Uconn greats Lishness, Smith to be honored as Big East legends

The story of Uconn basketball can't be told without the names of Chris Smith and Laura Lishness, two of the first Huskies greats who helped lay the foundation for the blueblood program it's become today.

Both were chosen as members of the inaugural Big East Basketball Legends Recognition Program, the conference announced Tuesday.

Each of the conference's 11 schools were tasked with selecting a former coach or player from both their men's and women's programs to be honored at the upcoming Big East tournaments. The program will be conducted annually.

One of the first great Huskies to play under head coach Geno Auriemma, Lishness was co-captain of the 199091 team that reached the Final Four, the first in Uconn basketball history. Uconn also won its first Big East regular season title with Lishness at the point in 1989, and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance that season.

The Bristol native racked up 1,303 points, 671 rebounds, 531 assists and 150 steals in her time at Uconn, from 1987-91. She was named Big East Freshman of the Year in 1988, and is known for recording the first triple double in program history, against Providence in a Big East Tournament game in 1989.

Smith, a Bridgeport native who became Uconn men's basketball's all-time leading scorer, was a key member of the 1990 ‘Dream Season' team that won both the Big East regular season and conference tournament titles for the first time ever and reached the Elite Eight. He went on to score 2,145 points, rack up 436 assists and 193 steals in his four-year career.

A complete list of Big East Legend honorees can be found on the conference's website.

COURANT FILE PHOTOS Laura Lishness, who co-captained the first Uconn women’s basketball Final Four team, will be honored as a Big East legend.

Chris Smith, former Uconn basketball player and all-time leading scorer, is heading to coach basketball at his old high school, Kolbe Cathedral, in Bridgeport.