A.J. Price was on fire tonight for the men. They pulled away in the end. Stanley Robinson is playing better as far as I am concerned. I think he realizes that he isn't being relied on to score and rather to get rebounds and play D. I think when he first got here UConn was looking for someone to step up and score. I think expectations were really too high for him. Now that other players are being relied upon to score I think that he has gotten comfortable with his role and will continue to be effective...and improve offensively. Stanley is by far most athletic person at UConn in any sport. If he can put together other skills with that athleticism he will really grow as a player.
MVP A.J. Price
As for the women they took care of business tonight, easily. West Virginia native Renee Montgomery showed off for her family and friends. Maya Moore helped UConn get off to a really quick start. She had a double-double too. Kalana Greene is once again continuing to show us her old self. I know I said that last game too. I'm just really happy for Kalana. The player I was most impressed with, not named Renee Montgomery tonight, was Tiffany Hayes. That drive to the basket early on in the game was great. Hayes hasn't been knocking down the 3's lately. Early on in the year she was making them. She hit 7 of her first 10 3 pointers in her first 3 games but has only made 2 more since then. It seemed to me as if that's almost all I'd see her do was to take 3's on offense. The last couple of games she seems to be taking it to the hoop more and it's paying off. It especially paid off tonight. Tiffany told me that she is very good at taking it to the hoop. She is confident in her ability to do that. Her other strength is her 3 point shooting, and I am pretty sure she will find her stroke again. But I think it's really important and great for UConn that she has become effective on offense in ways other than 3 point shooting. It's also funny how the confidence that she will be gaining from driving to the hoop for lay-ups will more than likely translate into better 3 pt shooting down the road. It's funny how important confidence is. Hayes also had a great hustle block on a lay-up. Hayes has impressed me lately, and if she keeps playing well I wouldn't be surprised if she starts this year. Geno usually puts in the starting 5 to start the 2nd half. Tiffany made it in to start the half instead of Caroline tonight.
Also congratulations to Tahirah Williams. With her 4 points tonight she set a new personal best for points in a season. She scored exactly 50 pts in each of her last 2 seasons. This year she already has 52 points. In her first 3 years she averaged just under 2 points a game. This year she has doubled it to over 4. It may sound like a small amount but she really looks like she has improved from last year. I like how she has come off the bench this year and made pretty good contributions when she's played. A lot of people also don't appreciate the importance of having someone like Tahirah who gets the team going on the bench by celebrating and jumping up and down.
Having someone who is upbeat on the bench keeps the team focused and up-beat. I played in a game where my baseball team gave up 12 runs in the top of the 1st inning. I told the team, well if they can score 12 runs in an inning, then so can we. So we did, and we won 24-20. Don't underestimate the importance of her enthusiasm for the game. Believe me it makes a difference that probably a very few people actually appreciate. Tahirah is a wonderful person too. She is a great person to interview, really well spoken and she is someone who understands and appreciates what being a UConn Women's Basketball player is all about. She is proud that little kids look up to her and that UConn basketball also produces good people, students and student athletes. She was proud to mention that 9 of the 13 Huskies had a GPA of 3.0 or above.
Player of the Game was Renee Montgomery, although it was a great game for Tiffany Hayes too.
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