From UConn:

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn sophomore center Amida Brimah (Accra, Ghana), who is ranked among the top three players in the country in blocked shots, has been named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced today.

UConn’s Amida Brimah was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

The 7-0 sophomore, who was named an All-League Honorable Mention pick on Monday, has started every game this season for the Huskies and has been a defensive force near the rim. His 3.37 blocks per game average ranks third in all of Division I, as does his total of 101 blocks this season. In the 18 AAC games, Brimah has 72 blocks, a 4.0 average, which leads all conference players.

Brimah’s 101 blocks already stands as the ninth-best total for a single season in UConn history and his career total of 193 ties him with Jake Voskuhl for fifth on UConn’s all-time list.

Brimah joins a long line of UConn players who have received Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Emeka Okafor (2002-03, 2003-04) and Hasheem Thabeet (2007-08, 2008-09) were each named twice as the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and both were also back-to-back winners of the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year Awards for the same seasons.

Other Huskies named Big East Defensive Player of the Year include Donyell Marshall (1993-94), Josh Boone (20054-05), and Hilton Armstrong (2005-06).

Brimah also leads the Huskies and the entire American Athletic Conference in field goal percentage. His .698 mark would be tops in Division I if he had enough made baskets to qualify and his .699 field goal percentage in conference games leads the league.

Other individual awards announced by the AAC today included SMU’s Markus Kennedy as the Sixth Man Award, his SMY teammate Yanick Moreira as the Most Improved Player, and Memphis forward Shaq Goodwin as the winner of the Sportsmanship Award.

The awards are determined by a vote of the league’s coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

The awards for Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be announced at a press luncheon on Thursday as the American Athletic Conference Championship begins play with three games at the XL Center.

From UConn:

PROVIDENCE – UConn senior guard Ryan Boatright (Aurora, Ill.), who led the American Athletic Conference in scoring, was a unanimous selection to the All-AAC First Team, the conference announced today.

In addition, UConn freshman Daniel Hamilton (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Amida Brimah (Accra, Ghana) were Honorable Mention All-League picks and Hamilton was a unanimous selection to the AAC All-Rookie Team.

The all-league teams are selected by a vote of the league’s coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Boatright averaged 17.8 points per game in conference games to lead all American Athletic Conference players. He also led the league in free throw percentage (.863) and three-point field goals made (3.0 per game), was second in three-point field goal percentage (.454), and ranked ninth in steals and 12^th in assists (3.5).

Overall, Boatright was UConn’s leader in scoring (17.8), assists (4.0), steals (1.4) and minutes played (35.6).He led the Huskies in scoring 18 times, in assists 16 times, steals 15 times, and in rebounding three times. The point guard has 25 double-figure games this season, had 20 or more points in 13 games, and topped the 30-point mark once. Boatright has scored 1,728 career points and handed out 482 assists, which place him ninth in both categories on UConn’s all-time lists.

Hamilton led the conference in rebounding (9.1) and defensive rebounds (7.5) and also ranked in the Top 20 in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and assist/turnover ratio. Overall, the freshman forward was UConn’s second-leading scorer (10.8), leading rebounder (7.6), and second to Boatright in assists (3.6).

Brimah led the American in field goal percentage (.699) and blocked shots (4.0) and was a defensive force around the rim. Overall, he is another double-figure scorer for the Huskies (10.0) and his 3.37 blocks per game average ranks third in the country. He was an AAC All-Rookie Team pick last season.

First Team All-Conference

Ryan Boatright, G, UConn *

Austin Nichols, F, Memphis

Nic Moore, G, SMU *

Will Cummings, G, Temple

James Woodard, G, Tulsa

Second Team All-Conference

Octavius Ellis, F, Cincinnati

Markus Kennedy, F, SMU

Yanick Moreira, C, SMU

Louis Dabney, G, Tulane

Shaquille Harrison, G, Tulsa

Honorable Mention All-Conference:

Troy Caupain, G, Cincinnati

Amida Brimah, C, UConn

Daniel Hamilton, G/F, UConn

Jaylen Bond, F, Temple

All-Rookie Team

Adonys Henriquez, G, UCF

B.J. Taylor, G, UCF

Gary Clark, F, Cincinnati

Daniel Hamilton, G/F, UConn *

B.J. Tyson, G, East Carolina *

* unanimous selection

From UConn:

ATLANTA – Two University of Connecticut commits, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, were selected to the Naismith Trophy’s Girls High School All-America First Team, the award committee announced on Tuesday.

Samuelson, who was tabbed as the 2015 WBCA High School Player of the Year on Feb. 26, was named the 2014 California Gatorade Player of the Year and was tabbed as a member of the USA Today All-America first team during her junior season after averaging 26.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 steals in 30 games. On the international stage, Samuelson teamed with fellow UConn recruits De’Janae Boykin and Napheesa Collier to win gold (3×3 competition) at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China and also earned a bronze medal at the YOG 3-point shootout.

This season, the 6-3 senior forward is averaging 29.3 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 2.4 steals per game.

Collier held Incarnate Word Academy of St. Louis to a 31-1 record and a Missouri Class-4 title by averaging 23.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.2 steals en route to a 2014 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year nod a season ago. The guard was a member of the 2014 national team that posted a 5-0 record and won the 2014 FIBA Americas U-18 tournament title in Colorado Springs and qualified Team USA for the 2015 FIBA U-19 world championships.

This season, the Red Knights posted a 25-2 overall record en route to a No. 1 rank in the state of Missouri and a 66^th

Both players will join the Husky program prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.

When people think of March Madness and the NCAA Tournament, one of the first teams that come to mind is the much-storied University of Connecticut basketball program, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering they’ve secured four titles throughout their illustrious history. That also includes last year’s championship victory over Kentucky — as a No. 7 seed, no less — when they defeated them, 60-54, to cap a wild journey that came very close to ending as early as the round of 64.

This year, however, it’s been a much different story for UConn, who may not even crack the celebrated tourney to defend their title. With a 17-13 record (10-8 conference), the Huskies have had their share of struggles through an up-and-down campaign, and are going to have to win four games in a four-day stretch in the American Athletic Conference postseason tournament to even make the field. The AAC slate begins on Thursday.

For the upcoming AAC tournament, tickets will be at a premium for those hoping to see the Huskies pull off the unlikely, en route to qualifying for the big dance. According to TiqIQ, the average ticket price on March 12th when the tournament kicks off will be $65.77 with a walk-in price of $9 when they take on the South Florida Bulls. In this instance, it will literally be win or go home for the Huskies.

Fans who are super confident UConn can pull off the same feat as last year can find flights to Indianapolis for the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium on Hipmunk.com. Indianapolis hotels are also available.

The Huskies do have potential to pull it off, though. They’ve been led all year by sensational senior point guard Ryan Boatright, who averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, enjoying one of the better overall campaigns by any collegiate player in America this season. Furthermore, he led Connecticut in three-pointers and steals, and has a potential career in the NBA starting next year.

UConn’s supporting cast has also chipped in with some notable contributions. Freshman guard Daniel Hamilton, for instance, was impressive in his debut season, nearly averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds a game, the latter of which he led the club. In addition, sophomore guard Rodney Purvis added 10.5 points a night, while sophomore center Amida Brimah averaged 10 points and was one of the NCAA’s best in blocked shots with 72.

UConn head coach Kevin Ollie will need a maximum effort from his team each game for a chance to advance in the American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The UConn men’s basketball team isn’t exactly coming into Thursday’s opening round matchup of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on the highest of notes.

After winning three straight games to get themselves into contention for a first-round bye, they saw a Shaq Goodwin jumper help the Memphis Tigers beat them. Then they came out flat in the second half against the Temple Owls and lost their halftime lead and the game.

Now if they want any chance of making the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and defending their crown, the UConn Huskies will need to win four straight games in four days to earn the American’s automatic bid.

Is it an impossible task? Can it be done?

For UConn to do it, head coach Kevin Ollie says the players will need to bring their ‘A’ game.

“Everybody has to play at a level 5 for us to win games,” Ollie said on a conference call on Monday. “We’re just not talented enough to have three guys playing at a level 5 and two guys not.”

“We have to have all five playing at a maximum effort each and every minute for us to do that.”

The win over SMU showed that the Huskies can play together and as a team. Then the losses to Memphis and Temple showed anything but that.

It’s the Jekyll and Hyde effect we’ve seen from them all season long. But now that needs to change.

“We’ve got to play together as a group, got to play unselfishly, got to play hard and compete and not just play together but for one another on the basketball court,” said Ollie. “Hopefully everyone understands that.”

UConn will have the advantage of playing on their home court. How many fans show up is another story.

“We have four games to win,” said Ollie. “Hopefully we’ll be able to go out and capture another championship for our great fanbase.”

UConn QB Tim Boyle (14) gets the ball off just as he is hit by Temple DB Khiry Lucas (20) at Rentschler Field.

There are going to be many story lines for the UConn football team as they begin spring practice on Saturday morning.

But the main one is who will be the starting quarterback for the UConn football program in 2015?

With the graduation of Chandler Whitmer and the retirement of Casey Cochran due to concussions, the UConn Huskies will have a battle for the top spot at quarterback. Tim Boyle, a junior next season, Bryant Shirreffs, a redshirt sophomore, and Tyler Davis, a true freshman, will all get a chance to take the first offensive snap against Villanova on September 3.

Head coach Bob Diaco has gone on record saying that he wants the quarterback situation to be settled by the end of spring practice. And on Wednesday afternoon on a conference call with the media, he didn’t shy away from that statement.

“I am not backing away from it, I would like to see a leader emerge from those,” Diaco said. “Everybody for practice one is expected to be full speed, so through that competition I’m very hopeful that not only will a leader emerge, but we’ll have a pecking order of 1-2-3.”

“That’s what we’re working toward, no doubt.”

Boyle has been given the chance to be QB1 over the last two seasons but has struggled mightily. He’s also the only one of the three who has taken a snap at UConn.

Shirreffs played in seven games for the North Carolina State Wolfpack in 2013 before transferring to UConn last fall. But he was mostly used as a wildcat QB running for 158 yards on 34 carries with a touchdown. He also was 4-of-5 passing with a touchdown as well.

Davis is fresh out of high school and will get a chance to compete since he enrolled early at UConn.

This will be an interesting battle to watch as all three possess different strengths.

Hopefully someone from this group will emerge. We definitely don’t need a situation like last season at the beginning where no one from the group of Whitmer, Cochran and Boyle put their best foot forward.

From UConn:

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – After leading the No. 1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to its 21^st regular season conference title, Husky head coach Geno Auriemma has been selected as the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, as announced by the league on Friday. Additionally, junior forward Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.) was named as the conference’s Player of the Year, while guard Kia Nurse was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year.

Auriemma picks up his second-straight and 12^th overall conference Coach of the Year honor after leading UConn to a 29-1 overall record in the regular season. The Huskies finished conference play with a perfect 18-0 record, defeating league opposition by an average of 48.7 points per game. The squad clinched The American’s regular season crown outright on Feb. 28 with an 87-24 victory over Memphis at Gampel.

Over the course of 30 seasons at Connecticut, Auriemma was named Coach of the Year in the former Big East conference a total of ten times and garnered National Coach of the Year honors seven times. Auriemma has guided the Huskies to a record nine national championships and owns the record for consecutive Final Four appearances with seven. In total, he has overseen 16 UConn trips to the Final Four.

Stewart, who became the 12^th Husky to win a conference Player of the Year accolade in 2013-14, is the first Connecticut player to win consecutive Player of the Year honors since Maya Moore in 2007-09. Stewart’s accomplishment marks the program’s 19^th conference player of the year nod for a Husky in the last 27 years.

At 17.4 points per game, Stewart is third in the conference and also ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage (.540), blocks per game (2.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). This season, the junior forward has notched 10 20-point games and has reached double figures in 26 of UConn’s 30 games.

Last week, she was named as one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Naismith Trophy and earned a spot on the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America Second Team.

Stewart is currently tied with former standout Stefanie Dolson (1,797) for 13^th on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list. Additionally, she stands in fifth on the program’s all-time blocks list with 259 career rejections.

Nurse secures the Huskies’ first conference Freshman of the Year honors since Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis took home the award in the 2011-12 season. In total, 13 Huskies have garnered the league award, including five selections since the 2005-06 campaign.

Nurse, who has helped the Huskies earn 29 wins in their first 30 games, has established herself as one of UConn’s most consistent offensive weapons. The guard is one of five Huskies averaging double-digit points (10.9) and ranks second on the squad with 99 assists. The Canadian was tabbed as the league’s Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1 and Dec. 29.

The Huskies open postseason play on Saturday, March 7 when they take on the winner of UCF/Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of The American Championship at 2 p.m.

UConn’s Morgan Tuck (3), Breanna Stewart (30), Moriah Jefferson (4) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (23) all earned First Team All-Conference honors from the American Athletic Conference.

From UConn:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Seven standouts from the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team earned spots on 2014-15 American Athletic Conference All-Conference teams, the league announced on Thursday. Moriah Jefferson (Glenn Heights, Texas), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.), and Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook, Ill.) were placed on the All-Conference First Team, while Kiah Stokes (Marion, Iowa) was named to the Second Team. Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ontario) and Gabby Williams (Sparks, Nev.) were tabbed as All-Freshman team selections.

In addition to a spot on the All-Conference squad, Stokes was tabbed as the conference’s 2014-15 Defensive Player of the Year, while Jefferson earned Most Improved Player honors. Williams was selected as the league’s Sixth Player of the Year.

Stokes becomes the fifth-ever Husky to earn a conference Defensive Player of the Year and third-straight after Stefanie Dolson grabbed the honor a season ago and Kelly Faris took home the accolade in 2012-13. Stokes (125) is just six blocks shy of Rebecca Lobo’s program single-season blocks record of 131. The senior center leads the Huskies with 7.4 rebounds in just 19.7 minutes per game. Her 5.5 defensive boards per game ranks fourth in the conference and she leads the league with 4.2 rejections per contest.

Jefferson’s Most Improved Player accolade is the third such award in program history and first since Faris earned the distinction in 2012-13. The Texan, who is averaging 11.7 points in 27.1 minutes per game this season, has been one of the Huskies’ most consistent scoring options in In total, she ranks first on the team in assists (139) and steals (79) and is one of seven Huskies shooting over 50.0 percent from the floor (56.4). She provided a spark in UConn’s 87-62 victory over No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 9, notching 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with a game-high six assists.

Jefferson’s 2.6 steals per game average is tops in the American Athletic Conference. In February, she was selected to the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 List. Additionally, the guard is among 31 candidates on the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List.

Williams earned the Huskies’ third-ever Sixth Player of the Year nod and first since Mosqueda-Lewis in 2011-12. The freshman boasts the conference’s best field goal percentage (.633) and is averaging 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 16.7 minutes off the bench. She was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Week on Dec. 22, Jan. 12 and Feb. 9.

Mosqueda-Lewis, who owns the program record with 371 made 3-point field goals, became the eighth member of UConn’s 2,000-point club when she notched 21 points against Memphis on Senior Day (Feb. 28). The senior forward leads the country with a .539 shooting percentage from beyond the arc this season. Her 3.2 made 3-point field goals per game ranks first in The American and she also stands at sixth overall in the conference in total scoring at 14.6 points per game. 

At 17.4 points per game, Stewart is third in the conference and also ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage (.540), blocks per game (2.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). This season, the junior forward has notched 10 20-point games and has reached double figures in 26 of UConn’s 30 games.

Last month, she was selected as a member of the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 and earned a spot on the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America Second Team.

Stewart is currently tied with former standout Stefanie Dolson (1,797) for 13^th on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list. Additionally, she stands in fifth on the program’s all-time blocks list with 259 career rejections.

Tuck, who holds the nation’s eighth-best field goal percentage (.578), has put together a breakout season after being limited to just eight games in 2013-14. The forward ranks third on the squad at 13.4 points per game and holds a stellar 1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.

Nurse, who has helped the Huskies earn 29 wins in their first 30 games, has established herself as one of UConn’s most consistent offensive weapons. The guard is one of five Huskies averaging double-digit points (10.9) and ranks second on the squad with 99 assists. The Canadian  was tabbed as the league’s Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1 and Dec. 29.

The league will announce its selections for Player, Coach, Freshman and Scholar-Athlete of the Year at a press conference on Friday, March 6 at 2 p.m.

The highs and lows continue for the UConn Huskies, as the Jekyl and Hyde act continues towards their final two games of the regular season.

Connecticut turned their two game winning streak into a three game winning streak by defeating the conference leading SMU Mustangs at home on March 1^st. Ryan Boatright scored 23 points and Rodney Purvis had a career-high 28 and the Huskies (17-11, 10-6 American) beat a ranked opponent for the first time this season, upsetting No. 21 SMU 81-73 on Sunday

UConn has won three straight and six of its past eight. The Huskies are in fifth place in the league, a game ahead of Memphis. The top five teams will get first-round byes when the AAC tournament opens in Hartford, Connecticut on March 12.

UConn heads back to campus to host Memphis at Gampel Pavilion before closing the season next Saturday at Temple. The Huskies lost to both teams earlier this season.

According to SeatSmart, the average ticket price for Connecticut tickets vs. Memphis is $23 with a walk-in price of $8. Tickets for their game against Temple have an average price of $43 with a walk-in price of $9.

On Thursday, Boatright will be honored along with Pat Lenehan, Dan Guest and managers Nick Blanco and Colon Oehrle in Senior Night ceremonies before tip off. Boatright, the leading scorer in the AAC at 17.7 points per game, will leave an impressive mark on the program. He has 1,689 points and 479 assists, joining former teammate Shabazz Napier as the only players to reach the top 10 in program history in both categories. Boatright has played 122 games for UConn and was a part of the 2013-14 National Championship team. He moved in front of Wes Bialosuknia (1,673) and into ninth place on UConn’s scoring list, behind Kemba Walker (1,783).

It’s an omen that UConn is playing their best ball heading into the NCAA Tournament, because everyone remembers how well that worked out for them last time.

From UConn:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third time this season, University of Connecticut women’s basketball junior forward Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.) has been selected as the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday morning.

Stewart averaged 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in just 26.5 minutes per game in the Huskies’ 2-0 week. Stewart scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Houston on Feb. 17 before notching a season-best 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting to go along with nine boards and six blocks in UConn’s 92-26 victory over Tulsa.

At 17.0 points per game, Stewart is tied for third in the conference and also ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage (.537), blocks per game (2.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.55). This season, the junior forward has notched eight 20-point games and has reached double figures in 23 of UConn’s 27 games.

Since Connecticut’s convincing 87-62 over then-ranked No. 1 South Carolina, she has averaged 21.8 points on 58.1 percent shooting from the floor.

Last week, the Syracuse, N.Y. native was selected as a member of the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 and Naismith Trophy Midseason Top-30 lists.

In total, the Huskies have earned six conference Player of the Week nods and five conference Freshman of the Week honors.

Stewart and the Huskies are set to play their penultimate regular season road contest on Monday at Tulane. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on SNY.

photo credit: ©2015 ian bethune