Geno's comments...from ESPN...hmm

[Blakeon18]

Geno will 'never be No. 1 in wins,' savors 1,200th

UConn's Geno Auriemma joined former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,206) as the only coaches in Division I history with 1,200 wins.

www.espn.com

How seriously should we take these?
More importantly...how should UConn recruiting targets take them?

Go Huskies! Upset Sunday is coming our way!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Geno will 'never be No. 1 in wins,' savors 1,200th

UConn's Geno Auriemma joined former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,206) as the only coaches in Division I history with 1,200 wins.

www.espn.com

How seriously should we take these?
More importantly...how should UConn recruiting targets take them?

Go Huskies! Upset Sunday is coming our way!

What he says to reporters and fans, and what he says to top recruits I would suspect are two different things. He only needs 7 more wins to surpass both Van Der Vere and K.

 

[Blakeon18]

Geno Auriemma is in his 39th season at UConn and near 1,200 wins. He ponders the end of his career

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — The frame reserved for Geno Auriemma’s photo is empty — it rests atop two display cases of autographed UConn basketballs to the right of a collection of Joel Embiid memorabili…

www.dcnewsnow.com

This AP article made it all the way up to the Adirondacks and has some additional info and
might generate some more 'hmms].

Geno says he does not want a good-bye tour. He also says that he liked
the way Jay Wright of Villanova did it. After taking 'Nova to the final 4 in 2022 he
shocked the university by announcing his retirement a couple of weeks later.

 

[cancontent]

Geno will 'never be No. 1 in wins,' savors 1,200th

UConn's Geno Auriemma joined former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,206) as the only coaches in Division I history with 1,200 wins.

www.espn.com

How seriously should we take these?
More importantly...how should UConn recruiting targets take them?

Go Huskies! Upset Sunday is coming our way!

Wouldn't take it seriously at all. Obviously records are meant to be broken. This comes across as he's being realistic that if he does break it, someone else will beat it eventually. Also, it comes across that it's not his primary focus because it's about the team not himself. Isn't that what UConn's all about?

 

[TRest]

I see it as implying Tara will never retire until he does.

 

[Rowdy831]

If Geno thinks his replacement is out there he will retire. He has nothing left to prove and he clearly sees the dominance he has had over the game ending and he will step away before things get ugly. He has been doing this a long time at an incredibly high level and at some point you are tired and the excitement of the game stops being enough.

 

[reelfan]

I prefer Geno's comment that he will retire when he can't get any good recruits.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Geno Auriemma is in his 39th season at UConn and near 1,200 wins. He ponders the end of his career

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — The frame reserved for Geno Auriemma’s photo is empty — it rests atop two display cases of autographed UConn basketballs to the right of a collection of Joel Embiid memorabili…

www.dcnewsnow.com

This AP article made it all the way up to the Adirondacks and has some additional info and
might generate some more 'hmms].

Geno says he does not want a good-bye tour. He also says that he liked
the way Jay Wright of Villanova did it. After taking 'Nova to the final 4 in 2022 he
shocked the university by announcing his retirement a couple of weeks later.

Geno’s not retiring anytime soon IMHO. I don’t think he’d be recruiting Sarah Strong, Allie Zweibel, and Morgan Chelli, and at the same time contemplating retirement. If and when he does decide to retire, he would give a 2 or 3 year heads up to everyone close to him, including recruits. That would also I think give UConn and the athletic dept time to find a good replacement and minimize a fall off in the program.

 

[huskyd]

Geno will 'never be No. 1 in wins,' savors 1,200th

UConn's Geno Auriemma joined former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,206) as the only coaches in Division I history with 1,200 wins.

www.espn.com

How seriously should we take these?
More importantly...how should UConn recruiting targets take them?

Go Huskies! Upset Sunday is coming our way!

"I'll never be number one in wins," says Geno, suggesting that he can see the end of his career in sight. Of course, as long as he's healthy and motivated, he can certainly put in a few more years. Unsaid is how much the prospect of winning another title factors in. Does he have the material to challenge the best team on his current roster or coming in soon? It's likely he'll be here next year, but who knows?
Also unsaid is that Paige seems to be slowing down some, doubtless as a result of her injuries. She's not as accurate, not as quick, not the take-over player she was. If Azzi is done, and Buckets goes pro to avoid another physical set-back, the team Geno is surveilling may be very different from this year's.
P/S: Geno also said that no team would go undefeated in the BE. Sometimes he's just wrong.

 

[Redux]

I see it as implying Tara will never retire until he does.

That was my first reaction hearing it live. But it doesn't really work in the context. Nor does the "single digits" thing: my wife and I looked at each other like "what the hell was that?"

Geno has a sense of humorous expression that is at times (though rarely) stream of consciousness with nested internal references like a Dennis Miller monologue that is hard to follow. This is my polite way of saying incoherent. I think that brief portion of his post presser was simply a misfire, probably just trying to reinforce in a colorful way what he was saying about not caring or giving any attention to the issue, and it came out garbled.

 

[DefenseBB]

Paige: "Hey Coach, while I have 2 years if I want them, I will definitely stay for at least one of them if you do"
Geno: "DEAL!"

 

[visitingcock]

Wouldn't take it seriously at all. Obviously records are meant to be broken. This comes across as he's being realistic that if he does break it, someone else will beat it eventually. Also, it comes across that it's not his primary focus because it's about the team not himself. Isn't that what UConn's all about?

I think the whole issue is one for fans - not Geno. I don't think he has ever cared about that record. What he cares about is building the best team possible. Each year!

 

[Cuango]

I wish he hadn’t said that.

 

[DEpup]

I see it as implying Tara will never retire until he does.

Exactly. Especially as a man in a women's sport, the minute he said something other than what he did say, the next headlines would be Geno thinks Tara is washed up. Geno thinks Tara should retire. Geno thinks Tara will retire. Geno thinks a female coach like Tara won't have more wins than him... he said the safest answer. Remember when he was making comments about transfers and happen to use Park-Lane as an example, how everything immediately became personal to her and his bigger point was completely lost.. I don't envy his position with the press....

 

[uconnfan68]

What he says to reporters and fans, and what he says to top recruits I would suspect are two different things. He only needs 7 more wins to surpass both Van Der Vere and K.

He'll pass K this year, but Tara hasn't retired yet, and gives no indication she will. She's only 7 ahead, but she still has good teams.

 

[Charliebball]

I figure he's got four or five years left as long as his health remains good........my preference would be for him to announce his retirement one season before he goes so that the process of hiring a new coach will be done in a complete and unhurried fashion....

 

[Bigboote]

He'll pass K this year, but Tara hasn't retired yet, and gives no indication she will. She's only 7 ahead, but she still has good teams.

Yeah, if what he said made headlines, how would the press (and the WCBB public in general) react if he said he thought he'd catch Tara soon? "Does he think Tara's retiring?" "Does he plan on poaching a bunch of Stanford players from the portal?" and it degenerates from there.

He said what he had to say, which is the honorable thing. Recall a couple of years ago when many Boneyarders thought he'd catch Tara that year.

 

[huskeynut]

Interesting presser. A lot of very good knowledge from the coach.

I don't think he cares one way or another about being the #1 in wins. He has always put UConn first.

As to retirement, I don't think he has any idea yet. As my mentor teacher told me when I was student teaching, you'll know when it's time. He was right.

 

[cancontent]

Interesting presser. A lot of very good knowledge from the coach.

I don't think he cares one way or another about being the #1 in wins. He has always put UConn first.

As to retirement, I don't think he has any idea yet. As my mentor teacher told me when I was student teaching, you'll know when it's time. He was right.

Agreed. Articles and questions like that are done to keep us invested in the media. It's a catch-22 because we want to see these teams get the attention they deserve, but it comes with having to read articles like this that stir up discussions like this one.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

He'll pass K this year, but Tara hasn't retired yet, and gives no indication she will. She's only 7 ahead, but she still has good teams.

Have you seen her lately? She’s slowed down a lot. I think she’s slightly older than Geno btw.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Honestly, this narrative is starting to irk me the way that the "Stewie vs. A'ja" and "JuJu vs. Hildago" discussions have. I totally get that only one coach can have the most wins all time, but as fans we're so lucky to have two of the best ever still coaching, still winning championships, still making final fours, still breaking records - and doing it four decades after they first committed in the 80s to a career to help make WCBB what it is today, back when almost no one cared about the sport.

Personally, I'd rather just appreciate that whenever Geno and/or Tara hang up their coaching sneaks, and whoever ends up with the most wins, it will be at least a decade before any coach could approach their significance to the game. Dawn is probably closest because of how multi-faceted her impact has been as a college player, pro player, and coach, but we're living at the tail end of the founding fathers/mothers era of WCBB, and I for one am just enjoying soaking it in for as long as they'll allow us.

Geno should enjoy his wine, Tara should enjoy her morning lapswims, and the media should chill out.

 

[Cuango]

I figure he's got four or five years left as long as his health remains good........my preference would be for him to announce his retirement one season before he goes so that the process of hiring a new coach will be done in a complete and unhurried fashion....

Yeah, hopefully, there’s an “understanding” with Shea that he’ll let her know a couple of years in advance so she can get ready to move!

 

[CL82]

Yeah, hopefully, there’s an “understanding” with Shea that he’ll let her know a couple of years in advance so she can get ready to move!

I doubt that Shea comes back to Storrs. She has a pretty good deal going at Vanderbilt.