When we talk about UConn greats, some people forget about…

[RSHERMVIKES]

While many forget to mention Rebecca Lobo as one of the greats, most ignore Kara Wolters' college career. An AP Player of the Year, Kara was a dominate player and similar to Rebecca, was one of the pillars for what became the dominate women's college program.

HopJim- - - -Kara Wolters says now that she couldn't even start now as WBB has changed so much she was too slow for today's pace!

 

[CL82]

No, it’s a thread about Tina, not all forgotten greats

I really appreciate your optimism Nan.

 

[boontonbomber]

To a degree, I understand why conversations around Tina's college career are overshadowed by Maya - in college, Maya was POY twice, and runner up twice (once to Parker, once to Charles). Tina was POY once and did not have the college career Maya did. Not saying I agree with Tina being overlooked, but she played with one of the all time greats in college.

The pros are a completely different matter. She's been a pro since 2010. #2 all time in scoring. #1 in rebounds per game. But in the ESPN top 25 all time list (granted from 2021), she was #18. In an article in 2024 by ClutchPoints, she was listed 13th. Many of the post players ahead of her scored less PPG, had less RPG, played less years, BUT won more championships.

IMHO winning championships has little to do with how great a player is. You think Maya would have won 4 if she'd not been surrounded by Whalen, Augustus, Brunson and Fowles? Brunson was the only player to never be on an Olympic team, but she was on all defensive teams 6x and a 4x all star.

I'm not sure why Tina is overlooked by so many. Career 17.9 PPG. 9.3 RPG. 2.2 Assists, .8 steals, 1 block per game as well as a 45% FG% and 32% from 3. Even Lisa Leslie, who was ranked #5 by ESPN, "only" played 12 years (Tina now at 15) and had slightly lesser stats (17.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 47.0 FG%), but essentially remarkable similar. So yeah, Tina is overlooked.

She's the all time leading rebounder, adding to her number every game now.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As Nan noted, Tina is #1 in WNBA rebounding and #2 (behind Dee) in scoring. That's a Fast Pass ticket to the HOF.

Only 1 collegiate team has had consecutive undefeated seasons: UConn in 2008-9 and 2009-10. Tina and Maya were the key players.

 

[bbfanLA]

I think one reason that Tina is overlooked is there’s a myth floating around that she wasn’t “good” until her junior year. She won at least one National Freshman of the Year award and was an AP 3rd team All-American her sophomore year, so I don’t know why that’s a narrative.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Who is this Tina person? Just one of the very best bigs who ever did big basketball. Mostly I remeber Tina as a very good person off the court and someone who provided Geno with an abundance of sideline merriment. Tina would screw up and the camera would whip to Geno and he was a sight to behold. I really enjoyed those moments.

 

[JellyBean]

Tina does get left out a lot. Also, for me, two other UConn greats that a lot of people forget to mention are, Svetlana Abrosimova and Nykesha Sales. Those two rarely get any recognition.

 

[Skeets]

I think one reason that Tina is overlooked is there’s a myth floating around that she wasn’t “good” until her junior year. She won at least one National Freshman of the Year award and was an AP 3rd team All-American her sophomore year, so I don’t know why that’s a narrative.

I think people believed that Tina was hampered by a bad shoulder her first year or 2. Over time this concern disappeared.

I have a Tina question. Back when she was playing I had season tickets to both Gampel and the XL. Every once in a while I would see a car with New York plates that said "REBOUNDER". Does anyone know if this was Tina's family?

 

[jdubct]

Tina Charles has definitely been overlooked, but so has Kerry Bascom.

 

[meyers7]

Paige doesn't even make third team?

No.

(hint - she's on the 2nd team)

 

[meyers7]

I think people believed that Tina was hampered by a bad shoulder her first year or 2. Over time this concern disappeared.

I have a Tina question. Back when she was playing I had season tickets to both Gampel and the XL. Every once in a while I would see a car with New York plates that said "REBOUNDER". Does anyone know if this was Tina's family?

Well, she did have it operated on after her Soph year, I believe, then she exploded her Jr/Sr years, so seems a pretty good bet.

 

[Lurker]

…Tina. I wonder why? I love her for her attitude at UConn - going from a freshman that played hard when she felt like it to a dominant presence in the paint and on to become Sylvia Fowles’ heir as the best center in the world for a number of years. ... It was a historic year for Charles as she moved into first all-time in rebounds (4,014) and second all-time in scoring (7,698) in league history. ...

TY Nan - I've long been puzzled about this. The numbers and the quality of her contributions (within and outside the game) support her (UConn and beyond) status as a "great". Respect and like her thoughtful remarks during interviews. Never bought the only good her Jr/Sr year narrative. First watched her live in Worcester, MA with Maya. An equal number of Wow moments from each. My sense was they never let 'who was better' obsessions interfere with their games or lives. Wish those who don't think Tina is on equal 'great' status could be more objective

 

[Buzzyboy]

Maya Mania wasn't so bad

View attachment 109546

The Greatest Huskie of all-time .... No one like Maya and that includes Breanna and Diana

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think people believed that Tina was hampered by a bad shoulder her first year or 2. Over time this concern disappeared.

I have a Tina question. Back when she was playing I had season tickets to both Gampel and the XL. Every once in a while I would see a car with New York plates that said "REBOUNDER". Does anyone know if this was Tina's family?

Tina had shoulder surgery after her freshman year. It may have bothered her as a freshman, but not after that.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think one reason that Tina is overlooked is there’s a myth floating around that she wasn’t “good” until her junior year. She won at least one National Freshman of the Year award and was an AP 3rd team All-American her sophomore year, so I don’t know why that’s a narrative.

Tina was "good" from the beginning. She was the NFOY, and Geno commented that he had forgotten how beneficial it was to get easy buckets. Tina also padded her rebound stats by missing layups.

In her sophomore year, she got outplayed in the NCAA tourney by Jayne Appel. Geno commented that "we don't have a post presence." Tina was playing well, but not great. Geno and CD talked to Tina, asking her if she wanted to be great. That pushed Tina to up her game the following season.

As a junior, Tina showed greater intensity and was looking improved. Against Stanford in the NCAA tourney, Tina held her own, which was a big step. Unlike the prior year, we beat the Cardinal. In the finals against Louisville, Tina was the key player. It took Maya over 20 minutes to find her shot and Renee about 30 minutes, but Tina got us a nice lead early on. Louisville had no answer for her.

As a senior, Tina was consistently great and won most of the NPOY awards (Maya won the Wade). CD had the brilliant idea to have Tina room with Maya. She was the #1 draft pick, as the Huskies went undefeated again.

Tina's career showed a steady progression in her play. Probably the biggest demonstrated leap was between her sophomore and junior seasons, as shown by her play against Stanford. In contrast, Maya and Paige were great as freshmen.

 

[HuskyNan]

In her sophomore year, she got outplayed in the NCAA tourney by Jayne Appel. Geno commented that "we don't have a post presence." Tina was playing well, but not great. Geno and CD talked to Tina, asking her if she wanted to be great. That pushed Tina to up her game the following season.

Wasn’t it Sylvia Fowles, or am I misremembering?

 

[Bigboote]

Maybe Tina needs a unit named after her. As in, “What is Sarah’s shoe size in Charles units?” Then we’d at least mention her frequently.

 

[ucmiami2]

Wasn’t it Sylvia Fowles, or am I misremembering?

I think it was both. Fowles ended her year in the 2007 NCAAs (she had outplayed her in the regular season in a win) and Appel did it her Soph season.

And saying players from a quarter century ago would not stand up in the current game is something that you can say about every sport - athletes get bigger, faster, quicker, and better trained, while their equipment also gets better over time. That is especially true for women's sports where the 'investment' has exploded over the last 25 years. When judging them you do it against their peers, and a player like Kara was deemed to be the one of the best players in college when she played, as were those who were voted to All-Americans.

 

[ucbart]

Gabby Williams!

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[CTyankee]

In 2014 Tina was one of FOUR UConn starters in the FIBA World Championships that won the gold medal. She led the team in rebounding and ranked third in scoring behind Maya and Brittney Griner.

 

[MSGRET]

Paige doesn't even make third team?

No, but there is a young lady named Bueckers on the second team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Tina does get left out a lot. Also, for me, two other UConn greats that a lot of people forget to mention are, Svetlana Abrosimova and Nykesha Sales. Those two rarely get any recognition.

Sveta is one of my all time favs. She could look at you and make you want to hide. Nykesha I am sad to say my first memory is the basket heard round the world. The howling was so unkind. Is she still coaching in Florida or so filthy rich from Real Estate that she has hit the beach?

 

[hoophuskee]

I think one reason that Tina is overlooked is there’s a myth floating around that she wasn’t “good” until her junior year. She won at least one National Freshman of the Year award and was an AP 3rd team All-American her sophomore year, so I don’t know why that’s a narrative.

+1

I am a big time believer in Geno. I’ve defended him for many years(from bench, to small-ball, to starters etc) because I believe in his style. And he has done some amazing things I never saw coming. Super-great. But he is not perfect.

And with Tina he had a definite brain-freeze in her soph year. Tina in her frosh year FOY and Honorable Mention A/a. Soph year playing with Maya and Renee she started all or nearly all year and she was 3rd team A/A and All-Tourney Big East (but they lost).

And what did Geno do after the loss? He benched his underclassman for the combo of Kaili McLaren and Brittany Hunter. Think about this. He took a 3rd team A/A that also was all Tourney that was his leading inside scorer and rebounder and just before the Tourney started, he changed her role to come off the bench, all-the-while he was a battering-ram upon her all year. And then when they lose he proclaims that they didn’t have an inside game? Yeah – that tends to happen when you pull your underclassman that you were pounding on all year and then force her to prepare differently when you go against another big-time frontline.

This was indicative how he treated Tina that year. The thing is Tina wasn’t fictional Luke Skywalker being trained by Yoda. I’m pretty sure that as an example that year he was stating that Tina should be averaging a double-double at halftime. This was paper-reporting. So maybe he said as a joke but the way he was riding her all year – I doubt it. It's a joke/star wars fantasy to expect a double-double at halftime when you had Maya and Monty, and Tina wouldn't play a ton of minutes. Then these type of things the media picks up on even though it was absurd.

With all this said Geno holds Tina in extreme greatness. We all should. Obviously he was huge in making Tina what she had become.

 

[JellyBean]

Sveta is one of my all time favs. She could look at you and make you want to hide. Nykesha I am sad to say my first memory is the basket heard round the world. The howling was so unkind. Is she still coaching in Florida or so filthy rich from Real Estate that she has hit the beach?

Svet is MY all-time favorite and you ain't lying about that look she could give you. Nykesha is still coaching. I think she is still coaching. I saw her on the Georgia bench this past year.