When thinking about coaching legends in the sport of college basketball, it’s nearly impossible to leave out the man who turned things around in Connecticut. Once a lowly program, coach Geno Auriemma arrived and changed everything. A team with nine wins suddenly had 12. Then 14. Then 17. Then 24. By the time he was in his 10th year in Storrs, Auriemma captured the school’s first national championship. In the 29 years since, he’s tacked on 10 more.
While he stands alone with 11 championships, Auriemma is nearing another significant milestone: 1,200 wins. Only two other coaches in the sport (men’s or women’s) have reached that level of excellence. One is retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski who finished at 1,202. The other is Tara VanDerveer, who is currently at 1,206, but still going. If he does beat Seton Hall Wednesday, Auriemma will be the fastest coach to ever reach 1,200, doing so six years quicker than ‘Coach K’ and three years ahead of VanDerveer.
With all the buzz that surrounds it, Auriemma reflected on the accolade, discussing its uniqueness.
“You look at all the coaches who have had the kind of success that we’re talking about, it involves either being around one place a long time, or being in a bunch of places,” Auriemma said after the team’s win over St. John’s. “I’m fortunate enough to have been here the entire time. The ability to keep recruiting the players that keep you at the level we’ve been at for 35 of those 39 years; if you look at the world today, I don’t think you’ll see this happening much going forward, so it’s something to be proud of for our staff. It’s a big deal to have won that many games and be in such company, but it’s been really unusual. It’s not something we take for granted.”
Though it is unique in nature, Auriemma is more excited about other things he’s accomplished.
“What actually does impact your life? If we show up in April and there’s another national championship banner, how does that change things?” Auriemma continued. “[Even] if my career ends at 1,999 [wins], there’s nothing that I could accomplish that can make me step back and say ‘wow, that is really [disappointing]. I’d like to think our program will be remembered more for the 11 national championships than the number of wins that I have when we get down the road. I do think in sports that the number of championships is what the great separator is.”
Before he can celebrate it, though, he will have to defeat a Seton Hall squad that will be hungry for revenge. The two teams previously met in Walsh Gymnasium on Jan. 17 for a matchup that was not as clean as Huskies fans may have hoped.
Connecticut hobbled out to a 23-21 deficit after a quarter, but turned things around in the second frame. They closed the half out on a 24-7 run, but had another stinker of a third quarter. The ultimate margin was a 24-point victory, but getting there wasn’t a smooth process. The Huskies needed 32 points from star Paige Bueckers to seal the deal against a Pirates team that is under .500 in conference.
Seton Hall was able to overperform thanks to a big night from Azana Baines, who scored 17 points but needed 13 shots to get there. Brazil Harvey-Carr was a bigger surprise, coming in with an average of just south of four points per game. She delivered four threes in 12 minutes against UConn, which is the exact type of effort needed to try for an upset.
However, the Huskies will be armed with the desire to get Auriemma to 1,200 wins, which could give them an extra boost. They haven’t looked perfect lately, as it seems the injuries and fatigue are catching up to them. Though they outlasted St. John’s by 15 on Sunday, that was nothing compared to their 43-point beating of the Red Storm a month earlier. Perhaps this will be the additional motivation they need to really pummel the Pirates.
While shots and buckets from Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards seem inevitable, Connecticut will be looking for a revitalized effort from Ashlynn Shade, who has hit a freshman slump. After scoring 13 points or better in eight of 10 games on 23-51 (45%), she’s gone cold in the past three. The guard has totaled 21 points in that span and is an ice-cold 1-10 from downtown. She’s shown the ability to be an elite shooter and a game like this will be a great opportunity to get back on track.
The contest will tip off at 7 p.m. in Hartford, Connecticut and can be viewed on SNY.