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UConn's Sarah Strong, Coach Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers after win over #UNC #UConn
Nov 16, 2024
UConn's Sarah Strong, Coach Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers after win over #UNC #UConn
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0:00
hey um coach this tied a record tonight
0:03
there's there be another chance to play
0:05
for him to own the record outright for
0:07
coaching victories and division one I
0:09
mean it's kind of a normal I you guys
0:11
you guys have dealt with this you know a
0:12
couple games now does it matter much to
0:15
you guys with what you're doing on the
0:16
quarter is there an excitement about you
0:18
know earning a record like that for your
0:20
coach well we really play to make him
0:23
happy
0:24
so to be a part of this um he's breaking
0:28
records left and right um and his
0:30
the reason why he came to Yukon to play
0:32
under him so it's it's been a dream come
0:34
true um and we're super proud of him I
0:36
know he doesn't talk about himself too
0:38
much just a little bit so to be a part
0:40
of this it's amazing and it speaks to
0:43
the longevity of what he's built here at
0:45
Yukon the the history the the players
0:48
the success the the national
0:50
championships so it means everything to
0:52
play for Yukon and play for
0:55
him Sarah how how how special was
0:58
tonight um being the home coming for you
1:00
you know live too far from here sure
1:02
there's a lot of family and friends in
1:03
the crowd um you had a great game 14
1:05
points 13 rebounds I think you had six
1:07
assists as well um talk to me about how
1:09
special a night this was for you yeah it
1:11
was great um my friends were texting me
1:14
saying there were coming so I was really
1:15
excited to see you know old school
1:16
friends and teachers and just people
1:18
haven't seen in a while but it was great
1:20
great environment and we the did Sirah
1:23
did you grow up comeing to games in the
1:25
greens Ro Coliseum ACC tournament or
1:27
anything like that I did not know no was
1:30
I mean I know North Carolina recruited
1:31
too hard it wasn't like playing against
1:33
those players that you time last year it
1:36
was good it was a lot of fun uh playing
1:38
against Blan was fun um we played you
1:40
know growing up and playing against
1:42
coach bangal was also
1:43
good P did they do anything differently
1:46
on you in the second half or was it you
1:48
trying or after the second first quarter
1:50
second quarter or was it you more trying
1:52
to get the teammates involved as well uh
1:54
they switched to a Zone um and so they
1:57
had different looks to throw at us um it
1:59
was like a one 122 or 3-2 um so it
2:03
definitely switched things up for us
2:05
offensively and how we were trying to
2:06
attack um get the ball in the middle um
2:09
and then pick them apart from there so I
2:11
think that was the main adjustment that
2:13
they made your first play a lot of just
2:15
like trippiness tonight and
2:17
aggressiveness tonight I know you you
2:18
want been a lot this season is it
2:20
feeling more natural to you now that
2:21
you're in there three games into the
2:22
year yeah um I think we're just trying
2:26
to set the tone the tone as a team of
2:28
how we come out strong to start games I
2:30
think we did a great job against Boston
2:32
um South Florida um and on a test in a
2:35
test on a road like this against a
2:37
really great team we just continue to
2:38
try to set the tone for what we're going
2:40
to play and look like the entire season
2:42
um so starting off
2:44
aggressive at the tip but also carrying
2:46
it out through the entire 40 minutes is
2:48
huge okay I saw a um a sign in the Jumbo
2:51
Tron that said tarel born and raised and
2:55
there was like a checklist at the bottom
2:56
that said paig Becker is obsessed I
2:59
think you're effect outside of the
3:02
outside of the Court even for your
3:03
opponents is something that's full
3:05
chronical can you talk about like how
3:06
that makes you feel like obviously
3:08
people think you're amazing Courtney v
3:11
came out here and said it's a pleasure
3:12
to play against you um how do you
3:14
respond to stuff like that um it's a
3:16
blessing I was just the the young kid in
3:19
the stands um with a sign at the
3:21
Minnesota links games looking up to
3:23
those players um so for me to be in
3:26
these shoes it's it's surreal and it's a
3:27
blessing and I I'm super grateful for
3:29
and I never want to take it for granted
3:32
um I know Kobe had a great quote like
3:34
every single time you play there's
3:36
somebody new watching in the stands um
3:38
so continue to try to live it out um and
3:42
have fun playing the game of basketball
3:43
and great being a great role model on
3:45
and off the court um is very important
3:47
to me um and so I never want to take it
3:49
for granted and just be grateful for
3:51
it s your three games are now what's it
3:55
with
3:56
over yeah playing with her is great
3:57
she's a great leader um she gives great
4:00
advice and just keep uh holds people
4:03
accountable
4:05
just
4:07
okay Sarah you had five blocks 11
4:10
defensive rebounds tonight just how did
4:12
did you feel like you handled the
4:14
defensive match up with their post
4:15
player especially with how experienced
4:17
they were yeah we've been focusing on
4:18
that in practice so I tried to show that
4:20
today but
4:21
yeah
4:23
okay you both kind of touched on it but
4:26
not the green birs are really random
4:27
City especially serving was it like I
4:30
know you guys everywhere crowd like this
4:33
a random
4:35
Friday an hour came
4:41
Neal it was amazing environment to be a
4:44
part of um obviously it was a lot more
4:47
North Carolina fans than Yukon but you
4:49
just love the environment love what
4:51
women's basketball is continued to do um
4:53
to have I know I wasn't at Chapel Hill
4:56
but to have still the support to come an
4:58
hour away um in just an environment like
5:00
this with two great teams playing
5:02
basketball um it was just awesome to be
5:04
a part
5:05
of PA even as you see through different
5:08
looks on the defensive end that you you
5:10
still like never seem clustered um how
5:12
do you stay patient on offense even when
5:14
you're facing all these different of
5:16
coveres uh definitely comes with
5:19
experience um but comes with like reps
5:22
in practice and confidence in that way
5:25
I'm just seeing a lot of different looks
5:26
just slowing down letting the game come
5:28
to me um it's easy to get flustered when
5:31
things change they go on a run they
5:33
switch up the defense but just trying to
5:34
remain calm and be have a calming
5:36
presence um and help us get into our
5:39
offensive flow regardless of what the
5:40
other team is doing um I think we're
5:42
more focused on what we look like and
5:43
what we can do rather than what the
5:45
opponent is doing P like you said you're
5:47
the most experienced player on this team
5:49
came back with the hopes of winning the
5:51
title is it hard kind of continuing to
5:53
carry that pressure into all the
5:56
outside going game by gameful
6:00
no I think just leaning on my teammates
6:02
um leaning on the coaching staff who
6:03
have been in this position before um and
6:05
you're only as good as the day you just
6:07
had so just trying to win the day
6:09
conquer the day whether it be in the
6:10
weight room at practice during a game um
6:12
just continue to try to get better um
6:15
myself included just trying to hold
6:18
myself accountable and then be able to
6:20
trickle that down to my teammates um but
6:22
not getting too far focused on the
6:23
future but staying focused on the
6:25
process and how we're going to get there
6:26
I think is kept me grounded what are
6:28
some of the ways to think yourself off
6:30
the court keep your
6:32
mental um actually talking to a sports
6:35
psychologist um I think that's done a
6:37
lot from my mental approach to
6:38
basketball and just continue to grow my
6:41
mind um and living in the moment I think
6:44
is the biggest thing not the past can't
6:46
do anything for you the future isn't
6:47
here yet so just staying in the moment
6:49
and trying to capture every moment and
6:51
enjoy it and be the best in that moment
6:53
I think it's been huge
6:56
thanks thank you
7:00
Sarah you good you have any
7:05
more thank you coach what's up you
7:09
congratulations for years you probably
7:13
don't remember the year but you coached
7:14
me in 1981 I know it's 1981 I know I
7:19
know I remember I know you have hi there
7:22
I know you have a lot of other interests
7:24
besides basketball but did you ever
7:26
think it would go this long no no no I
7:31
never uh I never intended it for it to
7:34
go
7:36
um it
7:39
was it was
7:42
um um a favor that I did for somebody
7:46
and that turned into like a a
7:49
hobby something to do past the
7:52
time
7:54
that then it just
7:57
became all this you know so it wasn't
8:01
and I had never envisioned it lasting
8:04
this long I I don't think anybody goes
8:07
into I don't think anybody goes into
8:10
anything thinking that they're going to
8:13
spend 40 Years of their life at one
8:16
place doing the exact same thing so you
8:19
know it's just the best way I can
8:21
describe it you know it just just caught
8:23
up to me you know it
8:25
just it just it just happened it just
8:28
happened
8:30
the crazy thing is I'm sitting here in
8:34
Greensboro and
8:37
uh you know my four years of UVA and
8:40
coming down here all the time
8:42
and getting a chance to see all those
8:44
great teams that played in the ACC
8:47
between 81 and
8:49
85 um you know some of the best players
8:51
ever to
8:53
play um you know men's and women's
8:56
basketball in in a lot of ways
9:00
and
9:02
um when when someone
9:06
um when when someone told me
9:09
about leaving Philadelphia and coming
9:13
down to ACC
9:15
world and I I always thought that the
9:18
only the only people that knew how to
9:20
play basketball or coach basketball were
9:23
Phil alphia big five uh coaches and
9:26
players and Philadelphia Catholic league
9:28
and public
9:30
coaches and
9:31
players and it was a real eye opener for
9:34
me to come down and see it
9:37
all uh firsthand with my own eyes the
9:43
incredible
9:45
um uh the the coaching that existed down
9:50
here during that time probably inspired
9:53
me
9:55
more I learned more probably during
9:58
those four years than than I have in any
10:01
other time in my life
10:03
and it's funny that I'm sitting behind
10:06
this mic with the you know uh UNCC logo
10:10
on it um cuz there there was so much
10:15
that um that you could learn just by
10:19
watching the way um Co Smith ran his
10:23
program and for how long and
10:27
how they were the same every year the
10:29
players
10:30
changed but everything else stayed the
10:34
same you know they did it the same way
10:36
for you know a long long time and um I
10:41
always admired that but I never thought
10:43
I'd
10:43
be um you know I'd be doing it um that
10:50
long but I always admired it from afar
10:52
for
10:53
sure you know Courtney said you deserve
10:56
your flowers for the career you've had
10:58
already but you know tonight you're
11:00
tying a division one record you have a
11:02
chance to break it but you're also it's
11:04
November and you're worried about
11:05
building a team I guess have you kind of
11:07
balance that part of it's kind of a cool
11:09
moment but you know there's a long way
11:11
to go in this
11:12
season yeah I I don't I don't really put
11:16
too much into the
11:19
um uh the individual part of it
11:23
because there's been so
11:26
many um there there's been so many
11:30
things that have happened over the the
11:32
the 40
11:33
years uh like I told the
11:36
team I don't know I've coached about 160
11:39
players or something like that I don't
11:40
know maybe more uh but these particular
11:42
players they um they're not really here
11:46
for the for the record they're not
11:48
really here for you know hey I was part
11:51
of
11:53
winning they they didn't win all these
11:54
games they just want a small piece of it
11:57
they came here for their own
11:59
uh for their own goals for their own
12:01
aspirations for what they want so I've
12:04
tried to keep the the focus on how do I
12:06
make them you know
12:09
better uh able to go get what they want
12:13
and if in the meantime you know this
12:14
stuff happens that's great but um you
12:18
know ice Brady needed to play a game
12:20
like this to prove to herself that she
12:22
can be you know super impactful in a
12:25
game like
12:26
this um you know Sarah need to
12:29
experience this um and what it feels
12:33
like in a big game
12:35
um because we're going to need it down
12:38
the road so I'm more of you know how do
12:42
I how do I put them in position so that
12:45
they can feel like like I feel like i'
12:48
I've been very fortunate to get a lot of
12:49
things come my way and they came hoping
12:52
to get some of those things so I just
12:54
keep the focus on that all the time
12:56
and you know whatever happens on my
13:00
happens
13:04
um yeah that's about it coach um Chris
13:07
Dy has been with you for 40 years um
13:11
since we want to keep the attention off
13:13
you even though you TI a record can you
13:14
talk about what she means to you um she
13:16
I think we talked about it she's 17 and0
13:19
uh taking over for you is that more
13:20
impressive than your 1216
13:23
ones if you ask her yes um she will tell
13:27
you that uh
13:31
um yeah that she's she's undefeated and
13:34
that her percentage is way higher than
13:35
mine
13:37
um when you know when we started
13:40
coaching
13:42
together um we didn't
13:45
have anyone else that we could rely on
13:51
to help us in the moment build what we
13:56
were trying to build and and we didn't
13:57
even know what we were trying to build
13:58
we were just trying to not finish last
14:01
all right we were trying not to finish
14:02
last in a Big East you know we just
14:05
wanted to finish somewhere between seven
14:07
and five like if we could do that we
14:10
thought that would be a huge
14:12
win
14:15
and we we relied on each other for for
14:18
everything you know
14:20
uh we were the ticket office we were the
14:23
recruiting coordinators we were the uh
14:27
media people we were the recruiting
14:29
people we were the coaching people
14:33
um anything that had to be done we had
14:36
to do it
14:38
so if
14:41
if if you think about
14:43
it um in building an
14:47
organization that's a lot of
14:50
responsibility and she was very very
14:54
very good in handling all that and still
14:56
is today um
15:00
and I don't know that you can build
15:01
something like this without somebody
15:03
like her it just would not have been
15:05
possible it may have taken 10 other
15:08
people that would have done you know a
15:10
bunch of those things
15:12
but um I know if if if it was if if she
15:17
wasn't there and was a part of it wasn't
15:18
a part of
15:20
it I I don't know that it would have
15:22
lasted this
15:23
long no it wouldn't not I can pretty
15:27
much guarantee that
15:29
you said it's important to have this in
15:31
front of the crowd you had opponent why
15:34
is it so important to have this early in
15:35
the
15:36
season I mean it's they're going to come
15:38
regardless um
15:41
so that's just the way to schedule fell
15:44
um you know she's a young kid um as you
15:48
can tell you know she uh her her game is
15:52
much more mature than we much older than
15:54
she is you
15:56
know um so she
16:00
needed to feel what it feels like to
16:04
have a lot of pressure on you because a
16:06
lot of freshman when they go to college
16:07
they don't they don't expect that right
16:09
they just go oh yeah you know I'm going
16:10
to go to Yukon I'll play my role and
16:13
just fit in and and then as I get older
16:15
I'll do more and then all of a sudden
16:17
you're thrown into a situation where you
16:18
have to do more like right now and I'm
16:21
glad that she shot at lousy I'm glad she
16:23
didn't
16:25
play like a senior or you know
16:29
uh the national player of the year I'm
16:30
glad she didn't do that because uh that
16:33
would have been impossible to live up to
16:36
so there's so many things that she's
16:38
going to look at this film and and
16:40
realize you know there's so much more
16:43
that I can do um so I think it was the
16:47
perfect perfect learning experience for
16:49
her enough success and enough
16:52
to to remind
16:54
her just came in here and described as
16:57
generational which get around a lot but
17:00
for her I mean what what makes that
17:02
dream true for you when you hear people
17:04
describe her as as a generation who's
17:05
that PA
17:09
Paige uh yeah well I've been around a
17:12
lot of
17:13
generations so I've heard of I've had a
17:16
lot of generational players that people
17:18
described as generational and I guess
17:21
they were I guess it's it's true um you
17:25
know
17:27
our our uh
17:31
you know our our 40 years have have
17:34
included uh quite a number of players
17:37
that were labeled
17:39
generational but I don't know that you
17:42
accomplish all this without those people
17:44
so what makes them that the ability to
17:48
perform um at an incredibly high
17:52
level and an even higher level than you
17:54
expect and you already expect the most
17:59
and yet she gives you even more than
18:00
that and I think that's probably the
18:03
best description I can give you is that
18:05
she never fails to live up to your
18:08
expectations of her and then even goes
18:11
above that
18:16
um some people just are born
18:20
with uh that gift you know and she has
18:25
that gift some people squander those
18:27
gifts
18:29
and she every day works really really
18:32
hard to polish those gifts those gifts
18:36
and
18:37
um you
18:38
know it's taken her here and she's got a
18:41
long way to go still there's a lot that
18:43
she's not not accomplished
18:46
yet but
18:49
um I I really do believe that unless you
18:51
foul her every
18:52
time that that's the only way that
18:54
you're going to stop her from doing what
18:56
she wants to do that's it I I mean I
18:59
watch her in practice I watch her play
19:00
against you know better players than
19:03
she'll ever play against
19:05
probably and I I think she's the most
19:08
difficult player to guard in in
19:11
America
19:13
and unfortunately there may be nights
19:16
like tonight when she's going to have to
19:18
be you know we we started we started
19:21
running every play for her there for a
19:23
while you know in the third quarter I
19:26
think it was or early fourth quarter
19:31
J you mentioned generational players one
19:33
of your former players was I think
19:34
announced tonight for the women
19:36
Basketball Hall of Fame sub just kind of
19:38
your thoughts of see her get that that
19:40
honor
19:42
yeah the the the the interesting thing
19:45
though is when Sue was coming out of
19:46
high school nobody called her a
19:47
generational player they just said wow
19:50
this kid's a really good player they
19:52
didn't have she didn't have the hype
19:53
like Diana did Maya did Stewie Did Paige
19:58
did Tina Charles did she she didn't have
20:00
any of that hype everybody just said
20:02
she's a really solid really good point
20:05
guard um because she always played for
20:09
other you know for her teammates so she
20:11
was never out there trying to you know
20:14
prove that I'm the best player in the
20:15
country
20:18
yet she played with with nothing but
20:20
Superstars at Yukon and no one else
20:23
could have been able to handle that and
20:25
keep it all together the way she did I
20:27
mean she played alongside D for two
20:30
years nobody deserves that and and yet
20:35
she managed to be the the brains behind
20:39
the you know the curtain and just made
20:41
sure that everything went exactly the
20:43
way it was supposed to go and then she
20:45
did that in the WNBA she did that in the
20:48
Olympics and did it better than
20:51
anybody's everever done it
20:56
so there's
20:59
there's not been there's not been a
21:01
point guard play at the game of women's
21:04
basketball that's played it better or
21:06
longer or have more
21:08
success coach Courtney talked about your
21:12
legacy in the Championships and that you
21:13
should be proud that now it's not
21:16
necessarily just a two- team Race um and
21:20
that's one way that she encapsulated
21:22
your legacy along with CD I mean is that
21:24
how you see it you'll have a chance to
21:27
go back to to Yukon and and celebrate
21:29
properly 40 years um you know how what
21:32
what are the things that stand out to
21:33
you and is that a part of it I I I think
21:36
Courtney maybe was also referring to
21:39
back in the
21:41
day uh when it was all about Yukon
21:44
Tennessee Yukon Tennessee Yukon
21:46
Tennessee to the point where an awful
21:49
lot of people around the
21:50
country
21:53
um they didn't like either of us and
21:56
they they would hope anybody could win a
21:57
championship except UK Tennessee and
21:59
they would have been happy if their
22:00
worst enemy won a national championship
22:03
as long as it was in Yukon or Tennessee
22:05
but I think what happened was over the
22:07
years I think
22:09
we we
22:12
created an
22:14
environment
22:16
where um athletic
22:19
directors University
22:22
presidents um were able to look at what
22:25
we did and what we were
22:27
doing and asked their coaches and their
22:30
Administration like why can't we do that
22:32
and in the beginning it was was cuz we
22:34
don't want
22:35
to you know they want to do it they did
22:37
it because they want to we don't want to
22:41
and that's the only reason why it didn't
22:42
happen they didn't want to cuz they
22:44
certainly have way more resources than
22:46
we did so I think over a period of
22:50
time we made it so they they had to do
22:54
it because it just meant too much to to
22:57
everybody and and the players demanded
22:59
it players coming out of high school
23:01
demanded it you know college kids
23:04
playing in college demanded it there was
23:07
a
23:08
a a pay to the WNBA so that demanded it
23:12
and look at today it's not about Yukon
23:16
and Tennessee it's about all these teams
23:19
that have won national championships
23:21
since the last time Yukon Tennessee won
23:23
a national
23:25
championship that never happened before
23:28
that that many different teams would win
23:33
so I think that's uh that's something
23:36
that I know CD and I are are
23:39
exceptionally proud of that we had a
23:41
hand in that
23:43
um and wherever we went we have we tried
23:46
to help grow the game you know we never
23:49
turned down an opportunity to go play
23:51
anybody anywhere you know and you see
23:55
the results of that today uh we played
23:59
here in the NCA tournament in
24:02
2008 and um we beat Ruckers to go to the
24:06
final four there weren't 10,000 people
24:08
in the stands I don't think so here's
24:12
just a regular season game on a
24:14
friday9 and you have this
24:18
so uh A lot's changed and we're proud of
24:22
our part of
24:24
it anything else coach coach uh courney
24:28
talked about when she was a graduate the
24:30
dart comeing to interview you for her
24:33
pieces about coaching as a vocation that
24:36
was I don't know 15 20 years ago now but
24:39
she said what she learned from you was
24:40
that you know authenticity is a
24:43
superpower um do you remember a young
24:45
Courtney bankart coming to talk to you
24:48
and um do you think about her her
24:51
takeway from that
24:53
conversation
24:55
um well her being in a Dartmouth it took
24:59
me a while to understand some of the
25:00
words she was using uh I'm an Italian
25:04
kid from nstown so uh it you know there
25:07
was a failure to communicate there for a
25:09
little bit uh but kids like Courtney and
25:14
she certainly was this um they come with
25:18
such big eyes and Big Dreams and big
25:20
ideas and they're just looking to get
25:23
pointed in the right direction you know
25:26
um and it's great when people have that
25:28
kind of passion for for what they do and
25:31
identify this is what I want to do um
25:35
and I did tell her that too many times
25:38
people try to be like somebody that's
25:40
really
25:40
successful and it doesn't work because
25:43
you can't you can't keep up that facade
25:46
forever you know it's it's going to melt
25:48
and people are going to see through you
25:50
um and and I do believe that uh she's
25:55
done that to a great extent um
25:58
and and to be to be authentic I think is
26:02
um is the number one quality that you
26:06
have to have you know being and and I
26:10
and I tried to explain that to all the
26:11
young people that come up to school and
26:13
and talk about they're expecting
26:15
sometimes they expect to find this magic
26:17
formula you know like oh if I just run
26:19
these drills you know it'll be like that
26:20
or if I run you know if I run these
26:22
plays it'll be really you know um and in
26:26
reality it's this is what I believe this
26:29
is how I I'm going to do it this is who
26:32
I am and I'm going to do it my way and
26:35
I'm going to take a little bit from this
26:37
and a little bit from coach you know or
26:40
and a little bit from coach rander or a
26:42
little bit from you know Dawn stale or
26:44
whoever is coaching at that time and
26:46
just go and then meld it into who you
26:50
are I think too many people want I want
26:52
to try to be like him or I want to be
26:54
like her and then they lose themselves
26:57
she's been able to stay both at
26:59
Princeton and you know and here in
27:02
Carolina um and I you know I admire
27:05
coaches that that can do that they're
27:07
not fake you know there's there's a
27:09
realness about them she's you know she's
27:12
a good kid and she's done a great job
27:15
and and she'll continue to do well
27:18
here thanks coach thank you
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