Post by Marco on Apr 3, 2024 15:30:43 GMT
From CTInsider:
He walked back into his team’s locker room ready to congratulate his players on a hard fought win in the Elite Eight. Instead he was greeted by an instant celebratory shower.
All 14 Huskies sat in their seats with one or two filled water bottles hidden behind their backs. As soon as Auriemma stepped foot in the locker room, they all jumped up and drenched the Hall of Fame coach with water until each bottle was empty.
Auriemma was left with his hair and clothes soaked. Someone offered him an extra shirt and jacket to change into before his postgame press conferencs. But even an hour or so later, he still wasn’t fully dry.
“It’s totally my fault for falling into this trap,” Auriemma said before grunting through a smile. “Now I’m trying walking around in something that’s not mine and my underwear is stuck to my (rear). Soaking wet, Jesus Christ.”
Auriemma is one week away from concluding what is arguably his best coaching performance at UConn. Sure, he’s led the program to 11 national championships, including four back-to-back and a handful of undefeated seasons, but he’s never had to endure such exhausting obstacles before these last three years.
And despite it all, he’s kept his team afloat and winning. It wasn’t perfect or smooth by any means. But players bought in, believed and stepped up when needed thanks to him. And now, the Huskies are off to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 – a remarkable accomplishment made possible by not only Auriemma’s passion for his players, but also because of their love and appreciation for the Hall of Fame coach.
“He means everything to me,” Nika Mühl said. “I mean, that man got us to the Final Four. Period. He puts so much heart, so much soul, so much everything; he lives for this program. He lives for basketball. He lives for us and he’s so special.”
UConn has had three straight seasons filled with constant lineup rotations, season-ending injuries and heartbreaking losses. In both 2021-22 and 2022-23, 10 players missed at least one game or more due to injury or illness. Currently, this year, UConn has a single-season record of six players out with season-ending injuries.
Auriemma has had to learn how to rearrange a lineup on short notice after losing players to injury and how to also mix them back into the fold when they’re healthy. He had to re-teach his players how to play with Paige Bueckers after she missed all of last season with an ACL injury, while also coaching Bueckers through a position change from point guard to power forward.
He fed his players confidence to hang tight through all the change and hurdles, continuing to challenge them and helping them to improve on and off the court.
He’s seen players go down mid-game due to gruesome, freak injuries and had to watch others go through the painful and stressful cycle of months of rehab. He cares for his players, and it pains him to see their sport be ripped away from them due to injury.
Off the court, the 70-year-old always keeps an open door to his office to allow players to come and go as they please. He keeps in contact with former alumni and often attends their WNBA games when they face the Connecticut Sun. A handful came to Monday’s game to watch their coach lead this year’s Huskies.
But Auriemma is also human.
During the beginning of last season, he had to process his mother’s declining health before her passing in early December. He made trips during the week to see her in Pennsylvania between UConn’s practices and games.
His own health sidelined him for a week the following month as he took time away from the program to focus on rest. Through that time, he developed a new, more relaxed perspective on coaching.
“You don't understand,” he said last January. “I've coached for 35, 40 years thinking if we don't win the national championship, I’m going to get fired. That's not a healthy way to live.”
This season, Auriemma has to work to instill trust in his young, inexperienced players early on. He started two freshman guards and has two more first-year players coming off the bench. With only eight available players, he didn't have any other choice.
But he didn’t give up on his team. While he may not have always believed they’d still be playing in April, he always believed in each individual player and worked hard to make sure they saw what he saw in themselves.
“Honestly, the way he never gives up on his players,” freshman KK Arnold said. “We all know it's all love.”
Auriemma went out of his way to apologize to freshman guard Qadence Samuels when he didn’t sub her in during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He wanted to make sure she knew it wasn’t personal. That they still need her.
When redshirt freshman Ice Brady felt like she let the team down after UConn’s loss at Texas, Auriemma pulled her aside and had a tough conversation with her. He told her she needed to be better and could be. That she was too hard on herself and she had to let go of chasing perfection and just play freely.
“Obviously as a coach he pushes me as a player, but as fiery and intense he is, he's extremely patient especially with me because I came in a hot mess,” Brady said. “So extremely patient with me and cares about not just me but all of us off the court as a person. …
“He means a lot because he cares. He loves us like genuinely. And he's definitely like the reason why I am getting better and learning so much. I’m extremely thankful to be playing for him.”
And when Bueckers tore her ACL in August 2022, he sat down with Mühl and challenged her to be better. While sometimes his message can come across harsh, he only says what he knows is true and knows how to coach each individual and what they need to be successful.
That’s why they come to UConn. To be coached by the best.
“I mean everybody can tell you the same thing and you see it with the alumni, you see it with the culture he built; I mean that man is just special, different and there's nobody like him,” Mühl said. “He's just that unique person in life that you never get to meet again and you just have to cherish every single moment, every second that you have with him.”
Auriemma won Big East Coach of the Year this season after leading UConn to its first undefeated season in conference play since 2020-21. It was his first Coach of the Year award in three years.
None of the other coaches in the Final Four have had to deal with the overwhelming injuries and short roster rotation like Auriemma. Sure, they’ve all had their battles and gotten their respective team to the national semifinals, but none have achieved so much through so much adversity like Auriemma.
He led UConn to the 2022 national championship game, the 2023 Sweet 16, the 2024 Final Four and three-straight Big East Tournament and regular season crowds these past few seasons. While many coaches would have let their frustrations influence the team, he’s worked hard to build him his players. UConn is 94-17 the last three seasons.
“It just shows like how great of a coach he is to be able to lead our team and help our such young team but also old team like be able to get to the point where we are,” freshman Ashlynn Shade said. “Stay together. It's just incredible. I mean, that's why he's the greatest coach of all time. It's what he does, he wins.”
He walked back into his team’s locker room ready to congratulate his players on a hard fought win in the Elite Eight. Instead he was greeted by an instant celebratory shower.
All 14 Huskies sat in their seats with one or two filled water bottles hidden behind their backs. As soon as Auriemma stepped foot in the locker room, they all jumped up and drenched the Hall of Fame coach with water until each bottle was empty.
Auriemma was left with his hair and clothes soaked. Someone offered him an extra shirt and jacket to change into before his postgame press conferencs. But even an hour or so later, he still wasn’t fully dry.
“It’s totally my fault for falling into this trap,” Auriemma said before grunting through a smile. “Now I’m trying walking around in something that’s not mine and my underwear is stuck to my (rear). Soaking wet, Jesus Christ.”
Auriemma is one week away from concluding what is arguably his best coaching performance at UConn. Sure, he’s led the program to 11 national championships, including four back-to-back and a handful of undefeated seasons, but he’s never had to endure such exhausting obstacles before these last three years.
And despite it all, he’s kept his team afloat and winning. It wasn’t perfect or smooth by any means. But players bought in, believed and stepped up when needed thanks to him. And now, the Huskies are off to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 – a remarkable accomplishment made possible by not only Auriemma’s passion for his players, but also because of their love and appreciation for the Hall of Fame coach.
“He means everything to me,” Nika Mühl said. “I mean, that man got us to the Final Four. Period. He puts so much heart, so much soul, so much everything; he lives for this program. He lives for basketball. He lives for us and he’s so special.”
UConn has had three straight seasons filled with constant lineup rotations, season-ending injuries and heartbreaking losses. In both 2021-22 and 2022-23, 10 players missed at least one game or more due to injury or illness. Currently, this year, UConn has a single-season record of six players out with season-ending injuries.
Auriemma has had to learn how to rearrange a lineup on short notice after losing players to injury and how to also mix them back into the fold when they’re healthy. He had to re-teach his players how to play with Paige Bueckers after she missed all of last season with an ACL injury, while also coaching Bueckers through a position change from point guard to power forward.
He fed his players confidence to hang tight through all the change and hurdles, continuing to challenge them and helping them to improve on and off the court.
He’s seen players go down mid-game due to gruesome, freak injuries and had to watch others go through the painful and stressful cycle of months of rehab. He cares for his players, and it pains him to see their sport be ripped away from them due to injury.
Off the court, the 70-year-old always keeps an open door to his office to allow players to come and go as they please. He keeps in contact with former alumni and often attends their WNBA games when they face the Connecticut Sun. A handful came to Monday’s game to watch their coach lead this year’s Huskies.
But Auriemma is also human.
During the beginning of last season, he had to process his mother’s declining health before her passing in early December. He made trips during the week to see her in Pennsylvania between UConn’s practices and games.
His own health sidelined him for a week the following month as he took time away from the program to focus on rest. Through that time, he developed a new, more relaxed perspective on coaching.
“You don't understand,” he said last January. “I've coached for 35, 40 years thinking if we don't win the national championship, I’m going to get fired. That's not a healthy way to live.”
This season, Auriemma has to work to instill trust in his young, inexperienced players early on. He started two freshman guards and has two more first-year players coming off the bench. With only eight available players, he didn't have any other choice.
But he didn’t give up on his team. While he may not have always believed they’d still be playing in April, he always believed in each individual player and worked hard to make sure they saw what he saw in themselves.
“Honestly, the way he never gives up on his players,” freshman KK Arnold said. “We all know it's all love.”
Auriemma went out of his way to apologize to freshman guard Qadence Samuels when he didn’t sub her in during the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He wanted to make sure she knew it wasn’t personal. That they still need her.
When redshirt freshman Ice Brady felt like she let the team down after UConn’s loss at Texas, Auriemma pulled her aside and had a tough conversation with her. He told her she needed to be better and could be. That she was too hard on herself and she had to let go of chasing perfection and just play freely.
“Obviously as a coach he pushes me as a player, but as fiery and intense he is, he's extremely patient especially with me because I came in a hot mess,” Brady said. “So extremely patient with me and cares about not just me but all of us off the court as a person. …
“He means a lot because he cares. He loves us like genuinely. And he's definitely like the reason why I am getting better and learning so much. I’m extremely thankful to be playing for him.”
And when Bueckers tore her ACL in August 2022, he sat down with Mühl and challenged her to be better. While sometimes his message can come across harsh, he only says what he knows is true and knows how to coach each individual and what they need to be successful.
That’s why they come to UConn. To be coached by the best.
“I mean everybody can tell you the same thing and you see it with the alumni, you see it with the culture he built; I mean that man is just special, different and there's nobody like him,” Mühl said. “He's just that unique person in life that you never get to meet again and you just have to cherish every single moment, every second that you have with him.”
Auriemma won Big East Coach of the Year this season after leading UConn to its first undefeated season in conference play since 2020-21. It was his first Coach of the Year award in three years.
None of the other coaches in the Final Four have had to deal with the overwhelming injuries and short roster rotation like Auriemma. Sure, they’ve all had their battles and gotten their respective team to the national semifinals, but none have achieved so much through so much adversity like Auriemma.
He led UConn to the 2022 national championship game, the 2023 Sweet 16, the 2024 Final Four and three-straight Big East Tournament and regular season crowds these past few seasons. While many coaches would have let their frustrations influence the team, he’s worked hard to build him his players. UConn is 94-17 the last three seasons.
“It just shows like how great of a coach he is to be able to lead our team and help our such young team but also old team like be able to get to the point where we are,” freshman Ashlynn Shade said. “Stay together. It's just incredible. I mean, that's why he's the greatest coach of all time. It's what he does, he wins.”
