Bouknight On Draft Boards But Is Staying
The Story: You want some good news (don’t we all!). James Bouknight is going to be back at UConn next season.
Ain’t goin anywhere just yet!! We got business to handle 😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/mujLTCRfsG
— James Bouknight (@jam3s210) April 2, 2020
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: There was an April’s Fools Joke that Bouknight had signed with an agent. Isaiah Whaley‘s heart stopped, and so did all of ours at that news. Of course, it wasn’t true. Bouknight is going to be one of the stars of the college basketball season next year. Also, he appears in the latest Mock Draft by The Athletic, which puts him at 61.
HURLEY CRITIQUES HIS OWN GAMES: Dan Hurley is going to Instagram and giving his thoughts on what we hope is each game this season. Right now, he has commented on Game 1 and Game 2, the latter an awful loss to St. Joseph’s.
Walker A Consensus All-American
The Story: Megan Walker was named to the WBCA All-America team yesterday in what would have been a day before the first Women’s Final Four game.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Walker, who as a junior has decided to leave school to go play professionally. is the 23rd UConn player to make the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s team. The Huskies have also had a player on the WBCA team for each of the last 13 seasons. Walker hit the consensus All-America team, which means she made the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association and now the WBCA team.
HECK OF A 3-YEAR RUN: Walker averaged 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds this season for the Huskies and was the AAC Player of the Year, She finished her time at UConn with 1,251 points and 615 rebounds. The rest of the All-America team is Chennedy Carter (Texas A&M), Lauren Cox (Baylor), Kathleen Doyle (Iowa), Dana Evans (Louisville), Tyasha Harris (South Carolina), Ruthy Hebard (Oregon), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Aari McDonald (Arizona) and Satou Sabally (Oregon). Ionescu is expected to sweep the Player of the Year awards.
BOTTOM LINE: Walker has a place waiting for her in the Huskies of Honor at some point in time. Her leaving UConn early remains a bit shocking, and the fact she never won a national championship at UConn what we figure to be a historical oddity considering the caliber of player Geno Auriemma is bringing in over the next several years.
SPEAKING OF WHICH … : The Huskies picked up a commitment from high school junior Caroline Ducharme, a 5-foot-10 guard from Noble & Greenough in Massachusetts. Ducharme is ranked the No. 41 player in the class by ESPN and joins Amari DeBerry, a 6-foot-5 center, who committed in November.
Morning Reads
HURLEY AMONG SUITORS FOR MARTIN: Tyrese Martin, a 6-foot-6 grad transfer from Rhode Island, is on the market and the Huskies and his former coach, Dan Hurley, are in the mix. (Journal Inquirer)
DIACO’S VISION COMES TRUE: What is the difference between being mad and being a genius? Remember when Bob Diaco wanted to put games on Nickelodeon? Well, the NFL said “genius.” (The UConn Blog)
EXTRA YEAR FOR THE SPRING SPORTS: Spring sports players, including baseball and softball, are eligible for another season, the NCAA ruled. There are a lot of moving parts, however. (Hartford Courant)
