I hear that about 1500 tickets are available for the Oklahoma game on Dec. 19 at Mohegan Sun.
If we beat DePaul on Friday that game should provide a fantastic atmosphere for that historical achievement...plus closing in a bit on Tara and Pat.
Geno was thrilled with the crowd for ND....uhh...more importantly... so was Nan...I hope he has the same reaction on the 19th.
1,000 wins is a milestone for any coach, and will put Auriemma in rare company with three other great college basketball coaches. This should not be taken lightly, or treated as "just another game". He's won more championships than any other college basketball coach, he's won every award a college basketball coach can win, he's in the Naismith Hall of Fame, what's left? THIS is it!! The last hurdle. After this, the only left in front of him will be the finish line, and maybe a statue of him placed outside of Gampel Pavilion.
An observation from afar -
1. If UConn defeats
Oklahoma (3-5) it will be a milestone win. Oklahoma just lost to mid-major
South Dakota State (7-2) 67-61 yesterday (Dec 6), and to tiny low mid-major
UA-Little Rock (3-4) by 12, both on the road. If the Sooners can't beat a mid-major in two tries, how do they expect to beat #1 UConn? UConn should win this game easily.
2. Everyone of Geno's former players that can make it, should be in attendance that night to show their support and appreciation to him & CD. I would not be surprised if some of his close coaching friends and associates were in attendance as well.
3. Commemorative tee-shirts (or some other novelty) should be given to every person in attendance that night. The entire evening should have a festive and celebratory type atmosphere. This event will provide the folks in the operations department at the Mohegan Sun Arena & the UConn Athletic Department to show off their talent, skills and creativity. The team will have 10 days off between games (semester study/finals Dec 9-18). Plenty of time for them to plan and implement something memorable.
4. This will be another "golden opportunity" for UConn to host and show off their women's basketball program in front of a capacity crowd and to any potential UConn recruit(s) that may attend. Allow them to be as much a part of the celebration that is allowed by the NCAA.
5. The game will be on NATIONAL television (
Fox Sports 1), so the entire country will be able to witness this memorable occasion.
6. If you are a local, and you missed the Notre Dame game (or if you didn't), THIS is a game you don't want to miss. Geno won't make 2,000. This is an iconic history making game. You'll want to be able to tell everyone "I was there the night Geno won his 1000th game".
If you support Geno and the program, and you suffer from Husky fever, you should be there, no matter how many hoops you have to jump through, the amount of traffic you have to deal with, or how inconvenient it may be. This is a once in a lifetime event.
7. To all of you lucky folks that have tickets and plan to attend, enjoy the game. I wish I could join you. I will be there in spirit. If everything goes right, this game should become another "instant classic".
