Charles reflects on time in Connecticut
Ahead of her being honored by the Connecticut Sun, former WNBA and UConn player Tina Charles reflects on her time in the WNBA.
Video Transcript
Dear Connecticut, there's always been something special about you, especially when it comes to basketball.
UConn women's basketball team rolled up to Gampel Pavilion this afternoon.
Because here, you lifted women's basketball up.
You gave us a home, and then the ones that came before me delivered.
They showed us all we could be, and I believed them.
And then I came here as a kid from New York City with big dreams and the desire to be the best, but Connecticut taught me what it would take to get there.
This is where I learned discipline, what commitment really looked like, to show up every single day.
That's Connecticut basketball.
I learned how to handle pressure, expectations, and the big moments, and then my journey brought me right down the road.
The Connecticut Sun select Tina Charles from the University of Connecticut.
From Storrs to the Connecticut Sun, I found another home.
Putting on a Sun jersey, you feel armored by every woman who came before you, by the standard they set, and the legacy they left.
This is where my WNBA career started, where I became an MVP and an Olympian, and I'm proud to be part of that story.
I'm thankful for all of it, not just the wins, but the hard and uncertain times, too.
Now, as the sun sets on this chapter, I get to say goodbye to a place that helped shape me.
What you helped build here ripples so far beyond these state lines.
This game has come so far, and we wouldn't be here without you.
Connecticut, thank you.
