Spring Break
Everything going according to plan
Despite speed bumps, Huskies still manage to come through when they should
Chris Brodeur
Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Husky Hoopla
Most Division I women's basketball coaches would gladly trade their fortunes for Geno Auriemma's. They'd do it in a heartbeat. There aren't too many resumes in the women's coaching ranks that his wouldn't eclipse by leaps and bounds.
Still, the longtime UConn fixture - a six-time National Champion, six-time Naismith National Coach of the Year and the odds-on favorite to raise another banner after the 2009-10 season - broached an interesting point when he addressed the media at an open practice at Gampel Pavilion this preseason.
While the Huskies have enjoyed unprecedented success under Auriemma, they've done so without the benefit of a fluke play in a tight game or even an upset win on the extremely rare occasions when they've been underdogs.
No, there haven't been any surprises when it comes to UConn women's basketball. No flukes or favorable bounces. Whenever Auriemma's Huskies have been pegged as the country's top team and the favorite to win a National Championship, they've always accomplished the feat - sometimes flawlessly. If anything, Auriemma's teams have had to overcome their share of misfortune in the 25 years he's been in Storrs.
"There hasn't been a whole lot of luck in our six championships," Auriemma said. "I don't think luck had anything to do with any of those, except maybe the bounce that went to Jen Rizzotti [in '95] when she took it coast-to-coast, that could have went to somebody else."
The play he's referring to is one captured on the April 10, 1995 cover of Sports Illustrated. Rizzotti was an All-American point guard for the Huskies, playing from 1992-1996 - the era in which UConn's status as a national force in women's basketball was established. Her full-court drive late in the 1995 National Title game against Tennesee helped seal the 70-64 proverbial "win that started it all."
While there might have been some chance involved in a loose ball eluding a pack of opposing players and finding the speedy Rizzotti, the circumstances that brought the Huskies to that moment - an undefeated season and a year-long No. 1 ranking following a 30-3 mark and an Elite Eight berth a season prior - are the kind UConn fans have come to expect. Like fans of other dynasties in the sports world, Husky fans are the calmest of the brood at crunch time. And why shouldn't they be? They've seen almost nothing but dominant efforts and lop-sided victories in championship games for nearly two decades.
Still, the longtime UConn fixture - a six-time National Champion, six-time Naismith National Coach of the Year and the odds-on favorite to raise another banner after the 2009-10 season - broached an interesting point when he addressed the media at an open practice at Gampel Pavilion this preseason.
While the Huskies have enjoyed unprecedented success under Auriemma, they've done so without the benefit of a fluke play in a tight game or even an upset win on the extremely rare occasions when they've been underdogs.
No, there haven't been any surprises when it comes to UConn women's basketball. No flukes or favorable bounces. Whenever Auriemma's Huskies have been pegged as the country's top team and the favorite to win a National Championship, they've always accomplished the feat - sometimes flawlessly. If anything, Auriemma's teams have had to overcome their share of misfortune in the 25 years he's been in Storrs.
"There hasn't been a whole lot of luck in our six championships," Auriemma said. "I don't think luck had anything to do with any of those, except maybe the bounce that went to Jen Rizzotti [in '95] when she took it coast-to-coast, that could have went to somebody else."
The play he's referring to is one captured on the April 10, 1995 cover of Sports Illustrated. Rizzotti was an All-American point guard for the Huskies, playing from 1992-1996 - the era in which UConn's status as a national force in women's basketball was established. Her full-court drive late in the 1995 National Title game against Tennesee helped seal the 70-64 proverbial "win that started it all."
While there might have been some chance involved in a loose ball eluding a pack of opposing players and finding the speedy Rizzotti, the circumstances that brought the Huskies to that moment - an undefeated season and a year-long No. 1 ranking following a 30-3 mark and an Elite Eight berth a season prior - are the kind UConn fans have come to expect. Like fans of other dynasties in the sports world, Husky fans are the calmest of the brood at crunch time. And why shouldn't they be? They've seen almost nothing but dominant efforts and lop-sided victories in championship games for nearly two decades.
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