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Message: [QUOTE="RockyMTblue2, post: 2227718, member: 250"] Here's one for those youngsters to ponder. Can't buy stuff like this. "Part of UConn’s pipeline to the WNBA can be explained by the preparation head coach Geno Auriemma puts his players through, Bird said. She explained the mental side becomes more important the further along you go as an athlete, and that’s a major piece to Auriemma’s program. He teaches his players how to deal with the pressure of playing at UConn, something that can be difficult for a young adult to handle, she said, and later make the transition into professional basketball easier. “A lot of the stuff you see in the WNBA or overseas, we’ve already seen in college,” Bird said. “In some ways, college was harder in practice every single day getting challenged the way they challenge us.” [URL='http://www.expressnews.com/sports/silver_stars/article/Influx-of-UConn-players-continues-to-dominate-WNBA-11208218.php']Influx of UConn players continues to dominate WNBA[/URL] "Not every player can play at Connecticut. I don’t care how good you are. That mentality — not everybody can deal with,” Johnson said. “That toughness, that yelling, that demand on you day in and day out, holding you accountable, coaching you and not taking it as criticism. The mental toughness of it all is what I’m most impressed with his players.” “You come out here and you’re so used to preparing a certain way that the coaches love it,” Jefferson said. “You know they love the way you work hard, the way you just talk naturally, the way you’re pretty much a born leader when you come from UConn.” “If he doesn’t prepare you, then I don’t know what does,” Stewart said. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach