This article has been taken from the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader, Wednesday, July 21, 1999, written by Eric Bailey
Following their stars
Players on AAU team try to reach the WNBA, as two others did
The Connecticut Starters' Clare Sullivan and Tiffany DeRosa have dreams of becoming WNBA stars like Jennifer Rizzotti and Nykesha Sales.
During Tuesday's 59-38 win over the Fairfax County Stars in the AAU 12-and-under girls' national tournament, Sullivan dribbled through traffic and hit a running layup, much like the Houston Comets' Rozzotti.
In another play, DeRosa set a screen to help break a full-court press, just like Sales, a member of the Orlando Miracles.
The seventh-graders always have looked up to former University of Connecticut stars Rizzotti and Sales, and for good reason:
Sullivan and DeRosa play for the same AAU program that Rizzotti and Sales did.
Both come from the basketball-crazed state that produced NCAA champions (UConn) in men's and women's basketball this decade
And both are, well, young girls who love playing basketball.
Jennifer and Nykesha "are awesome", said Derosa, a 5-foot-6 forward from Hamden, Conn. "They have given us a lot of hope for the future."
Sullivan, a quick-as-lightning 5-2 point guard much like Rizzotti, added: "It's great to carry on what they laid the foundation for. It's great to be a kid playing for the same program they did."
Coach Joe Ticotsky has been with the Starters' AAU program since its inception in 1988. While he never had the opportunity to coach Rizzotti and Sales, he said that duo left a lasting impression on the current team.
"Those were fun kids to have," Ticotsky said. "Jennifer was probably the most competitive athlete I've ever been around - she'd stay up playing cards until 2 a.m. just so she could win.
"Nykesha still has contact with the team and went to a couple of our games when our 13-year-olds were in Orlando,", he added. "She's probably the most modest pro player you'll see and is a good representative from our state."
Sales ruptured her right Achilles' tendon during her seniour season, seemingly ending her career just two points shy of UConn's scoring record.
But Lady Huskies' coach Geno Auriemma, with the assistance of Villanova, helped her break the record. Wearing a brace on her right foot, Sales scored an uncontested layup off the game's opening tap against Villanova.
"That definitely kept the talk shows going," Ticotsky said.
"The local paper even ran an entire insert of letters to the editor with readers listing the rights and wrongs of it."
The controversial issue was national news, but also showed how much the basketball scene has erupted in Connecticut.
"With no pro teams, it's the big spectator sport in the state," Ticotsky said. "It's been nice, because connecticut isn't known for being unified. Basketball has been a unifying force."
The sport's enthusiasm has slipped into the next generation, including the dozen members on the Starters.
"Connecticut is getting much more serious about basketball," said Sullivan, from Wallingford, Conn. "We're nowhere close to Indiana and some of the midwestern states, but we're getting bigger."
The Starters' program is named after the clothing apparel company that was the anchor sponsor in 1988. There are 20 girls' teams ranging from 10-16 years of age, including one team with Auriemma's daughter.
This year's 12-and-under team has four players who have played for the past three years and this is the farthest that this age group has advanced. It came to an end late Tuesday as the MPK Heat Femme eliminated the Starters, 38-35 in a losers' bracket game.
While Connecticut's growing, it's still far from being a girls' basketball haven: the state has only one national qualifier, and only 11 teams entered in the state tournament.
Still, their goal of making it to the Ozarks was met. No one on the team has been to Missouri, where gas isn't $1.49 a gallon and a movie ticket doesn't cost $9.
Oh, yeah, the basketball competition isn't that bad.
"We're glad we came because it allows the girls to see what's out there."