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Unselfishness gives UConn best shot to win championships
STORRS, Conn. -- If Breanna Stewart's goal with the University of Connecticut women's basketball team was to be the nation's leading scorer, she wouldn't be here. As long as the goal was to win the national championship, there's no place Stewart would rather be.
When Stewart was told recently that Minnesota guard Rachel Banham had taken 260 more field-goal attempts than she had this season, the soon-to-be three-time national Player of the Year shook her head and smiled.
"That," Stewart said, "is a lot of shots."
But while Stewart and the Huskies are playing for history, Banham and the Golden Gophers are playing in the WNIT. For the North Syracuse, New York, native, trading the opportunity to shoot the ball from here, there and everywhere for the chance to compete for the game's biggest prize was a no brainer.
"To choose between going somewhere and doing whatever you want and getting whatever shot you want, or to go somewhere where you're playing alongside four or five of the other best players in the country and winning championships, that's easy," Stewart said. "My goal is to win championships. My goal is to win another national championship and some people aren't going to have a chance to do that."
Of course, Stewart has 11 teammates that have also bought into UConn's system. From Stewart's classmates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck down to freshmen Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier, they all heard during the recruiting process that they "could be the focal point of the offense" and that "the offense would revolve around them" and more.
Yet, they chose a place that's bigger than any individual.
The Glenn Heights, Texas, native said that during her high school days, she could do whatever she wanted with the ball. She knew that it wouldn't be that way here.
"When you think about it, it must be nice to have the green light like that like some of those players around the country have," Jefferson said with a smile. "For me, it's about assists. It's not about getting that many shots up. I'll take 10 in some games and for me that feels like a lot. I want to get the ball moving and when the shots are available for me I'll take them.
"This is bigger than getting a lot of shots. I came here to become an actual point guard. Sometimes it's not about getting 25-30 shots per game. It's about building all the things we have here and doing all the things that we've done here. I've won three national championships here and I wouldn't have done that at any other school. The thing here, too, is when we have team success, the individual stuff seems to follow."
"All of us know we're not going to come here and be 'the one' that's taking all of the shots or have all the plays run for you," Tuck said. "You have to care more about the success of your team than your individual success. I would never trade what we've done here to be on a team where I average 30 and they haven't won anything. Never would I do it. Sure I could have gone somewhere else and score 30, and then we lose. Rachel Banham is scoring a lot and she's a great player. She's not winning national championships. Not everyone gets the opportunities that we have here. As a player, you have to look at what's important to you. For us, winning and being the best team in the country and be 'UConn basketball' is what we care about the most.
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STORRS, Conn. -- If Breanna Stewart's goal with the University of Connecticut women's basketball team was to be the nation's leading scorer, she wouldn't be here. As long as the goal was to win the national championship, there's no place Stewart would rather be.
When Stewart was told recently that Minnesota guard Rachel Banham had taken 260 more field-goal attempts than she had this season, the soon-to-be three-time national Player of the Year shook her head and smiled.
"That," Stewart said, "is a lot of shots."
But while Stewart and the Huskies are playing for history, Banham and the Golden Gophers are playing in the WNIT. For the North Syracuse, New York, native, trading the opportunity to shoot the ball from here, there and everywhere for the chance to compete for the game's biggest prize was a no brainer.
"To choose between going somewhere and doing whatever you want and getting whatever shot you want, or to go somewhere where you're playing alongside four or five of the other best players in the country and winning championships, that's easy," Stewart said. "My goal is to win championships. My goal is to win another national championship and some people aren't going to have a chance to do that."
Of course, Stewart has 11 teammates that have also bought into UConn's system. From Stewart's classmates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck down to freshmen Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier, they all heard during the recruiting process that they "could be the focal point of the offense" and that "the offense would revolve around them" and more.
Yet, they chose a place that's bigger than any individual.
The Glenn Heights, Texas, native said that during her high school days, she could do whatever she wanted with the ball. She knew that it wouldn't be that way here.
"When you think about it, it must be nice to have the green light like that like some of those players around the country have," Jefferson said with a smile. "For me, it's about assists. It's not about getting that many shots up. I'll take 10 in some games and for me that feels like a lot. I want to get the ball moving and when the shots are available for me I'll take them.
"This is bigger than getting a lot of shots. I came here to become an actual point guard. Sometimes it's not about getting 25-30 shots per game. It's about building all the things we have here and doing all the things that we've done here. I've won three national championships here and I wouldn't have done that at any other school. The thing here, too, is when we have team success, the individual stuff seems to follow."
"All of us know we're not going to come here and be 'the one' that's taking all of the shots or have all the plays run for you," Tuck said. "You have to care more about the success of your team than your individual success. I would never trade what we've done here to be on a team where I average 30 and they haven't won anything. Never would I do it. Sure I could have gone somewhere else and score 30, and then we lose. Rachel Banham is scoring a lot and she's a great player. She's not winning national championships. Not everyone gets the opportunities that we have here. As a player, you have to look at what's important to you. For us, winning and being the best team in the country and be 'UConn basketball' is what we care about the most.
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