UConn Basketball

After leading the Rhode Island Rams to the second round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, Dan Hurley has accepted the head coaching job at Connecticut, the university announced Thursday morning.

Hurley's deal is for six years and $2.75 million annually, announced UConn in a press release, via Adam Zagoria of SportsNet New York.

"I never doubted for a moment that UConn would be able to attract a coach of Dan's talent," said UConn President Susan Herbst. "He understands UConn, student-athletes at this level, and college basketball in the Northeast. I know our entire community will be delighted to welcome Dan, Andrea and their family to UConn."

ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported he chose the Huskies over a "more lucrative offer" from Pittsburgh and a long-term extension from Rhode Island.

In 2017-18, he led URI to a 26-8 record and the Atlantic 10 regular-season title. It marked the second consecutive season in which the Rams won a game in the NCAA tournament.

They upset Creighton 84-72 as a No. 11 seed in 2017 and, as a No. 7 seed this year, defeated the Trae Young-led Oklahoma Sooners 83-78.

Hurley was 113-82 in six seasons with the Rams.

It was just four years ago when UConn looked like it had the next big thing in the coaching world as Kevin Ollie led the program to a national championship in his second season in Storrs. 

Ollie led the team to just one other NCAA tournament appearance since then, though, when the Huskies were the No. 9 seed at 25-11 in 2016. Otherwise, the program has been in a decline and went just 14-18 this year, its worst season in more than three decades.

Per Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant, UConn announced that it was "initiating disciplinary procedure to terminate" Ollie for "just cause" in early March.

That meant UConn would not have to pay Ollie the $10 million remaining on his contract.

The "just cause" reportedly stems from an NCAA inquiry into the program regarding alleged improper summer workouts during Ollie's tenure.

Ollie said he would fight UConn's decision in a statement to ESPN.

Hurley will face an incredible increase in pressure moving from Rhode Island to UConn. As a mid-major program, the Rams were never expected to be serious Final Four contenders. The Huskies, on the other hand, have won four national titles since 1999.

Rhode Island made quite the improvement under Hurley, from 8-21 in his first season to NCAA tournament wins in back-to-back seasons. UConn is hoping he can turn its program back around as well.  

The Connecticut Huskies are reportedly "close" to hiring Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley for their vacant men's basketball head coaching position, according to Jeff Jacobs of Hearst Media.

Per Jacobs and colleague David Borges, "After beginning a process to fire Kevin Ollie March 10 for 'just cause,' Hurley has been a target of UConn and there has been considerable movement on this front over the past day, according to a source close to the situation."

He's certainly become a hot name in coaching and was linked to the Huskies before Monday:

Dan Hurley: “I could give a crap about who has an opening right now.” Hurley is the frontrunner for UConn.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 17, 2018

What happens with Dan Hurley? UConn seems fixated on him. One industry source said: “That’s who they want.” But Pitt does too. I'd bet we have an answer before Friday.

— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) March 19, 2018

Hurley, 46, led Rhode Island to a 26-8 record, an Atlantic 10 regular-season title and a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, where the Rams beat Oklahoma but lost to Duke. Hurley had his first coaching gig with Wagner in 2010 before taking over at Rhode Island in 2012.

Rhode Island senior E.C. Matthews spoke about the unique bond he shared with Hurley after the team fell to the Blue Devils: 

“I know we’re not the same color but this man’s my father. I love this guy.” - EC Matthews, when asked about his relationship with head coach Dan Hurley pic.twitter.com/a9oO0weu5r

— Rhody MBB (@RhodyMBB) March 17, 2018

Hurley also comes from a basketball family. His brother, Bobby Hurley, was a former star for the Blue Devils and is the current head coach at Arizona State. His father, Bob Hurley, is a Hall of Fame basketball coach after a career at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.

As for UConn, Ollie's tenure ended with controversy after he was fired for "just cause," with the nature of that cause remaining unknown. As Michael McCann of SI.com speculated, "The most plausible explanation for Ollie's firing is his possible connection to an NCAA investigation into UConn. As reported two months ago by the Hartford Courant, the NCAA is probing whether the Huskies' basketball program committed recruiting violations."

On the court, UConn won a national championship in 2014 under Ollie but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament in two straight seasons. Hurley, now one of the hottest names in the coaching market, would represent a fresh start for a Huskies program in need of one.

The Connecticut women's basketball team continued its dominance Saturday with a record-setting 140-52 victory over St. Francis in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

ESPN Stats & Info provided a look at all the new marks set by UConn in the Huskies' blowout of the Red Flash at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut:

UConn finishes with 140 points, a single-game school and NCAA Women's Tournament record. @UConnWBB's 88-point win is the 2nd-largest in NCAA Men's or Women's Tournament history, behind @BaylorWBB's 89-point win against Texas Southern last year. pic.twitter.com/bFcFpYOk7R

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 17, 2018

About 12 hours after the greatest upset in the history of the men's version of March Madness—16th-seeded UMBC crushing top overall seed Virginia—the UConn women quickly made sure there would be no repeat performance in the women's bracket.

The Huskies put up 55 points in the 10-minute first quarter, more than St. Francis scored in the entire game.

Connecticut shot 64.8 percent from the field, recorded 38 assists on 59 made field goals, won the rebounding battle 69-30 and held the Red Flash to 22.2 percent shooting.

Unfortunately, the Huskies, through no fault of their own, have taken virtually all of the intrigue out of the women's tournament by being so good.

The first round is still being contested, and they already possess a 77 percent chance to win the national championship, per FiveThirtyEight. For comparison, the top remaining team on the men's side, Villanova, only has a 20 percent shot to cut down the nets.

Next up for the Huskies will be either Miami or Quinnipiac in the second round Monday.

Kevin Ollie will not return as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Connecticut after six seasons at the helm.  

Per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, Connecticut said in a statement it has begun the process of firing Ollie for just cause:

"The University of Connecticut has initiated disciplinary procedures to terminate the employment of Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Ollie for just cause. The University will have no further comment on the matter until the completion of both the University’s disciplinary process and the ongoing NCAA investigation."

Ollie played at UConn from 1991 through 1995 and, after a 13-year NBA career, he returned to the program as an assistant in 2010 before taking over as head coach following Jim Calhoun's 2012 retirement.

The 45-year-old Dallas native found immediate success. The Huskies went 20-10 during his first season in charge but were ineligible for postseason play. The next year, they posted a 32-8 record en route to winning the NCAA tournament, the fourth title in Connecticut men's history.

Although the results remained solid over the next two years, as the Huskies went 20-15 and 25-11, their performance faded during the last couple of seasons.

They put up a 16-17 mark last year, their first sub-.500 record since 1986-87, and fell further this season with a 14-18 record. 

In addition to the lackluster on-court play, UConn was also alerted to an NCAA probe focused on recruiting for the men's basketball program.

"With regard to the inquiry directed at our men's basketball program, I want to express that we will cooperate fully with NCAA as this process moves forward as we are committed to promoting an atmosphere of compliance with NCAA regulations," Ollie said in a late-January statement.

Ultimately, the school moved in a new direction. Ollie finished his tenure at his alma mater with a 127-79 record and two NCAA tournament appearances in six years.     

In Starkville, Mississippi, it's called "the shot heard 'round the world."

Morgan William had the ball near half court with just under four seconds in a tied game. This wasn't any random late-season game, but Mississippi State's first-ever Final Four appearance, and across the court was a University of Connecticut women's basketball team looking for its 112th consecutive win. The Bulldogs were already part of that record, having lost to the Huskies by 60 points in the Sweet 16 the year prior.

"As soon as we found out who was in our bracket for the tournament, everyone was like, 'Oh, y'all are done,'" guard Blair Schaefer says now, sitting in the stands after a recent practice. "When we made it to the Final Four, they said, 'Well, you guys had a good run.'"

William, 5'5", dribbled into the fray and pulled up near the free-throw line, soaring what looked like at least a foot-and-a-half in the air. The ball fell through the hoop as the backboard turned red, and basketball history was made.

In Storrs, Connecticut, it's known as "the way last year ended." As in, "Especially the way last year ended, I'm just focusing on winning every single game," UConn's Katie Lou Samuelson told reporters surrounding her after a 26-point performance against No. 4 Louisville. "Whatever I need to do to do that, I'm going to do."

Though Mississippi State snapped UConn's record-setting streak and cemented its first-ever national championship berth, both teams returned from Dallas without cutting down a net (South Carolina won the final, 67-55). Neither has lost a game since.

They're far from the only teams poised to make a run in this year's NCAA tournament: Baylor has lost one game, while Louisville and Notre Dame have dropped just two each.

It's a competitive field, and yet the Mississippi/UConn narratives are irresistible: the potential rematch of an unprecedented dynasty stocked with top recruits versus the homespun crew of local talent that stunned them with a buzzer-beater. The parallel seasons of the lanky offensive powerhouse whose average margin of victory is 37.4 points versus the team that scrapped its way through one of the toughest conferences in women's basketball without missing a beat.

There are still many games to be played before UConn and Mississippi State know if they'll be facing off again, but their regular-season success already sets them apart, sort of. Of the 23 undefeated regular seasons in women's college basketball history, UConn owns nine. The players know, though, that the toughest battles are still in front of them. As Mississippi State's Schaefer puts it: "We understand that we have to maintain this level of intensity if we want to keep this going."

---

The UConn Huskies are on a 17-0 run, flexing for a sold-out house at Storrs' Gampel Pavilion. A crowd of 10,167 sits under 11 championship banners, complimentary white pom-poms in hand, as the pep band plays Chance the Rapper's "No Problem." Samuelson sprints down the court, lobs the ball over 6'2" Louisville senior Myisha Hines-Allen to projected top-five 2018 WNBA draft pick Gabby Williams, who tosses in an easy layup. Make that 19-0.

Alyssa and Brooke, nine-year-old twins who play basketball themselves, are cheering from the stands. Samuelson is Alyssa's favorite player because "she's a really good shooter, and she's really good at basketball in general," while Brooke loves watching sophomore guard Crystal Dangerfield because "she's fast and strong."

They've spent their whole lives watching UConn women's basketball; their dad, Tom, is an alum who befriended Rebecca Lobo and Pam Webber while managing the men's team. Brooke wants to grow up to play basketball for UConn (failing that, she'll settle for being the first woman to play football for Notre Dame). "Geno [Auriemma] tells them a play, and then they work and pass the ball until they find an open shot," she explains. "He's a good coach."

The Huskies eventually triumph over Louisville, 69-58, and Auriemma—owner of the highest winning percentage (.883) and architect of the most titled program in college basketball history—attempts to explain how. Specifically, he's trying to explain how good Samuelson, the 6'3" junior with the highest three-point percentage in Division I (49.3 percent) and a front-runner for this year's Naismith Trophy, is. "She just had this feeling that today was going to be a really good day for her," he says.

"She's always in that mood," Louisville star Asia Durr says while laughing when asked about Samuelson. Her coach, Jeff Walz, deadpans when asked about his strategy for defending her: "We wanted to see how many open shots we could give her, but unfortunately that didn't work."

Samuelson is far from the only player UConn opponents have to worry about: Five players average more than 10 points a game, and six shoot better than 50 percent. Juniors Napheesa Collier and 6'6" Duke transfer Azura Stevens, as well as WNBA-bound seniors Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams, round out the starting five.

"Gabby does things for us as a player that no one else in the country consistently does," Samuelson says later. "At 5'11", she's guarding both the best post players in the country and the best guards in the country. It's surprising that you have a player doing that kind of stuff, and people still overlook it."

In the Louisville game alone, Williams had 12 points, 15 rebounds and six assists—plus a leaping, midair steal that looked more like a Richard Sherman interception than a basketball play. She took it in for a layup, naturally. "She makes plays that are unlike anything a lot of people have ever seen," Auriemma adds.

For some fans, though, it can be hard to forget the mistakes—even when there are so few of them. "I remember Gabby Williams had the ball and shot it too early...they could have won," says Brooke, recalling one of the plays before The Way Last Year Ended. "Then the other team dribbled up the court and made the buzzer-beater." Alyssa is reminded of the tournament's unofficial title: "We were so mad!"

---

The doors to the Hump, as most call Mississippi State's Humphrey Coliseum, won't open until 5 p.m., but Diane Tomlinson, a 64-year-old Starkville native, got in line a little before 2. "They put on a better show than the Harlem Globetrotters!" she says around 3, by which point she's been joined by about 50 other fans. They're waiting by the shadier of the arena's two entrances, a welcome respite from the sunny, 80-degree weather.

Like most of the fans there, Diane hasn't been coming to women's basketball games for long—her first was in 2016, and she got "hooked," in her words. She's standing behind Roger, 62, who opted in about three years ago. This year, he's been to every game and is planning to attend the NCAA tournament.

"Before Coach [Vic] Schaefer, there were probably about 100 people in the arena," he says. The team is averaging more fans per game than it had over entire seasons a decade ago—113,814 fans attended home games this season, a team record (Starkville has around 25,000 residents).

Vic Schaefer was hired in 2012 to coach a team that had gone 14-16 the previous season, just before six of its seniors graduated. Two of the recruits he inherited weren't eligible. "They were short on talent and big on heart," he says now. They went 13-17, but Schaefer notes that "we beat No. 11 Georgia, and we weren't supposed to beat No. 11 Georgia."

With his own recruits, the team went 22-14 the next year. "We signed kids who weren't necessarily top-ranked but brought things that we were desperately missing here at Mississippi State: toughness and competitive spirit," he says. "Those are the kids that, four years later, took us to the national championship game."

They were lining up at 10:30 this morning for our 1:00 o'clock tip. The BEST Fans in the country were loud and proud today. Thank you for supporting our program and loving our players. #Repin4OurState#Liveit pic.twitter.com/ufZheefkYz

— Vic Schaefer (@CoachVic_UT) February 12, 2018

But it wasn't just that the team was playing better: Schaefer campaigned for fans and insisted that his team do the same. His first season, he went camper to camper at the Mississippi State tailgates, promoting the upcoming season and selling tickets. The team started a tradition: waiting on the court after every game to talk to fans. Take a sellout crowd, add an undefeated team and imagine what that means for the players.

"Teaira McCowan's just gone up and down the court at 6'7"—and probably dragged somebody else with her—and the game's over, but we're gonna stay out here and hug babies and kiss mamas and take pictures and sign autographs for the next hour because that's how long it takes," Schaefer says. "They understand that's what we do here at Mississippi State."

The approach worked, on the court and in the stands. In five years, Mississippi State has become a women's basketball powerhouse. "People are traveling to Vanderbilt and Georgia, planning their lives around women's basketball games," Schaefer adds. "You've gotta give our kids all the credit, because they're the ones that they're coming to see."

Now, his picture gets prime placement on the wall at a nearby barbeque spot, The Little Dooey (where Tim Tebow is pictured above the sweet tea). When men's basketball coach Ben Howland hands out free cheese fries at a local dive (a way to promote his team), he's confronted with tipsy students accidentally calling him Vic Schaefer.

Ask those same fans (and tipsy students) about their favorite players, and you'll probably hear the entire roster. Roger is a fan of junior Jordan Danberry: "I like her defense." Quincy, a 22-year-old engineering student, likes Morgan William, who has had to adjust to becoming a local celebrity since her franchise-changing shot. "People are like, 'Sorry to bother you'—which they're really not—but they always want a picture or autograph or something while I'm eating," William says. Still, she insists she's not "the biggest thing since sliced bread or anything like that."

There's Victoria Vivians, the Carthage, Mississippi, native who came to Starkville after seeing the ball she used to set the state's high school career scoring record (5,017 points) sent to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. She's now averaging almost 20 points a game.

Vivians is heading to the WNBA but was already a top pick...for homecoming queen (her slogan was Queen of All Courts). Ask her about it and she'll roll her eyes, but she admits it was fun. Not long after she won, the team gave a free ticket to anyone who wore a tiara.

Or take Roshunda Johnson, who's been a vital deep threat and defender. Johnson found out she was five-and-a-half months pregnant not long after transferring from Oklahoma State. She continued to practice during her pregnancy, though the team wouldn't allow her to sit on the bench once she started showing. Today, she holds her two-year-old son Malaki on her hip while she signs autographs.

There's guard Blair Schaefer, the coach's daughter. "She does her job and gives everybody the chance to shoot," says Kyle, an 18-year-old Starkville High student waiting for the game to start. "She doesn't try to hold the ball." His assessment is almost identical to her father's. "I'm living the dream—she's not only playing for me, she's on the No. 2 team in the country," he says.

Both father and daughter insist things are strictly player-coach on the hardwood, though that doesn't necessarily translate off the court. "Sometimes when I come home he's like, 'So how was practice?' and I'm like, 'Dad, you were there,'" she says, smiling and shaking her head.

Blair, now a senior, began playing at Mississippi State during her dad's second year as a coach—practically a different universe from where the team is now. "When I started, everyone was like, 'Let's get to the NCAA tournament!'" she says. "Now it's like, we want to get back to the Final Four. Our ultimate goal is totally different."

---

As different and as dominant as UConn's Huskies and MSU's Bulldogs are, both teams feel like they're entering this postseason with something to prove.

Yes, even UConn—a program whose dynasty is only currently matched by the New England Patriots and Alabama football—feels like it's been a fight to get to this point. "This team has just gone through so much: from being underdogs coming into the season last year, then proving everybody wrong [by going undefeated], then proving everybody right [by losing in the Final Four] and then this year trying to win it back and kind of being back in the underdog role," Gabby Williams says.

That would seem to beg the question: Does she really think the No. 1 team in the country is an underdog? "The comeback kids, I guess."

"People get tired of hearing, reading and writing about UConn," says associate head coach Chris Dailey, who has been with the Huskies for over 33 years and whose induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was announced during the Louisville game. "People are tired of us winning. More people were happy that we lost than that Mississippi State won last year, probably. Even the average fan was like, 'Oh, it's about time.'"

Breaking the streak, though, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "Last year, everyone always talked about the streak, every single game," Samuelson says. "This year, we feel like we've been able to do our own thing."

Dailey sees it as a necessary shift. "Last year's team had a very small role in creating that win streak, but they had the bulk of the attention on them because of it," she says. "I think this year's team feels like this record is what they have done and has nothing to do with what anyone's done in the past."

In Starkville, the players struggle more with the feeling that they're not being taken seriously. "They're still messing up our name!" says Vivians, alluding to how ESPN2 keeps referring to the Bulldogs as the Delta Devils (Mississippi Valley State's mascot) in chyrons. "I feel like that's disrespectful, especially since we've been here for three years now."

"We keep trying to prove ourselves, and people continue to say it's just a fluke. That our 28 games are a fluke," adds Blair Schaefer, whose team now has 30 wins. "We're like, 'Really?'"

Her father agrees. "I do feel like we're underrated," Coach Schaefer says. "I've said it since we were 20-0: This is not normal. It's so not normal to be where we are today, and to Connecticut's credit, they've made it look easy. This team already had the pressure of the tournament from last year; now they're undefeated—that's double target on your back. It's very difficult."

As much as the team insists it is taking it all game by game, going undefeated—especially when you never have before—adds pressure. "It seems like Coach Schaefer thinks that if we lose, people are going to be like, 'I told you so,'" William says.

---

At the UConn/Louisville game, things slow down in the second half. The shots aren't falling, and after the third UConn miss in a row, the crowd is getting restless. "Here we go," mutters a fan, despite the fact that UConn has yet to be ahead by fewer than 15 points.

Do UConn fans expect perfection? "They watch our players as if they were their daughters," Dailey says. "That kind of love and admiration, and also that feeling that it's OK for me to say anything about them, but nobody else better dare say anything."

That said, there is a sense that UConn is held to a different standard—a magnified version of the ever-moving goalposts placed on every sport women play.

"In men's basketball, a 12-point victory is a convincing win," Dailey continues. "For UConn, a 12-point victory against a Top Five opponent is, 'Oh, they only won by 12.' We can't win if we win by too many points, and we can't win if we only win by 12 points, and we certainly can't win if we lose or win by only one or two points. I'm not complaining, because we're OK with the standard that we've set, but I just never want our players to feel like what they've done isn't good enough. That's just not fair."

Indeed, the Huskies' dominance has sometimes been considered bad for the game, and a recent 81-point win over Wichita State caused a new round of social media grumbling—though Samuelson insists they weren't even looking at the scoreboard. "We felt good playing together and were just excited to be out there," she says. "No matter what, we try to play the same way without being concerned about the score."

Dailey says there are times when the Huskies get booed as they run out onto the court, before they've scored a point. According to her, Auriemma relishes it. "It's not a matter of trying to embarrass an opponent," she says. "It would be more embarrassing not to play the way that we play. Any coach or player that's a competitor wouldn't want anything less than our best shot."

Both teams hope their success is good for the sport as a whole—an additional responsibility on top of the necessity of winning itself. It's one that becomes particularly acute as they head into the NCAA tournament, one of the few moments when women's basketball is on the national stage.

"People will sometimes not be happy with our team, but the amount of work we put in is to try to...we try to basically be perfect," Samuelson says. "I just hope people appreciate how much work that all players of women's basketball put into the game. On the outside, sometimes it'll look like it's easy or things are going right for us, but we've been through a lot as a team that no one will ever see. They'll never see the work we put in."

Adds Blair Schaefer: "A lot of people don't come and watch because there's a stigma: 'Oh, they can't dunk; it's like watching paint dry.' We've slowly changed that atmosphere here, and I just want people to know that it's very exciting to watch any team that just wants to win."

William is sitting on the sideline as the men's team gets on the court to start shooting around. "I just want people to be able to watch us like they watch the men," she says. "I don't want them to be like, 'Oh, this is going to be boring and slow.' We might not necessarily dunk, but we do play hard and aggressive and run fast. I feel like the game of basketball is evolving for women. We've impacted Mississippi State University, and I feel like last year, to a lot of kids, we impacted the world."

The NCAA has reportedly opened an investigation into the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. 

According to the New Haven Register's Jeff Jacobs, "some, if not all" of the inquiry "involves areas of recruiting." 

The full scope of the investigation remains unclear, but the school did confirm it has been contacted by the NCAA. 

"We are working closely with the NCAA enforcement division," the school said in a statement issued to Jacobs. "We will appropriately address and respond to this inquiry and continue cooperating fully with the NCAA as this process moves forward. Until that time, we will have no further comment."

According to Jacobs, there "is no evidence" that the investigation was sparked by UConn's involvement in the FBI's years-long investigation into corruption and bribery in college basketball. 

The program was previously cited for eight violations in May 2010 when NCAA investigators disclosed "hundreds of improper calls and texts from UConn staff to recruits," per the Associated Press. 

The Huskies are currently in their sixth year under head coach Kevin Ollie, who led them to a national title during the 2013-14 season two years after taking over for Jim Calhoun. 

This season, UConn has encountered speed bumps galore and is sitting at 11-9 following Thursday's 63-52 win over the SMU Mustangs. 

University of Connecticut basketball player Jalen Adams was reportedly arrested after a scooter accident on the school's campus Wednesday night. 

According to David Borges‏ of the New Haven Register, the Huskies' junior guard faces a misdemeanor charge of evading responsibility. Borges noted Adams was racing three other individuals at the time of his crash and then left the scene on another scooter.

No further information about the incident or the other people involved was immediately released.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported Adams was suspended from practice as a result of the incident. 

The 21-year-old Massachusetts native is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign at UConn. He averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from three-point range to emerge as a bright spot despite the team's lackluster 16-17 record.

In September, Adams told Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant he was confident in a bounce-back season due to the way his teammates responded to tough workouts.

"Definitely good competition," he said. "I think this group of guys is going to be known for just pushing each other. That's what we can build our name on. I told [the newcomers] it was going to be crazy, and they were nervous, as they should be. I was nervous. But once you get in there, you know there is no easy way out. The coaches, mentally, are going to try to break us and see what we're built of. But we turn to each other, and you see the guy next to you working hard and you gain that confidence."

Connecticut is scheduled to open the 2017-18 campaign Friday night with a home game against Colgate at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Adams' availability for that contest is unknown.

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma offered to give up his pay for the 2017-18 season in an effort to help with the state of Connecticut's budget crisis and combat potential cuts at UConn.

According to Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant, Auriemma said the following about the situation:

"I'll tell you what. I'll work for free next year. I'll give up what the state pays me, what the taxpayers are paying me, but guess what? I pay my taxes and I don't care how much money it costs for me to have good schools where I live in Manchester. My [adult] kids don't go to school there. I can afford it. I want to be proud of our town's education system. Why is it that older people turn their back on education when somebody paid for their kids when they were in school? We've lost sight of what we have to do for other people."

Per Jacobs, one proposed budget includes $300 million in cuts to UConn.

According to ESPN.com, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he will veto that Republican-backed budget due to the negative impact it would have on UConn.

ESPN also reported that Auriemma is scheduled to make over $2 million during the upcoming season.

The Huskies have lost just two games under Auriemma over the past four seasons, and he led them to four consecutive national championships prior to last season.

Auriemma boasts a career record of 991-135 with 11 national titles to his credit in 32 seasons.

James Akinjo committed to the Connecticut Huskies, ESPN.com's Paul Biancardi reported Monday.

Akinjo is the No. 18 point guard and No. 105 overall in the 2018 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite ranking. The 4-star recruit is also the 11th-best player in the state of California.

Rivals' Corey Evans sees Akinjo as a big addition to the Huskies:

Akinjo is a culture setting guard commitment. Spoke highly on Ollie & staff's experience with point guard play https://t.co/yJDjvaKPin

— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) September 11, 2017

Akinjo is the first commitment UConn has received for 2018. The Richmond, California, native told Scout's Josh Gershon the school began recruiting him early, which made a big impression.

"It was very important to me," Akinjo said. "It showed how much they care about me and the way I play. I love [UConn head coach Kevin Ollie's] honesty and how he keeps it real with me. I like how he runs practice and the program in general."

While playing for the Oakland Soldiers as part of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League, Akinjo has put his offensive skill set on display. He has averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 assists in 23 games for the Soldiers, according to D1 Circuit. He has also shot 35.7 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Jalen Adams, last year's leading scorer, is entering his junior season for the Huskies. Should Adams have a big 2017-18 campaign and test the NBA waters, Akinjo would give Connecticut a ready-made replacement in the backcourt.

"Itty-bitty" is not a phrase typically used to describe basketball players, yet it's the new nickname for unlikely Final Four star Morgan William.

Listed at only 5'5", the Mississippi State guard didn't let being the smallest player on the court stop her from hitting the game-winning shot over Connecticut's 5'11" Gabby Williams on Friday night, which snapped the powerhouse's 111-game winning streak and cemented the underdog's spot in college basketball lore.

The day before, the 20-year-old Alabama native had written an evocative essay for the Players' Tribune, explaining why she dedicated her 41-point performance in the Elite Eight to her father, who died three years ago: "For never even once letting me complain about my height (I'm 5'5") or telling me I needed to be taller to play Division I basketball, even though it was something I kept hearing from college recruiters. It never mattered to him, so it never mattered to me."

With those 41 points, William led the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs to an overtime victory over No. 1-seeded Baylor.

"People have always underestimated my play because of my height," says Chicago Sky point guard Jamierra Faulkner, who at 5'6" is one of the shortest active WNBA players (at 5'5", the Phoenix Mercury's Leilani Mitchell and Seattle Storm's Jennifer O'Neill share that title).

"But there are pros to being small," Faulkner says. "Most of the time being short means you're fast—I may be the fastest player in the WNBA. You can weave through defenders in transition and get a lot of steals from post players when they bring the ball down."

Faulkner acknowledges playing in the WNBA without size on her side has its challenges.

"Once you've reached the pro level, the players get taller and stronger," she says. "Us vertically challenged players have to think through the game even more, using shot fakes, pace, and keeping our dribble while trapped."

The shortest woman to ever go pro was Shannon Bobbitt, who at 5'2" spent four years in the WNBA. Debbie Black (5'3") and Temeka Johnson (5'3") also had long WNBA careers.

In the NBA, the most diminutive player ever was the 5'3" Muggsy Bogues, who memorably played alongside one of the tallest players ever, the 7'7" Manute Bol, during the Washington Bullets' 1987-88 season.

At 5'9", Boston Celtics star Isaiah Thomas, of course, is among the shortest active NBA players, something he reminded fans of on Instagram just a day ago.

"My advice for Morgan would be to keep doing what you're doing—obviously it's getting you places and earning you outstanding accomplishments," Faulkner says. "When people tell you you're too short, just laugh at them and show them on the court."

A sign held by a jubilant MSU fan at Friday's game summed it up: "Big things, small packages."