“Not where my parents wanted me to go”: WNBA Legend Rebecca Lobo recollects how successful UConn career took flight

Rebecca Lobo (Image Credits: IMAGN)
WNBA Rebecca Lobo (Credits: IMAGN)

Rebecca Lobo is considered one of the best prospects to come out of UConn. The center recalled her recruiting experience for 'Setting the Standard', a 5-part docuseries of the history of the UConn Huskies program.

It throws the spotlight at Coach Geno Auriemma and Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey who have been helming the program for 40 years at UConn and assembled 11 National Championship-winning teams.

Rebecca Lobo joined the Huskies in 1991 and was a key player on the 1995 NCAA championship-winning roster. In a clip from "Setting the Standard" posted on Instagram by UConn women's basketball on Tuesday, Lobo said:

"I was getting recruited by a lot of schools, so I knew that I had some value to whoever wanted me to come to play for their program. What was this sort of unique situation for me was that I have two parents who were teachers and they actually did not want me to go to UConn."

Chris Dailey then recalled the efforts she took to convince Lobo's parents.

"I studied the honors program because I wanted to show her that we had this elevated program for her daughter, went through this whole thing on the home visit. I'll never forget we're in the car. Rebecca runs to our car, I had my windows down and she said, 'That was for my parents, I know where I want to go.'"

Rebecca Lobo then talked about how important and life-changing that decision was as she said:

"It was a tough decision for me to make at the time because it's not really where my parents wanted me to go and then. Of course, it ended up being one of the best decisions I've ever made."

A look at Rebecca Lobo's college career

When Rebecca Lobo joined the Huskies in 1991, the team had yet to win a national championship. She averaged 14.3 points and 7.9 in her freshman year. She then improved to her career-best 11.2 rebounds with 16.7 points and 3.3 blocks as a sophomore.

Rebecca Lobo enjoyed her best season as a junior when she averaged a career-best of 19.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 4.0 blocks. During the national championship-winning season in 1995, the forward averaged 17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.5 blocks.

As a senior, Lobo was awarded the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy, the AP Player of the Year award, the USBWA Player of the Year award and the WBCA Player of the Year award.

Due to the absence of a women's professional league, Rebecca Lobo had to wait until 1997 for the formation of the WNBA. She played six seasons for the New York Liberty and Houston Comets before retiring in 2003.

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by nagpaltusharn25
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