Nov. 20—STORRS — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma remembers his team’s first matchup against Stanford and then-coach Tara VanDerveer, which came on Dec. 29, 1988, in California.
Stanford, then ranked ninth in the nation, with UConn on the brink of qualifying for its first NCAA tournament that season, won 73-52.
“We went out there and they had a great team and we had a bunch of young kids that were just happy to be on scholarship at UConn and we went out there and played,” Auriemma said this week.
On Wednesday, Auriemma broke the all-time wins record for NCAA Division I men’s or women’s basketball previously held by VanDerveer at 1,216. VanDerveer retired after last season with a record of 1,216-271, with three national championships.
The Huskies’ victory over Fairleigh Dickinson at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion gave Auriemma a mark of 1,217-162.
Auriemma and VanDerveer matched up 19 times in their careers, with UConn leading the series 12-7. The teams have met on seven occasions in the NCAA tournament, six times in the Final Four.
“They really showed us what a great program can and should look like,” Auriemma said of that first meeting at Stanford. “When we left there, I didn’t go, ‘That’s us someday.’ I didn’t think that. But I knew that we’d be playing them again and I knew that we would be good enough someday to be playing at a higher level than we played that day.”
Auriemma compared the importance of the games in the Stanford rivalry to that of UConn’s storied history with Tennessee and Notre Dame, although the Huskies and Cardinal faced each other less frequently.
“There always seemed to be something,” Auriemma said of the meetings between the teams. “Tremendous respect (for VanDerveer from) back when she was coaching at Ohio State (prior to Stanford). Just a lot of great stuff that we experienced together.
“Again, totally surprised that she’s not coaching anymore. That was a big surprise to me, actually.”
Bird to Bueckers
UConn All-American Paige Bueckers, a redshirt senior, was asked of the long list of Huskies’ alums who have stayed close to the program — 63 were set to be in attendance for Wednesday’s game — with whom she has formed the closest bond.
“Probably Sue,” Bueckers said of UConn legend Sue Bird, who shares a sports performance consultant with Bueckers in Susan King Borchardt. “Sue’s been a great person that I can look to for leadership advice. Just her qualities as a person, as a player, is something that I look up to, as well. I think me and Sue are pretty close.”
Bueckers called UConn’s network of alumnae a “sisterhood.” She said she was at first nervous to approach them when she arrived in Storrs but that they were quick to welcome her.
“They’ll be there when you need ’em, when you need words of advice, when you need words of encouragement, when you need a pick-me-up,” Bueckers said. “Just if you need anything, they’re always there to communicate with you and be there every step of the way.”
(No.) 1 of a kind
Bueckers is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft following this season. On Sunday, the Dallas Wings earned the future No. 1 selection by coming out on top in the draft lottery.
Bueckers didn’t watch the televised event.
“No, I did not,” she said this week. “I think I mostly dealt with it focusing on having a great practice today and that’s about it.
“… I would say just focus on what’s in front of me. Try to win this day. This day includes practice, preparing for the game (Wednesday), a good session in the weight room, recovery and getting a good night’s rest.”
Auriemma said of all the former players in attendance for Wednesday’s historic victory, Bueckers has been under perhaps more scrutiny than any of them and has dealt with it admirably.
“It’s so different in this world, you know,” Auriemma said. “I don’t think any of the other players woke up one morning and saw, ‘Oh, five months from now, I’m going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft and now I gotta prove it this whole year.’
“There’s a lot of circumstances in her life that are way different than everybody else’s and I think she’s managed to block everything out except what’s important. … I think she’s handled it amazingly well. Up to this point, I think she’s handled it incredibly well.”
