA as first round picks in the pro women’s basketball league’s annual draft.

The Scarlet Knights star guards went quickly with the Houston Comets taking Matee Ajavon fifth overall, while shortly afterwards Essence Carson, a native of Paterson, N.J., learned she was going to play very close to home as the seventh overall pick of the New York Liberty.

Maryland’s Crystal Langhorne also learned she was not going to have to play far away, being taken sixth overall by the Washington Mystics, which is near the Terrapins campus and only several hours away from her home in Willingboro, N.J.

Cheltenham High graduate Laura Harper went 10th overall to the Scaramento Monarchs, which just lost veteran all-star center Yolanda Griffith to the Seattle Storm through free agency.

“It’s a great fit for both of them,” Frese said at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Glub where the draft was held in Palm Harbor, Fla., just outside Tampa.

“Laura is perfect in both style and personality to go with Sacramento coach Jenny Boucek, who played at Virginia,” Frese said.

“My coaching style is similar to hers. It’s a build-you-up, positive energy approach.”

It was the third straight year that the draft was held in the vincinity of the site of the NCAA Women’s Final Four and a day after the national championship game.

Less than 24 hours after delivering Tennessee a second straight title and eighth overall, junior Candace Parker, who won the Most Outstanding Player award, was taken, as expected, as the No. 1 overall pick of the Los Angeles Sparks.

The native of Chicago was eligible because she missed her freshman season due to a knee injury.

Asked earlier in the day at the NCAA morning wrapup press conference if she might still be in college if a WNBA smaller market team held the top pick, Parker quickly responded,

“One thing that I live my life by is the certain. I don’t go by the what-ifs. I just try to live in the moment. Going into the WNBA… I just feel like it is my time,” Parker said.

Way ahead of virtually every other collegian, Parker played last summer with WNBA players on the United States senior national team that qualified for the Olympics. LSU center Sylvia Fowles, whose team lost to Tennessee in the final second in the semifinals, has also played internationally on USA teams as has Stanford’s Candice Wiggins, whose team lost to Tennessee in the title game.

Fowles went second to the Chicago Sky and Wiggins went third to the Minnesota Lynx.

The current talent-rich group of senior collegians had been eagerly awaited by WNBA teams who saw them as a group who could elevate interest in the pro league.

“They’re not strangers to the public,” one coach said of the picks, especially the first round choices who came primarily from schools who became the elite eight in this year’s tournament.

“You knew those three are going to be great,” Connecticut Sun coach Mike Tibault, an assistant on the U.S. team said of the picks that got the afternoon action under way. “They’ve already proved themselves at the highest level. Everyone else in the first round has a chance to be great.”

Stringer was ecstatic after her two backcourt leaders went high only two years after former all-American Cappie Pondexter was taken second, overall, by the Phoenix Mercury and helped lead them to their first WNBA title last summer as the MVP of the playoffs.

“You know where I’m going to be spending my summer,” Stringer smiled of Carson’s choice by New York, which plays in Madison Square Garden.

“It helps our fans and everyone else to understand the magnitude of the backcourt at Rutgers University,” Stringer said. “For those three to have played together, I think it speaks volumes and we’re just elated of them. It speaks well of the respect the (WNBA) owners have for the program.

“Neither one of them were big scorers, but I think they worked so hard on the defensive side that the pro side (of their game) has yet to be discovered,” Stringer said.

“Essence has been a favorite daughter of the area, so it just makes sense (to be picked by New York). I hope in the future the Liberty looks at Rutgers players as players who can go on to the next level.”

New York coach Pat Coyle is a graduate of Rutgers and West Catholic in Philadelphia.

Rutgers center Kia Vaughn is likely to be a WNBA pick next year.

Stringer said Ajavon and Carson did not come early to Florida because of school work.

“This (Rutgers) was the most televised team in America,” she said. “So what was it that people don’t know about them. They’ve seen them play thousands of times, so why did they need to go to the draft early. They’ve heard them speak and handle themselves in difficult situations.”

Ajavon, who is also from North Jersey and was coaxed to Rutgers by Carson when they were high school rivals, is looking forward to her move to the Lone Star State and learning from the veteran Comets.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity,” said Ajavon in a phone interview minutes to Rutgers reporters back home after being drafted. “I think I can learn a lot from those ladies, Tina Thompson and Michelle Snow.”

Looking past the Comets’ rough 13-21 season in 2007, Ajavon is excited to become a part of Houston’s rich history of winning. Also, after Comets legend Sheryl Swoopes signed with the Seattle Storm on Mar. 3, Ajavon is wondering what she’ll do about her jersey number as both she and Swoopes wore No. 22.

“I thought about it and I didn’t even realize that (Sheryl Swoopes) left until just a while ago,” Ajavon said. “I have to consider that because I’ll probably be wearing her number and I’d say that I’d have large shoes to fill. So I really have to think about that one.”

Carson has been watching her new team for a long time while growing up in New Jersey.

“I’m very excited and I can’t believe that this day has come and that I will be a part of the New York Liberty,” Carson said over the phone. “And I’m just looking to go out there and play basketball.”

Carson said that these past few days, from the Greensboro regional to the draft buildup, have been an emotional rollercoaster.

“I’ve been on the run, trying to get things together, especially catching up on schoolwork,” she said. “And then there’s a lot of things that have to be planned out and well-thought-out going into this WNBA season. It’s coming at me fast pace, but you know what, I’m ready for it.”

Unlike the Comets or the Storm or the Phoenix Mercury, the Liberty lack a true superstar. Despite this void, Carson intends to maintain her anything-and-everything mentality while adjusting to her new league.

“I’m willing to do whatever I have to do that’s within my abilities and my capability to win,” she said.

“They’ve been improving year-in and year-out and I’m just looking to go in there and make an impact – just any type of impact on this team… I’m just looking to go in there and help make things right.”

After an impressive four years On the Banks, Carson said that she’ll miss the general atmosphere at Rutgers the most.

“I mean everyone,” she said. “I’m close to home, so I have the chance to go back and visit with a lot of people. (I’ll miss) just being a college student, you know?”

Both Carson and Ajavon intend to continue playing overseas once the WNBA season ends.

Former Connecticut star Rebecca Lobo, who played for New York and is now and ESPN broadcaster, applauded Carson’s pick by the Liberty.

“I’m thrilled for her because she is going to fit in real well there and the Liberty improved so much last summer.”

Frese, meanwhile, has had former players go high in the draft before when Minnesota’s point guard Lindsay Whalen went to the Connecticut Sun and center Janel McCarville went to the former Charlotte Sting as an overall No. 1 pick.

But Frese had already left for Maryland after a year with the Gophers by the time the duo had become pros in successive seasons.

Harper and Langhorne were major building blocks in a recruiting effort to rebuild the Terrapins and Frese’s efforts resulted in an NCAA title in 2006. A year ago, Shay Doron, who was her first major recruit, went to New York.

“We’re just elated, what a proud and special day for Maryland basketball,” said Frese, who recently gave birth to twins just before the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

“I couldn’t be prouder for both of them. To see both their names up there as the sixth and 10th pick, it’s amazing,” Frese said.

“Two have two first round picks just paves the way for future players,” Frese continued. “And what a great choice by the Mystics. With our fans (nearby), they’re going to increase their ticket sales 1,000 percent.”

-- Stephen was on the scene at Rutgers

By Mel Greenberg

Candace Parker’s farewell gift to her Tennessee teammates Tuesday night was another NCAA women’s basketball title at the expense of Stanford. Now it’s on to the WNBA where she’ll likely be the overall No. 1 draft pick in Wednesday’s draft.

The Chicago native dashed off the court in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., shortly before the Vols’ 64-48 victory became official and flashed eight fingers to the sellout crowd of 21,655. Parker’s gesture indicated the number now needed by Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt to display all of her championship rings.

Stanford’s score was a season low for the Cardinal.

It was the second straight title for Tennessee (36-2), which had lost to Stanford , 73-69, in overtime in December in Palo Alto, Calif. The Vols avenged their other loss Sunday in the semifinals, beating LSU, 47-46, in the last second after the Tigers had won in Knoxville in the regular season. They also beat LSU in the Southeastern Conference title game.

Summitt, with a career record is 984-182, is just two short of the NCAA total acquired by legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden.

Parker, a junior who is eligible to turn pro because she missed her freshman season, repeated last years Most Outstanding Player honor after scoring a game-high 17 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and swiping four steals.

“My experience here at Tennessee has been great,” Parker said after joining Southern Cal’s Cheryl Miller, former Vols great Chamique Holdsclaw, and Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi as two-time MOP honorees at the Final Four. “I look back at my growth, not only as a player but also as a person.

“And I feel it’s been the best four years of my life,” Parker continued. “I wouldn’t change anything about it. I love my teammates, and I’m just very, very fortunate to have won two national championships. But we worked hard for it. And we deserved it.”

Shannon Bobbitt added 13 points and senior Nicky Anosike, also likely to be drafted, had 12 points and eight rebounds.

The draft will be held outside Tampa.

Jayne Appel scored 16 points for Stanford (35-4), which shocked overall top seed Connecticut in the semifinals. Senior Candice Wiggins, who could be drafted as high as third behind Parker and LSU senior Sylvia Fowles, had 14 points and grabbed four steals. But she also committed six of the Cardinal’s 25 turnovers in the face of constant Tennessee defensive pressure.

“Their pressure was much more intense this time,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer compared the two contests against the Vols. “They pressed and trapped basically the whole game this time.

“We just made too many mistakes to give ourselves a chance,” she added. “Our turnovers killed us. And I just think if that if you want to know a lot of the difference, this was just a much more physical game than the December game, just in terms of how the game was played.”

Wiggins also spoke of Stanford’s frustration on offense.

“They were really aggressive,” she said. “They were jumping, they were in passing lanes. I think it would have really helped us if we starting attacking maybe a little bit earlier.”

Tennessee spurted from a 7-7 tie early in the game to a 25-15 advantage with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half and Stanford failed to make any significant challenge the rest of the night.

Wiggins, the daughter of the late Alan Wiggins, who played baseball for the San Diego Padres, reflected on the close of her career, becoming the Cardinal’s only departing career.

“I don’t think maybe it has set in yet,” she said a few sentences before losing her composure briefly. “I wouldn’t want to be on any other team in the country, any other team. And it happens that we ended our season with a loss and that hurts. Because we wanted it. And this team is a special team.”

Many expect Connecticut, which fell short of the national title after its first finals in four seasons, to regain its former supremacy next season when a star-studded freshmen class arrives. The rookies will be highlighted by Wilmington’s Elena DelleDonne, the top high school recruit, and Germantown Academy’s Carolyn Doty. The veterans will be led by Maya Moore, who was the top newcomer this past season.

But Summitt, who could reach 1,000 career victories next season, promised she won’t be going anywhere soon, although passing Wooden’s record is not as among the reasons for hanging around Knoxville.

“I guess I’m along for the ride,” Summitt smiled. “They took me on a great one this time. And as long as I love the game, I’ll stay in it.

“Do I have a desire to try to beat Coach Wooden’s record? No. I just want to help the next team, next year, and get back to the Final Four. That’s always our goal every year,” she continued.

“And as long as I can be effective as a teacher and coach, that’s what I want to do. The day I walk in the gym and I don’t have the passion is the day I give it up.”

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

When Connecticut beat Tennessee and won the first of five NCAA women’s titles in 1995, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, who grew up in Norristown, reflected afterwards that it had been a fairytale season and a happy ending was meant to be.

UConn did not take the lead in that game until the closing minutes and went on to finish at 35-0.

On Sunday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., the pseudo Cinderella crown belonged to Stanford, whose 82-73 national semifinals victory over UConn advanced the Cardinal (35-3) into Tuesday night’s championship for the first time since 1992.

Several hours later defending champion Tennessee (35-2) won in another photo finish, beating LSU, 47-46, on Alexis Hornbuckle’s putback with seven-tenths of a second left in regulation.

Unlike the Vols’ similar narrow win in February over Rutgers in Knoxville, this triumph was free of controversy.

No stalled clock was involved, but the brilliant collegiate career of Sylvia Fowles was frozen shut along with senior classmates Erica White, Quianna Chaney, and Ashley Thomas, among four others, one game short of that elusive championship.

Fowles, who scored 24 points and pulled 20 rebounds, will be back in news on Wednesday as the No. 2 overall pick behind Tennessee junior Candace Parker in the WNBA draft, which will be held near Tampa.

Parker, who struggled with a shoulder separation injury but finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, now gets a chance to exit college with another title before turning pro, while Tennessee coach Pat Summitt will seek to improve her championship ring collection to eight.

Joining LSU (31-6) and Connecticut (36-2) on the sidelines is the fervent season-long desire of ESPN, which took a frenzied approach to a potential UConn-Tennessee title match after Summitt cancelled the regular rivalry between the two powers last summer.

Until another potential matchup looms next season, one now has all summer to get caught up in the history of the stillborn series in Richard Kent’s new book: Lady Vols and UConn: The Greatest Rivalry (iUniverse Inc., $14.95).

Although both coaches have not commented publicly on the precise cause of the breakup, each deferring to the other to speak first, Auriemma had stated several months ago he would address the issue once the season was over.

With the autopsy on the demise of the overall top-seeded Huskies virtually concluded almost as soon as Sunday’s game ended, look for the media pack to pursue Auriemma. He has some free time now with only two official duties remaining in Tampa. One is to accept the United States Basketball Writers Association’s coach of the year award Tuesday morning. The other is to handle obligations in his role as the next president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

In the wake of their respective defeats, both the Connecticut and LSU contingents addressed the adversities life can dispense along with the joyous occasions.

The Huskies, who had to overcome the season-ending knee injuries to starters Kalana Greene and senior Mel Thomas, seemed capable of gaining a sixth title, primarily on the play of freshman sensation Maya Moore. She finished with 20 points, scoring 14 in the second half as UConn tried to rally.

Ever since leaving Mississippi to lead the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA titles, LSU coach Van Chancellor found a way to rise above all those Southeastern Conference disappointments with the Rebels in a league ruled by Tennessee.

Chancellor’s WNBA success begat his achievement as the first male coach of the United States Olympic women’s team in 2004, which enabled him to guide the Americans to a gold medal in Athens.

That additional triumph earned him induction in September to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, which already includes Auriemma and Summitt. All three and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer are also members of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

Chancellor returned to the collegiate level last spring after a very brief retirement following his WNBA career and led LSU into a fifth straight Final Four. The Tigers routed Tennessee in Knoxville in February after a deep deficit early in the game. They later lost a close encounter with the Vols in the SEC championship.

“Life’s thrown a lot of things at us this particular season,” Auriemma said Sunday night. “Took away two of our players. Limited one of them. And now the fairytale didn’t have a happy ending. But that’s life.”

The setback to Stanford was a reversal of a victory in November when a healthy Huskies squad beat the Cardinal, 66-54, in the Virgin Islands.

The loss Sunday meant the end of the UConn careers of Charde Houston, Brittany Hunter, and Mel Thomas.

Chancellor opened his postgame remarks, saying, “Tough way to lose a basketball game. I really feel for our seniors. They have done everything I’ve asked them to do since I was appointed LSU coach.

“And they’ve done so much and overcome so much and I’m really proud of them graduating. They do such a great job. And I am sorry I couldn’t help them win.”

Chancellor agreed on the loss being the toughest of his career.

“Yeah, especially when I thought we had it won, and I had it won …” he said.

“(LSU) Up 1, they’ve got to go the full length of the court. And it’s really a tough loss when I think about these kids and what all they have gone through for four years. I really feel for them,” Chancellor said.

In recent seasons, the Tigers have had to deal with former coach Sue Gunter’s death caused by cancer, a controversial resignation last season by former coach Pokey Chatman before the NCAA tournament began, a run to another finals under assistant Bob Starkey, who was briefly in charge as an interim head coach; and the hiring of Chancellor.

LSU’s first finals appearance in 2005 was a last-second loss to Tennessee on a steal. The Tigers blew a huge lead to eventual champion Baylor in 2006 and were routed by Rutgers last season.

“Just because you’ve been here five times in a row, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your turn,” White said. “You have to make it your turn. The game of life isn’t fair. Basketball isn’t fair.”

Meanwhile, if any team is making the Finals its turn, it’s Stanford, which will try to make it two straight over Tennessee this season, including an overtime triumph in Palo Alto, Calif., in December.

The Cardinal, carrying a bruised ego since being made a No. 2 seed behind Maryland in the Spokane Regional, is on a roll right now under VanDerveer, who also coached the U.S. to a gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Perhaps Stanford’s positive omens could have been found a few days ago in senior Candice Wiggins, likely the No. 3 pick in Wednesday’s draft.

The daughter of former baseball player, the late Alan Wiggins of the San Diego Padres, she was a surprise Wade winner selection Saturday as the WBCA’s player of the year.

Wiggins followed a few hours later with another top honor, receiving the Lowe’s Senior Class Award that emphasizes academic success.

She made good on the accolades Sunday night against UConn with 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Cardinal also have other threats to avoid the focus on Wiggins, courtesy of freshman flash Jayne Appel (15 points, 10 rebounds), and Kayla Pedersen (17 points).

Despite Connecticut’s setback after missing the finals the last three seasons, the Huskies could return stronger than ever with a blue chip recruiting class highlighted by Wilmington’s Elena Della-Donne. The nation’s top recruit, she was the MVP of the winning Red team Saturday in the WBCA’s high school all-star game in Tampa.

Auriemma promised he and his Huskies will witness Tuesday’s title game, although he is required to do so anyway in his role with the WBCA.

“It’s part of who you are. It’s part of what you do,” Auriemma said. “It’s our game.”

Erin Semagin Damio contributed to this story from Tampa.

I've just checked on the roof situation based on some rumors that I heard, and it seems the issue has been patched/dealt with. Leakage is blocked, there's nothing going onto the floor, the teams are warming up, and the start should not be delayed.

Just got official starting lineups released.

UConn:
Maya Moore
Kaili McLaren
Brittany Hunter
Ketia Swanier
Renee Montgomery

Stanford:
Kalya Pederson
Jayne Appel
JJ Hones
Candice Wiggins
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude

Officials:
Tina Napier
Clarke Stevens
Lisa Jones

By Erin Semagin Damio

TAMPA, Fla. _ So, the past few days have been pretty busy. I'm trying to finish a lot of schoolwork and spent most of yesterday at basketball events or traveling to basketball events.

Yesterday morning, we saw the announcement of the WBCA All-American team and the Wade trophy go to Candice Wiggins of Stanford (as posted previously). Wiggins is certainly a worthy winner -- she has scored two 40+ point games during the NCAA tournament so far -- but most of the audience was probably expecting the award to go to Candace Parker of Tennessee, last year's winner. Parker is likely to be the first pick in the WNBA draft, going to the Los Angeles Sparks, and has led Tennessee to a 34-2 record this year. I didn't vote, obviously, so I don't know what the deciding factor was, or even the voting margins. Anyway, both players have had fabulous seasons. Parker has won several Player of the Year awards this year, and the other players were clearly happy for Wiggins.

The high school WBCA team was also in attendance, as were several teams who had an All-American on the roster. Stacey Dales, an Oklahoma graduate and player for the WNBA's Chicago Sky emceed and used the forum to announce her retirement -- although it had already been rumored. Dales said that she had been known as a defensive stopper, and told Candace Parker that she'd have an easier time player in Chicago without Dales there.

We also visited the St. Pete Times Forum Arena to see some open practices and press conferences. We saw the Lady Vols going through security -- I guess the arena really is being careful, no exceptions.

All teams seemed eager to play each other. Van Chancellor said he thought his LSU team was being disrespected because papers were all looking ahead to a potential Tennessee-Connecticut matchup. Geno Auriemma (or "Gene Arina," if you are to believe whoever presents the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award) said that "tomorrow night can't come soon enough for all of us."

I took a few other pictures and videos from the practice -- cell phone quality, sorry. I was not able to get out to watch all the teams' practices, so Stanford and LSU fans, sorry, I swear I'm not just trying to hype certain teams. It really is only a coincidence.

(these are also kind of unfortunately silent, but the band was playing here)

This is a Lorin Dixon layup during the Uconn practice:

Tennessee preparing their post players for Sylvia Fowles:

I was able to watch a lot of the Uconn practice. There was a big crowd.

The team spent a lot of time running plays. For those fans who think there's any kind of a Sampson effect with Charde Houston and her hair (though admittedly doubtful after the past few games), the long hair seems to be back.

Freshman Lorin Dixon spent almost the entire time on offense, at the point, practicing running the team against tough defenses. Good thinking, since she's the primary backup for Renee Montgomery and Ketia Swanier.

By Mel Greenberg

Will the NCAA Women’s Final Four transform into a season-long anticipated two-ring circus with Tennessee and Connecticut matching up for the national championship – one more time?

That question will be answered Sunday night in Tampa, Fla., when the two longtime national rivals who no longer meet in a prelim will try to dispense with two powerful hurdles.

Connecticut, the overall No. 1 seed who is back in the tournament for the first time since 2004, will meet Stanford, which hasn’t advanced this deep since 1997.

Then the crowd in the St. Pete Times-Forum will watch a third meeting and rubber game between Tennessee and LSU. The Tigers took the first game in Knoxville before the Vols gained revenge in the Southeastern Conference title game.

Whatever happens, one thing is certain: There has never been this much star power at a Women’s Final Four among the coaches and players.

The focus of the second game is the matchup between Tennessee’s junior Candace Parker and LSU’s Sylvia Fowles, who are likely to be the 1-2 pick in Wednesday’s WNBA draft, which will be held near Tampa at the Innisbrook Golf and Country Club.

Parker, who is said to have shaken off a shoulder injury obtain in the Oklahoma City regional title game against Texas A&M, had been a roll of national player of the year honors again until Saturday when the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Stanford’s Candice Wiggins as the winner of the Margaret Wade Award.

The native of Chicago, who is eligible for the draft because she would otherwise be a senior had she not sat out her first season with an injury, recently announced her decision to turn pro.

The Los Angeles Sparks have the first pick. Fowles will likely be taken by the Chicago Sky. Wiggins has already been mentioned, while Connecticut has managed to overcome season-ending knee injuries to starters Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas because of the sensational play of freshman Maya Moore.

As for the coaches, the four have produced 14 national titles, three Olympic gold medals, and four WNBA titles.

“I think this is the greatest star power we’ve ever had,” said LSU coach Van Chancellor, who led the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA titles and the United States to an Olympic gold medal at the Athens games in 2004.

“I think if you went out and asked the average fan to name four players, they could name all four players. And that’s great for our game. It’s truly outstanding. And I think it’s a very good Final Four. You’re going to see some players do some exceptional things in this tournament.”

Tennessee’s Pat Summitt has won an NCAA six national titles, led the U.S. to Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1984, and is the all-time leader in career victories with 981.

Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer has won two NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal in the watershed Atlanta Games in 1996 when women’s athletics gained nationwide interest.

Auriemma has won five NCAA titles and was an Olympic assistant to Nell Fortner in 2000 in the Sydney games in Australia.

This is LSU’s fifth straight appearance at the finals, but Chancellor, who returned to the collegiate ranks last spring and never made it this far coaching Mississippi, criticized the media Saturday for already attempting to play up the Tennessee-Connecticut collision, which is still two wins away from becoming a reality.

“It’s been an amazing deal for me,” Chancellor observed. I’m amazed that a team that’s been to five Final Fours (is getting ) so little respect.”

Despite his experiences at the highest levels of women’s basketball as a coach, Chancellor has been thrilled with this year’s success with the Tigers, who beat No. 1 seed North Carolina in the New Orleans regional.

“This has been like a kid at Christmastime,” Chancellor gushed, “for me to make a Final Four with a great group of kids who beat a great North Carolina team.

“For me right now, it can’t get any better than this. To have this opportunity, to finally arrive here as a coach. But to arrive here with players you truly, really like,” Chancellor continued.

“Sometimes you coach players that you can’t wait until the season gets over with. This has been a special, special year, and I’ve really enjoyed every minute. So that makes that moment special.”

Topical Tampa: The front page of Saturday’s Tampa Tribune greeted hotel visitors outside their bedrooms, as well as regular readers, with this headline: Final Fouir Gives Lesabians Forum to Celebrate Women. … At the Associated Press awards, which gave Parker its players of the year and Auriemma it’s coach of the year, Auriemma was introduced to the media in attendance as Gene Aureema. … A lavish party by the host committee at the Aquarium featured a thundershower that inundated the section not containing a roof. ,,, La Salle senior Carlene Hightower, announced Friday as the Big Five women's player of the year, was a ,late-addition to the WNBA's pre-draft camp being held at the University of Tampa.

Erin will be reporting Sunday night’s games on the scene.

Mel

TAMPA -- We just got back from the press conference. Surprising everybody, Candice Wiggins is the State Farm (formerly Kodak) WBCA Player of the Year.

State Farm All Americans:
Sylvia Fowles
Crystal Langhorne
Erlana Larkins
Angel McCoughtry
Renee Montgomery
Maya Moore
Courtney Paris
Candace Parker
Kristi Toliver
Candice Wiggins

By Mel Greenberg

Less than 24-hours removed from her final moments as an active collegian, Rutgers' Essence Carson was on a telephonic call Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of the WNBA, as part of a discussion involving what promises to be one of the best-ever drafts of the pro league when it is held next Wednesday in the outskirts of Tampa, Fla.

Innisbrook Golf Club, the site of the draft, happens to be among the holdings of one Sheila Johnson, the owner of the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

Carson, who along with senior teammate Matee Ajavon, is expected to go high in the selection process, found herself addressing both the immediate future and past due to the short timing between Tuesday's loss to UConn in the Greensboro, N.C., regional final and the WNBA call.

Willingboro's Crystal Langhorne, who was also on the call, had a little more time to collect her thoughts, since her new designation as a former collegian was 48 hours old after Maryland's loss to Stanford in Spokane, Wash., on Monday night. Terrapin teammate Laura Harper,who is also draft-bound, was among the players addressed by several league coaches, as well as broadcast analyst.

The draft itself will be headlined by Tennessee junior Candace Parker, expected to go first overall to Los Angeles. The Chicago native isn't jumping once the Vols' season is done, since she is eligible because she would be a senior this season had she not had knee surgery around the time she arrived in Knoxville as a freshman.

The other part of the marquee picks at the top of the line is LSU's Sylvia Fowles, expected to be taken second by the Chicago Sky.

Ironically, the 1-2 draft punch will be going against each other Sunday night in one of the NCAA national semifinal games in Tampa.

"I think in this situation both players would be No. 1 if they came out in separate drafts," new Chicago coach Steven Key said.

Incidentally, if you think the poor players involved ran into a collegiate-pro overlap, it was even more adventurous for the writers who cover both sports, since the early afternoon phone call with the WNBA was immediately followed by the NCAA's interview session with the coaches of the Final Four teams.

The Guru was in transit during all this so understand all the quotes are off the transcripts, although there's nothing exclusive since the public can find both discussions at the Web sites of both organizations.

Carson, in her opening comments, noted, "To have the chance to play in the WNBA has always been a dream of mine, to take part in something that is growing and to be given such a great opportunity."

Asked to reflect on her immediate past, Carson said, "I believed we stayed consistent throughout the season, especially defensively. As the season progressed, the chemistry increased and everything clicked on all cylinders by the time we reached the tournament. We had a great tournament run and unfortunately it ended up in a loss, but this season was a success and in the face of adversity we continued to rise and fight for each other; we never gave up."

Carson described the immediate aftermath of the loss to Connecticut after Rutgers had bolted to a 14-point lead in the first half.

"The locker room scene was very quiet, we were just taking in the game. It defnitely hurt a lot; it hurts to lose. We came straight back to Jersey,it was a very sad flight and everyone was really hurt by ending our season too quickly."

Carson's coach C. Vivian Stringer, has a bunch of former players in the WNBA, accented most recently by Cappie Pondexter, who was the MVP of last summer's title run by the Phoenix Mercury.

"Every players that has come through her program has learned the game of basketball as a whole," Carson said of Stringer. "She teaches you the game; she breaks it down. She really is a teacher and I think she is one of the best at it.

"Off the court how to maintain yourself as a young woman, especially professionally, she has done that. How to carry yourself, especially when you are a role model and when everyone else in looking at you. She has definitely been my mother figure for four years and I believe she has done a great job of that."

Since the odds of playing together in the WNBA with Ajavon are long, she addressed the moment when the two friends will have to go against each other the first time.

"It will be a weird feeling after playing four years with her," Carson said. "Just thinking back to high school when we played against each other; it was always a tough match-up. She's so quick with the ball and able to get to the rim so quickly; she;s really efficient with that. Playing against her in practice for four years you just know what kind of competitor she is. It is really going to be a tough match-up and it is going to be a weird feeling."

Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper said both Rutgers stars should make an impact. He noted that defense was Carson's "best asset." He predicted Carson and Ajavon would go in the first round.

Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer, who holds the fourth pick, is focusing on Ajavon along with several other guards and predicted both would go in the top eight. "It just shows what a great program they have at Rutgers."

Laimbeer, observing the NCAA tournament to date, noted that most of the projected first round of player picks all played in the elite eight regional finals.

Langhorne and Carson both commented on the impact their collegiate senior class should make on the WNBA.

"I think that with our class we hope the league improves so much," Langhorne said. "I think so many players in our class will really help the league, the depth of the league and the overall quality of play."

Carson agreed, saying, "We've all had a sense of how deep this class is over the past few years and even back in high school. The same question was posed when we were coming into college on how the (high school) `Class of `04' would change the face of women's college basketball. We seemed to live up to what they expected and I believe that we will continue to do so because we are those types of competitors. We love to play, we love the game, we love to win, this is our passion. What more can we ask than to play basketball."

Meanwhile, Temple's Lady Comfort, Pittsburgh's Marcedes Walker (University City), and Coppin State's Shalamar Oakley (Camden Catholic) were among the pre-draft camp invitees announced Wednesday. Virginia's Sharnee Zoll (Highland) and Penn State's Kamela Gissendanner were also listed in the initial group that will be supplemented by other players whose collegiate seasons are just ending.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

GREENSBORO, N.C. - What got off to a very bad beginning here for Connecticut against Big East rival Rutgers Tuesday night in the Greensboro Regional final transformed into an uplifting finish as the Huskies emerged with a 66-56 victory to advance to the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla., this weekend.

Connecticut (36-1) clinched the last of the four spots and a Sunday night date against Stanford, which had eliminated Maryland in Spokane, Wash., on Monday night.

With the triumph, the normally loquacious Huskies coach Geno Auriemma seemed a bit lost afterwards for words trying to fit his current edition into the context of previous UConn successes in the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t know how many Final Fours this is for us – nine?” Auriemma said. “The first one – because it was the very first – in 1991, was great. It was improbable.

“The one in 1995, because it was monumental – the team of the century. This one, for some reason, feels different. This one feels pretty incredible.”

The other national semifinal will be an encore presentation of last month’s Southeastern Conference title game. Top-seeded Tennessee (34-2) turned aside a challenge from No. 2 Texas A&M, 53-45, in Oklahoma City Tuesday night to move into a re-match and third meeting this season with LSU.

The Tigers topped top-seeded North Carolina in New Orleans on Monday night.

The Huskies’ win enabled the current senior class to avoid the stigma of becoming the first group since UConn became a national power in 1995 to not go to a Women’s Final Four.

Auriemma’s teams had not advanced this far since the 2004 three-peat accomplishment in New Orleans as Diana Taurasi finished her eligibility and continued into WNBA All-Star status and won a pro title last summer with the Phoenix Mercury.

Ironically, the MVP of the WNBA finals was teammate Cappie Pondexter, who was a rival at Rutgers when the two played several years at the same time at the collegiate level.

Tuesday’s game from the Connecticut side was a bit similar to the Huskies’ experience in their comeback against North Carolina in Storrs in February after the Tar Heels had overpowered them through much of the first half.

Likewise against Rutgers (27-7) , Auriemma’s group couldn’t buy shots in the opening minutes and the Scarlet Knights rode to a 14-point lead seeking a return to the Final Four.

“It was like everything Rutgers was shooting and doing was going their way,” said Ketia Swanier, who tied Renee Montgomery for team honors with 15 points. “We couldn’t hit anything. But there was never a point in time when I thought we were going to lose the game. Nobody on our team put our heads down or put or tails between our legs. We knew it was one possession at a time.”

Connecticut fought back to a competitive five-point deficit, 32-27, at the half. The momentum continued into the second half, but the contest between the two Big East powers was more like Rutgers’ close win at Piscataway rather than the Huskies’ lopsided win in Hartford.

As the minutes ticked toward crunch time, it was obvious someone was going to suffer heartbreak.

Maya Moore, the UConn freshman sensation who made the Associated Press all-America first team earlier in the day, had been held in check much of the night.

But the regional’s most outstanding player broke loose with a deep three-pointer that snapped a 49-49 tie with just under three minutes to go. That turned the tide as Rutgers lapsed into another offensive funk while the Huskies went a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line the rest of the way.

“With this particular team, what’s really gratifying is that too many pieces have to fall just right,” said Auriemma, who lost starters Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas to knee injuries at mid-season. “Three of our perimeter players had to play 40 minutes. We don’t have all the answers to every question like we have in other years.

“We struggle at times just like other teams struggle. But this particular team didn’t necessarily get to the final four on talent, and the experience of having been there, and having three or four college All-Americans. This team got there on a lot of the intangibles that make you appreciate coaching.”

Kaili McClaren added 10 points and sophomore Tina Charles grabbed 12 rebounds.

That caused Auriemma to quip over last year’s performance by the former Christ the King star as a freshman in the regional title game.

“She got one more rebound than my daughter,” said of the New York City sensation. “My daughter didn’t get any rebounds and Tina got one.”

Charles started a parade of what has been three straight high school national players of the year committing to the Huskies. Moore was this year’s top recruit, coming out of Georgia, and Wilmington’s Elena Delle Donne of Ursuline Academy will be heading to UConn in September.

On Rutgers’ side, the Scarlet Knights’ two showcase seniors Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson scored in double figures with Ajavon collecting 18 points, while Carson had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Kia Vaughn added 11 points.

Sophomore Epiphanny Prince was held to 7 points.

A year ago, the Greensboro Colisuem was a scene of joy for the Scarlet Knights when they upset overall top seed Duke in the semifinals and then put down Arizona State to advance to the Final Four before losing to Tennessee in the national championship game.

On Tuesday it was a place of sadness as Carson and Ajavon closed their brilliant backcourt careers along with classmate Katie Adams.

“They (Ajavon and Carson) meant so much to our program,” said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who conceded her players tired as the game wore on. "They are perfect examples of what student athletes should be. It’s not about a show. It’s about working hard to get it done.

“To have two in the same year meant so much,” Stringer continued. “They had an impact on our nation and certainly our program. To see them go, it’s tough.”

Auriemma made a veiled critical remark toward the NCAA about his team having to play Rutgers in Tuesday night’s game as a 1-2 matchup that was based more on geography than the talent level between the two schools.

“In a real tournament run by real people, No. 1 plays No. 8, No. 2 plays No. 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5. They don’t worry about what part of the country you’re in, they don’t worry about whether they’re going to draw fans, not draw fans. They don’t care about that stuff. It’s about getting it right that the teams that played throughout the season to get to those spots, that’s who you play.

“So, did they do a good job of that? No. But at the same if you’re North Carolina you can’t be moaning and groaning about playing LSU in New Orleans in that environment.

“There’s frigging 4,000 people at the game. Big deal. If you can’t win there, you shouldn’t be going to the Final Four. I’ve never gotten caught up in where you play as long as you play the team you’re supposed to be playing.”

Looking ahead to Stanford on Sunday, Auriemma noted, in the manner of Tuesday’s win over Rutgers, “There’s going to come a point in time in that game where one team realizes they’re going to win and the other team realizes they’re going to lose.

“That’s kind of what I coach my team to do. In that particular moment, sense it, and be ready to take advantage of it.”

Auriemma saluted Rutgers: “I think they’re one of the top four or five teams in America and they don’t deserve to be playing the No. 1 No. 1. I just think in the NCAA tournament, their team is built for tournament play. I think they represented themselves and the Big East conference in a great way. And we’re going to do the same when we get to the Final Four.”

Mel

By Stephen K. Lee

Maya Moore’s go-ahead 3-pointer with under three minutes left in Connecticut’s 66-56 win over Rutgers in the Elite Eight not only punched the Huskies’ ticket to Tampa, it also ended one of the most intriguing seasons C. Vivian Stringer and her Scarlet Knights have ever seen.

Like many Rutgers seasons, the 2007-2008 campaign was an up-and-down rollercoaster ride. Here’s a look back at some key moments:

Nov. 11 – Stanford 60, Rutgers 58: Rutgers sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince was called for a controversial foul on Stanford star Candace Wiggins with 0.1 seconds remaining in the game. Wiggins made both free throw attempts to spoil the Scarlet Knights’ season opener and possibly foreshadow Rutgers’ future problems with fractions of a second remaining on game clocks.

Nov. 14 – Introducing the Fab Five (Class of 2012)!: Jasmine Dixon (Long Beach, Calif.), Chelsey Lee (Miami, Fla.), Brooklyn Pope (Fort Worth, Texas), Nikki Speed (Pasadena, Calif.) and April Sykes (Crawford, Miss.) signed their national letters of intent to join Rutgers next season. All five would later be named McDonald’s All-Americans and Pope and Speed would be named co-MVPs of the All-American game. This group has the potential to lift Rutgers from first-class status to elite-class status (i.e. Tennessee, UConn).

Nov. 25 – Rutgers 45, LSU 43: This game marked Rutgers’ first grind-it-out win over an upper-echelon opponent. RU junior center Kia Vaughn and LSU star Sylvia Fowles each scored 13 points in a hard-fought battle in the paint.

Nov. 28 – Rutgers 56, St. Joseph’s 50: The Scarlet Knights snuck past the Hawks in a game that should have been a Rutgers blowout. RU’s porous 33.8 percent shooting (8-of-37 in the second half) was a sign that the Scarlet Knights sometimes play down to their competition.

Dec. 3 – Rutgers 68, Maryland 60: Then-No. 3 Maryland was the highest-ranked team Rutgers had beaten at home in nearly four years. Rutgers trailed 33-23 at the half but roared back in the second frame. This is the first game when the Scarlet Knights showed signs of being the second-half Cardiac Crusaders. Prince shined with 22 points and 10 assists and seniors Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon added 15 points apiece.

Dec. 6 – Duke 49, Rutgers 44: A week removed from the messy win over St. Joe’s, Rutgers lost its first game of the season with a disappointing effort against a rebuilding Duke program. The Scarlet Knights shot an embarrassing 27.6 percent from the floor. Prince led the team with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, showing signs that she would be Rutgers’ steady rock throughout the course of the season.

Dec. 8 – Jan. 8 (America, meet The Pace-Setters!): Frustrated with the lack of sustained fire and momentum that her usual combination of starters (Ajavon, Carson, Prince, Vaughn, and Heather Zurich) and reserves (Katie Adams, Rashidat Junaid, Myia McCurdy, Brittany Ray, and Khadijah Rushdan) was producing, Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer decided to mix things up and swapped her starters for her reserves in various combinations. Stringer would ease in her regular starters a few minutes into the first half and the team experienced much success with this strategy, going 7-0 with wins over Army, California, Princeton, Temple, Pepperdine, St. John’s, and Marquette.

Jan. 29 – West Virginia 63, Rutgers 54: For Rutgers, this is the loss that ultimately cost them a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tourney. After the Mountaineers trashed them 41-26 in the second half, the Scarlet Knights started moving into the No. 2 seed classification.

Feb. 5 – Rutgers 73, Connecticut 71: In this Round 1 matchup between Rutgers and UConn, Prince took her game to another level. The sophomore guard scored 14 points in a three-minute span early in the second half to rally the Scarlet Knights back from a 40-30 deficit. Prince finished with a career-best 33 points as Rutgers handed UConn its only loss of the season.

Feb. 11 – Tennessee 59, Rutgers 58: From this day forward, the time “0.2 seconds” lives in infamy among Rutgers coaches, players, and fans. With the clock winding down and Rutgers ahead 58-57, Kia Vaughn was called for a foul on Lady Vols forward Nicky Anosike on a Tennessee offensive rebound with the clock reading 0.2 seconds. The clock, however, froze at 0.2 seconds for nearly a full second before the foul was called, meaning that the game was technically over and Rutgers had won. The officials missed the clock malfunction and the rest is history.

Feb. 19 – Rutgers 57, Notre Dame 51: In this game Myia McCurdy suffered a torn ACL, LCL and lateral meniscus in her right knee, ending her season. The loss of McCurdy essentially took away Rutgers’ use of Stringer’s ‘55’ press, as the sophomore forward was its key cog. The Scarlet Knights, which had lost freshman Khadijah Rushdan in the win over Temple, had to deal with an eight-player roster from here on out. Though they had had a few games with just eight earlier in the season, this was different because no one was coming back.

March 3 – Connecticut 66, Rutgers 46: In the Rutgers’ regular season finale, the Huskies outperformed the Scarlet Knights in just about every facet of the game. Though this loss certainly didn’t help Rutgers, it didn’t hurt RU too much either in its outside shot at a low No. 1 seed.

March 9 – Louisville 57, Rutgers 56: One week after receiving a 20-point thrashing in Hartford, Conn., at the hands of UConn, Rutgers came up short against Angel McCoughtry (20 points) and the Cardinals in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. With this loss and the fact that they hadn’t faced UConn a third time, as expected, before the NCAA tournament, the Scarlet Knights suffered a major blow to their standing at the potential top No. 2 seed. This loss may have been the reason why the NCAA committee put Rutgers in the same regional bracket with UConn.

March 17 - Selection Monday: Rutgers got dealt the Greensboro bracket where it would have to inevitably have to face UConn, the top overall seed, in the Elite Eight. Charlie-Brown sighs and eye rolls engulfed everyone in Piscataway. Not again!

NCAA Rounds 1 & 2, Greensboro Semifinals: In NCAA tourney play, the Scarlet Knights looked like they had fully recovered from their disappointing losses to UConn and Louisville. Kia Vaughn averaged 22.5 points per contest in the first two rounds while Epiphanny Prince averaged 19. In the first round win over Robert Morris, Brittany Ray notched a season-best 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting (4-for-4 from beyond the arc). In Rutgers 53-42 win over George Washington in the Sweet 16, Essence Carson matched a career best with 25 points. So, heading into their Elite Eight matchup against UConn, it looked like the Scarlet Knights found new life on offense to make up for their limitations on defense.

April 1 – Connecticut 66, Rutgers 56: The Scarlet Knights led by as much as 14 in the first half and looked poised for another Greensboro upset over a top seed. The Huskies answered with a big second half to come back and end Rutgers Final Four aspirations.

In addition to ending the Scarlet Knights’ season, Tuesday’s Elite Eight loss to UConn also closed an important chapter in the history of the Rutgers program.

The legacy of seniors Matee Ajavon, Essence Carson and Katie Adams lies in the giant leap that the Rutgers program has taken since the beginning of junior year. The trio, which is the most successful class in Scarlet Knights history (two Elite Eights, a Sweet 16, and a trip to the National Championship game), has demonstrated leadership on and off the court.

On the court, Carson and Ajavon each reached the 1,000-point mark. Carson maintained Stringer’s high expectations on defense, winning Big East Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive years. Ajavon filled the intensity void left by Rutgers legend Cappie Pondexter by playing with flair and aggressiveness. Adams, set a good example for bench players everywhere with her passion for the game despite receiving little playing time.

Off the court, Carson was always the voice of the team. Whether it was taking the mike at after a rough game or taking the podium at the Imus reaction press conference, Carson always knew the right things to say.

Ajavon served as the loveable class clown. From “I want to go to Hollywood!” to “Congratulations, Vivian (in jokingly deep voice)” she always had something humorous to say to break the tension at practices or press conferences.

Adams was the mother figure of the group off the court. At the beginning of the year Myia McCurdy mentioned that Adams, who like McCurdy is an out-of-state student, got her settled as a freshmen, showing her around and even helping her set up a local bank account.

The trio also played a key role in building the future. Stringer credits the Class of 2008 for recruiting the highly-touted Class of 2012.

No, the Class of 2008 didn’t win a national championship. But, perhaps more so than any other class, it put the program in a position to win future championships.

Thanks for everything E, Mat and Katie. Good luck with wherever life takes you.

By Mel Greenberg

Well, the anything-but-terrible 2s prevailed Monday night when LSU beat top-seeded North Carolina in New Orleans and Stanford downed top-seeded Maryland in Spokane.

The results left the Atlantic Coast Conference, two years removed from its Boston trifecta, reduced to zero in representatives in the Women's Final Four.

While the Stanford coverage focused on the Cardinal's shock and outrage over not getting a No. 1 seed, the reality is both games could have easily occurred no matter who held which seed.

Rutgers, meanwhile, hasn't had as much problem with its No. 2, understanding what knocked the Scarlet Knights off the season-long projected top line in the bracket, It's just where they happened to be placed.

Coach C. Vivian Stringer's group against overall No. 1 seed Connecticut Tuesday night in Greensboro will be on the under-side of the "should-have-been" been Big East title game of several weeks ago. That went by the wayside, courtesy of the quarterfinal upset loss to Louisville, which went on to cause a slight stir against the Huskies in Hartford and challenged North Carolina in the New Orleans semifinals.

But given how two No. 2s are already on their way to Tampa, or is it Tampa Bay, in sunny Florida, perhaps the Scarlet Knights could easily adapt a battle cry of why not us?

Normally, in a matchup such as the Greensboro showdown, the postgame media interviews involving the Huskies and Scarlet Knights have as much anticipation as the actual game itself, considering who's involved and the sizeable number reporters who cover both schools.

However, because of the late hour start and deadlines, most of the after-commentary will probably light up a day or two after the sun rises on Tobacco Road.

The other Tuesday night game before the anticipated Big East superpower battle, which should draw huge TV ratings despite the 9-ish start, will be in Oklahoma City, where Texas A&M will try to bring down Tennessee, the defending champs.

But if the Vols make good on their favorites role, one piece of the Final Four will feature a Southeastern Conference title encore between Tennessee and LSU.

Whatever the completed Final Four field becomes late Tuesday night, not much money will need to be spent on scouting tapes.

Rutgers has played both Stanford, LSU and Tennessee, but not Texas A&M, in terms of familiarity from this season while Connecticut has played LSU, and Stanford, but not Texas A&M.

Oh, yeah, the Vols and Huskies didn't meet for the first time in 14 years so UConn coach Geno Auriemma's success record against Tennessee in second-chance opportunities the same season won't be tested.

Don't laugh. In some circles it has been suggested, besides her displeasure over UConn's recruiting of freshman sensation Maya Moore, that Tennessee's Pat Summitt canceled the series to prevent Auriemma from gaining an "extra" advantage in a tournament second meeting.

Meanwhile, schools still alive in the field have seen their share of droughts in their geographical locations. But drought relief occurred twice on Monday night and could happen again on Tuesday.

Stanford, the oasis in a primary women's basket desert West of the Rockies, has returned to the Women's Final Four for the first time since 1997, ending a series of frustration, especially in recent regional play.

Ironically, the Cardinal are actually heading South still alive, instead of a recent tradition of going south, as they say in fandom.

Although LSU is heading for its fifth straight Final Four, it's the first time for new Tigers coach Van Chancellor, who missed several times years ago with Mississippi before moving on to the WNBA in 1997 when he went on to take Houston to the pro league's first four titles.

"Sometimes it's even hard to win with great talent," Chancellor quipped from the team bus to a caller while returning from New Orleans to LSU's nearby campus in Baton Rouge.

Meanwhile, unless Rutgers can make it two straight Final Four appearances, the UConn seniors will earn their first Final Four appearances, snapping the longest Huskies drought from the national semifinals since they won their first title in 1995.

Texas A&M has never been that far, so the Aggies couldn't technically qualify as drought stricken. But one could hang the tag on coach Gary Blair, who took Arkansas to the finals in 1998.

The Razorbacks emerged from the West regional that began with No. 1 Stanford .. , well, let's not bring up unpleasant memories while the Cardinal finally has cause to celebrate.

-- Mel