LSU Tigers’ head coach Kim Mulkey recently shared the stage alongside UConn Huskies’ Geno Auriemma at the Aspen Ideas Festival, hosted by NBC. Though Mulkey and Auriemma coach basketball programs of rival schools, Mulkey did not miss the opportunity to give Auriemma his flowers on such a big stage.
Geno Auriemma has been the head coach for the Huskies’ women’s basketball team since 1985 and has won 12 NCAA Division I titles since. Besides, he has also coached some of the UConn players to become the greatest stars in the WNBA.
Auriemma’s contribution to women’s basketball is immense, especially given the recent resurgence in popularity of the sport in the past two decades. Heaping praises for the Huskies head coach, Kim Mulkey made a striking comparison of him to Huskies’ men’s team HC, Dan Hurley.
“If Connecticut had big-time football, this son of a gun would be making more money than Hurley — and anyone else in the men’s game — as he should. He deserves it. Eleven [national titles]. And for him to stay committed to one institution for as long as he has? Kudos to Geno,” said mulkey (36:18)
By this, Mulkey means how a thriving football program could have meant more money flowing in for UConn. And given Auriemma’s basketball resume, he would have earned more money than UConn’s men’s team coach, Dan Hurley.
Comparing herself and Auriemma as “two dinosaurs,” Mulkey was glad to share a stage with Auriemma at the event. They have faced each other 11 times with their respective college basketball teams, including two Final Four appearances when Mulkey was coaching Baylor.
Former UConn Huskie Gabby Williams proclaims Geno Auriemma to have built the greatest women’s basketball dynasty
When talking about women’s basketball, coaches like Dawn Staley and Pat Summit are household names. Though their contribution to the sport can be undeniable, it’s nowhere comparable to Geno Auriemma’s, per Seattle Storm’s Gabby Williams. A former Huskie herself, Williams, on Jeff Teague’s “Club 520” podcast, proclaimed that Auriemma had built “the dynasty” in women’s college basketball.
“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 said (16:00)
Gabby Williams definitely knows quite a bit to be making such a bold statement. During her time playing for UConn under Auriemma, the Huskies won consecutive national championships and recorded just three losses. If this doesn’t qualify as a dynasty, anything else shouldn’t. Williams was able to reach her best potential under the 12x National Champion coach, becoming one of the only nine players in the program’s history with at least 1,000 career points and rebounds.
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