Tina Charles' stat line in the box score looks just fine by almost any measure: 15 points, 11 rebounds in 18 minutes.Unless the person doing the measuring is UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, who sees the personal fouls that kept her out of the game for much of the first half.
Auriemma has a knack for viewing the glass half-empty when it comes to Charles. Fine has never been good enough to stop the yelling and the cajoling. It is really an existential thing between the demanding coach and his senior center who hasn't always risen to meet his demands.
"It's easy to be frustrated with Tina. If I didn't get frustrated with Tina it wouldn't be any fun coaching this team," Auriemma said Tuesday after the top-ranked Huskies' 83-58 win over Texas in San Antonio. "You watch Tina play for the first six or seven minutes and you will say 'Wow, there is nothing this kid can't do.' She could go for 30 every night.' "
Auriemma knows what Charles is capable of. He's always known, which is why they've had such a strained relationship over the years.
It was just two years ago that Auriemma took Charles out of the starting lineup for a lack of effort heading into the 2008 NCAA Tournament. He told his team that the reason they were eliminated by Stanford in the national semifinals that season was because of a lack of a low-post presence. He was talking to Charles.
A year later, he gave her large portions of credit for helping the Huskies to a 39-0 record and the program's first national title since 2004. She scored 25 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in the 2009 title game against Louisville.
Charles, the Queens, N.Y., native, has blossomed into a star player, the standout that Auriemma always knew she could be. Now she must know it, too.
The 6-foot-4 center led the U.S. team to a gold medal in the World University Games early in the summer and then earned an invitation to join the U.S. senior women's team -- coached by Auriemma. She was the only active college player on the team.In addition to being viewed as the likely No. 1 pick in next spring's WNBA Draft, she's also a shoo-in to be part of the American team that will play in the World Championships next year.
And that will extend her time trying to satisfy Auriemma, a dance that never seems to end, not even on a Tuesday night in November when she picks up two quick fouls and goes to the bench in a 25-point win.
"I'm trying not to do that dance anymore," Charles said. "I've known what he wants from me since my freshman year."
Charles said she feels like she is settling into the right mental place about her game as she settles into her final college season.
"It's a matter of knowing what I can do on the floor," Charles said.
Charles led the U.S. team with 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds a game over the summer for the World University team. And she more than held her own with the senior team.
Showing Auriemma more makes him expect even more. But he knows he still has to push buttons to get it.
"The worst thing about when she does that is I want you do it every night," Auriemma said. "Tina is not wired like that. Maya [Moore] is. But Tina is not."
