UConn women give Geno best birthday gift of all: A Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament | The Boneyard

UConn women give Geno best birthday gift of all: A Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament

Carnac

That venerable sage from the west
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
15,931
Reaction Score
79,000
SAN ANTONIO — Geno Auriemma spent Tuesday, his 67th birthday, at home self-isolating following a positive COVID-19 test as his No. 1 seed Huskies faced No. 8 seed Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Associate head coach Chris Dailey, who served as head coach in Auriemma’s absence, Jamelle Elliott and the Huskies made sure UConn would keep dancing with a 83-47 win and that Auriemma would be with them from here on out.


He is scheduled to take a private flight from Connecticut to San Antonio Wednesday morning, rejoining the team now that his 10-day isolation period is over.

“Today is his birthday, so we wanted to get the win for him so he can get down here with us,” freshman Paige Bueckers aid. “We miss him a lot.” “I know everybody’s going to be really happy to have him here tomorrow,” Dailey said. “I say that now, but maybe — he gets here at noon, I think — by five I might regret saying that. For right now, I’m looking forward to having him here.” UConn’s next game is Saturday.

“I think you go in expecting to have to grind it out,” Dailey said. “There’s no rule that says Connecticut has to be up 40 at halftime. There are only good teams left, and so you have to expect that other teams are going to play well, and you’re going to miss shots, you’re going to make plays and stay together. We’ve been learning that, and we’ve done it, and today was another example of it.”

"His players wouldn’t have allowed their season to end Tuesday night without their leader alongside them guiding the way. Now they get to fight for a national title together. “I told him get his butt on a plane immediately,” Bueckers said. “I better see him right when I wake up tomorrow.”

Any doubt who the leader of this team is?

Geno Auriemma talks about life with COVID, watching UConn play from his home

Three Huskies named WBCA All-Region

 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 9, 2015
Messages
2,033
Reaction Score
10,890
How about a shout out for CD, UConn's all-time winningest % "head" coach.
If you admire how beautifully the Huskies dismantled Syracuse's zone, give a nod to the lady who quietly takes command--and succeeds.
 

Online statistics

Members online
330
Guests online
2,144
Total visitors
2,474

Forum statistics

Threads
159,598
Messages
4,197,090
Members
10,065
Latest member
bardira
.
Top Bottom