UConn renews old rivalry with Duke
Albany, N.Y. — The two most anticipated story lines for this game: the comments made by Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie following the transfer of Azurá Stevens from Duke to UConn following the 2015-16 season and the saga, ongoing since last Saturday — and beyond — of whether UConn is “good for women's basketball.”
Top-seeded and unbeaten UConn (34-0) meets No. 5 Duke (24-8) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's tournament on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN) from the Times Union Center.
Both issues, however, were diffused
Friday afternoon before they became issues.
McCallie's answers … I was misquoted. And there's no question the Huskies are good for women's basketball, dominance and all.
“I did not make those remarks,” McCallie said of a 2016 story in The Chronicle, Dukes's student-run newspaper, in which she allegedly criticized UConn for accepting Stevens and fellow transfer Batouly Camara from Kentucky. “That's what the media wrote.” So she was misquoted? “Oh, completely, completely, completely,” McCallie said. “I guess that happens sometimes. All I'll say is I'm very proud of Azurá. What she's done is amazing. She's a very, very good player and she's going to be a big headache for us (Saturday).”
In a Q&A with the Chronicle, McCallie was quoted as saying: “Is that what we're about now? I'm going
to take transfers? That was the neat thing they used to have. Connecticut wasn't a transfer school. Now, even if they win it, who cares?”
Stevens, who sat out a year according to NCAA transfer rules, is a 6-foot-6 junior forward/guard from Raleigh, N.C., and a psychology major. She led the Blue Devils with 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore and earned first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors.
“It was a hard decision (to transfer),” Stevens told The Day in a story last week prior to the first round of the NCAA tournament in Storrs, “but you have to make hard decisions sometimes. I don't regret my decision at all.”
Stevens is averaging 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds for UConn this season. She was named the American Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year headed into the league tournament and was then named the tournament's Most Valuable Performer after starting the semifinals in place of injured senior Gabby Williams.
“I would think it's natural that you would have some kind of emotional connection,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of Stevens facing her former team and coach in McCallie. “My message was simply, 'I don't think they're going to feel bad if they beat us and you're going to do whatever you need to do to help us win.'
“I said, 'Hey, they've been really good since you left. So maybe they're happy you left.' I try to do whatever I can to get her going.”
Auriemma, meanwhile, has been under fire since the Huskies' 14052 victory over No. 16 Saint Francis (Pa.) in the first round, in which Saint Francis coach Joe Haigh admitted not guarding UConn's post players. The victory broke the NCAA tournament single-game record for points. Another harsh critique appeared in Friday's New York Post.
McCallie, whose team is led by redshirt senior guard Lexie Brown (19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists per game), was complimentary of UConn on Friday.
She said the most critical facet of the game will be maintaining possession against the Huskies.
“I would never try to run with them,” McCallie said. “They're basically a WNBA team. Certainly I would suspect the ball would have to be in our possession longer in order to be successful against a team with so many great players that can do so many things.
“… Again, there's no question it's great for women's basketball. The better you are, the better things are, the more challenge there is, the more competition, the more you're trying to aspire to the higher level. Yeah, that's better. That's certainly better in life. It's something you welcome.” v.fulkerson@theday.com