With the Big East Conference awards ceremony on the horizon Friday night, I thought I would go ahead and announced my awards for the UCONN team this season. The categories I have are Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player. So on to the awards.
Player of the Year:
For the Player of the Year, I feel as though there are many fine candidates in Tina Charles, Charde Houston, Renee Montgomery, Mel Thomas, and Kalana Greene. So I made the easiest decision possible I could. Since those 5 were the starting 5 for all most the entire season, I have decided that this particular starting 5 is the Random Thoughts Player of the Year.
The starting five of Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston all averaged double-figures this season. Montgomery led the way with a 13.1 ppg avg, Charles was next at 12.8 ppg, then Greene at 12.3, Houston at 12.2 and Thomas finished with an 11.2 ppg. The last UCONN team to do that was the 2001-2002 team which capped a perfect season with a National Championship.
Rookie of the Year:
This one is pretty much a no-brainer as no other freshman saw as much as time as Tina Charles. At times, she showed some inexperience during the season as she seemed to disappear at times. But down the stretch, she was one of the main reasons why UCONN finished on a 13 game winning streak heading into the Big East Tournament. For the season, Charles averaged 12.8 pts, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. Odds are Charles will win the Big East Rookie of the Year as well.
Most Improved:
After playing in 35 of the 37 games last season, starting in three of them, Kalana Greene moved into the starting lineup full-time this season. Her offensive numbers were vastly improved this season from last year. Last season, she averaged 4.2 ppg and only averaged 13.5 minutes. This season was a totally different story. She averaged 28.8 minutes a game while finishing with a 12.3 pts per game average. At times during the season, she was a force to be reckoned with, just dominating on both ends of the court. She is my favorite to win the Big East’s Most Improved Player as well.
A great season for the Huskies this year. The only thing that will make this season perfect is a National Championship. Good luck to the girls in that quest.
