UConn's Breanna Stewart acknowledged that she really isn't sure just where Hamilton, New York, is. But that's the town where her senior "homecoming" game will be this week.
Her actual hometown is Syracuse. About 40 miles southeast is Hamilton, which is home to Colgate, the Huskies' opponent Wednesday. If you don't have a ticket to the game already, don't ask.
"Our gym holds, what -- 1,750? Obviously, we have a sellout," Colgate coach Nicci Hays Fort said, chuckling, about Cotterell Court. "Random people are texting and emailing, 'Do you have any tickets?' We're going to have a great environment. It's been a little crazy these last couple of days. But it's such a cool experience."
Awesome for Colgate. But are you wondering why UConn scheduled Stewart's trip "home" to a place that isn't actually her home? Well, it's because Syracuse said no to the request to play UConn.
"It would have been nice to play at Syracuse. Just because it's literally five minutes from my house. But things happen, and I'm just happy Colgate is able to put us on their schedule." Breanna Stewart
"A lot of teams do that, not just Syracuse," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of turning down a chance to play UConn. "I don't know what the reason was. But I'm not going to beg anybody to play us.
"There's always somebody who wants to play you. In the end, we're gonna make a trip there [to Colgate] and everybody's going to have a great time."
When I submitted a request to ask Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman about this, a spokesperson said that a game with UConn "didn't work out with our schedule for this season," and that Hillsman had nothing more to add to that.
Which leaves us to speculate what the real reason(s) are that Syracuse turned down UConn. Because when the top program in your sport wants to come to your gym -- and almost certainly guarantee your biggest attendance of the season -- then "it didn't fit in our schedule" seems preposterous. The request came more than a year ago.
UConn has a 37-12 advantage in its series with Syracuse; they last met in March 2013 in Hartford, Connecticut. Syracuse then moved to the ACC. The last Huskies' visit to Syracuse -- in January 2012, while Stewart was still in high school -- drew 4,357 fans to the Carrier Dome, by far Syracuse's largest home crowd that season.
The Orange, currently 5-2 and ranked No. 19, have some good nonconference foes this season, including Tennessee, Washington, Maryland and Arizona State. Plus, they'll have the tough ACC to navigate. Still, they could be facing UConn on Wednesday and likely drawing at least a few thousand people. Instead the Orange are facing Coppin State, for which their attendance will probably be similar to their two previous home games this season: Morgan State (451 fans) and Stony Brook (219).
So is there lingering animosity from when Syracuse and UConn were still in the Big East? You may recall the "did she or didn't she" tripping incident between then-Syracuse player Nicole Michael and Auriemma in the handshake line after a 107-53 Huskies victory in Hartford in January 2009. And how things always tended to be on the extra-aggressive side when those teams faced off.
Did Hillsman not want his players to be in the position of a big crowd on their home court cheering for another team's player? Did he feel like it would be just glorifying UConn's program at the expense of his own?
Or is it because Syracuse and Hillsman are still disappointed that a player as monumentally talented as Stewart grew up in the school's backyard, but went to UConn?
Asked if it bothered her that Syracuse turned down the game, Stewart said, "It's a little frustrating. Growing up in Syracuse, and the relationship with Coach Q and the staff that was there when they recruited me, it would have been nice to play at Syracuse. Just because it's literally five minutes from my house. But things happen, and I'm just happy Colgate is able to put us on their schedule."
"It's going to be great for our student-athletes. They'll never experience something like this again, and they'll always remember it. Like, why not have the best team in the country come?" Colgate coach Nicci Hays Fort on scheduling UConn
Now, some people might be saying, "So what? Why should Syracuse feel compelled to do anything at all for UConn or Stewart? Auriemma has 10 NCAA titles, and the way UConn looks so far this season, the 11th seems almost preordained. Stewart could leave UConn with four national championships, is certain to be the WNBA's top draft pick in April, and seems likely to pick up her first Olympic gold medal next summer. So she doesn't get her senior homecoming game in the town she grew up. Boo-hoo-hoo."
I understand that there will be that mindset, because -- let's face it -- there is a lot of "sick to death of UConn" sentiment. But that's all shortsighted. Stewart is well on her way to being one of the best players in the history of the game, and even if she didn't go to college in Syracuse, that city will always be able to proudly "claim" her because that's where her roots are.
I would guess that if UConn had played at Syracuse, a portion of the big crowd certainly still would have been cheering on the Orange too. It's their house. And the gesture toward Stewart and UConn would have been seen as magnanimous and admirable.
Furthermore, if there was a concern of basically giving UConn free advertising to any up-and-coming young player in the Syracuse area, I'd say the Huskies' continual championships already do that everywhere in the country. Plus, who's to say some kid might not come to the game and think, "Hey, someday I want to beat UConn."
"I'm not going to beg anybody to play us. There's always somebody who wants to play you. In the end, we're gonna make a trip there [to Colgate] and everybody's going to have a great time." Geno Auriemma on teams, including Syracuse, turning down a request to play UConn
I really don't want it to seem like I'm just picking on Syracuse. But what are the reasons to not play UConn -- especially if the Huskies are coming to your building -- if you have the opportunity? I can't think of any, and neither could Hays Fort.
"I don't know why you wouldn't want to play the best," she said. "I know some people may look at how good they are and be concerned about what they could get from it. But we are looking only at the positives. Besides, how could I ask my kids to play fearlessly if I was ever afraid to play somebody?"
When you take on UConn, it's a game no one expects you to win, so it's a little like playing with house money. If you do win, you're huge news. If you lose, it's not the kind of loss that's going to hurt you when it comes to NCAA selection or seeding. And your players get the chance to measure themselves against the best.
Which is how Colgate looks at it. Hays Fort is a former assistant at DePaul, so she knows a lot about facing UConn from that former Big East matchup. And in November 2012, she took Colgate to Hartford, Connecticut, where her Raiders were thumped by the Huskies 101-41.
Hays Fort knows the score Wednesday could be similar. Her team is 1-5, coming off a 63-56 loss at Binghamton on Monday. She has been holding off on talking to her team about UConn, trying to keep the focus on the game at hand, but now the Huskies are next. And this is what she plans on telling her players.
"What we're going to talk about is, 'Look how hard they compete on every single play; they don't stop,'" Hays Fort said of the Huskies. "That's what I want our kids to get from it. This is the best team in the country. And if they don't compete like that, if those kids ever take plays off, then they don't play.
"We are 100 percent more competitive this year than we've been during my five years here. But we aren't at that level. So we want our kids to see things like, 'Look how Kia Nurse runs the floor. She didn't get the ball, but look how she worked to get someone else open.' So that selflessness that they play with, too. We'll make little goals within the game, and try to achieve things."
As for giving Stewart a chance to play closer to home -- Storrs, by the way, is about 280 miles from Syracuse -- Hays Fort said she is glad to do that, too. She has spoken a few times by phone to Breanna's father, Brian, who thanked her profusely for playing UConn.
"We take our players home. Why shouldn't Stewie get to go home?" Hays Fort said. "She's the best player in the country, and should have the chance to play in front of family and friends who might not be able to get to UConn."
Hays Fort said that there are logistical challenges for a game this big at Colgate, including parking, concessions, ticket demand. Even figuring out what locker room the Huskies should use to prevent them being mobbed by fans while walking to the court.
But talking to her, she sounded like a great host would about getting ready for huge rush of guests at the holidays: Very excited and ready to make it all work.
"I love the fact that Geno is bringing his team to Hamilton, New York," Hays Fort said. "Every restaurant in town is like, 'Can you bring him by?'
"It's going to be great for our student-athletes. They'll never experience something like this again, and they'll always remember it. Like, why not have the best team in the country come?"