The impact of coaches such as Dawn Staley and the late Pat Summitt in women’s basketball is undeniable. Staley has been incredible at South Carolina while Pat Summitt laid the blueprint at Tennessee. But for Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams, it’s UConn’s head coach Geno Auriemma who has built a perennial “dynasty,” shining brightly in the NCAA ranks.
Recently appearing on Jeff Teague’s “Club 520” podcast, Williams suggested that the Huskies head coach was the greatest of all time in women’s college basketball. While giving Staley and Summitt their props, Williams said (16:00):
“Shoutout to Tennessee and South Carolina, very cute, mad respect though for especially what Dawn is doing right now – I think she is building a dynasty, there’s no debate about that. But, the dynasty is definitely Geno Auriemma.”
Williams’ opinion was backed by both facts and experience of playing at UConn. During her time with the team, the Huskies won consecutive national championships. She recorded only three losses during her college career. This is something that does qualify as a dynasty, a feat that seems non-replicable. Adding to why Auriemma has been so successful, Williams said:
“You feel it as soon as you step on the campus. And then you have to ask yourself, ‘Oh, am I actually built for this?’ because everyone wants to be cute and everyone wants to have championships, but it is insane, kind of like a pressure cooker environment.”
One thing that both Gabby Williams and fellow UConn alumna Paige Bueckers would agree upon is how coach Auriemma imbued discipline in them. Though the two stars have a five-year gap and didn’t play together, they would agree that coach Auriemma’s toughness has helped them in their careers.
Most of the former UConn players are shining bright in the WNBA, a few even having won the league title.
Gabby Williams was unsure of joining the UConn Huskies
As a high school recruit, Gabby Williams was unsure of joining the UConn Huskies in 2014. The prospect of joining a winning team was out of question for Williams, especially given the pressure it would amount to. But when coach Auriemma pitched the opportunity of joining the Huskies, it left young Gabby stunned.
In the coldest fashion possible, the UConn head coach told Williams that the Huskies were going to win with or without her.
“I just remember coach like when he was recruiting me and he sat me in his office and he was like, ‘You can come here if you want, but if you don’t, you’ll just lose. We’ll win a championship with or without you,'” recalled Williams on the Club 520 podcast (4:28).
Williams joined the Huskies, and this was perhaps one of her best career decisions. She is one of the only nine UConn players to have scored at least 1,000 points and rebounds for the program. She finished her college career with 1,582 career points, 1,007 rebounds, and 481 assists to her name, ranking 22nd in scoring, seventh in boards, and 13th in dishing dimes in the program’s leader board.
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