By Marc Raimondi
Last season in the Nike Super Six, while Charles was with Christ the King, she made a layup at the buzzer against rival Murry Bergtraum to give the Royals the victory. At the time, the two teams were ranked the top two girls' high-school squads in the country. “The crowd here wasn't really all that,” said the Jamaica native and only Huskies player to ever play before at the Garden. “I remember in my senior year in high school, the crowd was crazy when we played Bergtraum.” Most of the 11,716 in attendance left MSG after St. John's beat Syracuse in a men's game right before it. Charles (15 points against SJU) took in many a Knicks game at the Garden growing up and when asked by reporters afterward, she expressed a love of the arena people call the Mecca of basketball. That is, before coach Geno Auriemma interjected. “For Tina, one of Madison Square Garden's 50 greatest moments is Jeff Van Gundy swinging on Alonzo Mourning's leg,” the 22-year Huskies coach said. Charles' friends and family – including former CK teammates Sky Lindsay and Tahira Johnson – came into Manhattan to see her, but there was a small window of opportunity for the UConn freshman to see them. “I'm going to see them after, but we have to get back – we have classes tomorrow – so, I can't really hang out,” Charles said. The forward is having a great inaugural year with the Huskies, winning her second consecutive and fourth overall Big East freshman of the week award. Charles is averaging 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in only 18.6 minutes per game. She also leads the sixth-ranked UConn team in blocked shots (31). Off the court has been a little different. The small-town Storrs, Conn., atmosphere is not what she's used to. “It's not like the city,” Charles said. “I miss the city life, the fast pace. But I'm adjusting.”
