Tina Charles On the Beat & Nneka Ogwumike and Education

From Mechelle Voepel on ESPN.com:

There was a time when Peter and Ify Ogwumike were not especially concerned with the budding athleticism of their oldest daughter, Nnemkadi, now a sophomore forward at Stanford.

The couple, both from Nigeria, met while attending Northern Colorado University in Greeley, Colo., in the 1980s. After marrying while living in Utah, they settled in Texas. Peter, an engineer for Hewlett-Packard whose work takes him between Nigeria and the United States, and Ify, a middle school principal in the northern Houston area, have four daughters. Continue ...

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You think of Tina Charles as Connecticut's power inside, a key figure in the hope for a repeat NCAA title, a good bet as the No. 1 WNBA draft pick in April, right?

Sure enough, she's all of that. But it wouldn't really be too big of a stretch to envision her in any of these scenarios.

The imposing yet benevolent figure is walking her beat on the streets of New York City. "Good afternoon, Officer Charles!" a shopkeeper calls. "A lot of weather we're having, huh?" continue...

AP Names Preseason All-Americans (all USA Basketball Alums)

Jayne Appel, Tina Charles and Maya Moore were all invitees at the USA Basketball Women's National Team Fall Training Camp. Today they were also listed on the 2009-10 Associated Press Preseason All-America Team. Charles and Moore, along with USA National Team head coach Geno Auriemma are also part of the No. 1 team in the A.P. preseason poll. Congrats also go out to Jantel Lavender and Monica Wright, also USA Basketball alums, who were also tabbed as preseason All-American first teamers.