We’re No. 1 …
Led by All-American sophomore Maya
Moore, the UConn women’s basketball
team enters the season as the
overwhelming choice as the No.
1 team in the nation on the Associated
Press poll, the first time the
Lady Huskies have been the top-ranked
team at the opening tip-off since
2004.
No. 2 Stanford University was the
only other team to register a first-place
vote, garnering just one.
UConn opens the season November
16 at home against Georgia Tech
– Moore hails from Lawrenceville,
Ga. outside Atlanta. In her freshman
season, Moore nearly broke Kara
Wolters single-season scoring record
at UConn, and became the first
freshman in Big East history –
man or woman – to be named the
conference’s player of the year.
The Big East conference tournament
is scheduled to be held again at
XL Center in Hartford.
And No.2
The University of Connecticut men’s
basketball team enters the 2008-09
season as the second-ranked team
in the nation, according to a
poll by ESPN and USA Today, trailing
only the University of North
Carolina.
Finishing 24-9 last season, but
losing in the first round of the
NCAA tournament, the Huskies return
forward Jeff Adrien, center Hasheem
Thabeet and guard A.J. Price; as
well as Craig Austrie, a senior
guard from Stamford who played
well as a midseason starter last
year.
Newcomers include Kemba Walker,
a McDonald’s All-American guard
from Rice High School in the Bronx;
and Scottie Haralson, the 2008
Gatorade player of the year for
the state of Mississippi. The roster
also includes Johnnie Bird, a senior
guard who played at Bridgeport’s
Central High School.
UConn opens the season in Storrs
Nov. 14 against Western Carolina.
Key games this season include a
Feb. 2 date with the University
of Louisville, ranked just behind
UConn in the preseason poll. In
the final five games of its regular
season, UConn gets the University
of Pittsburgh twice and the University
of Notre Dame, both top-10 preseason
picks.
Fifth most-interesting new business
name:
R-Man Router Cutting Services,
Bethel
(Not the network router, we trust.)
Fourth most-interesting new business
name:
Wags Dog Walking, Danbury
(Those political gadflies need
something to do in their off-hours.)
Tilton tilts to UConn
None of Connecticut’s top high
school men’s prospects – four
of them at the powerhouse prep
South Kent School in Litchfield
County – have committed to UConn,
but the school landed one of
the top centers in the country
in Alex Oriakhi, a 6’9” student
at the Tilton School in New Hampshire.
Oriakhi’s 6’7” Tilton teammate
Jamal Coombs-McDaniel also has
committed to UConn.
Tevin Baskin, the top senior prospect
in Fairfield County at Trinity
Catholic High School in Stamford,
has yet to commit to a school,
but reportedly is eyeing Providence
College in the Big East.
Third most-interesting new business
name:
Computer Calligraphy of
Connecticut,
Bethel
(Software writing with a bit of
flair.)
Second most-interesting new business
name:
Danbury Madhatters, Danbury
(Go ask Alice what their hat size
is.)
The most-interesting new business
name:
Casanova Trucking Co., Danbury
(Lovin’ doesn’t pay the bills.)
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