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The women's Big East Basketball teams that is. 'Oh my gosh, we’ve got to get better’: Big East coaches looking forward to the challenge of playing UConn women
"The first thing Butler women’s basketball coach Kurt Godlevske thought when he heard UConn was coming back to the Big East was how great it would be to have the Huskies play at storied Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the movie Hoosiers was filmed.
“The second thing was: ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to get better,’” said Godlevske, whose team went 23-10 last year. “I think it will really raise the bar in our league and raise the recruiting level for all of us.”
“And I think attendance will be a huge thing. It will be a great experience for the girls to play in front of a large crowd.”
“I’m really excited about UConn coming back into the Big East,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “We’re a strong league. But UConn makes it even stronger.
“Whereas it will be much more difficult to win a Big East championship with UConn in the field, their presence helps the other 10 of us get better against the rest of the NCAA field and that’s what excites me.”
Bruno is a long-time friend of UConn coach Geno Auriemma and his Blue Demons are the only team from the former Big East who have played the Huskies every year since UConn left the conference.
“I believe the coaches that were in the old Big East, I think they all understand exactly the impact,” Bruno said. “I don’t know if the coaches that have not dealt with UConn on a daily basis really understand."
Others comment too. “To me, it’s like, ‘All right, let’s go, we got to get better players and be ready,’” St. John’s coach Joe Tartemella said. “It’s kind of like going back to the way it was.”
"The first thing Butler women’s basketball coach Kurt Godlevske thought when he heard UConn was coming back to the Big East was how great it would be to have the Huskies play at storied Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the movie Hoosiers was filmed.
“The second thing was: ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to get better,’” said Godlevske, whose team went 23-10 last year. “I think it will really raise the bar in our league and raise the recruiting level for all of us.”
“And I think attendance will be a huge thing. It will be a great experience for the girls to play in front of a large crowd.”
“I’m really excited about UConn coming back into the Big East,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “We’re a strong league. But UConn makes it even stronger.
“Whereas it will be much more difficult to win a Big East championship with UConn in the field, their presence helps the other 10 of us get better against the rest of the NCAA field and that’s what excites me.”
Bruno is a long-time friend of UConn coach Geno Auriemma and his Blue Demons are the only team from the former Big East who have played the Huskies every year since UConn left the conference.
“I believe the coaches that were in the old Big East, I think they all understand exactly the impact,” Bruno said. “I don’t know if the coaches that have not dealt with UConn on a daily basis really understand."
Others comment too. “To me, it’s like, ‘All right, let’s go, we got to get better players and be ready,’” St. John’s coach Joe Tartemella said. “It’s kind of like going back to the way it was.”
