Senior Day

Well as most of you know I haven't won the student ticket lottery for men's basketball for 3 straight years and I refuse to pay $20 for a single game. I only get to go to games when I work them or when my friends donate a ticket to me. I want to thank Chris Trotta for giving me his ticket yesterday. I was able to enjoy my first men's game as a fan this year and it was the Notre Dame game on CBS.

First of all Jeff Adrien was sensational

I was really glad that I was able to see Coach Calhoun's 800 wins recognized in Gampel and to see John Toner's name added to the Huskies of Honor.

I was equally as happy to be working the game when Renee Montgomery was the first active Husky over to be inducted in to the Women's Huskies of Honor.

The best and most special moment to me was to see Craig Austrie and the rest of the Senior class recognized for their achievements at UConn. Craig is from Stamford and I have a lot of pride for my hometown and Craig. I love the way Craig plays. I don't think it shows up in the stats well, but I believe that UConn plays much more calmly with him in. The offense just runs better with him to me. Austrie will probably be remembered for his South Florida shot and also for filling in for someone else. (Marcus Williams, Jerome Dyson) He was a solid player and it's really nice to see a Connecticut high school player get to play at our State University and it's top notch basketball program. Austrie, Price and Adrien have been through a lot. From high expectations to the disappointment in the 2006 Elite 8 to a school I care not to mention, to a dreadful 2007 season, to a 2008 season arguably cut short because of Price's injury and back to a very, very successful 2009 season. I hope that Austrie, like Trinity Catholic's Rashamel Jones, graduates and wins a National Championship in the same year. (and isn't it funny that that happened 10 years ago?)

For the Women they are losing a couple of great players and personalities. Tahirah Williams is such an engaging person and she will most surely succeed in the TV business should she succeed. She has made a lot of great contributions to the team in terms of spirit and in practice for her entire career and this year she has helped the team by coming off the bench and making a good contribution. I was so proud that she lead the team with 17 points at Gampel against Holy Cross. Cassie is an artist and spends lots of time working on her craft. I distinctly remember being 100% confused as a Freshman when I saw Cassie Kerns taking photos outside of the North dorms. I couldn't understand why on earth she would be taking pictures of those dorms. Renee Montgomery will leave UConn as one of the best players to ever play here. She is a tremendous leader and has been captain for 3 seasons. I hope she wins a championship because she really deserves one. She is often forgotten about because of the success of everyone else on her team but you just can't forget about Renee.

I am glad that I worked the senior night for the women. I am glad I got to see the Senior Day ceremonies again. I also loved that Maya Moore and Kaili McLaren got to sing the National Anthem. They did a great job and I heard that they did a lot of practicing in order to do that. The women's basketball team is musically talented. Even their managers can rock the mic.

Maya Moore passed Jessica Moore on the UConn career point list yesterday. She now has 1,233 points and is 27th in school history in points and her Sophomore year is not yet ever. Renee Montgomery is now tied for third with Sue Bird with 585 career assists.

Maya was the player of the game because she lead the team in points, rebounds (tie), assists, steals and blocks. Matt Gade was team manager of the game.