Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: The word on UConn women’s basketball from someone who should know; a chance to chat with a would-be Hall of Famer and more
STORRS — Geno Auriemma walked Tonya Cardoza into the Werth Center, a new building but an old home, to introduce her to the current UConn women’s basketball team.
It didn’t need to be wordy. He simply pointed to the large-as-life banners of famous Huskies guards. “You see a lot of these guards up here? She’s responsible for them to be up on that wall,” he told his players.
Cardoza, in her new office this week, blushed a little when she thought about it.
“It was sweet, it was nice,” she said. “I know it wasn’t solely me that put them in the position they were in. Their teammates, Coach, I just was the guard coach, but it makes me proud when I see all the players I coached hanging up there. It makes me super proud.”
When new NCAA rules allowed for an additional assistant, Auriemma and UConn went the free agent route. Cardoza, 55, who first joined the the program as an assistant in 1994, on the eve of the first national championship, and coached backcourt players for a total of five championship teams, left to become the head coach at Temple in 2008, replacing Dawn Staley.
After 14 seasons, a .583 winning percentage and seven postseason appearances, Cardoza and Temple parted ways. When UConn posted the opening, the minimum qualifications included 10 years head coaching experience in Division I, and experience in multiple national championship games. So there was little doubt there was a front runner.
“With the change in our roster makeup, it was critical that we get an experienced coach to work with our perimeter players,” Auriemma said upon hiring Cardoza on July 13.
Auriemma’s habit is to encourage input from his staff and listen, and to a group that includes Chris Dailey, long-time associate head coach, and UConn alums Jamelle Elliott and Morgan Valley, former head coaches at Cincinnati and Hartford, respectively, Cardoza only adds vast value to a wealth of experience surrounding him.
“Once the NCAA passed the rule, I talked with Geno and we decided this would be a really good step to come back here and I jumped at the opportunity to do that,” Cardoza said. “These guys are family, it’s close to home, there are just a lot of positives. Fourteen years being in the first seat is something completely different than being an assistant.
“I’ve learned a lot, going out and having to do this on my own, seeing the bigger picture and now, coming back, I think it will make me a better assistant. The first time around, all I knew is what Geno taught me, now after 14 years I think I have a little more to give.”
Ben Kantor, a long-time member of the support staff, has been elevated to assistant coach status.
In her role, Cardoza cannot be involved in recruiting. The Huskies will go into this season with Paige Bueckers, back from her knee surgery, Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl all healthy (fingers crossed) and younger guards in development as part of a larger roster than Auriemma has usually carried.
“Paige looks great, she’s definitely one of the best players in the country and every day you watch her you’re like ‘wow,'” Cardoza said. “I’m just excited for her to get out there and for people to see her again. … With Nika, her leadership is the first thing I’ve noticed. Players follow her lead. She’s a tremendous, tough, hard-nosed defender. The things she’s been working on is making sure her pace is good, and her midrange jump shot. … I knew Azzi as a shooter, but watching her, she’s just as good at putting the ball on the floor.
“(The younger guards) work really, really hard, pay attention to detail, and they bring something different, KK (Arnold), her speed and pace, Q, (Qadence Samuels) her length, Ashlynn (Shade), her toughness. All three of them bring something that’s definitely going to be used.”
As soon as Cardoza settled back in Connecticut, she was packing to join the Huskies on their trip to Europe, which gave her a chance to get to know her knew team more quickly, and how things have changed since she left UConn. The Huskies have 11 national championships, but have not won since 2016. The 14-year string of Final Four appearances ended last March.
“The biggest difference is, we don’t have the mark on our back,” Cardoza said. “In the past, we always had the mark on our back. But because there has been a drought in winning championships, we’re hunting and not the hunted. They’ve embraced it. The hunger is something that is completely different, because the players here have never experienced that.
“You see them in the gym early, wanting to get better, wanting something they haven’t accomplished before. The trip to Europe really showed me how serious they are about wanting to win and trying to get it together. The biggest thing is seeing how close they are, very supportive of one another, and that’s what makes this program so much fun to be around.”
The hunger to get back on top will begin to manifest itself Nov. 8 with the opener against Dayton. Cardoza brings the experience of much of the program’s past glory, but this is not a program living in, or off, the past.
“I don’t think there is a timetable for Geno or for any of us,” she said. “We’re here to do a job, take it one step at a time, but the ultimate goal for all of us is to win (a championship).”
Chopping it up with CC Sabathia
CC Sabathia, former Yankees ace and soon to be a serious Hall of Fame candidate, came to Southern Connecticut State on Friday, meeting with students and speaking to an audience filled with youth baseball groups.
Caught up with Sabathia, who is now a special assistant to the commissioner, for a few minutes in the Green Room at Lyman Auditorium.
On baseball’s new, fast pace: “I love it,” he said. “Just talking to the guys on different teams, they all love the pitch clock, too. Seeing the time of games, 2:47, 2:45, the fans have come back to the ballpark, we should pass 70 million fans for the first time since 2016. It’s something you can digest. Yankees-Red Sox games four hours long, tough to watch. And, you know we’re not losing any action.”
On getting more African American kids to play baseball: “The Players Alliance is bridging the gap for kids in the Black and Brown communities and get them to a place where they can play baseball at a high level and be seen. When I was still playing, I thought kids in those communities weren’t playing the game, but they are playing and at a high clip.”
Who would he pay to watch? “I love watching Shohei (Ohtani), but Mookie Betts is somebody who I’d pay to go see right now. Bobby Witt, Ronald Acuna Jr., I’ve loving the combination of speed and power in the game right now. … Julio Rodriguez.”
On the Yankees: “You look at the teams that are good right now, they have a great combination of speed and power. I was watching us the other day, and we hit three singles and the bases are loaded. You look at guys going first to third, a lot of action happening, I think our roster needs to get to that.”
Sabathia, 43, who was 255-161 in his career with a 3.74 ERA, 3,093 strikeouts, a 62.3 career WAR, a Cy Young Award, five top-five finishes and a World Series ring with the Yankees in 2009, checks all the boxes for the Hall of Fame. (FYI, when he’s on the ballot in 2025, I’m likely to check that box.)
“It’s hard not to think about it,” he said. “It would mean the world to me. Being with the league now, I wish I took trips to Cooperstown while I was playing. It’s inspiring, seeing all those plaques and wanting to be a part of that history.”
Sunday short takes
*It’s hard to believe George Springer is 34, but he celebrated a birthday at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night in a signature way, with the 57th career lead-off homer of his career, fifth against the Yankees.
*Springer’s former UConn teammate, Nick Ahmed, was released by Arizona this week after a distinguished decade as the Diamondbacks shortstop. Ahmed, 33, who has two Gold Gloves, hasn’t been the same offensive player since 2019, when he had 19 homers and 82 RBI, but he’s got something left to offer a contending team next season.
*The Bristol Sports Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2023 on Nov. 17 at the Double Tree at 6 p.m. New members include Mark Dunn, Chris Michalowski, Rob Nicoletti, Chuck Nolan, Frank Owsianko Jr., Carol Langlais Panigutti, Sara Paradis, and Tim Washington Jr. Visit the website at bshof.org, or by call 860-919-8087 for tickets and information.
*New Hartford Athletic CEO Nick Sakiewicz, who spent some time with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, didn’t offer an encouragement to Whalers watchers around here. We should get “really comfortable with your soccer team,” he said at his introductory presser.
Last word
There’s a very cool addition coming to the J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum at UConn. John E. “Wink” Winzler, Class of 1942, baseball, basketball and football star, and basketball captain in 1941, joined the Marines and was killed in action on Iwo Jima on March 13, 1945.
His nephew, Mark Winzler, is presenting Wink’s UConn letter sweater, preserved in a cedar chest all these decades, on Monday. John Winzler made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and now will be remembered for generations to come.