Past Failure a Lesson in Success

DAYTON, Ohio — Three years later, the newspaper photograph remains in Tina Charles’s locker at Connecticut. The picture reminds her of being torched as a freshman by Louisiana State’s Sylvia Fowles in the 2007 N.C.A.A. tournament. More broadly, it is a daily admonition against complacency.

“I shouldn’t be comfortable,” the 6-foot-4 Charles said of the photograph’s harsh inspiration. “There’s somebody else who’s always going out to take your spot or who’s working harder.”

She has since developed into the nation’s top center and a favorite to be named the national women’s player of the year. On Tuesday night, Charles provided steadiness after Maya Moore drew two early fouls, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as the Huskies (37-0) extended their winning streak to 76 games and advanced again to the Final Four with an 90-50 victory over Florida State in the final of the Dayton Regional.

“Tina was always physically gifted,” her teammate Kalana Greene, a senior guard, said. “The last two years, mentally she’s gotten a lot stronger. No one ever doubted how talented Tina was. They just doubted if she could play in the big games. The last few years she’s been huge in every big game we ever had.”

Now comes one of the biggest challenges that Charles has ever faced. On Sunday in the national semifinals in San Antonio, UConn will meet Baylor and its transforming 6-8 freshman center Brittney Griner, who has set a tournament record with 35 blocked shots, including 14 against Georgetown and 10 against Tennessee.

“I like her game a lot,” Charles said. “She has so much growth left. That was the same thing with me my freshman year.”

It will be fascinating to see how UConn attempts to counter Griner’s disruptive presence. Though Charles, who has averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.2 blocks this season, is four inches shorter than Griner, she is faster, more mobile and experienced, deft on offense with either hand and able to score inside and outside.

“The thing about Tina is she’s stronger, she runs amazingly well rim to rim and positions herself so well to get the ball,” said Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly, whose team lost to UConn in the regional semifinals and defeated Baylor during Big 12 play. “The game looks almost easy. The term we use is economy of motion. Brittney Griner’s got to catch her to guard her.”

UConn may find success in moving Charles away from the basket and forcing Griner to guard her in the open floor, a tactic Iowa State used, Fennelly said.

“Brittney Griner changes the game, but I’d be surprised from what I’ve seen if Baylor can compete with them for 40 minutes,” he said.

Rebecca Lobo, a star on UConn’s 1995 championship team, said that Charles might use her resourcefulness to take the ball right at Griner. “Brittney has not been getting into foul trouble, but she’s still a freshman,” Lobo said.

A prime UConn advantage is that it can score reliably from every position, while youthful Baylor has been spotty from the perimeter and susceptible to the kind of pressure defense that the Huskies apply.

“I don’t know that there’s any team capable of dealing with Brittney Griner at this stage,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “She’s going to get 25 points, block 10 shots; that’s the way it is. You might have to concede that spot and hope the other guys don’t kill you. When they’ve struggled, it’s because they didn’t make shots on the perimeter.”

These are the moments that Charles has relished since she arrived at UConn from Christ the King High in New York City and told Auriemma, “I want to be great.”

Yet she seemed immature as a freshman, more of a follower than a leader, not willing to take responsibility, Auriemma said. Perhaps she had an inflated sense of her skill having grown up in New York, he said.

“New York players have more baggage than Delta,” he said.

Charles’s freshman season ended humbly as she shot 0 for 5 from the field and managed a point against L.S.U. in a 73-50 defeat in the final of the 2007 Fresno Regional. The 6-6 Fowles dominated her with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.

“The last time I’ve seen her not really compete was when she played Fowles,” Greene said of Charles. “Tina wants a challenge every day.”

Her sophomore season ended unexpectedly with UConn’s last defeat — a loss to Stanford in the 2008 national semifinals. Last season, Auriemma reminded Charles of her stated goal of becoming an all-American. She had not really lifted her game, and he chided her, saying: “They didn’t give it to you last year, but now they’re going to feel sorry for you and give it to you this year? It doesn’t work that way.”

She began playing more assertively as the 2008-9 season progressed, and as the N.C.A.A. tournament began, Auriemma told his team: “If Tina Charles plays like an all-American, we’re going to win this whole thing. It doesn’t matter what any of you other guys do.”

Spurred by her coach’s remarks, Charles was named most valuable player of the Final Four as UConn won its sixth national title. This season, Charles picked up where she left off.

“More importantly, she’s grown as a person,” Auriemma said.

Earlier this semester, Charles worked four days a week at a corrections facility near the UConn campus, attending counseling sessions for college credit, assisting inmates as they prepared to re-enter society.

“I believe everybody deserves a second chance,” Charles said. “I don’t see why individuals can’t forgive if God forgives.”

She, too, has gotten a second chance, even though on the court is one thing and in the courts is quite another. The photograph in her locker serves as a constant nudge away from lethargy toward vigor.

“I always knew I could be there for big games,” Charles said. “It’s just about doing it on a consistent basis.”