Integrity, fortitude and character are the things that make a champion. And as we witnessed history last night with UConn’s record setting 89 game win streak, breaking John Wooden and UCLA’s awesome run from 1971-74, you couldn’t help but think, what’s next?
We live in immediate these days. So when I saw the UConn Huskies obliterate No.22 Florida State 93-62, I didn’t think about the record or how long it will last. I thought about the women who have helped build such an awesome program; Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Jennifer Rizzotti, Sue Bird and Tina Charles, just to name a few.
Now there is Maya Moore, who had a career-high 41 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Bria Hartley, who added 21 points last night. If you sit down and think about it — amazing.
My love affair with UConn goes back to 1995, when I was hired to write UConn and NBA basketball star Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics biography. The season had finished, he was about to be drafted and he introduced me to Lobo. Immediately I understood the character that Geno Auriemma instilled in the young women who played for him. Her graciousness and class was something to behold.
It was her senior year and she was fresh off a National Championship, an undefeated 35-0 season and the 1995 Naismith and College Player of the Year award. Yet you would have never known. It was mind-blowing to see the kindred spirit that existed between her and Allen. It’s as if they knew they were the foundation of many years of championship basketball at UConn.
The 1995 team not only started a legacy, it strengthened a bond with the state, the campus and the nation. Tennessee had owned that distinction for years, but Auriemma and the Huskies created a program that almost makes you forget about Pat Summit and what she shaped at Tennessee. It’s like the girl or guy, who you just can’t get off your mind. They have done so much, that you just can’t help but love them.
Then there was UConn’s run from 2000 to 2004, when they won four of five NCAA titles. Again, you couldn’t help but say: Wow!
These young women have given a generation of young girls’ inspiration and hope that all things are possible with hard work and determination. And it’s not necessarily about sports; it’s about overcoming adversity, trials and tribulations and learning how to win. It’s about appeal. The streak and the win were so impressive that it merited a congratulatory phone call after the game to Auriemma from President Obama, who has two daughters of his own. The last time I saw president do that was when Serena Williams won her first USA Open.
Yes, it’s ultimately about winning, but it’s also about what type of person you are going to be and become once you leave the confines and comfort of college sports.
The young women, who play for Auriemma, are not going to move forward and get million dollar NBA contracts like their male counterparts. And yes, a few of them will be lucky enough play in the WNBA, which is a very short season by the way, but most of them will move on to the work world, become mothers and wives. The lights will dim, the cheering will stop and life will go back to normal.
The real legacy of the UConn team should be judged a generation from now, when we can see what the players took with them from the court and into life. Wooden’s players are, almost without exception, exceptional individuals. The stars and benchwarmers alike credit their basketball experience with helping them to become focused and successful in life.
Will the culture of success created by Auriemma play out the same way? Will the women of Uconn be able to carry their success into life?
Parents have trusted Auriemma to be a father figure to his players and continue to raise them the right way. I think it’s admirable that he can not only relate, but get the most out the young women who play and have played for him. I can understand how Coach Summitt gets it done; after all, she’s a woman. Obviously, relating to people, male or female, is a gift he certainly possesses.
“I’ve said that whether you agree or disagree with the time, the era, the competitive balance — whatever your take on it is, you can put any spin you want on it and make it better, the same or less,” Auriemma said. “It’s just a matter of how you choose to look at it. One thing that’s non-negotiable, and that is the one thing we have in common is that we settle for nothing less than the absolute best we can give you every single night, every single day. There’s very few people that do that. [UCLA] did it, and we’re doing it. Everything else, to me, is meaningless.”
I think 20 years from now, what happens to these young women will be the story worth writing about. For now, let’s just say that, like UCLA’s winning streak in men’s basketball, we are unlikely to ever see anything like this again.
