UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma once poked fun at his former national championship-winning squad during a podcast with them. During an episode of “UConn Undefeated” in 2020, coach Auriemma spoke to some of the players from his 2002 roster and reminisced about the memories they made at the time.
These players included Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, and Asjha Jones. Coach Auriemma started the show by asking them about the hype when they were all freshmen, particularly around Bird, Cash, Williams, and Jones, since they were all in the same high school recruiting class, with Taurasi coming later.
“The first thing I would ask is, and this doesn’t include Diana yet, but you guys remember, the four of you, do you remember your freshman year when you showed up and all the hoopla and all the hubbub about what a great recruiting class and it was the greatest thing ever, the greatest recruiting class in the history of college basketball and all that? Do you remember all that happening while you guys were coming to school?” Auriemma asked (2:08).
The five players laughed in unison, as they immediately remembered the nicknames they had for their starting five at the time.
“Yes, coach, we remember it. The Femme Five,” Williams said before Jones assertively said, “TASSK Force,” which was repeated by the former.
Auriemma asked:
“Who gave you guys those stupid names?”
After a back-and-forth of pointing fingers, they eventually determined Cash as the sole creator of the TASSK Force nickname.
“The TAASK Force, I thought was a good name because we were trying to figure out something besides the Fab Five that was at Michigan. I was like, ‘Alright, we’ll go for the TASSK Force.’ It’s really sick, but the freshman year sounded hot to me,” Cash said.
Coach Auriemma and his current crop of Huskies won this year’s national championship after defeating the 2024 champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, by 23 points, 82-59, in the 2025 NCAA title game.
They finished the year with an overall record of 37-3 (18-0 Big East).
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The 2002 UConn Huskies ended up winning that year’s national championship
Led by those who were featured in “UConn Undefeated” with coach Geno Auriemma, the 2002 Huskies won the national title that year after they beat the Oklahoma Sooners by 12 points, 82-70, in the NCAA championship game.
Spearheaded by Swin Cash’s 20 points and 13 rebounds, they then concluded the year with an outstanding unbeaten record of 38-0.
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