UConn women's basketball is currently in something of a dry spell considering its lofty standards under head coach Geno Auriemma. Auriemma's squad continues to make deep NCAA tournament runs on a yearly basis but hasn't won the whole things since the 2015-16 season, as other programs like South Carolina appear to have caught up to the Huskies.
There are several iterations of “glory days” for the franchise, many of which included Sue Bird, a WNBA legend who played for UConn from 1998-2002.
Recently, Bird recalled Auriemma's coaching style, including a fiery speech he delivered at halftime of one of their games.
“So we're playing Tennessee, we're Young and the first half's like not great it's like it's ups, downs, not great, and we're a little like tentative,” recalled Bird, via 7PM in Brooklyn With Carmelo Anthony on YouTube. “He walks in the locker room and we're all sitting there you know, this is college so like at attention, he walks in the locker room and he goes do you see this (closed fist) do you see this, do you know what this is, and by the way this man, he knows how to like build a moment up, that's his special sauce.
“You see this, you see this, this is all your a—holes right now. And then he goes on a whole thing about you're playing tight, you look scared, like all this s—t, and it was that moment where we're like dead a– serious like looking at him and then he says that and it was like all you could do is go like (holding in laughter) you can't laugh but you're laughing and you're just like oh God he just hit us with a tight booty hole,” said Bird.
Auriemma has indeed become known for a somewhat eccentric style of coaching, including the very vivid analogies that Bird described in her memory.
Whatever the methods, there can be no arguing with the results, as UConn won national championships in two out of the four years that Bird was on the team, and continued to rack them up well into the 2000s and 2010s.
Auriemma's influence can be seen on a number of stars currently in the WNBA, including Bird, Diana Taurasi, Briana Stewart, and many others who were a part of UCon”s famous line of star players.
In any case, Auriemma will seek to get his team back to its championship heights of yesteryear when next season gets underway in the fall.
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