The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Coach finalist for Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
Associate head coach has helped UConn win record 11 national titles
Chris Dailey, who has been by Geno Auriemma’s side for all 11 nationalchampionship runs by the UConn women’s basketball team, was named as a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
Dailey joins former Tennessee assistant coach Mickie DeMoss along with Yelena Baranova, former New Jersey high school coach Rose Marie Battaglia, former Colorado head coach Ceal Barry, WNBA legends Chamique Holdsclaw, Katie Smith and Tina Thompson in addition to Vickie Orr and Valerie Still as Hall of Fame finalists. The finalists were announced at halftime of ESPN’s telecast of the Notre Dame/Louisville game.
When Auriemma got the job at UConn in 1985, his first move was hiring Dailey as an assistant coach. Dailey, a member of Rutgers’ AIAW national championship team as a senior, had spent a season on the staff at Cornell and two at her alma mater before arriving in Storrs.
UConn had one winning season and no postseason appearances before Auriemma and Dailey arrived on the scene. They have led the Huskies to 29 straight NCAA tournament appearances including 18 trips to the Final Four. UConn has appeared in an unprecedented 10 consecutive Final Fours, has posted six perfect seasons to go with the three longest winning streaks in NCAA Division I women’ basketball history.
The Hall of Fame class will be announced on Feb. 12 with Dailey looking to become the fifth person with UConn ties to be part of the last 13 induction classes.
Geno Auriemma was inducted in 2006 and four years later Rebecca Lobo
became the first UConn player to join the Hall of Fame. Jen Rizzotti was one of six inductees in 2013, while Kara Wolters was part of last year’s class.
The induction ceremony will be held on June 9 at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.
WOODEN AWARD
UConn returning starters Napheesa Collier, Kia
Nurse, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams were among 25 players named as candidates for the Wooden Award.
Samuelson leads UConn in scoring, averaging 18 points per game, Collier is contributing 15.5 points and 7.9 rebounds, Nurse is averaging 15 points per game and has a team-high 35 3-pointers while Williams is contributing 11.1 points,
8.3 rebounds per game with a team-high 36 steals. A list of 20 finalists will be announced in February with the winner being announced when the regional finals in the NCAA tournament are being played.