Heading into yesterday’s contest against the Seton Hall Pirates at the XL Center, Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma had won 1,199 career contests. Auriemma’s next win made him one of three head coaches in NCAA Division I history to have 1,200 or more. The other two hit the mark after coaching for over 40 years.
Wednesday’s Big East battle marked the 117th game the UConn women’s basketball team has played since the 39th-year head coach’s 1,100th career victory three seasons ago. Auriemma does not think too much about each milestone win that he reaches. Star redshirt junior Paige Bueckers knows that.
“I know he does not want it to be a big deal, but for him to do that and accomplish that, it speaks a lot to who he is and what he has built at Connecticut,” Bueckers said following her 26-point performance against the St. John’s Red Storm on Sunday.
During the Hall of Fame coach’s five-decade tenure in Storrs, UConn has earned 29 conference regular season championships, won 28 conference tournament titles, appeared in 34 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and played in 22 Final Fours. No other team in women’s basketball has made more Final Fours, and just four teams have been in more March Madness tournaments than the Huskies.
Connecticut is several games away from clinching their 30th regular season title in program history despite their 11-0 conference record. Most teams yearn for what Auriemma has accomplished the same way professional sports fans marvel at a Hall of Famer’s career accolades.
“It is like LeBron [James],” Bueckers commented. “It is so hard to stay that great for that long, and it is a testament to the culture he has built here.”
The key ingredient behind Auriemma’s long-term success is recruiting the nation’s top players. It involves more than just recruiting them, however. Building a successful program and having four high school classes of the nation’s best recruits gel together requires chemistry and a winning attitude. It starts individually with each relationship that he develops.
Remove NIL and COVID-19 eligibility from the picture, and you may notice that the way college basketball recruits is now is much different than 20, even 10, years ago. That has not stopped the Hall of Fame head coach.
“It is refreshing to see [that today’s college basketball players] respond the exact same way that those other guys responded, and you find out that they need the exact same thing those other guys needed,” Auriemma noted during a media availability Saturday. “Their reaction when they get something right and they are learning something they did not know is worth it.”
There are some years when Auriemma knows that he has the pieces to win a national title. Other times, the bar is set a little lower. No matter who the Huskies have on their roster, he prepares his team for the big moments every single day. Having been with the program for four years, Bueckers knows what that entails.
“You win the national championship in April, but you win it throughout the whole entire season with the habits you build, the way that you practice, the way that you compete,” Bueckers added during that media availability. “Any way we can get better [at] playing basketball and continue to build championship habits, that happens every day in practice.”
With time, what the players learn from Auriemma outside of the game turns into becoming some of the nation’s best athletes. Take Edwards for example. The senior forward was the 23rd-ranked recruit in ESPN HoopGurlz’ Class of 2020 rankings. Edwards went from making six starts as a first-year student to an All-American junior season. The reigning Big East Player of the Week put it best while referencing her own development.
“As you grow as a player, he appreciates you and appreciates all of the work that he helps you put into your game,” Edwards explained after scoring a career-high 33 points on Sunday. “He is all about the dubs, but at the same time, it is about the memories and what he has built along the way that really means the most.”
Those memories, amongst other things, have made him calmer than he has been in years past, but it has not shifted his spirit.
“He is just as enthusiastic and just as energetic as he was,” Bueckers expressed. “What you give to the game, it gives back, and that is what he has done. He has never changed who he is as a coach or as a person.”
Basketball Hall of Fame coaches John Calipari, 64, and Bill Self, 61, are the active wins leaders amongst Division I head coaches in men’s basketball. They each have over 800 career victories in 30+ seasons. After Tara VanDerveer and Auriemma, four different head coaches currently at Division I schools have won over 800 games in women’s basketball. Each one of them won over 100 contests at a non-Division I school.
Regardless, reaching 1,200 career victories, let alone 1,100, may become as rare as a pitcher winning 300 games in Major League Baseball.
“You look at the way the [college basketball] world is today, I do not think you will see this happening much going forward,” Auriemma commented. “It is certainly something to be proud of.”
Beyond the wins and the lifelong connections that he makes with his players, Auriemma believes his own legacy and that of the team can currently be defined by one number.
“The 11 championships for us is what separates Connecticut from every other basketball program in the country.”
With UConn’s 2023-24 regular season hitting the home stretch, however, the 39th-year head coach has one trophy on his mind.
“I am coaching right now to win the Big East Championship,” Auriemma stated.
At a perfect 12-0, the Huskies are well on their way.