Tina Charles has always played close to home...Growing up in Jamaica, Queens....playing her High School Ball at Christ the King, Her college ball at UConn before WNBA stops with the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty...If the WNBA does indeed have a season in 2020, she'll play for Washington...But through it all, the hard work put in has proven great success for a highly touted player out of high school that was used to winning...
All the accolades that came averaging nearly 26 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks per game, including a perfect Senior Year that lead to her team being rated #1 in the Country by USA Today, we just reward for the 6-4 Center...As Tina was the unanimous National High School Player of the Year..And the Team MVP (Red) at the McDonald's All America Game, where she scored 15p-12r...But could she make it at the College Level playing for Geno Auriemma, Chris Dailey and UConn ?? That answer of course is yes...
Tina arrived on campus in the fall of 2006...The Huskies had just lost to Duke in the Elite 8 the previous season...Charles and Kaili McLaren were part of a freshman class at UConn to keep the Huskies at a high level for a team that featured Sophomore Guard Renee Montgomery and Kalana Greene, Juniors Charde Houston, Mel Thomas, Keita Swanier and Transfer Brittany Hunter...Tina fit right in from the start...23 double figure games, 11 double doubles, a 9 block game against Notre Dame in late January, 17p-10r in a win over Sylvia Fowles and LSU and a late season 34p-17r double double at USF, then the most points scored by a freshman ever at UConn...In 36 games, she made 32 starts in the middle for the Huskies, averaged just shy of 13 ppg, while hauling down a freshman records in rebounds (296) and blocks (81) Earning her not only Big East Freshman of the Year Honors, but the USWBA National Freshman of the Year....But UConn was stopped cold by LSU in the Elite 8 in Fresno, where Charles struggled against Fowles in the rematch..just 21 minutes where she went 0-5 from the field with 1 point and 3 rebounds...That game would be used at fuel for the next season...
Where another Consensus National High School Player of the Year arrived in Storrs, Power Forward Maya Moore. Already sculpted and perhaps the most athletic player to step on floor at UConn, would be a perfect compliment to Montgomery, Greene and Charles...And they started fast, including a sweep of Stanford, Old Dominion and Duke in St Thomas over Thanksgiving Weekend...Even a season ending ACL Tear to Greene didn't stop the Huskies..21-0 with wins over 5 ranked opponents had them #1 in the country. Tina racking up 10 double-doubles heading into a meeting at #7 Rutgers..Charles had 16p-12r that night, but RU and Charles' HS Rival, Epiphany Prince, were just a little better in RU's 73-71 win...She and the Huskies would get payback and win the Big East outright with a 20pt win over the Scarlet Knights..TC a 15p-17r double double in the regular season finale...They'd cruise to the Big East Tournament Title, but Rutgers this time was the road block in the Elite 8...The Seniors felt the heat as they hadn't been to a Final Four..Charles had 9p, 12r and 4 blocks against RU as Keita Swanier and Renee Montgomery led a comeback win to get to their first Final Four since 2004. This time Stanford got the better of the Huskies, who ended the campaign 36-2. Charles numbers continued to improve...14ppg/540pts...60.4% shooting...a then sophomore record 351 rebounds and 68 blocks. First Team All Big East and Third Team AP All American. But in her mind and that of her coaches...it still wasn't enough.
Charles was now a junior, with Montgomery, a Senior, Kalana Greene was back healthy, Moore was coming off an All American Season as a Freshman, and add incoming freshman Tiffany Hayes and Caroline Doty, the Huskies were ready to stalk the National Championship with a vengeance. Tina had 18-10 in a rout of Oklahoma, she added a season high 29 with 18 boards in her first college game at MSG against Penn St. Added 29 more against Washington in Cancun and a 21p 14r double-double at South Carolina...all before conference play began...17-12 v USF, 20-9 v Syracuse, 17-12 at #2 UNC and even a double-double of 18-10 against Louisville...as UConn went 30-0 and won the Big East Crown going away...They cruised thru the Big East Tournament..Charles averaging 17p-13r and shooting 63%. But the NCAA Title was the hardware this UConn Team wanted...Tina 13/14 for a season high 32 against Vermont in game one, 22-10 in the second round win over Florida...18p-13r in the Elite 8 victory over Arizona State....Again, it was Stanford in the Final Four...Montgomery and Moore took care of the scoring, Charles kept Jane Appel in check, hauled down 12 boards and UConn won going away to get them to their first Championship Game in Five years...Louisville and Angel McCoughtry awaited. Cardinal Coach Jeff Waltz told me in his pregame interview that his biggest concern going in was Tina Charles in the post. It would prove to be true as Tina was unstoppable..11/13, 25 points, 19 rebounds and a block as Charles and the Huskies rolled past Louisville to cap one of the dominant seasons in UConn History...39-0, all by double digits, and only two by 10 points...Charles was named the Final Four MOP with that effort in the Title Game..That weekend, she was also named a WBCA All American, adding First Team All Big East and 2nd Team AP All American to her resume...in the 2008-09 season, Tina averaged 16.5ppg (642pts) hauled down 348 boards, shot 62% and had 62 blocks...
So now the question, what to do for an encore ?? Montgomery graduated, but Charles, with Greene, who stayed for a fifth year, Moore a two Time All American and National POY was now a junior and Hayes and a healthy Caroline Doty were ready to take on the world again...adding a versatile freshman from Indiana in Kelly Faris to the mix, the Huskies didn't skip a beat. And with Moore, Charles dominated the post..double figure games and double doubles while not only climbing the All Time Points list at UConn, but also the rebounding ranks...Passing Assistant Jamelle Elliott for second on the All Time list with 9 boards against Vermont...A big 20-12 night just before Christmas against Stanford in Hartford, 24-9 at Florida State, who gave the Huskies a push in late December...23-13 in another embarrassment of North Carolina. Tina joined the 2,000pt club against Pittsburgh on February 1st....Then against St. John's in her last regular season game at Gampel, Charles #31 was hung on the Huskies of Honor Wall. She responded by scoring 25 while hauling down a career high 21 boards. The first 20 rebound game since 2001. On Senior Night at the XL against Georgetown, Charles scored 33 and hauled 15 rebounds.It set the stage for a unique night in the Regular Season Finale at Notre Dame...12 points shy of the School Scoring Record and 5 rebounds shy of the school rebounding record...18pts and 8 rebounds later, she owned both records as the Huskies against finished a 30-0 regular season...The Huskies again cruised thru the Big East Tournament, and in the Semi Final win over Notre Dame, broke their own NCAA Record with it's 71st straight win...Charles with 34 points against Syracuse..In the NCAA's, 22p-11r against Southern, 16p-7r vs Iowa St in Dayton, 20p-14r and 4 blk in the Elite 8 rout of Florida State to get UConn back to the Final Four...Onto the Final Four where Charles would rack up serious hardware before the SemiFinal Matchup with Baylor in San Antonio...WBCA All American, 1st Team AP All American and winners of the Naismith and Wooden Awards...AP Player of the Year and USWBA Player of the Year...
As for that Final Four matchup with Baylor, a 6-8 Freshman Brittany Griner awaited...Charles developed a hook shot and Griner couldn't stop it...Tina 21p-14 rebounds as the Huskies beat the Bears by 20...Setting up the Title Game Matchup with Stanford....The first half forgettable a 20-12 Stanford lead at halftime. Where UConn made just 5 field goals...Charles struggled all night, just 4/13...but she hauled in 11 rebounds and blocked six shots as the Huskies rallied to win their 78th straight game, and it's second consecutive National Championship...Charles's Senior Season, 18.2ppg (708pts) 62% shooting, 9.5 rebounds (372 boards) and 93 blocks...At the time she graduated, Tina held both the school scoring and rebounding records...The rebound record of 1,367 still exists, her 2,346 points is now 4th, 15.4 ppg (10th), 968 FGM (4th), 61% FG (4th) and 304 blocks (#5)
Shortly after the Final Four, Tina was staying in CT as the #1 overall pick by the Connecticut Sun...She won the WNBA Rookie of the Year..and in 2012, was named the League MVP...A 7x All Star, Charles was traded to the New York Liberty prior to the 2014 season..She's been a league first or second team All WNBA Selection 8 times and the WNBA Scoring Leader in 2016...If the 2020 begins, she'll play for the Champion Washington Mystics...
Tina has also had great success with USA Basketball...FIBA U-18 Gold in 2006, World University Gold with Moore and Hayes in 2009, FIBA AmericaCup Gold in 2019, a 3x Gold Medalist at the FIBA World Cup and a 2x Olympic Gold Medalist. Between 2010 and 2016, the National Team Coached by her College Coach, Geno Auriemma....
Charles has set up Hopey's Heart Foundation, to raise funds for AED's in schools. She has funded a school in Mali as well. Tina Charles, an All American on and off the court....And of course, a UConn Legend...