Nov. 19—STORRS — On the surface, UConn coach Geno Auriemma is not thrilled with this celebration, nor has he been cooperating much with those who are planning it.
Sixty-three of Auriemma’s former women’s basketball players, including all-time greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, are expected to be at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday to watch second-ranked UConn take on Fairleigh Dickinson (7 p.m., SNY) in what would be the record-setting 1,217th victory of Auriemma’s Hall of Fame career.
With one more victory, he will pass retired Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer for the most wins all-time in Division I college basketball history.
“From what I understand, there’s a lot of people coming that have no business being here in the middle of November in the middle of the week,” Auriemma said earlier this season, partly his sarcasm on display with a tinge of seriousness. “Really, they should find something better to do. We should Zoom it. Let ’em watch it at home.
“… I get a rash just thinking about it.”
But there’s an added element to the party that makes it more special, more emotional.
It’s Auriemma’s 40th season coaching at UConn and associate head coach Chris Dailey’s 40th, as well.
The logo for Wednesday’s event includes a photograph of both coaches. A month-long celebration at the UConn Dairy Bar includes specials for both — Geno’s Champion-Chip Sundae and CD’s Peanut Butter Dream milkshake.
Both coaches spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon from the Werth Family Champions Center, with plenty of time for reflection — each other’s first impression of one another, the times both thought of leaving Storrs — jokes and some emotional reactions.
Dailey was asked what it meant to be invited to share the stage with Auriemma on this occasion when, in fact, it will be his name in the record books next to the all-time wins total.
There were about 10 seconds of silence as Dailey took the glasses from the neck of her sweatshirt and began fumbling with them before finding the words, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I don’t know of any other head coach that would be as willing to share the limelight as he is,” Dailey said. “Whether it’s with me … I just think it says everything about him. I am appreciative for all the responsibilities he’s given me and the trust that he has in me and being able to share this with him in this way is really special to me.”
Of the plenty of stories that have been shared about the early days of the program, Dailey added this one about the former rotary phone in her office:
“And the rotary phone was a shared number with men’s track,” she said with a laugh. “So I couldn’t even say ‘UConn basketball.’ I would have to say ‘UConn.’ And then if it was for (retired track coach) Greg Roy, because he and I shared it, I would say ‘Greeeeeeg, it’s for you!” Because his office was three doors down from mine.”
“When you step away, take a minute to step away from it and try to put it in the context of what this all means and what has transpired, it’s pretty hard to believe,” Auriemma said. “… We just look at each other and it’s very, very, very difficult to come to grips with one, being in one place for this long and two, having happen what happened during those 40 years.
“There’s people that have done great things but I’m not sure 40 years. And there’s people that have been 40 years that haven’t done the things. So to have both of them happen, hard to wrap yourself around that.”
Auriemma and Dailey arrived on campus in the summer of 1985 and have taken a program with one winning season prior to that to 23 Final Fours and an unprecedented 11 national championships.
Auriemma is 1,216-162 in his career and has earned enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, named the Naismith National Coach of the Year eight times. He coached two Olympic teams to gold medals. Dailey is also a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
Auriemma recalls that one of the most nerve-wracking experiences he ever had was making his Naismith Hall of Fame acceptance speech in Springfield.
“Standing at the podium when I was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame and looking out and I couldn’t speak,” he said. “I look back on it and I’m like, ‘That’s not what I wanted to say.’ I was just mumbling bull, I guess, just saying words.
“I’ve never been comfortable (in the limelight). I fake it pretty well. I act like I do. I act like I like it. I think the overall feeling that I’ve always had is that the focus needs to be on the actual players that are actually playing.”
UConn All-American Paige Bueckers said she would trust Auriemma and Dailey “with my life” and that playing under Auriemma has “meant everything” to her.
“I saw a quote where Alex Karaban was talking about (UConn men’s coach Dan) Hurley. He was talking about how he was the most impactful person in his life,” Bueckers said. “I would say a lot of the same for coach, just what he’s done for me as a person, as a player, how he’s made me better, how he’s challenged me in ways I didn’t know I could be challenged.
“… He gives credit to everybody around him and he doesn’t really take it for himself. But what he’s built here, it’s because of him. So he definitely downplays it, he doesn’t want to do the whole thing, the celebration, it’s all extra to him. But he deserves it. We want to celebrate him because he doesn’t celebrate himself a lot.”
