Who said this? "As a top college prospect, I was. . .

[Kibitzer]

. . . the best player on my high school team, and I had the freedom to do anything I wanted. . . . I started thinking I could do the exact same thing in college. However, once I got here, I realized I had a lot of work to do."

And elsewhere: ". . .the Boneyard -- a popular UConn fan website. The fan support was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was remarkable and definitely something I would enjoy getting used to."

Any thoughts?

 

[Zorro]

Saniya, mebbe?

 

[Gus Mahler]

Shea Ralph?

 

[Goodgood]

Did Geno ever recruit a player that was NOT the best player on her high school team? I can't remember any.

 

[UcMiami]

Must be Lawlor!

 

[ballhawk]

How about Lou.

 

[jimazee]

Probably quite a few over the Geno years...

 

[Harry Mangurian]

EDD

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Was it Mel Thomas? Seems to me I read that in her book...

 

[Kibitzer]

Let's try a second statement.

"I didn't realize how much confidence it took to be at the top. I thought I was confident but Coach was exposing every doubt I had at practice. I thought he was such a jerk, and wondered why he was messing with my head. I started to question everything I did. I didn't even know when to shoot the ball. Shooting threes was my specialty. . . ."​

 

[Kibitzer]

Was it Mel Thomas? Seems to me I read that in her book...

BINGO! "Heart of a Husky," by Mel Thomas. Edited by Olde Coach (late, all-time great Boneyarder) and Foreword written by Geno himself.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Great book... I've read it several times and I enjoy it every time. If you like behind the scenes stories, it's highly recommended!

 

[Tonyc]

Terrific Book. I too have read it many times and have Mel's autograph.

 

[UC10NN]

What are other books that BY'ers would recommend?

My favorite so far has been Geno: in pursuit of perfection

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Geno's book was great. Another good one is "The Same River Twice" by John Walters. It follows the team through the 2000-2001 season. Again, a lot of good behind the scenes stuff.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Tonyc - mine's signed too. She did a signing in New Haven, and I got copies for my brother and my dad as well. She's a very nice young lady.

 

[Kibitzer]

In an interesting anecdote early in the book, Mel describes how senior Ann Strother reached out to freshman Thomas to help her get over her frustration. Sound familiar?

In the last chapter, "The End of the Road," she writes:

"I came to Connecticut thinking it was to play basketball. Four years later, I understand it was to learn about life. I'll never be able to thank Coach for all he has done for me. He's had a huge impact on my character and values. He wants to make us better people even more than he wants to make us the best basketball players."​

Thanks, Mel. You certainly had the Heart of a Husky.

 

[Millenial23]

I love Mel Thomas!!! She's one of my favorite players, after Maya Moore! I was in high school, and was at the UCONN Co-op with my mom... I think we were just early for something so we looked around the store for fun. Mel was, signing her book! I bought the book then a nice photographer guy took my picture with her and sent it to me! It's one of my favorite memories and a great picture!!!

I also remember at one of her games, after a foul was called on Mel, 3 guys in the stands shouted in unison "Mel doesn't foul!" Loved that!

And yes, I love her book too, it was very touching, and I'm not a particularly emotional person! I may need to go back and reread it now