Carmelo. Kobe. LeBron.
Maya?
Yes, Connecticut star Maya Moore, a 6-foot wizard, routinely draws those comparisons - from NBA stars, no less.
Baylor's Brittney Griner, a 6-8 dunker and shot blocker, casts nearly as large a shadow.
They are the marquee names as the NCAA Women's basketball tournament begins Saturday, the best players on top-seeded clubs, and the NCAA and tournament broadcaster ESPN are making hay on their names.
So, which to promote heaviest: The kids or the clubs?
"I think if you took a vote it might be a tie vote there," said NCAA selection committee chair Marilyn McNeil, who also is the Monmouth athletic director. "People do discuss the women's game because of Brittney Griner and Maya Moore. But I also think there's a lot to be said about many of the teams playing."
The other tournament - for many fans, the only tournament - has both: buzz about both Jimmer Fredette and BYU, Kyle Singler and Duke, Kemba Walker and the UConn men. With so many standout players, and so many compelling story lines, perhaps this tournament will help move the women's game forward.
"One of the frustrations is we are compared with the men's tournament," McNeil said. "We're coming on strong."
No one stronger than UConn, and no one more so than Moore.
Moore's otherworldly play guided UConn to its fourth straight No. 1 ranking in the final Associated Press poll of the season, the 10th time overall.
UConn charges into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Philadelphia region riding a 20-game winning streak. UConn leads a record nine teams from the Big East - two in three of the regional sites, three in the Philadelphia region - as it seeks to defend its two straight tournament titles and earn an eighth overall.
Moore, however, points inside to reveal UConn's foundation: lumbering freshman Stefanie Dolson, whose development over the season has helped make UConn as formidable as ever.
Dolson scored two points and fouled out in 12 minutes in the second game of the year, a one-point win over visiting Baylor. Dolson scored six points and managed just 17 minutes when Stanford ended UConn's record 90-game winning streak Dec. 30.
In the Big East final a week ago Dolson, slimmer, stronger and smarter, led UConn over Notre Dame with 24 points, pulled nine rebounds and played all 40 minutes.
Moore was the tournament MVP but said she would have picked Dolson, who has developed into a viable replacement for graduated Tina Charles.
