Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore: they were all there to pay tribute to Geno Auriemma. The coach of the University of Connecticut, where the three legends played before joining the WNBA, became the most successful coach in the history of the NCAA, women's and men's (Division I) championships combined.
With 1,217 victories on the clock with his players, Geno Auriemma has overtaken the former coach of the Stanford women's team, Tara VanDerveer (1,216), retired since last April. Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) completes the men's podium.
“ We never sat down and said, 'Hey, let's do a 40-year plan and see if we can make it happen.' It's about coming here every day and trying to be better than yesterday “, said the coach during the ceremony in which more than 60 former players took part.
Geno Auriemma took over as head of the Connecticut team in 1985 and never left it again. It didn't take long for him to turn the Huskies into a winning machine. With his eleven NCAA championship titles (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), he was already the most successful coach in women's university basketball.
111 consecutive victories
With him, the women's team reached delirious levels of victory. Like this historic series of… 111 consecutive victories which ended in 2017, these six complete seasons finished without losing or even the 329 victories of more than 40 points for his team. Or twice as many as his number of defeats (162).
“ Who knew that playing hard, playing smart and having fun would get you there? », laughs Sue Bird, turning to her former coach as well as Chris Dailey, also honored as “associate” coach of the Huskies since 1988. She joined the Women's Hall of Fame in 2018.
“ No title, no stat, no award can replace the lives we have influenced, that they have allowed us to influence. For me, this is the most important. When this is over, tonight will be remembered, and I will remember every player I coached. I don't know how much I helped them get what they wanted, but they helped me get everything I wanted “, thanks Geno Auriemma, member of the “Naismith Hall of Fame” since 2006.
“ Look around you. It's not often in life that you have the opportunity to experience something that has never been done before [et] which will never be done again », Rebecca Lobo cannot imagine.
