PLAYING WITH PASSION

Out of all the players I enjoy watching, I think Diana Taurasi is by far my favorite.  She plays with tremendous passion & enthusiasm.  When she is on the court – SHE OWNS IT!  She takes ownership of her team and of the game.  I dug through some of our old newsletters for a few DT stories/quotes.

 When she was sixteen years old, future University of Connecticut Huskies star Diana Taurasi attended a basketball camp in Santa Barbara.  One day the players were visited by His Airness, Michael Jordan.  When Taurasi got to the head of the autograph line, Jordan recognized her.  "Hey, I hear you're pretty good," he said.  Taurasi nodded, prompting Jordan to ask, "Well, how good are you?"  Taurasi's reply? "Let's get a ball."

 Future University of Connecticut Huskies star Diana Taurasi once played on a team (for Don Antonio Lugo High School) with future University of Montana center Crystal Baird.  Says Baird, "My first varsity game, I'm running down the court, being stupid, not paying attention, and Diana launches a pass that hits me right on the side of the face.  She does it deliberately.  As we're going back upcourt, she says to me, 'Next time, you better be looking for it.’”

 In 2004, the University of Connecticut Huskies won a hard-fought game against the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Though Huskies star Diana Taurasi was booed by more than twenty thousand rival fans every time she touched the ball, she led the team to an 81-67 victory.  She also got the last laugh when she was asked about the booing after the game.  "Booing?" she said.  "I thought they were mooing!"

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