Vital Has Unfinished Business
The Story: Guard Christian Vital announced on his Instagram account that he will return to UConn for his senior season, giving the Huskies a proven veteran scorer and outside shooter heading into year two under head coach Dan Hurley.
GREAT NEWS FOR UCONN FANS: Vital is vital to the Huskies’ hopes of being in NCAA tournament contention next season. He flirted with going pro after last season but ultimately returned. Vital didn’t go down that road this time and is committed to graduating and perhaps getting UConn to an NCAA tournament.
Vital averaged 14.1 points per game, down from 14.9 as a sophomore, but was much more efficient shooting 45.3% from the floor and 40.2% from 3-point range. His returning for a senior season solidifies the backcourt and gives UConn proven firepower and explosive scoring.
OUR TAKE: The Huskies will now have one of the stronger backcourts in the AAC with Vital and Alterique Gilbert returning. This also will allow incoming freshmen James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney to ease into their roles with the Huskies, especially a shooting guard like Bouknight. The Huskies can bring their freshmen off the bench with sophomore Brendan Adams and start, for example, Sid Wilson as a classic small forward, or they can go three guards with veterans Vital and Gilbert running the show.
The fact is that Vital is the best scorer on the team and with Jalen Adams gone, he will be counted upon to provide points and shooting. And, with Gilbert also a near 40-percent 3-point shooter, UConn has two players who can make the most important shot in basketball. We like veteran teams, and Gilbert, Vital and rising junior Josh Carlton will be the core of next year’s team. Add in the two newcomers and an eligible Akok Akok, and the Huskies have the making of a good inside-outside team with some depth. The Huskies could use one more frontcourt player, however.
Samuelson, Collier Ready for WNBA
The Story: UConn’s two stars in Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier were taken in the WNBA Draft last night. Samuelson was taken fourth overall by the Chicago Sky while Collier went two picks later to the Minnesota Lynx.
QUITE A SURPRISE: We wrote yesterday morning that we couldn’t see a way that Samuelson would be drafted before Collier, yet here we are. We’ll own it. It’s a great spot for Samuelson, who will link up with Stefanie Dolson and Gabby Williams have the opportunity to pick her spots and settle in as a reliable scoring option from day one. A lot of pre-draft smoke signalled the Sky were looking for a player to help them down low and defensively, and though Samuelson acknowledged she doesn’t consider herself much of a defensive player, coach James Wade said the team loves the quickness with which she plays and thinks she can provide a dimension his players don’t currently have. “We thought she was one of the best players in college, and she was the one player who could play with everybody on our roster,” Wade said last night. “She has a skill set that translates right away.”
Being drafted before Collier, Samuelson said,”was kind of shocking. I started sweating a little bit. This is definitely something I’ve been dreaming of, especially with my sister [Karlie] in the league. This is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
MUST WATCH: Don’t miss this video of Samuelson’s surprise phone call from none other than her favorite player growing up, Larry Bird.
AS FOR COLLIER? The Lynx couldn’t contain their excitement with Collier falling into their laps at No. 6, with coach Cheryl Reeve, who gushed over Collier last week, doing the same again last night. “She’s going to be in the league a long time doing what she does,” Reeve told reporters last night. “[She] can play more than one position. [She’s] long, defends, deflects, scores, rebounds, can take the ball to the rim and go, so we are excited about her.”
Collier will be part of a five-player draft class for the Lynx, but she’ll get the first opportunity to be a mainstay in the lineup from the start of the season. With Maya Moore sitting out this season, Collier will be counted upon to do what she did best at UConn: score and grab rebounds. She doesn’t have the same range as Moore, but she’ll be a complementary piece for the Lynx, who don’t need her to do everything.
YOUNG GOES FIRST: Notre Dame’s Jackie Young, who only declared for the draft earlier this week, was taken No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Aces, with Louisville’s Asia Durr going second to the New York Liberty and Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan taken third by the Indiana Fever.
The Connecticut Sun drafted California forward Kristine Anigwe in the first round, Iowa State’s Bridget Carleton in the second round and Virginia Tech’s Regan Magarity in the third round. They also traded Lexie Brown to the Lynx for the rights to Marquette’s Natisha Heideman.
Big 12 Goes To ESPN+ — Except Texas and Oklahoma
The Story: The Big 12 signed a deal that will put plenty of its content on ESPN+, except everything from Texas and Oklahoma, which have their own local contracts. The AAC and UConn won’t be the only major athletic programs on the fledgling pay subscription service.
SOUND FAMILIAR? The AAC signed a television deal that will put many sports, including UConn men’s and women’s basketball and football on ESPN+. Much to the basketball teams’ chagrin, the relationship with its local TV network in SNY is TBD. How come Texas and Oklahoma can opt out and UConn can’t?
TEXAS, OKLAHOMA HAVE A NETWORK: UConn has a relationship with SNY that is predominantly about one sport — women’s basketball. At one point, men’s basketball was a part of the equation, as was football, but for now, SNY is the home of UConn women’s basketball. Texas and Oklahoma? They have their own networks and big money contracts for Tier 3 content (think non-major sports), including the Longhorn Network for Texas and Sooners Sports TV, which appears on Fox Sports Oklahoma and other FSR channels. Longhorn Network is backed by ESPN while Sooner Sports TV is offered through Fox. SNY is owned by Comcast, and while it is the home of one UConn team, it isn’t the home for the entire athletic department. Kansas, for example, has the Jayhawk Network, which took a ton of Tier 3 content and some football and basketball games. That content will now go to ESPN+. It seems even Kansas doesn’t have the ability to keep its sports off a pay service any longer.
Why do OU and Texas get to decide whether to go to ESPN+ or not? Because they are OU and Texas, and the Big 12 decided that those two programs can operate independently.
WHAT ABOUT ESPN+ AGAIN? UConn will find a ton of content on ESPN+ starting in the 2020-21 season, which is a change from what UConn fans are used to. Finding UConn on ESPN+ is going to be easy for those who stream. You can authenticate ESPN+ on the app and on your set-top boxes, computer, and tablets. If you are a classic cable subscriber and go home and turn on your Xfinity, Optimum or Frontier service like people have for the last 40 years, you are going to hate being forced to ESPN+. Our suggestion? Learn to stream. It’s Netflix for sports.
Morning Reads
ADAMS BEGINS DRAFT WORKOUTS: Jalen Adams is taking the first steps in what he hopes is a professional basketball career that ends up in the NBA. He will head to the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia next week. Also, the Huskies are still searching for a frontcourt player for next season and have one scholarship remaining. (Hartford Courant)
WALKER’S FUTURE IN QUESTION: After the Charlotte Hornets lost to the Orlando Magic last night and were knocked out of playoff contention, Kemba Walker‘s future with the franchise remains uncertain. Reaching the playoffs was one of his goals. (Charlotte Observer)
CLUTCH HITTING LEADS BASEBALL: UConn scored all six of its runs with two outs on the scoreboard as it defeated Northeastern 6-2 on Wednesday. On a side note, Anthony Prato has reached bas in 39 straight games for the Huskies. (UConnHuskies.com)
LACROSSE FALLS ON ROAD: UConn lost its final nonconference game of the season, falling 17-11 at Yale last night. (UConnHuskies.com)
FIRE UP THE RUMOR MILL: The leading scorer on South Carolina’s women’s basketball team last season, Te’a Cooper, announced she will transfer and be immediately eligible next season as a graduate student. (The State)
