Scholarship deal
When Geno Auriemma first offered Stonington High point guard Jacquie Fernandes the opportunity to play with the Huskies, it was as a non-scholarship walk-on player and she graciously accepted.
Six weeks later after the Huskies had exhausted their recruiting efforts for this season, Auriemma decided to offer Fernandes a scholarship that wouldn’t be used this season. It came with strings attached, but it didn’t matter to her.
“I told her there were no promises, that if there was no money available don’t count on any,” Auriemma said. “Then it turns out we have it and it is available to us so why not use it. I told her, ‘I have it, and you can have it.’ That doesn’t mean you can have it next year again.”
The Huskies will have no seniors on the team this coming season so they don’t regain any scholarships. They currently have two scholarships to offer players who will be incoming freshmen next season, and one of those is already committed to the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country, Maya Moore, a 6-foot-1 forward from Collins Hill (Ga.) High.
So if the Huskies want to sign a couple more players, Fernandes could lose her scholarship if no one else transfers.
“But again, for recruiting for next year we already have one commitment and we are hoping to get two more before the end of the summer,” explained Auriemma. “If we do, we don’t have any seniors, so I don’t know where that puts us. A lot will depend on how this recruiting picture shapes up.”
Fernandes said she fully understands.
“Obviously a scholarship would be great for four years, but whatever the coaching staff decides will be best for the team is fine with me,” Fernandes said. “If I am a walk-on and I am still on the team, I am not going to mind. As long as I am here and my game is improving that is all I can ask for.”
