An Interview With Coach Berube

This is a reprint of my 2004 interview of Carla Berube

The date was December 9, 1990. A high school sophomore from Oxford, Massachusetts was sitting in the new Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on the UConn campus as she watched the underdog Huskies upset Auburn, 67-63. That young player, Carla Berube, was thinking to herself, “Wow, this is really great. I would love to play here.”

Three years later, she got her wish. Berube chose UConn over Boston College, Syracuse, Arizona State and USC to attend her mom’s alma mater, a school just 45 minutes from home. It wasn’t a hard decision. “I pretty much knew early on that I wanted to go to UConn,” Berube confessed.

In the 1993-94 season, Berube’s freshman year, the Huskies showed flashes of the brilliance that was to come. The team started out ranked No. 18 and finished the year at No. 3, losing in the East Regional Championships to eventual champion North Carolina. Berube was an important contributor off the bench, averaging 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 minutes a game. She says she got a great boost from the loyal fans that came to see the Huskies.

“Early on, we didn’t have full houses, but the crowds were still great,” Berube recalls. “The year before, the team went 18-12 but the crowds still came and they were better than anything I’d ever seen before. I remember my first game – I got so much adrenaline from the crowd.”

Berube quickly became a crowd favorite and was showered with cheers of “Ber-uuuu-beee” when she scored. Despite the ever-calm demeanor that became her trademark, Berube was very aware of the cheers.

“Of course I heard them, they were really loud,” she laughed. “I wasn’t a star or anything, just a blue-collar player and I wouldn’t play a minute on the team they have now but I really appreciated the cheering. I tried not to let it affect me, to stay level-headed but I thought it was just amazing.”

Berube’s sophomore year was the 35-0 National Championship season. While winning the championship was always the goal, the team never discussed going undefeated.

“We didn’t really talk about it like ‘Oh my God, we’re undefeated’. We just took it game by game,” Berube said. “After we beat Tennessee we were thinking we were a pretty good team, but we just tried to stay focused. Once we finished the regular season undefeated we knew we had a chance to finish out the year that way but we still wanted to take it one game at a time.”

Even though there was a star on that championship team, Rebecca Lobo, Berube said they were all essentially blue-collar players who understood their roles. When discussing Coach Geno Auriemma’s philosophy on role players, she became more animated.

“We all understood exactly what we were supposed to do and we all played our role. Coach made you feel you were an important part of the team, no matter how small your role was,” Berube explained.

Auriemma has been quoted as saying that Berube sealed the 1995 championship with her free throws at the end of the game. But Berube never felt that way.

“I wasn’t nervous, I just went to the line to shoot my normal free throws. I felt that the game was already pretty much over so I could shoot them with confidence.”

After the Huskies won the National Championship, the team was totally unprepared for the hoopla that surrounded them. Berube recalls, “We had no idea. It was amazing, the people waiting for us at the airport, on the road on the way home, at the pep rally. We felt like everything was getting bigger and bigger with the media and ESPN. They’ve had celebrations since then but, to me, the first one was really special.”

Jamelle Elliott is on record as stating that the 1995 undefeated team could beat the 2002 undefeated team, but Berube is more circumspect.

“They’re two totally different teams. The 1995 team had a major post presence and Kara (Wolters) and Rebecca (Lobo) at their best were hard to stop. But in a full court game, I’m not sure we could stay with them. I’d like to think we were a little smarter,” Berube laughs. Reluctantly, Berube said the 2002 team would win – but by a slim margin.

The following season ended in an overtime loss to Tennessee in the Final Four, snapping a three-game winning streak against the Lady Vols. Berube’s senior year also ended with a loss to Tennessee in the Elite Eight, ending a potentially undefeated season. Berube hasn’t forgotten.

When asked about Tennessee, Berube replied, “I don’t care for them at all. My last loss at UConn was to Tennessee. I don’t like orange, either.” Berube laughs, “Seriously, there are some nice people at Tennessee and it’s nothing personal. It’s a great rivalry but, no, I don’t like Tennessee.”

Berube graduated from UConn in 1997 with a degree in sociology. She entered the draft for the American Basketball League (ABL) and was chosen by the New England Blizzard as the 21st pick in the draft. Berube played two years along side former teammates Jennifer Rizzotti and Wolters.

“It was great playing professionally. I didn’t think it would ever happen. I had a tough time on the court, though. I went from being a major role player to a not-so-great pro,” said Berube. “I did get to travel and I enjoyed the great Blizzard fans. It couldn’t match the experience at UConn, though.”

After the ABL folded in 1998, Berube became a volunteer at California Polytech for a year, but became homesick. She started looking for a career opportunity in basketball on the East coast. UConn coaches Jamelle Elliott and Tonya Cardoza happened to run into Providence coach Jim Jabir, who was looking for an assistant, and they recommended Berube to him. Jabir hired her in August 2000.

Berube was an assistant at Providence for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. After two years, the head coach’s job at Tufts opened up when Janice Savitz retired from the position. After Tufts perused the applications of approximately 100 candidates, they chose Berube to take over the head coaching responsibility at the Boston-area university.

Tufts is a Division III school in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). NESCAC is a strong conference that includes the 2004 National Championship runner-up, Bowdoin. In Savitz’ last season, the Tufts Jumbos finished with a 9-14 record.

Berube inherited the same core of players and introduced them to a coaching style that’s a little Geno Auriemma, a little Jen Rizzotti, a little Jamelle Elliott and a lot of Carla Berube.

“I’m a product of my environment. As a coach, I’ve taken things from a lot of people, from teammates like Jen, Jamelle and Rebecca as well as Coach Dailey and Coach Auriemma. People who knew me at UConn probably wouldn’t recognize me when I coach,” she laughs. “I’m intense, demanding, sometimes sarcastic and a lot more vocal than the UConn fans might remember. We play a little like UConn; we like to run and play defense.”

The Jumbos executed a startling turnaround in Berube’s first season as head coach. In her first year, she led her team to a 17-7 record. In her second season, the Jumbos improved to 18-6, tied for second place in the NESCAC and earned some votes in the Division III poll. The 35-13 record was the best two year tally since 1985-87’s 36-9.

Berube gives her players the credit. “I have a great group of women who work really hard. They love the game and I love coaching them. They’re a well-balanced group, too. Basketball is important to them, but it’s not their life.”

The future is looking bright for the Tufts’ basketball team. Berube’s top two scorers, one a senior and one a junior, are returning for the 2004-05 season. She’s also brought in some very good recruits, a feat made more difficult by the fact that Division III schools can’t offer scholarships.

“It’s more difficult to recruit because I can’t compete with Division I and II schools by offering scholarships,” Berube said. “I recruit against the Ivies and other Division III schools. But Tufts is a great school and has a lot to offer. The people who come here want a great education in a great environment.”

Berube’s relative anonymity in Medford, Massachusetts is a far cry from the crowds that shouted “Ber-uuuu-beee” in Storrs, Connecticut. Berube says she was never bothered by all the attention that she received from the Husky fans.

“I was a little shy and sometimes looked bothered but it all comes with the territory. All the fame that comes with being a UConn player was awesome. It’s great to go back to the games and get recognized now.”

The woman who holds the 17th spot on UConn’s career scoring leaders has earned the respect of her coaches and teammates and adoration of her fans through talent and hard work tempered with humility. Only 29 years old, Berube is just setting out on a new career path in which the possibilities seem endless. The attributes that helped her succeed in college will surely help her rise through the coaching ranks as well. Without a doubt, Berube’s loyal Husky fans will follow her as she progresses, following each step up with silent, but no less heartfelt, “Ber-uuuu-beee”.

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