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In his 38 years coaching UConn WBB, Geno Auriemma has accomplished a great deal. But as much as all the wins and championships stand out, I think Geno would tell you that what has been most rewarding for him has been his ability to do everything in his power to help his players achieve their potential, not only as basketball players, but also as wonderful young women. For this reason in particular, just about all of his current and former players have a deep appreciation and affection for Geno.
With that said, through the years there have been a handful of great players that tested Geno’s patience and probably left him with more than a few gray hairs. DT & Sveta immediately come to mind. I’m sure there were others. To some extent, these players are mirror images of Geno himself: smart, tough, talented, stubborn and irreverent.
So it is that I find myself marveling at the unique relationship between Geno and his current pg. One need only consider some of the comments Geno made after the thrilling win over Baylor on Monday night. On the big hug he gave a smiling Nika when she subbed out at the end of the game, “I whispered in her ear, I still hate you. She said something that I won’t repeat.” When talking about getting Lou to her first Sweet 16, “Those are the kind of things that make this job rewarding….But Nika balances those things out.” While complementing Nika on how hard she pushes the team, Geno added, “She pushes and pushes me to the brink, but she always stops right before I deport her.”
In discussing the scenario when he draws up a play during a timeout and, as everyone’s heading back onto the court, Nika suggests a change at the last minute. Geno indicated that he used to argue with her, but she would run her play anyways, so he just gives in and says, “Yea that sounds good.” Geno went on to say, “When it works, she’s so proud of herself. But when it doesn’t, she won’t look at me for 5 minutes.”
During interviews, Nika is self-depreciating, as when she indicated that her logo-shot at the half against Baylor was “an accident,’’ unlike a very talented guard at Iowa who "knew her shot was going in." Nika prefers to talk about and praise her teammates, which she affectionately refers to as “her family.” For her part, Nika has acknowledged that she was practically “un-coachable” when she arrived at UConn, and that she likes to be “coached hard.”
What exactly should we make of this odd relationship? It’s too easy to suggest that Geno is just a ball-buster and Nika gets some strange satisfaction from testing his patience. I have another theory. When a group of young American hockey players completed the Mircle on Ice during the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, beating the Soviet Union, the greatest hockey team in the world at that time, Head Coach Herb Brooks had his own unique relationship with Team Captain Mike Eruzione, a tough, working-class Italian-American kid from Boston. Brooks and Eruzione had an understanding that Brooks would yell at Eruzione, the hardest working and most beloved player on the team, to motivate everyone else, and it worked.
Could Geno constantly throwing shade at Nika be the master psychologist at work? Nika seems to thrive on Geno’s negative attention and this team has overcome obstacles and challenges that would have broken most other teams. But don’t get me wrong. At the heart of Geno’s relationship with his pg is an incomparable appreciation for what she brings to this team.
After throwing shade at Nika for 10 minutes on Monday night, Geno abruptly changed course. He talked about all the great guards in the nation and all the great guards the Huskies have played against, implying that very talented guard at Iowa, and he then acknowledged, “There’s nobody in America that I would trade Nika for.” Who knows? Maybe there’s a storybook ending to this season for UConn….The Miracle on Hardwood!
With that said, through the years there have been a handful of great players that tested Geno’s patience and probably left him with more than a few gray hairs. DT & Sveta immediately come to mind. I’m sure there were others. To some extent, these players are mirror images of Geno himself: smart, tough, talented, stubborn and irreverent.
So it is that I find myself marveling at the unique relationship between Geno and his current pg. One need only consider some of the comments Geno made after the thrilling win over Baylor on Monday night. On the big hug he gave a smiling Nika when she subbed out at the end of the game, “I whispered in her ear, I still hate you. She said something that I won’t repeat.” When talking about getting Lou to her first Sweet 16, “Those are the kind of things that make this job rewarding….But Nika balances those things out.” While complementing Nika on how hard she pushes the team, Geno added, “She pushes and pushes me to the brink, but she always stops right before I deport her.”
In discussing the scenario when he draws up a play during a timeout and, as everyone’s heading back onto the court, Nika suggests a change at the last minute. Geno indicated that he used to argue with her, but she would run her play anyways, so he just gives in and says, “Yea that sounds good.” Geno went on to say, “When it works, she’s so proud of herself. But when it doesn’t, she won’t look at me for 5 minutes.”
During interviews, Nika is self-depreciating, as when she indicated that her logo-shot at the half against Baylor was “an accident,’’ unlike a very talented guard at Iowa who "knew her shot was going in." Nika prefers to talk about and praise her teammates, which she affectionately refers to as “her family.” For her part, Nika has acknowledged that she was practically “un-coachable” when she arrived at UConn, and that she likes to be “coached hard.”
What exactly should we make of this odd relationship? It’s too easy to suggest that Geno is just a ball-buster and Nika gets some strange satisfaction from testing his patience. I have another theory. When a group of young American hockey players completed the Mircle on Ice during the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, beating the Soviet Union, the greatest hockey team in the world at that time, Head Coach Herb Brooks had his own unique relationship with Team Captain Mike Eruzione, a tough, working-class Italian-American kid from Boston. Brooks and Eruzione had an understanding that Brooks would yell at Eruzione, the hardest working and most beloved player on the team, to motivate everyone else, and it worked.
Could Geno constantly throwing shade at Nika be the master psychologist at work? Nika seems to thrive on Geno’s negative attention and this team has overcome obstacles and challenges that would have broken most other teams. But don’t get me wrong. At the heart of Geno’s relationship with his pg is an incomparable appreciation for what she brings to this team.
After throwing shade at Nika for 10 minutes on Monday night, Geno abruptly changed course. He talked about all the great guards in the nation and all the great guards the Huskies have played against, implying that very talented guard at Iowa, and he then acknowledged, “There’s nobody in America that I would trade Nika for.” Who knows? Maybe there’s a storybook ending to this season for UConn….The Miracle on Hardwood!
