Congratulations, Batouly!

[Argonaut]

I suspected Batouly was graduating this weekend, too!

Congratulations! She’s done such amazing things off the court at UConn and it’ll be exciting to see where this graduate year takes her.

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Plebe]

Have I just not been paying attention? I didn't know until I looked at her Instagram just now that Batouly is Muslim.

Beautiful photos. She seems like an outstanding young woman. Despite all her physical troubles, I think it's fantastic that she's found a home at UConn and that she's staying for her final year of eligibility.

 

[Argonaut]

Have I just not been paying attention? I didn't know until I looked at her Instagram just now that Batouly is Muslim.

Beautiful photos. She seems like an outstanding young woman. Despite all her physical troubles, I think it's fantastic that she's found a home at UConn and that she's staying for her final year of eligibility.

Yep! She’s founded a program called WAKE (Women and Kids Empowerment) to lift Muslim girls and women through sport. Like I said... she’s done some amazing things.

If y’all haven’t already done so, watch her TEDxUConn talk from last year. She’s wonderful.

ETA: I know some people have mixed feelings about following these athletes on social media, but through social media, I’ve become a huge BC fan. She’s doing such meaningful things in the world that aren’t being noticed by the media.

 

[VAMike23]

Touly has been making the most of her college experience for sure! She has gotten awards and recognition galore for all her leadership/activities etc. Well done, Touly!! She is already doing great things and I have no doubt she will impact many lives going forward.

 

[Puppy Love]

1,000 likes...such beautiful pictures of a family that looks happy and proud.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Congrats to Touly! She looks regal!

 

[eebmg]

Congrats to Touly! She looks regal!

inside and out.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Congrats

 

[CL82]

through social media, I’ve become a huge BC fan.

What?!!! .... oooooohhhhh.

 

[Argonaut]

What?!!! .... oooooohhhhh.

 

[CL82]

Yep! She’s founded a program called WAKE (Women and Kids Empowerment) to lift Muslim girls and women through sport. Like I said... she’s done some amazing things.

If y’all haven’t already done so, watch her TEDxUConn talk from last year. She’s wonderful.

ETA: I know some people have mixed feelings about following these athletes on social media, but through social media, I’ve become a huge BC fan. She’s doing such meaningful things in the world that aren’t being noticed by the media.

Nice job. Decent pacing. Could speech discipline, rhythm and projection.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Very impressed. It's too bad a team as high profile as UConn doesn't leave much room for a spotlight on the non-starters, because she's a fantastic representative of the university. Congrats to her and to the Huskies. Hopefully her body will allow her to shine on court next season as much as she did in this TedTalk.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Batouly is making a huge difference and enlightening young girls minds to otherwise un-thought of possibilities! What an outstanding human being!

 

[Crossover]

Yep! She’s founded a program called WAKE (Women and Kids Empowerment) to lift Muslim girls and women through sport. Like I said... she’s done some amazing things.

If y’all haven’t already done so, watch her TEDxUConn talk from last year. She’s wonderful.

ETA: I know some people have mixed feelings about following these athletes on social media, but through social media, I’ve become a huge BC fan. She’s doing such meaningful things in the world that aren’t being noticed by the media.

I suspect that it is Batouly's character, as much as her hoop skills, that led Geno to embrace her as a transfer. Much like Brittany Hunter, Batouly has enriched the UCONN program, and even if her injuries continue to keep her from fulfilling her potential on the court. We are so lucky to have her in our midst.

 

[Lawrence]

Wow. Batouly made me realize that there is great hope for this world.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Yep! She’s founded a program called WAKE (Women and Kids Empowerment) to lift Muslim girls and women through sport. Like I said... she’s done some amazing things.

If y’all haven’t already done so, watch her TEDxUConn talk from last year. She’s wonderful.

ETA: I know some people have mixed feelings about following these athletes on social media, but through social media, I’ve become a huge BC fan. She’s doing such meaningful things in the world that aren’t being noticed by the media.

Beautiful...

 

[Triad]

Batouly is making a huge difference and enlightening young girls minds to otherwise un-thought of possibilities! What an outstanding human being!

I don't know why people other than you Coach don't know how great Chris Dailey and Geno are in promoting these women to do great things outside of basketball. Geno is blind to all things outside of these women, religion, nationality, race, etc and it shows.
Coach you saw something within Touly since you first saw her and I became a Camara lovers since then. Thanks Coach you picked a great one to follow (Touly)!!!!!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I don't know why people other than you Coach don't know how great Chris Dailey and Geno are in promoting these women to do great things outside of basketball. Geno is blind to all things outside of these women, religion, nationality, race, etc and it shows.
Coach you saw something within Touly since you first saw her and I became a Camara lovers since then. Thanks Coach you picked a great one to follow (Touly)!!!!!

Bellemare- - - -Thanks for the "atta boy"! I saw Batouly Camara at KY about 6 games worth and was very impressed with her BB skills but she also was an intelligent young lady that always gave a great interview!
I just wish UCONN fans could see the REAL Batouly from before injuries took over her body!
I realize a bunch of coaches are graduating well rounded women but it's truly amazing the quantity as well as quality that Geno & CD turn out in 30+ years!

 

[TheFarmFan]

Bellemare- - - -Thanks for the "atta boy"! I saw Batouly Camara at KY about 6 games worth and was very impressed with her BB skills but she also was an intelligent young lady that always gave a great interview!
I just wish UCONN fans could see the REAL Batouly from before injuries took over her body!
I realize a bunch of coaches are graduating well rounded women but it's truly amazing the quantity as well as quality that Geno & CD turn out in 30+ years!

To me, what's especially impressive about UConn's players is that it's very hard to maintain the fine line between demanding excellence and never being satisfied with being less than number 1, and becoming a conceited, egomaniacal jerk in the process. Feeding that hunger and ambition without it overtaking you with ego and hubris is just very hard to achieve. Yet just about every Husky to graduate has managed to maintain the former without having the latter, which is rare in high-level sports. If you think back on some of the more self-satisfied, egotistical players in WCBB over the past decade or so, none has worn a Huskies uniform even though that uniform is the one getting its banner hung in Gampel more years than not. It's a huge part of why I admire Geno so much, even though is has come at the expense of Stanford on numerous occasions...

 

[JoePgh]

To me, what's especially impressive about UConn's players is that it's very hard to maintain the fine line between demanding excellence and never being satisfied with being less than number 1, and becoming a conceited, egomaniacal jerk in the process. Feeding that hunger and ambition without it overtaking you with ego and hubris is just very hard to achieve. Yet just about every Husky to graduate has managed to maintain the former without having the latter, which is rare in high-level sports. If you think back on some of the more self-satisfied, egotistical players in WCBB over the past decade or so, none has worn a Huskies uniform even though that uniform is the one getting its banner hung in Gampel more years than not. It's a huge part of why I admire Geno so much, even though is has come at the expense of Stanford on numerous occasions...

I'm a bit surprised that this distinction is visible even at a distance of 3,000 miles or so. Or maybe it just indicates a perceptive observer? (I am slightly surprised that you appear to have exempted Diana Taurasi from your negative characterization, although I think you were right to do so.)

I was mostly a WNBA fan before I moved to Connecticut in 2004. Before that, I had never heard more than short sound bites from Geno. The first time I heard an extended interview with him, I immediately thought that he was WAY out of the ordinary as a basketball coach -- his way of thinking was more like what I would expect from a professor, except that his humor was a whole lot sharper than that of most professors (or most people).

So at that point, I started paying more attention to the team and the players, and it was also noticeable how much personal character most of them had -- actually, almost all of them. I think this is true of women's basketball in general: the players are more likeable and less self-absorbed than many male athletes, which is probably a reflection of the fact that there is less money floating around their sports. I was a season ticket holder as soon as that was physically possible.

Since then, I've been able to enjoy Maya Moore, Caroline Doty, Morgan Tuck, KML, Kelly Faris and numerous others, and to appreciate their personalities as well as their basketball skills. In the last few years, we've had a real bonanza from that standpoint: Gabby / Kia / Pheesa / Lou are all people who set an admirable standard for their numerous young fans. I see that pattern continuing with the recruits and in-transfers that the coaches have already signed for the near future.