COVERITLIVE.COM

10:32

courant.com - Good morning all ... welcome to our weekly UConn women's basketball chat with beat writer John Altavilla. The Huskies are the unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the nation, they open the preseason Thursday, and John will have the team in front of him at open practice on Wednesday. Plenty to discuss, so fire away and John will join in at 11.

10:32

[Comment From bernieco ]
What is happening about Chiney Owumike?

10:34

[Comment From Guest ]
I don't know if my question reached you. I am interested in how Caroline is progressing

10:41

[Comment From bruinbball ]
We have heard Geno's thoughts on Kelly Faris, and I really like what I am hearing after watching her for more than two years. What positions do you see her playing the most frequently?

10:44

[Comment From andrew ]
John, thanks for getting this Uconn chat off the ground. Do you know what Tehara Williams is now doing?

10:45

[Comment From pat ]
What do you see has the teams biggest challenge this year?

10:52

[Comment From bernieco ]
Sorry, another questions. Since you have seen the team practice, how does Heather Buck and Kali look?

10:52

John Altavilla - Hello everyone. I am happy to be here this morning to answer your questions and am excited about the start of the season on Thursday against St. Rose at Gampel Pavilion.
Yankee fans, remember, if the Phillies win Game 6, Game 7 will be going on at the same time the preseason game will be. Now. if you think that's a conflict for you, think about Geno Auriemma. He loves the Phillies. So expect few timeouts, perhaps a stomach bug in the second half that requires him to rest in the locker room (just kidding, folks - I think).
One other thing: Did you see the story about Manu Ginobli, the San Antonio Spurs guard, who dropped a flying bat with the wave of his hand the other night during a game? Well, the game was at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, same place the Huskies play Texas on Nov. 17. Same bat time, same bat court.

10:53

John Altavilla - Give me a few seconds to get caught up with the early questions and we can roll, OK?

10:57

John Altavilla - About Chiney: Nothing new but the waiting, which actually is old. The longer the wait, the better off UConn is. But let's not get greedy.

About Caroline: She is healthy and raring to go. Remarkably, she seems to have no fear, which puts her far ahead of the process. Expect big things

About TWilliams: She is in North Carolina getting her Master's Degree

About challenges: Staying motivated, beating Stanford

About Heather Buck: Your guess is as good as mine, but Geno seems very happy with her progress. We are all anxious to see her play, especially those who didn't get the chance to watch her in high school

10:57

John Altavilla - Ok, I'm here, fingers are warmed up, fire away

10:58

[Comment From lexii ]
are the girls going to be having a clinic for high school students?

10:59

John Altavilla - Lex: At some point, the UConn women will likely do something for kids in the community, since it's one of their favorite things to do. Just don't know when yet

10:59

[Comment From Guest ]
Any views on next year's UConn, which seems to be set to be overloaded with guards- six by my count, including the sensational Bria Hartley? How will Geno keep them all happy?

11:00

John Altavilla -

You can never have too many good players. I wouldn't worry about how they will all fit. It's likely someone may be redshirted, injured, temporarily ineffective. I know by now to wait to see what happens before making any judgments

11:01

[Comment From ericsandiego ]
any idea who the starting PG should be? has Lorin done enough work to earn the spot, or are we looking at starting guards of Tiff and Caroline?

11:02

John Altavilla - Eric:
I think it should be Tiffany, but she may be more effective off the bench as the sixth man. Geno loves spark from the bench. So look for Lorin Dixon, if she proves to the coaches that she deserves the chance.

11:02

[Comment From Guest ]
And will Maya Moore be hamstrung by a lack of experienced big players next year? They graduate all three starting big players: Greene, Charles and McClaren. Only Buck returns. then depend on freshmen. Your view?

11:02

John Altavilla -

No. Greatness has no hamstring

11:03

John Altavilla - By the way, the Lady Vols are way out in front in the fantasy opponent poll. Geez, I'm SO surprised to see that. What, no Quinnipiac fans out there?

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