Longtime UConn coach Geno Auriemma is now second on the all-time wins list for a Division I college basketball coach, earning No. 1,203 in Monday’s 73-53 home victory over No. 21 Creighton.
Auriemma, who turns 70 next month, was tied with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and trails only Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who has 1,209 career wins.
“I think earlier in my career, to be honest with you, as things were happening that were very significant, they impacted me a lot more. But maybe the volume of things that have happened… I just take it in stride,” Auriemma said after the game.
Auriemma took over before the 1985-86 season and guided the powerhouse Huskies to a record 11 national titles between 1995 and 2016, along with six undefeated seasons and a pair of winning streaks of 90 or more games.
In his 39th season at the helm, Auriemma is looking to lead UConn back to the Final Four after a streak of 14 consecutive appearances was snapped with a Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State last spring.
Auriemma, who confirmed last week that he will return to Storrs next season, coached his team to their 11th straight and 30th overall conference regular-season title with Monday’s win. The No. 15 Huskies (23-5) went undefeated (15-0) in Big East play and will be top speed in the conference tournament in March.
“I told the team today, this was one of the more gratifying (wins), and we celebrate wins more now than we used to,” Auriemma said. “Maybe if we had all 14 of our players, maybe we would just be like we’ve always been here at UConn, but what we’ve gone through the last couple of years, you appreciate it way more, way more, and you appreciate your players more.”
While VanDerveer has said she’s looking forward to coaching Stanford in the ACC next season when the school switches conferences, Auriemma doesn’t sound ready to step aside anytime soon, either.
“The passion and the wanting to win and the energy that goes into it, the feeling like this before every game, it’s the same as it was in the 80s, but I just think it means a little more now,” Auriemma said. “It’s like when you have it all and somebody takes it away from you, when you get it back, you tend to appreciate it more.”
–Field Level Media