You ain't never tried their sour mash then my friend. Although Kentucky gives them a run.its really hard to believe Tennessee was ever good at anything.
You must be young. Tenn was UConn before UConn was UConn. Great program before Geno became Geno.its really hard to believe Tennessee was ever good at anything.
Even while Geno was Geno. The greatest WCBB rivalry ever.You must be young. Tenn was UConn before UConn was UConn. Great program before Geno became Geno.
That's when Connecticut's credibility as a major player in women's basketball began. What a memorable day and the Huskies grabbed the gold. Had they not met in the regular season, maybe that championship game would have gone another way. That's when they KNEW they COULD!On MLK Day UConn and Tennessee played The Game!
It has been a long and wonderful ride since then!
They weren't as dominant as UConn has become but they had such an unfair advantage. They basically started with wonderful facilities and getting the best players from Day 1. UConn had been playing for years and for years had only one winning season until Geno and Chris arrived. They had few top level recruits for the first ten seasons and then 22 years ago, came that game and that season and then it became far easier to get top talent. UConn never had Tennessee's advantages but they did have GENO and that's made all the difference.You must be young. Tenn was UConn before UConn was UConn. Great program before Geno became Geno.
Absolutely! If it had been Geno (instead of Pat) starting way back when at Tennessee, he'd be approaching 1500 wins by now. The championship banners would be drapped all over the Tennessee campus. Thankfully we got him and Chris and they've built a one of a kind dynasty in Storrs.Tennessee had non-consecutive NCs (or one in a row) in 1987, 1989, and 1991. After 1995, the LVs managed two in a row in 2007 and 2008 and a three-peat 1996-98. UConn has equalled that plus managed a four-peat 2013-16. But 1995 was a year for UConn to stake its claim, whereas 2000 was the year the baton was fully passed, in my view.
Geno was always Geno, doing more with less. He didn't have anywhere near the talent Pat Summit had until maybe the 2000 or 2001 season and yet he started beating her head to head from their first meeting. Pat started her career far earlier and was the only show in town (with few exceptions) until Geno finally started getting a couple of quality recruits in the early 90's. A totally uneven playing field starting their coaching careers with every advantage being for Pat Summit.You must be young. Tenn was UConn before UConn was UConn. Great program before Geno became Geno.
I watched that game live (I'm sure many of us did) and it was a thing of beauty. Two great teams. UT doesn't get a lot of love here for understandable reasons, but that moved women's basketball to a new level. The rivalry was classic and gave national attention to a mostly local sport to that point. Time flies.