19 March 2015
Dance Cards
Both of my Huskies are dancing this year!
The Expected: UConn
Who? The Huskies of Connecticut. Seriously, stop calling them the Lady Huskies; that's not how UConn rolls.
The Surprise: Washington
Who? The Huskies of Washington. Dawgs to their fans, sometimes UW (pronounced and sometimes spelled U-Dub).
The Expected: UConn
Who? The Huskies of Connecticut. Seriously, stop calling them the Lady Huskies; that's not how UConn rolls.
The Surprise: Washington
Who? The Huskies of Washington. Dawgs to their fans, sometimes UW (pronounced and sometimes spelled U-Dub).
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
07 February 2015
Three in a Row!
26 January 2015
Rebecca Lobo's Top 5
Her top two are the expected, but check out number four!
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
23 November 2014
Makes & Misses
17 November 2014
Kelsey Plum
Washington lost their first game of the season (at Oklahoma), but sophomore guard Kelsey Plum broke the school record with 45 points. She got some nice recognition for her performance.
From ESPN-W:
And she was named Pac-12 Player-of-the-Week:
"Sophomore guard Kelsey Plum (Poway, Calif.) set a Washington single-game record with 45 points in the Huskies’ opening night loss at Oklahoma, 90-80. Plum shot 15-of-27 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range, while making all 12 of her attempts at there free throw line, against the Sooners, a team that has made 15-straight NCAA Tournaments, Plum helped rally the Huskies from an 18-point deficit to get within three in the final minute. Plum also added a team-high five assists and brought down four rebounds. On the defensive end she added three steals and two blocked shots."
From ESPN-W:
And she was named Pac-12 Player-of-the-Week:
"Sophomore guard Kelsey Plum (Poway, Calif.) set a Washington single-game record with 45 points in the Huskies’ opening night loss at Oklahoma, 90-80. Plum shot 15-of-27 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range, while making all 12 of her attempts at there free throw line, against the Sooners, a team that has made 15-straight NCAA Tournaments, Plum helped rally the Huskies from an 18-point deficit to get within three in the final minute. Plum also added a team-high five assists and brought down four rebounds. On the defensive end she added three steals and two blocked shots."
Labels: college basketball
03 November 2014
Huskies
ESPN is counting down the top 25 college basketball players. I expect Breanna Stewart to be #1, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple other UConn players on the list. But today I was (pleasantly) surprised. They listed 21-25, and a familiar face showed up:
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
01 June 2014
Quote of the Day: Rebecca Lobo
From her twitter:
"Overheard -- Boy : 'What's your favorite basketball team?' My 9-yr-old : 'WNBA or college?'"
"Overheard -- Boy : 'What's your favorite basketball team?' My 9-yr-old : 'WNBA or college?'"
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball, WNBA
23 March 2014
Quote of the Day: ESPN
Regarding today's first round NCAA tournament game, South Carolina vs Cal State Northridge:
"South Carolina is new to this whole No. 1 seed thing, so maybe the Gamecocks didn't fully understand the deal.
You aren't really supposed to come out and play a close, competitive game in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The way it usually works is you overmatch and overwhelm the No. 16 seed and get yourself warmed up for a long tournament run. Nice and easy, no drama required.
You shouldn't have to look up at the scoreboard and see Cal State Northridge within four points well into the second half. And the Matadors certainly shouldn't be within two possessions of a tie with less than four minutes to go."
"South Carolina is new to this whole No. 1 seed thing, so maybe the Gamecocks didn't fully understand the deal.
You aren't really supposed to come out and play a close, competitive game in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The way it usually works is you overmatch and overwhelm the No. 16 seed and get yourself warmed up for a long tournament run. Nice and easy, no drama required.
You shouldn't have to look up at the scoreboard and see Cal State Northridge within four points well into the second half. And the Matadors certainly shouldn't be within two possessions of a tie with less than four minutes to go."
Labels: college basketball
18 March 2014
Quote of the Day: Swish Appeal
From South Carolina's dance card:
"The Gamecocks (Gamehens?) are a strong defensive team, holding opponents to 55 points per game. The good news: they've improved their free throw shooting from last year! The bad news: they're aaaaaall the way up to 66.8%. As a team. This could be a problem."
"The Gamecocks (Gamehens?) are a strong defensive team, holding opponents to 55 points per game. The good news: they've improved their free throw shooting from last year! The bad news: they're aaaaaall the way up to 66.8%. As a team. This could be a problem."
Labels: college basketball
06 March 2014
Quote of the Day: Kevin Pelton
From his twitter, at the Pac-12 tournament:
"Listening to [USC coach] Cynthia Cooper during timeouts is exactly as entertaining as you would think it would be."
"Listening to [USC coach] Cynthia Cooper during timeouts is exactly as entertaining as you would think it would be."
Labels: college basketball
02 March 2014
National Media Noticing Plum
ESPN-W has a very nice article about Washington freshman Kelsey Plum:
"She's never hit a freshman wall," [Coach] Neighbors said. "If she did, she plowed right through it."
"She's never hit a freshman wall," [Coach] Neighbors said. "If she did, she plowed right through it."
Labels: college basketball
23 February 2014
UW Guards
From Friday evening, a post-game interview with Jazmine Davis, Kelsey Plum, and Mercedes Wetmore. A nice palate-cleanser after today's icky game:
Labels: college basketball
21 February 2014
Good Game!
Oregon came to Washington tonight and it was exactly the sort of fast-paced, high-scoring game you would expect. UW won 108 - 100*, and freshman Kelsey Plum had an outstanding game. 38 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Jayda Evans thinks Plum just sewed up freshman-of-the-year, since her main competition is Oregon's Chrishae Rowe, and she was clearly outplayed tonight. Plum's 38 points was the most ever by a Washington freshman, and her season total of 536 passes Jazmine Davis for most in a freshman season.
Davis still managed to collect a record of her own, though: She's the first Husky to have back-to-back-to-back seasons with 500+ points.
While we're on the subject of amazing Huskies, here's a nice article about Katie Collier's battles with cancer (!) and knee injuries.
*For anyone's who's curious, UConn beat Oregon 114-68. Their highest scoring game of the year, and the most points they've allowed all year.
Jayda Evans thinks Plum just sewed up freshman-of-the-year, since her main competition is Oregon's Chrishae Rowe, and she was clearly outplayed tonight. Plum's 38 points was the most ever by a Washington freshman, and her season total of 536 passes Jazmine Davis for most in a freshman season.
Davis still managed to collect a record of her own, though: She's the first Husky to have back-to-back-to-back seasons with 500+ points.
While we're on the subject of amazing Huskies, here's a nice article about Katie Collier's battles with cancer (!) and knee injuries.
*For anyone's who's curious, UConn beat Oregon 114-68. Their highest scoring game of the year, and the most points they've allowed all year.
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
10 February 2014
Quote of the Day: Chiney Ogwumike
After her team's loss to UW, the Stanford senior blogged for ESPNW:
"Kudos to Washington for reminding us how to play with urgency. I have so much respect for our opponents. It's funny, before the game, [Washington guard] Jazmine Davis asked me for a rematch in ping pong from our time at Pac-12 media day in October (our coaches were getting after it at Pac-12 Studios at media day). Along with the great memories of going to the Final Four and winning Pac-12 championships, I will remember those little things that make our game special."
"Kudos to Washington for reminding us how to play with urgency. I have so much respect for our opponents. It's funny, before the game, [Washington guard] Jazmine Davis asked me for a rematch in ping pong from our time at Pac-12 media day in October (our coaches were getting after it at Pac-12 Studios at media day). Along with the great memories of going to the Final Four and winning Pac-12 championships, I will remember those little things that make our game special."
Labels: college basketball
09 February 2014
A Great Day for My Basketball Teams
The Huskies (unsurprisingly) beat the Cardinals.
The Huskies (VERY surprisingly) beat the Cardinal.
UConn whupped Louisville, as everyone outside of Kentucky expected.
Washington held on to beat Stanford, which no one -- even those of us who root for UW -- expected. Hoped? Sure. Expected? No way.
UW freshman Kelsey Plum had a great game, and people definitely noticed. From twitter:
Rebecca Lobo: Kelsey Plum #ThatIsAll
Swin Cash: Her personality matches her game. Gotta love it!
Rebecca Lobo: Wow... fun player to watch!
LaChina Robinson: And looks like the girl next door!
Cindy Brunson: And a leader too. Named captain as a freshman. KP is the total package.
UW had the lead for most of the game, and a sizeable lead near the end. But Stanford starting fouling early, and Washington didn't make as many of the free throws as they should have, and it ended up being very close. But they held out and celebrated beating the #3 ranked Stanford.
The best part? Stanford has two losses this year: to the UConn Huskies and the Washington Huskies. I'm guessing Stanford is hoping they won't have to face Houston Baptist or Northeastern in the NCAA tournament.
The Huskies (VERY surprisingly) beat the Cardinal.
UConn whupped Louisville, as everyone outside of Kentucky expected.
Washington held on to beat Stanford, which no one -- even those of us who root for UW -- expected. Hoped? Sure. Expected? No way.
UW freshman Kelsey Plum had a great game, and people definitely noticed. From twitter:
Rebecca Lobo: Kelsey Plum #ThatIsAll
Swin Cash: Her personality matches her game. Gotta love it!
Rebecca Lobo: Wow... fun player to watch!
LaChina Robinson: And looks like the girl next door!
Cindy Brunson: And a leader too. Named captain as a freshman. KP is the total package.
UW had the lead for most of the game, and a sizeable lead near the end. But Stanford starting fouling early, and Washington didn't make as many of the free throws as they should have, and it ended up being very close. But they held out and celebrated beating the #3 ranked Stanford.
The best part? Stanford has two losses this year: to the UConn Huskies and the Washington Huskies. I'm guessing Stanford is hoping they won't have to face Houston Baptist or Northeastern in the NCAA tournament.
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
27 January 2014
Quote of the Day: Anna Wilson
Anna Wilson is a high school sophomore. She is a highly-recruited 5'7" guard, who has given her verbal commitment to Stanford. She is also Russell Wilson's little sister. Recently she began blogging for ESPNW:
"I vividly recall going to Russell’s football games at Collegiate [High School]. There were always two really big games, against St. Christopher’s, a local private school, and Godwin. Godwin was a public school that Collegiate always played, and it was one of the biggest games because it was the only one under the lights.
Courtesy of Anna Wilson
Anna Wilson recalls the crazy atmosphere when Collegiate took on rival Godwin.
Both student sections would be packed, and Godwin had a sign up that said, 'The "Russell Show" Stops Here' (unfortunately for Godwin that was not the case)."
"I vividly recall going to Russell’s football games at Collegiate [High School]. There were always two really big games, against St. Christopher’s, a local private school, and Godwin. Godwin was a public school that Collegiate always played, and it was one of the biggest games because it was the only one under the lights.
Courtesy of Anna Wilson
Anna Wilson recalls the crazy atmosphere when Collegiate took on rival Godwin.
Both student sections would be packed, and Godwin had a sign up that said, 'The "Russell Show" Stops Here' (unfortunately for Godwin that was not the case)."
Labels: college basketball, Seattle Seahawks
19 May 2013
USA Basketball
UConn had five players trying out for national teams this summer. Bria Hartley (junior guard) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (sophomore guard/forward) were up for the World University Games team and the three freshman (Moriah Jefferson - guard, Morgan Tuck - forward, and Breanna Stewart - forward) were up for the U19 team.
All five were selected for the team. Cool, right? Not surprising, but cool.
What WAS surprising is that incoming Washington freshman Kelsey Plum was also selected for the U19 team. So a future Washington Husky will be playing with three Connecticut Huskies. Hooray!
All five were selected for the team. Cool, right? Not surprising, but cool.
What WAS surprising is that incoming Washington freshman Kelsey Plum was also selected for the U19 team. So a future Washington Husky will be playing with three Connecticut Huskies. Hooray!
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
16 April 2013
Basketball News
Strangely, none of it is about UConn. It's my other two teams that are in the news...
Over at ESPN.com, Mechelle Voepel grades the draft and gives Seattle an "A":
The Storm won't have Lauren Jackson or Sue Bird this season, as both are sitting out to recover from injuries. Thus, the odds are Seattle could end up with a lottery pick for 2014.
But that doesn't mean this is just a throw-away season for the Storm. Coach Brian Agler was high on Maryland's Hawkins, and that's who he got at No. 6. The versatile 6-3 post should be able to help right away with some of the scoring void.
Iowa State post player Chelsea Poppens (No. 18) also could lend a hand with that -- and rebounding -- if she is able to make the team. The Cyclones have had very little success putting players into the WNBA, but maybe Poppens will be the exception.
And in the third round, Seattle took Georgia's Jasmine James (No. 30). It made sense for the Storm at that stage in the draft to get a point guard who was at least worth a look.
Washington coach Kevin McGuff recently signed an extension, and now he's leaving to take the open job at Ohio State. (I guess it's his home state?) Money-wise, it will be ok for the UW. Jayda Evans reports that OSU will be paying a $1.75 million buyout for his contract -- more than he made in his two years here.
Still, it stinks. He was building up the program, and now he's gone. They had some good new players for next year, but now they might transfer.
Over at ESPN.com, Mechelle Voepel grades the draft and gives Seattle an "A":
The Storm won't have Lauren Jackson or Sue Bird this season, as both are sitting out to recover from injuries. Thus, the odds are Seattle could end up with a lottery pick for 2014.
But that doesn't mean this is just a throw-away season for the Storm. Coach Brian Agler was high on Maryland's Hawkins, and that's who he got at No. 6. The versatile 6-3 post should be able to help right away with some of the scoring void.
Iowa State post player Chelsea Poppens (No. 18) also could lend a hand with that -- and rebounding -- if she is able to make the team. The Cyclones have had very little success putting players into the WNBA, but maybe Poppens will be the exception.
And in the third round, Seattle took Georgia's Jasmine James (No. 30). It made sense for the Storm at that stage in the draft to get a point guard who was at least worth a look.
Washington coach Kevin McGuff recently signed an extension, and now he's leaving to take the open job at Ohio State. (I guess it's his home state?) Money-wise, it will be ok for the UW. Jayda Evans reports that OSU will be paying a $1.75 million buyout for his contract -- more than he made in his two years here.
Still, it stinks. He was building up the program, and now he's gone. They had some good new players for next year, but now they might transfer.
Labels: college basketball, Seattle Storm
03 April 2013
The Schimmel Sisters
This year's Cinderella story is Louisville. Their star is Shoni Schimmel, and she and younger sister Jude Schimmel have been playing great in the tournament. (After they beat Tennessee to get into the Final Four, the two of them shared a big hug. Very sweet!!!)
Here's an article about their tournament run.
I first learned about Shoni Schimmel when I watched the documentary "Off the Rez" about her family's decision to move off the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon to a public school so she could play basketball on a bigger stage.
It's a good movie; I recommend it. I got it from the King County Library System, so if you're interested, I know they have a copy.*
*ETA: I just checked KCLS, and they don't have a copy. Very strange -- I could have sworn that's how I saw it. Weird!
Here's an article about their tournament run.
I first learned about Shoni Schimmel when I watched the documentary "Off the Rez" about her family's decision to move off the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon to a public school so she could play basketball on a bigger stage.
It's a good movie; I recommend it. I got it from the King County Library System, so if you're interested, I know they have a copy.*
*ETA: I just checked KCLS, and they don't have a copy. Very strange -- I could have sworn that's how I saw it. Weird!
Labels: college basketball
02 April 2013
The Final Four Is Set
On one side of the bracket: The #1 seeds UConn and Notre Dame. (For the third year in a row!)
On the other side of the bracket: A #2 seed making its debut (California) and a #5 seed for only the second time in the history of the tournament (Louisville).
I think most people are assuming that the Cal/Louisville game is irrelevant, and that the winner will be determined by the Notre Dame/UConn game.
But Louisville's been on a tear this week, upsetting Baylor and Tennessee. They always play UConn hard during the regular season, so I think they could really make a play.
The first year I followed UConn (2010-2011), they beat Notre Dame three times before losing to Notre Dame in the Final Four. This year Notre Dame won the first three games this season. Hopefully UConn can mirror the 2010-2011 season!
By the way... With Kelly Faris graduating, I was wondering who my new favorite player was going to be. Well, Moriah Jefferson has been trying her best to earn that spot. She's itty bitty (5'7"), looks like she's twelve, but is playing fearless since the Big East Tournament. She's tough on defense, getting a lot of steals, is driving to the basket, and is generally making good decisions and using her speed well.
Oh! And she's blocking shots, too!
On the other side of the bracket: A #2 seed making its debut (California) and a #5 seed for only the second time in the history of the tournament (Louisville).
I think most people are assuming that the Cal/Louisville game is irrelevant, and that the winner will be determined by the Notre Dame/UConn game.
But Louisville's been on a tear this week, upsetting Baylor and Tennessee. They always play UConn hard during the regular season, so I think they could really make a play.
The first year I followed UConn (2010-2011), they beat Notre Dame three times before losing to Notre Dame in the Final Four. This year Notre Dame won the first three games this season. Hopefully UConn can mirror the 2010-2011 season!
By the way... With Kelly Faris graduating, I was wondering who my new favorite player was going to be. Well, Moriah Jefferson has been trying her best to earn that spot. She's itty bitty (5'7"), looks like she's twelve, but is playing fearless since the Big East Tournament. She's tough on defense, getting a lot of steals, is driving to the basket, and is generally making good decisions and using her speed well.
Oh! And she's blocking shots, too!
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
