SAN ANTONIO — Tina Charles sat next to Maya
Moore at the AP Awards ceremony Saturday fully expecting to
congratulate her teammate on winning another trophy.
UConn's star center was completely shocked when
she ended up being the one picking up the award.
"I loved her reaction because it was so
genuine," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. "Now she's going into
this weekend thinking 'I'm getting recognized for what I've done.'"
Charles got 33 of the votes from the 40-member
national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25 to earn The
Associated Press player of the year honor. Nebraska's Connie Yori was
voted the AP's coach of the year.
Charles, who holds both the career scoring and
rebounding record for Connecticut's powerhouse program, has been the
anchor in the middle for the Huskies during their NCAA record 76-game
winning streak. However, her low expectations were understandable. Moore
won this award as a sophomore last season and, earlier Saturday, Moore
picked up her second straight Wade Trophy as the top player in women's
college basketball.
"For this day to end the way it did for Tina is
absolutely perfect," Auriemma said. "No one deserves it more."
Auriemma brought the entire team to the
ceremony without saying why they were there. The surprise and being
surrounded by her teammates made the honor even more special for
Charles.
"I want to thank all the individuals who pushed
me, all the individuals who told me to keep doing it," said a beaming
Charles.
Moore finished second in the balloting with
four votes. She said she's seen Charles grow since the NCAA tournament
last year, "the way she dominated and the way she played with that
attitude."
"She's relentless and got us really excited
and I was confident what she was going to do for us," Moore said. "She
came through 100 percent and then some."
Charles credits Moore with her success this
season.
"When you see someone succeeding that's
something you want to be part of," Charles said. "That's even more
rewarding. She's outstanding at practice and pushes me, always
challenging me and teaching me what it is to compete."
Charles is the seventh UConn player to win
award. She averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and shot 63.5 percent
from the field to help UConn move within two victories of becoming the
first team ever to go undefeated in consecutive seasons.
UConn's stellar senior will have her name hang
high above the Gampel Pavilion court in Storrs, Conn., with past
winners Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters, Diana Taurasi, Jennifer Rizzotti,
Moore, and Sue Bird.
Yori guided Nebraska on one of the biggest
turnarounds in NCAA history, going from 15-16 last season to winning
their first 30 games before losing in the Big 12 tournament semifinals,
then reached the regional semifinals for the first time in school
history.
"This season has been a perfect storm," Yori
said. "You've got a lot of things that fell into place for us."
Her team went from being picked to finish
sixth in the Big 12 to having a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
"It's more than just about the season," she
added. "This has been the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of
people — the coaching staff, players past and present. They deserve all
the accolades that have come their direction as well."
Yori became the first Big 12 coach to win the
award, which has been given out since 1995. She received 28 votes while
Auriemma got 10. Pat Summitt of Tennessee and Rizzotti of Hartford each
got a vote.