The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Geno may not yell as much as he used to, but UConn’s coach is still as demanding as ever
Geno Auriemma has mellowed with age, but is no less demanding as when he first arrived in Storrs.
During a question-andanswer session on Instagram Live Tuesday with Chloe Pavlech — a former Maryland guard and
UConn graduate assistant — the 66-year-old Auriemma explained how his coaching style has changed during the course of the Huskies’ dynasty.
“It’s very difficult to do today what you were able to do in 2002, 3, 4. … To me, I’ve toned it down a lot,” said Auriemma, who has been outspoken about the challenges of coaching a younger generation. “I very rarely raise my voice at my practice.
But he added: “When I do get pissed and raise my voice, trust me, it’s a lot.”
Pavlech said she expected to see the “screaming, the yelling and the crazy practices,” when she joined Auriemma’s staff in 2017. At the time, the Huskies were working on a record 111game winning streak.
“I’m not saying you can’t,” Auriemma said. “You’ve got to do it a different way. I don’t think the kids that I’m coaching today, to them it’s a big shocker.” Auriemma has spent 35 seasons on UConn’s sideline, and he plans to stay there as long as he can keep bringing in players that fit his system.
“If you watched that series, ‘The Last Dance,’ there’s a lot of sacrifices
that have to be made if you want to win championships,” Auriemma said, referring to the hit ESPN docuseries on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. “Look, a lot of people are willing to make those sacrifices, but they don’t win anyway. You can make all the sacrifices you want, but if you ain’t got somebody like Jordan, sometimes you ain’t gonna win anyway. But if you have guys like that and you don’t make those sacrifices, then it’s going to be really, really hard.
“When you’re recruiting, you’ve got to get kids that are willing to be disciplined, be committed, and they’re going to do what you want them to do. And they’re going to be willing to give up some of themselves, be teammates. If you want to build a championship program, then you’ve got to get those kinds of kids.
“If you just want to have a great team one year or a couple years, then you can ... take shortcuts, do whatever you want, boom. And if you want to have a great program, a championship program, then you’ve got to lay those foundations.”
Of course, no one has built a stronger, more sustainable model in women’s basketball than Auriemma. His 20 Final Fours and 11 national championships are unrivaled.
The Huskies are in their longest title drought in more than a decade, having last cut down the nets in 2016. But they’re stocked well for the future with a highly touted recruiting class scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, months (or whenever students are allowed back on campus). The five-player class, headlined by Minnesota point guard and consensus No. 1 prospect Paige Bueckers, is ranked second in the country, per ESPN. And it will make up half of next season’s roster, so the pressure to perform will be huge.
“They’re going to have to be good,” Auriemma said of the group, which also includes Mir McLean, Aaliyah Edwards, Nika Muhl and Piath Gabriel. “But you know what? I remember when Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley came in as freshmen (2010-11), and they had to start every game. I don’t know if they’re going to start, not start, I really don’t care. But I know they’re going to have to play a big role in whatever success we’re going to have.”
ADEBAYO INKS DEAL OVERSEAS
UConn’s Evelyn Adebayo has signed to play with Phantoms Boom, a team in Belgium’s top professional league.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play professional basketball,” Adebayo said by phone. “After the season, I had agents that reached out to me. At the end of the day, I had to find the place that would truly be the best fit for me.”
The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 1.0 point and 2.1 rebounds in 22 games this past season after transferring from Murray State, where she was an All-Ohio Valley League selection.
Adebayo, 23, is currently staying with family in Maryland, but hopes to move back home to London once the travel bans are lifted. She’ll receive her master’s degree in sports management this summer.
“It was challenging, but I learned so much and I grew so much through my experience,” Adebayo said of her time in Storrs. “(Auriemma) is a great guy, he’s a great teacher. He’s all about trying to help you no matter what. He’s real and he’s genuine. That’s helpful because you need someone who’s going to tell you the truth.”