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
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