The Dynasty: UConn Huskies (2026) s01e02 Episode Script
Episode 2
1
[Auriemma] Listen,
trust me when I say,
winning…
- winning is like a drug.
- [crowd cheering]
[commentator 1] UConn has won
the national championship.
[Auriemma] If you've never
experienced it before,
you are on a high
like you've never been before.
[crowd cheering]
And you desperately want another one.
After we won the first championship,
we felt like we could go back
and do it again.
[crowd cheering]
But Tennessee had this aura about them.
[commentator 2] The Lady Vols have won it.
They'll play the title game.
[Auriemma] They intimidated people.
Scared people.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 3] And that's it.
The Lady Volunteers
have won their third straight
national championship.
[Auriemma] Yeah, they won three in a row.
So, you know, you're always reminded,
you're a one-and-done, get-lucky,
pie-in-the-sky guy that happened
to win a national championship.
Everything right now
is pretty good for Pat Summitt.
And Pat keeps on winning too.
Well, I like winning a lot too.
Pat Summitt was
the face of women's basketball.
She was also the heartbeat
of women's basketball.
She was everybody's hero.
But Geno realized very early on,
he was never gonna be Pat Summitt.
He was never gonna be revered
the same way.
And I think it drove Geno crazy.
- ["Get Out Of My Life Woman" playing]
- [crowd cheering]
Lady Vols,
it's great to have you back again.
You all are making
a regular thing of winning.
[MacMullan] Geno was jealous
of what Pat and Tennessee had.
[reporter] A remarkable woman
has reached a milestone.
Summitt is larger
than just women's basketball or sports.
She's known for integrity, compassion.
[MacMullan] But Geno,
he had no problem adopting this persona
of being the bad guy.
I'd rather them hate me
'cause we win a lot
than like me
'cause they kick our butt all the time.
Auriemma also stoked up
the fires on Rocky Top
by referring to Tennessee
as "The Evil Empire."
I don't know, I wonder if he just sits
around and thinks about all those things.
[music continues]
[Auriemma] Pat was so nice on the outside.
Maybe I came across a little more
as brash and in-your-face.
[commentator 2 speaking indistinctly]
But that's exactly how
Pat was at practice.
What did I just get on her butt about?
[Auriemma] That's exactly who Pat was.
What happens when I lose?
Ooh, you don't wanna be around me.
Three seconds! Somebody count!
So, it became a little bit…
familiarity breeds contempt, you know?
And that's, I think,
when it started to go sideways.
[commentator 4] It is
women's basketball's most intense rivalry.
[commentator 5]
Once again, Pat Summitt goes
against her nemesis, Geno Auriemma.
[commentator 6]
He raised a firestorm in Tennessee.
[commentator 7]
The building is ready to explode.
[music ends]
[Summitt] You ought to
have a field day tomorrow.
Now let's get an attitude in the paint.
Let's go.
[Williams] Back then,
everybody wanted to go to Tennessee.
Middle. Middle east!
When you got the Tennessee offer,
you had made it to heaven.
Coming into my junior year of high school,
Coach Summitt
walked into my house and said,
"If you come here,
I guarantee you'll win
one national championship in four years."
That's what Coach Summitt told me.
And that ain't what I wanted to hear.
[crowd cheering]
I didn't wanna join the dynasty.
I wanted to beat 'em.
And at that point,
nobody could put together a crew
that could take out the dark side.
But Coach was crazy enough to get it done.
[commentator 1] For UConn fans,
next season can't start soon enough.
Tamika Williams is the number-one-rated
schoolgirl player in the country.
[person] Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Sue Bird.
UConn has the best recruiting class
in all of the land.
People are gonna talk
about this Tennessee matchup.
"Can Tennessee be beaten?"
I think they have some hope.
The expectations are, you know,
good for us.
Um, I think it'll just make us
work harder.
We're doing an interview, and one of the
reporters asked something about Tennessee.
They're like,
"Oh, are you gonna beat 'em?"
Or whatever the question was.
But I was like, "Yeah!"
Like, "Of course, we're gonna beat 'em."
Let's get ready for roundball!
[commentator 2] CBS Sports coverage
of women's NCAA basketball
brings you to Storrs, Connecticut.
UConn against Tennessee.
And the opening tip is won to Tennessee.
Connecticut will be tested today
by that ever-pressing style
of the Lady Volunteers.
And Pat Summitt orchestrates
all of that pressure.
[Williams] Coming into that game,
we thought we were ready.
[commentator 2]
Swin Cash taking the alley-oop.
At that point in the season,
we had already beaten top-ten programs.
We're ready.
[crowd chanting]
[commentator 2] Randall,
uses the glass to put it down.
[Randall] Against UConn,
stepping on the floor
was like going to war.
[commentator 2] Semeka Randall.
Boy, is she inspired today.
When we got on that court,
it was like being in the back alley.
"Coach, I'ma swing. I'ma swing for you.
I'ma find a way to connect."
[commentator 2] Randall, going for the
tie ball between Shea and Abrosimova.
A little extracurricular activity
as they hit the deck
and Svetlana is kicked
in the back of her head.
[Bird] It was a really,
really physical game.
It was definitely a test for us.
We're kind of just like,
"Well, let's see what we got."
[commentator 2] Oh, Ace Clement
with a pickpocket and the deuce.
A turnover by UConn.
[Auriemma] This was supposed to be
the greatest recruiting class
in the history of college basketball.
And we can't run a play.
[commentator 2]
And a poor pass that time. Bad judgment.
[Auriemma] That doesn't work.
You do what I tell you to do,
and it works.
Got it?
And I'm like, "I-I cannot watch this.
This goes against everything
I believe in as a coach."
They step on each other's toes
all the time.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 2] It's a foul.
Tennessee wins 92-81.
A learning process for this UConn team.
[Bird] We got, like, little-sistered.
Yeah, they were like, "Okay,
you're still the little sister. Nice try.
Maybe next year."
[Williams] Our first loss
was against Tennessee.
And it was a telling loss because
we weren't as good as we thought we were.
[chattering]
And losing, it exposes everything.
[chattering]
[Bird] When we came into UConn,
we were definitely
the new kids on the block.
You know, usually at UConn,
traditionally, the upperclassmen,
they're gonna start over the younger
player just because they're older.
[chattering]
And now our class came in, there was
direct competition with upperclassmen.
And they were just pissed.
[Ralph] For those of us on the team
from the year before,
we get these five freshmen on campus.
They were cocky,
and there was a lot of confrontation.
There was… There was a lot of tension.
[Cash] We felt very confident.
Probably too confident for a lot
of people. Which was okay with us.
You know, we're singing Biggie
to DMX to like-like…
We were just different in that time.
[Bird] I remember this one time
where I get on the bus.
- [person] Birdie?
- Hi.
And I had the bus driver put on Hot 97.
You know, rap music.
And there were some other people
that didn't want rap music,
and I got snatched. I got snatched up.
"Why are we always playing your music?"
Grabbed at the… at the throat.
[Ralph] You know, it wasn't a lot of fun.
Honestly, I think
we could have all done better.
You know, like, you let little stuff
get in the way. Pettiness.
- [person 2 chuckles] Look at her face.
- [person 3] So ugly.
[Ralph] You have 12, 13 girls…
[person 3] She just is never pretty.
…who've all came here to play.
And I hate to throw ego at you,
but it's ego.
How do you deal with it
when you look at a bench like that,
and you're not getting the playing time?
Well, if anyone is gonna be able
to juggle it, it's gonna be Geno.
[chattering]
How many times do I have to say it?
See, that's my… [sighs]
[Auriemma] Every day of practice,
I would go home, my head would hurt.
[Bird] Looking back now,
he was really freaking out.
- [whistle blows]
- Here we go.
[Bird] This one particular player,
I think she, like,
wasn't catching the ball or something,
and he had a ball rack right next to him,
he just took every ball on the rack
and just threw them at her feet.
Like, "Can you not catch?
Can you not catch?"
Run, Kelly! Run, Kelly!
You gotta guard her, Paige!
You're not guarding her yet!
When he can't figure out,
like, what the team needs,
I think that's when he gets
most frustrated and, ultimately, he did.
He had, like, a proper mental breakdown.
He, like, threw his hands in the air,
went under the bleachers.
So now we're in Gampel Pavilion.
It's dead quiet.
This man is under the bleachers,
kind of like in what I imagine
is some form of a fetal position,
and we just all stood there waiting.
And it was like, "Whoa, he just lost it."
[dramatic music playing]
I was so frustrated. [chuckles]
I left the court and just sat there
like this and put my head down,
and I just couldn't talk to anybody.
I-I said, "I can't do this, man.
[stammers] I… I'm not gonna make it."
[Goldberg] Here's something about Geno
Auriemma that people don't understand.
No one has impostor syndrome
worse than Geno Auriemma.
To this day, he wakes up in the morning
and thinks, "This is the day
they're gonna fire me
because I'm not doing a good job."
[Auriemma] I didn't wanna fail.
That's the thing I coached the most.
To eliminate fear of failure
in my players.
Whereas in the back of my mind,
I'm like "Oh, Jesus, man.
[stammers] This is gonna go wrong, this is
gonna go wrong, this is gonna go wrong,
this is gonna go wrong,
and we're gonna lose."
But I'm Italian and I'm Catholic,
so I gotta think like that.
I gotta be pessimistic,
negative and hate life.
I gotta do that. It's in my DNA.
[bells tolling]
I was born in this little village
in Italy. Montella.
Me, I was only seven when I came over.
We settled in Philadelphia.
You know, my mother can't read or write.
My father went… barely went to school.
[stammers] They worked.
But they dumped me in Catholic school,
and every kid's looking at you
because, you know…
[stammers] …you don't speak any English.
I didn't speak English.
I wore funny clothes.
I mean, they had peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches,
and I had sausage and peppers.
But I was desperately wanting
to be like an American kid.
As I got older,
I always felt like,
you know, I'm not that guy.
I'm, like, you know, you get reminded.
But there was this part of me where if…
If I can be really, really, really good
and be better than you,
then I can… I can prove that I belong
in your… in your group, so to speak.
I mean,
it's just a little kid's mentality.
And, unfortunately, it stayed with me
for 40 years into coaching,
that I have to prove that I'm better
than anybody else at doing what I do.
- But I need to be better than you.
- [buzzer sounds]
[commentator 1]
The Eagles have defeated UConn.
The biggest win in the history
of the Boston College
women's basketball program.
[commentator 2] They lose another one.
[no audible dialogue]
[commentator 3] There has never, all year
long, been a clearly defined leader
on this basketball team.
[commentator 4] Big win to the Cyclones.
They have knocked off the top seeds.
[reporter] UConn Huskies'
NCAA tournament ride is over.
The Huskies lost to Iowa State
today in the Sweet 16.
- [interviewer] How do you explain it?
- [Auriemma] I don't.
[sighs] It's hard. It's hard.
[Auriemma] It's not complicated.
We were too young, too immature,
and we weren't tight enough
to go any further.
You know, after pulling teeth and
all the fighting that we've been doing,
we knew we needed to change.
And so we went to Europe in August.
And I told them, "From now on,
hopefully you're here for each other."
[photographers] One, two, three.
This was an opportunity
for us to drop the hatchet
about who's upperclassmen,
who's coming in as freshmen,
get that sisterhood and that tightness
that we needed.
To a great year.
[Ralph] It wasn't just a trip overseas
where we're going to the Eiffel Tower.
It forced us to take a look in the mirror.
Like, we can control the things
that got in the way.
Come.
I'm gonna stab her.
She deserve it.
There was this one night
where we wanted to go out,
and so we're able to, like, figure out
where the bar was and we find our way out.
I think we were,
like, a drink and a shot in,
and then somebody, I don't even
remember who, comes in, and is like,
"Coach Auriemma wants you
to come back to the hotel immediately."
And we're just like, "Fuck."
But, honestly, like, we were pissed.
We were just about to get going.
And, in a weird way, I think he united us.
It has to be us against him. It has to be.
You won't survive
if you don't figure that out.
[bells tolling]
[Auriemma] We were in Rome,
and we found an outdoor basketball court.
[chattering]
Everybody move.
[Auriemma] And it had to be
a hundred degrees out.
Kept them out there
for two straight hours.
What you're learning
is how hard it is to win.
Me, I'm in a constant state
of pissed-off that it isn't an A.
And then once you get all A's,
I'm pissed they're not all A pluses.
And if I'm not coaching guys
that are the same way,
we're never gonna be happy together.
We were intent
on tightening the screws a little bit.
Stand there and wait for your screen.
Do not move until the screen is set.
[Auriemma] No more nonsense.
Come on! Come on! Come on! Talk!
[Auriemma]
They hated every minute of it. I'm sure.
I know I'm not supposed to get frustrated,
but this is fucking frustrating.
I spent five minutes walking over
to the spot where I want the screen set.
Were you looking at me then? Probably not.
Probably weren't looking at me.
[chattering]
[Auriemma] I had a new offense
planned to the second.
We would make a pass,
and we'd make a certain cut,
and there was always an opportunity
every time we passed it
for somebody to make a cut
and get a layup.
We're gonna get this right,
and we're gonna do it right,
and I don't give a shit
what you guys think.
This is how it's gonna get done.
- [chattering]
- Come on, Sue. Help them out.
[Bird] Coach Auriemma, God,
he was like a father figure.
You know, you really wanted
his approval in a lot of ways.
Go to this side.
He was, like, holding the key
to all that you wanted to achieve.
[Auriemma]
Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up!
I made life so miserable
for them every day. Every day.
I was relentless.
But come game day, man.
Whoo!
[commentator 1]
Here's Shea Ralph on the steal.
[Ralph] There was
just this urgency we felt.
[player screaming]
We are going to show it
right from warm-ups
that this is something different.
You're gonna feel the heat from me.
[commentator 1] The defense
of the Huskies are swarming,
and they've got their bodies
flying all over the floor.
[commentator 2]
Well, look at the tenacity.
We were coming out the gates,
like, just terrorizing everybody.
[commentator 1]
Connecticut won't take off the pressure.
[commentator 3]
This is a machine out there.
They bought into it,
and it worked perfectly.
We only lost one game that year.
And it was at home against Tennessee.
We're number one!
We're number one! We're number one!
[Goldberg] UConn and Tennessee,
they were both at a peak.
Everybody is looking
to the end of the year.
The national championship game
between UConn and Tennessee.
[cheering]
And it's gonna happen
in Geno Auriemma's hometown?
Well, that just makes it even better.
[reporter] In Philly,
it's all about cheesesteaks.
You're either a Geno's fan or a Pat's fan,
but in some strange cosmic way,
you wonder if this has any bearing
on a UConn-Tennessee final.
In Philadelphia, people don't know
Pat Summitt from nobody, man.
They know Pat's steaks.
[DeMoss] Geno was doing
an interview about cheesesteak.
Obviously Geno's, and one
is Pat's across the street in Philly.
And he made a comparison.
Geno's was new and upcoming.
Pat's was old and dilapidated.
I mean, at that point, we'd won six,
and he'd won one.
So I'm not sure where he got
Pat was old and dilapidated.
But she said,
"Well, if I said things like that,
my daddy would take me out
and whip me behind the shed."
[broadcaster] Every time these
two teams meet, one of the hot topics
is the relationship
between Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt.
[Jenkins] When I first came around,
they had a good relationship.
I mean, one of the first questions
I ever asked Pat,
I said, "So do you get along
with that UConn coach?"
And she said, "You know, I do."
She said, "I like him."
But in Philly, that was the first time
that I think he did get under her skin.
And I was a little surprised by that.
I was like, "That's just Geno being a,
you know, horse's ass."
[MacMullan] In women's basketball,
I think a lot of people thought,
"Why are you picking on Pat Summitt?"
Some people are just off-limits, right?
But that's just Geno, man.
He likes the sparring,
and people ate it up.
UConn and Tennessee was literally
rocket fuel to propel the women's game.
It becomes must-see TV.
George Washington was
the father of our country.
- Yeah.
- [Taurasi] Not really.
[speaks indistinctly]
I am the greatest coach of all time.
[people chuckling]
[Auriemma] Lots of people are good.
- He had too much wine.
- [person chuckling]
[Auriemma] Lots of people are great.
But that night in Philly,
I wanted to make sure that everybody
knew we're the best in the country.
[player] This is it!
- [people cheering]
- [Auriemma] I mean, everyone,
they're all people I grew up with.
They're all kids I grew up with.
So being surrounded
by all that and family…
Yeah.
The desire to win.
I want that so bad.
I'll-I'll do anything to get it.
We're going to throw the first punch
just like we've been doing.
Hit 'em with the first shot.
They're going to hit us back.
And we're going to hit 'em again.
It's gonna be war, baby.
[announcer]
Introducing the Tennessee Lady Vols.
[cheering]
Connecticut Huskies.
[cheering]
For Geno,
this was one that he really wanted.
You know, local boy comes home
and is successful.
And I remember his mom,
as we're walking out,
throwing the holy water on us.
[chuckling] Like, we're getting soaked.
But there she is giving us the holy water
to make sure that we had
an extra blessing to win.
[cheering]
[Bird] That year, Coach Auriemma,
he basically was just like,
"Forget Tennessee,
forget Pat Summitt and the championships."
[no audible dialogue]
We took all of that away.
And it was just like, us versus them.
"You guys would kick their fucking ass."
[commentator 1]
Bird goes left, down the lane,
the pull up bank is around and in,
and Sue Bird puts UConn in front.
Tennessee was not prepared
for what was about to happen to them.
Right corner, Abrosimova for three…
Good!
[Goldberg] UConn was ready,
and Geno knew they were ready.
[commentator 2]
Little backdoor cut, Shea Ralph.
It's 17-6.
UConn on a tremendous run
at the start of the ball game.
[Jenkins] After all those years
trying to catch Pat, Geno was brilliant.
You have to understand,
his kids don't fold under pressure.
They knock down shots under pressure.
That's a skill too, teaching that.
You don't just recruit that.
[commentator 1] Ahead Abrosimova,
two-on-one, Ralph left, gives it to her,
back to Abrosimova who lays it up and in.
[commentator 2] Tennessee
looking a little unnerved right now.
Randall. Blocked again by Schumacher.
[Randall] We had that
"deer in a headlight," that glaze,
like, "What… What the hell
is happening right now?"
[commentator 1]
It's a 25-point Husky lead.
And we didn't just, like, lose it.
We got our asses kicked.
[commentator 2] And it would take,
uh, something of a miracle
to get Tennessee back in this game.
That day in Philly,
close your eyes and look back
at that afternoon in Rome.
[players chattering]
That's exactly what we did that game.
[commentator 1] Textbook backdoor.
And it was poetic. It really was.
[buzzer sounds]
[commentator 1]
What began in France in August
ends in Geno Auriemma's hometown
in Philadelphia,
with a national championship.
We just came out with a vengeance.
We came out like we wanted something,
and we got it, and I think we deserve it.
[all] Who let the dogs out?
Who? Who? ♪
I said, who let the dogs out? ♪
[crowd cheering]
[reporter 1] Geno, you won it in Philly.
Anything special about that?
[Auriemma] It's hard for me to
put into words, you know, with, uh…
My family and everybody, it's, uh…
It's just really special. It really is.
[Auriemma] Once we won that championship…
[kisses] …we got that hit again.
Now you're like… [whistles]
You're flying, right?
That one in Philly,
that separates you automatically from
99.9% of the people that are coaching.
You know? Almost everyone.
Almost.
[Goldberg] So now,
they've won this championship.
They've beaten Tennessee
not once but twice.
But for UConn, it wasn't enough.
[crowd chanting] Geno! Geno!
I'm telling you right now, we are gonna
be back here next year with a third one.
- I promise you that. Thank you very much.
- [cheering]
[Goldberg] Pat Summitt,
she still had six championships.
So, really, nothing had changed.
This was still Tennessee's world,
and we were all living in it.
[reporter 2] Now, there may have
been one particular face in the crowd
just a little bit more excited
than the rest to see the Huskies today.
That's 'cause she'll be
a Husky herself next year.
Diana Taurasi, a guard from California.
She was psyched just to be
in the same room with the team.
It's definitely cool 'cause I was
watching them on TV, you know,
and I think I'm in the game,
but I'm in my living room.
So, it's exciting.
[Taurasi] With Coach,
there was that instant connection.
My parents came from Italy
and Argentina to Los Angeles in the '70s.
Didn't speak a lot of English.
You know, when he saw that in me,
I think it instantly reminded him
of his childhood.
[Auriemma] Our backgrounds were identical.
You know,
we're a product of immigrants, you know?
And it wasn't just, you know,
"I'm your coach, you're my player."
There was always, "I understand.
I understand where you come from.
I understand why you think like this,"
or "I understand why you act like this."
[Taurasi] I think when he saw me play,
it was like his upbringing,
like him on the playground,
trying to prove himself again.
I wanted to be that person.
That person
that is willing to win at all costs.
I didn't come to UConn
to play for Miss Smiley.
I mean, I came to play for Coach Auriemma.
- Get around!
- Hands up, Di. Knock the pass down, Di.
[Taurasi] And when I got there,
they had won two championships.
They were on the map.
He didn't wanna be on the map.
He wanted to create a new map.
It almost made him more mad
that he had won twice.
There was this, like,
inner fuel that he had
that he was always just pissed.
You know, we were the defending champs.
But women's basketball was
all about Pat Summitt and Tennessee.
She was the All-American coach.
Certainly not a immigrant Italian
from Philly.
Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top ♪
Down in the Tennessee hills… ♪
[Taurasi] That was the dynasty
in women's basketball.
I understood that when I walked
through that building.
There's 20,000 people on top of you,
and they play that song
over and over and over.
[screams]
You know,
they would run out for introductions,
and there was fireworks and shit.
And, you know,
they had all the banners to prove it.
So, it's the games that
I always wanted to be my best.
It was the game that I wanted
to make sure we never lost.
[commentator 1]
The entire basketball world awaits
number one UConn and number two Tennessee
before what could be the largest crowd
in the history
of women's college basketball.
Let's go, Lady Vols!
[Goldberg]
So, the 2002 team takes the court.
They have Sue, Swin, Tamika and Asjha.
A team of stars.
[commentator 1] Bird drives.
Excellent pass to Swin Cash.
[Goldberg] But the thing
that really set them apart
is that Diana Taurasi
had now come into her own.
She could even take over a game.
And sure enough, the first time
that she showed that she could do that
was against Tennessee.
[commentator 1] This game
always lives up to the billing.
- Taurasi…
- [whistle blows]
Oh, what a play.
Boy, Taurasi is special, isn't she?
Taurasi. Jump stop.
And, oh, the deuce again
off the left hand.
Taurasi off the pick. [chuckles]
She's been unstoppable.
[reporter] Somebody on this
Tennessee team will have to step up
and say, "I can guard Diana Taurasi."
But you are not aware of Taurasi.
It has been a one-woman exhibition.
[Goldberg] They went down to Knoxville,
and she dumped 30 points on 'em.
- [commentator 1] Loose ball.
- [whistle blows]
- Taurasi again. [chuckles]
- [grunts]
[Goldberg] And at one point,
she ran into the basket
with a giant Tennessee orange logo on it,
and she punched it.
[grunts]
I know when she sees orange,
she lights it up.
If we could change uniform colors,
I might suggest that would be an option.
You know, I-I say it over
and over again, you know?
We have Diana, and they don't.
Probably the biggest reason why
we're here and why we won tonight.
[Goldberg] With Diana,
Geno had his secret weapon.
- And the two of them together…
- [screams]
…they never looked back.
[commentator 2] The UConn Huskies
may be remembered as the perfect storm.
Tonight, they face Oklahoma
in the national championship game.
[announcer] At guard for Connecticut,
number three, Diana Taurasi.
[cheering]
[Auriemma] Di just became this assassin.
[commentator 1] Taurasi!
And she knocks down a three.
[Auriemma] By "assassin," I mean,
when you step out on to court,
and you see Di coming at you,
she's coming right for your throat.
[commentator 2] Taurasi.
What a shot!
[Auriemma] She might even
say it to your face,
"I'm gonna stab you right in the throat.
I'm gonna choke the life
out of you right now."
[commentator 1] Geno Auriemma's Huskies.
[cheering]
Thirty-nine and 0, Connecticut is perfect.
[commentator 3] Diana Taurasi, she's the
one, and she'll lead the team all the way.
[commentator 4] For UConn,
Taurasi has sort of been on her own
after four great seniors
were lost to graduation.
[Taurasi] After you play
for a personality like Coach,
you get why he was pissed.
[commentator 5]
From day one in a Husky uniform,
Taurasi has been the ultimate winner.
[Taurasi] I understand
that competitive fire.
[commentator 5] It seems the more things
change, the more they stay the same.
It'll be UConn and Tennessee
in the national championship.
[Taurasi] You have a little resentment.
[commentator 6]
Taurasi over Jackson… Three!
Drained it.
You hate everyone a little bit.
Everyone hates you a little bit.
[commentator 6] The Connecticut Huskies
with back-to-back national championships.
Pat Summitt denied
a seventh national title tonight.
But I think that's what fueled Coach.
[reporter] What if you're driving down
a dark highway in Tennessee,
car broken down…
It's Geno. Do you drive by?
Do you stop?
[stammers] Well,
I stop and ask if I can help him.
[chuckles]
- I'd walk.
- [laughing]
[commentator 7] The bragging rights
in women's college basketball
get even bigger.
Tennessee'll try to stop Connecticut
from winning three in a row.
My senior year,
I wanted to make sure they go away.
And they can go away quietly.
[commentator 8]
Diana Taurasi will go out on top.
Three Championships
in her four-year career.
It was the nail in the coffin.
You know,
it's what dreams are-are made out of.
[commentator 9]
For four years, Geno Auriemma has said,
"The difference between UConn
and everybody else
is that we have Diana, and you don't."
When you think of UConn,
you think of domination.
Domination. That's it.
[Goldberg] At that moment,
they were the new dynasty
and the basketball capital of the world.
We're the capital of the world
tonight in Storrs, Connecticut.
- That's all I got to say. Go Huskies!
- [fans screaming]
They've completely taken
Tennessee off the map.
[chanting] U-C-O-N-N!
- Go, Huskies! Go!
- [chanting] U-C-O-N-N!
Go, Huskies! Go!
[reporter 2] It's the castle
in a kingdom where the women reign.
College basketball's royal court.
[crowd chanting, indistinct]
[presenter] Seriously,
it's about time that we threw a dinner
to honor the greatest coach
in women's basketball history.
[audience cheering]
Unfortunately, Pat Summitt's schedule
did not permit her to be here tonight.
[laughing]
[MacMullan] For Geno, he could win,
but I think he wanted
to be loved and respected
and admired the way Pat Summitt was.
And that… that just still hasn't happened.
[audience laughing]
But that was something Geno brought
upon himself because of his persona,
because of the things he said.
He didn't understand.
It was much bigger
than just winning championships.
That simplifies
what Pat Summitt accomplished.
She wanted to grow the women's game,
one little girl at a time.
I didn't give a shit
about the game growing. I didn't.
I was growing our game here, at UConn.
[Jenkins] Oh, that's such bullshit.
I'm hard-pressed to name too many people
who-who've done more for women than Geno.
Geno!
Geno!
[Jenkins] It's just… Geno had
the unfortunate fate of coaching in an era
with one of the great civil rights figures
in women's sports.
[no audible dialogue]
His commitment to the women's game
is one of the things
that I think is really worthy of respect.
But that doesn't mean that he always
understood the burden on someone like Pat.
[Summitt] I don't have his cell number.
We don't talk.
We speak before
and after the games. That's it.
But that's the relationship
that Geno worked very hard to create.
Pat just felt that the more he won,
the more unpleasant he was
to her and about her, you know?
And it felt like he was kicking her
when she was down.
I do have a sense of humor, uh,
but maybe I don't have the same sense
of humor as some other people.
[MacMullan] The reason
Pat Summitt kept playing him
was because it was good for the game.
But at some point,
Pat Summitt looked at it and said,
"You know what? I don't think this is
what the women's game should represent.
We're out."
[reporter 3] After Auriemma signed papers
to renew the series that began in 1995,
Summitt refused to sign.
I think Geno knows why. If he wants
to talk about it, then he can do so.
[Jenkins] There was just a lack of trust.
It became untenable.
Sour grapes, that's what it was.
We'll play anybody anywhere,
anytime. I don't care.
So if somebody doesn't wanna play,
they don't wanna play. I'm okay with that.
[interviewer] You're the coach everyone
loves to hate, correct? Why is that?
- [chuckles] 'Cause we win all the time.
- Why?
- Simple as that?
- Among other things.
- What are the other things?
- [chuckles]
I'm not exactly the right face that you
would want to put on women's basketball.
[Auriemma] I think back to those years.
I felt like Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
And the Rubicon, the river…
Once you cross that river,
there's no return.
All right. [clicks tongue]
You're now an enemy of the people.
[crowd booing]
[commentator 1]
Auriemma is going ballistic.
An obvious technical foul call.
[MacMullan] Geno likes it down and dirty.
He likes the battle.
[no audible dialogue]
I think he was interested
in complete annihilation.
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 2] You know when
you're gonna go play for Geno Auriemma,
it is not gonna be all love,
roses and chocolates.
[Auriemma] I remember thinking,
"We can't go backwards now."
This is gonna be the standard every night.
[in Latin] I came. I saw. I conquered.
[in English] We're gonna come in, we're
gonna beat the shit out of everybody,
and then we're gonna go home.
Just clinical.
[commentator 3]
Like their sisters before them,
2009 Huskies win the National Championship
by going 39 and 0.
When I got to UConn,
it was just kind of the assumption
that there's no reason
we should lose a game.
[commentator 4] Seventy-eight and 0.
Connecticut has won
the national championship again.
[Moore] We only kinda knew
how to be one way.
Just relentless pursual of being great.
[reporter] The University
of Connecticut's Women's Basketball
won their 89th game in a row,
the longest winning streak in the history
of college basketball, men or women.
I think sometimes when
you're so results-driven and focused,
it can suck the joy out of the journey.
[commentator 5]
It's great number eight for UConn.
The Huskies have won a record-tying
eighth national championship.
[Auriemma] Back then,
we were chasing perfection.
There ain't no such thing as "happy."
There's angst.
There isn't happiness.
[commentator 6]
It's another perfect ending for UConn.
Geno Auriemma has broken the tie
with Pat Summitt. He now has nine.
[announcer] Now, we would like to present
the most outstanding player
of this national championship,
Breanna Stewart.
You know, this season we want to…
we wanted to chase perfection,
and we did that tonight.
It seemed like it was easy, you know?
Then, it seemed very, very easy.
But now that I look back,
we were playing like robots.
[whistle blows]
[commentator 7] UConn has done it again,
for the tenth time.
[commentator 8] Eleventh title,
and the fourth in a row.
[Barack Obama]
No team has ever won four in a row.
Congratulations, National Champions,
the UConn Huskies.
[cheering]
Is the UConn Women's Basketball
the most dominant program
in any sport of all time?
[commentator 9] They unveiled
just the latest championship banner.
[Auriemma] This doesn't give me anything.
Tomorrow, I get up, and it's gonna be
exactly the same as this morning.
And the next day is gonna be the same.
Uh, it was like that after we won
our 11th national championship. It was…
Okay, it's the same as after number ten.
It was… [stammers] It was the same.
It had gotten to the point
where I was numb.
Like, I don't feel that high anymore.
I don't get that… jolt.
[commentator 10] Mississippi State
trying to stun Connecticut,
in overtime of the national semifinals.
Five to get off a shot.
[Auriemma]
We had a 90-game winning streak.
And then we had a 111-game winning streak.
I knew it couldn't go on forever.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 11] Got it! She got it.
Mississippi State has ended the streak
at 111 consecutive games.
But if somebody
would've given me the script,
"By the way, here's what's in store
for you the next nine years."
I would've said, "Damn, man.
That's some really bad luck."
[Auriemma] Listen,
trust me when I say,
winning…
- winning is like a drug.
- [crowd cheering]
[commentator 1] UConn has won
the national championship.
[Auriemma] If you've never
experienced it before,
you are on a high
like you've never been before.
[crowd cheering]
And you desperately want another one.
After we won the first championship,
we felt like we could go back
and do it again.
[crowd cheering]
But Tennessee had this aura about them.
[commentator 2] The Lady Vols have won it.
They'll play the title game.
[Auriemma] They intimidated people.
Scared people.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 3] And that's it.
The Lady Volunteers
have won their third straight
national championship.
[Auriemma] Yeah, they won three in a row.
So, you know, you're always reminded,
you're a one-and-done, get-lucky,
pie-in-the-sky guy that happened
to win a national championship.
Everything right now
is pretty good for Pat Summitt.
And Pat keeps on winning too.
Well, I like winning a lot too.
Pat Summitt was
the face of women's basketball.
She was also the heartbeat
of women's basketball.
She was everybody's hero.
But Geno realized very early on,
he was never gonna be Pat Summitt.
He was never gonna be revered
the same way.
And I think it drove Geno crazy.
- ["Get Out Of My Life Woman" playing]
- [crowd cheering]
Lady Vols,
it's great to have you back again.
You all are making
a regular thing of winning.
[MacMullan] Geno was jealous
of what Pat and Tennessee had.
[reporter] A remarkable woman
has reached a milestone.
Summitt is larger
than just women's basketball or sports.
She's known for integrity, compassion.
[MacMullan] But Geno,
he had no problem adopting this persona
of being the bad guy.
I'd rather them hate me
'cause we win a lot
than like me
'cause they kick our butt all the time.
Auriemma also stoked up
the fires on Rocky Top
by referring to Tennessee
as "The Evil Empire."
I don't know, I wonder if he just sits
around and thinks about all those things.
[music continues]
[Auriemma] Pat was so nice on the outside.
Maybe I came across a little more
as brash and in-your-face.
[commentator 2 speaking indistinctly]
But that's exactly how
Pat was at practice.
What did I just get on her butt about?
[Auriemma] That's exactly who Pat was.
What happens when I lose?
Ooh, you don't wanna be around me.
Three seconds! Somebody count!
So, it became a little bit…
familiarity breeds contempt, you know?
And that's, I think,
when it started to go sideways.
[commentator 4] It is
women's basketball's most intense rivalry.
[commentator 5]
Once again, Pat Summitt goes
against her nemesis, Geno Auriemma.
[commentator 6]
He raised a firestorm in Tennessee.
[commentator 7]
The building is ready to explode.
[music ends]
[Summitt] You ought to
have a field day tomorrow.
Now let's get an attitude in the paint.
Let's go.
[Williams] Back then,
everybody wanted to go to Tennessee.
Middle. Middle east!
When you got the Tennessee offer,
you had made it to heaven.
Coming into my junior year of high school,
Coach Summitt
walked into my house and said,
"If you come here,
I guarantee you'll win
one national championship in four years."
That's what Coach Summitt told me.
And that ain't what I wanted to hear.
[crowd cheering]
I didn't wanna join the dynasty.
I wanted to beat 'em.
And at that point,
nobody could put together a crew
that could take out the dark side.
But Coach was crazy enough to get it done.
[commentator 1] For UConn fans,
next season can't start soon enough.
Tamika Williams is the number-one-rated
schoolgirl player in the country.
[person] Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Sue Bird.
UConn has the best recruiting class
in all of the land.
People are gonna talk
about this Tennessee matchup.
"Can Tennessee be beaten?"
I think they have some hope.
The expectations are, you know,
good for us.
Um, I think it'll just make us
work harder.
We're doing an interview, and one of the
reporters asked something about Tennessee.
They're like,
"Oh, are you gonna beat 'em?"
Or whatever the question was.
But I was like, "Yeah!"
Like, "Of course, we're gonna beat 'em."
Let's get ready for roundball!
[commentator 2] CBS Sports coverage
of women's NCAA basketball
brings you to Storrs, Connecticut.
UConn against Tennessee.
And the opening tip is won to Tennessee.
Connecticut will be tested today
by that ever-pressing style
of the Lady Volunteers.
And Pat Summitt orchestrates
all of that pressure.
[Williams] Coming into that game,
we thought we were ready.
[commentator 2]
Swin Cash taking the alley-oop.
At that point in the season,
we had already beaten top-ten programs.
We're ready.
[crowd chanting]
[commentator 2] Randall,
uses the glass to put it down.
[Randall] Against UConn,
stepping on the floor
was like going to war.
[commentator 2] Semeka Randall.
Boy, is she inspired today.
When we got on that court,
it was like being in the back alley.
"Coach, I'ma swing. I'ma swing for you.
I'ma find a way to connect."
[commentator 2] Randall, going for the
tie ball between Shea and Abrosimova.
A little extracurricular activity
as they hit the deck
and Svetlana is kicked
in the back of her head.
[Bird] It was a really,
really physical game.
It was definitely a test for us.
We're kind of just like,
"Well, let's see what we got."
[commentator 2] Oh, Ace Clement
with a pickpocket and the deuce.
A turnover by UConn.
[Auriemma] This was supposed to be
the greatest recruiting class
in the history of college basketball.
And we can't run a play.
[commentator 2]
And a poor pass that time. Bad judgment.
[Auriemma] That doesn't work.
You do what I tell you to do,
and it works.
Got it?
And I'm like, "I-I cannot watch this.
This goes against everything
I believe in as a coach."
They step on each other's toes
all the time.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 2] It's a foul.
Tennessee wins 92-81.
A learning process for this UConn team.
[Bird] We got, like, little-sistered.
Yeah, they were like, "Okay,
you're still the little sister. Nice try.
Maybe next year."
[Williams] Our first loss
was against Tennessee.
And it was a telling loss because
we weren't as good as we thought we were.
[chattering]
And losing, it exposes everything.
[chattering]
[Bird] When we came into UConn,
we were definitely
the new kids on the block.
You know, usually at UConn,
traditionally, the upperclassmen,
they're gonna start over the younger
player just because they're older.
[chattering]
And now our class came in, there was
direct competition with upperclassmen.
And they were just pissed.
[Ralph] For those of us on the team
from the year before,
we get these five freshmen on campus.
They were cocky,
and there was a lot of confrontation.
There was… There was a lot of tension.
[Cash] We felt very confident.
Probably too confident for a lot
of people. Which was okay with us.
You know, we're singing Biggie
to DMX to like-like…
We were just different in that time.
[Bird] I remember this one time
where I get on the bus.
- [person] Birdie?
- Hi.
And I had the bus driver put on Hot 97.
You know, rap music.
And there were some other people
that didn't want rap music,
and I got snatched. I got snatched up.
"Why are we always playing your music?"
Grabbed at the… at the throat.
[Ralph] You know, it wasn't a lot of fun.
Honestly, I think
we could have all done better.
You know, like, you let little stuff
get in the way. Pettiness.
- [person 2 chuckles] Look at her face.
- [person 3] So ugly.
[Ralph] You have 12, 13 girls…
[person 3] She just is never pretty.
…who've all came here to play.
And I hate to throw ego at you,
but it's ego.
How do you deal with it
when you look at a bench like that,
and you're not getting the playing time?
Well, if anyone is gonna be able
to juggle it, it's gonna be Geno.
[chattering]
How many times do I have to say it?
See, that's my… [sighs]
[Auriemma] Every day of practice,
I would go home, my head would hurt.
[Bird] Looking back now,
he was really freaking out.
- [whistle blows]
- Here we go.
[Bird] This one particular player,
I think she, like,
wasn't catching the ball or something,
and he had a ball rack right next to him,
he just took every ball on the rack
and just threw them at her feet.
Like, "Can you not catch?
Can you not catch?"
Run, Kelly! Run, Kelly!
You gotta guard her, Paige!
You're not guarding her yet!
When he can't figure out,
like, what the team needs,
I think that's when he gets
most frustrated and, ultimately, he did.
He had, like, a proper mental breakdown.
He, like, threw his hands in the air,
went under the bleachers.
So now we're in Gampel Pavilion.
It's dead quiet.
This man is under the bleachers,
kind of like in what I imagine
is some form of a fetal position,
and we just all stood there waiting.
And it was like, "Whoa, he just lost it."
[dramatic music playing]
I was so frustrated. [chuckles]
I left the court and just sat there
like this and put my head down,
and I just couldn't talk to anybody.
I-I said, "I can't do this, man.
[stammers] I… I'm not gonna make it."
[Goldberg] Here's something about Geno
Auriemma that people don't understand.
No one has impostor syndrome
worse than Geno Auriemma.
To this day, he wakes up in the morning
and thinks, "This is the day
they're gonna fire me
because I'm not doing a good job."
[Auriemma] I didn't wanna fail.
That's the thing I coached the most.
To eliminate fear of failure
in my players.
Whereas in the back of my mind,
I'm like "Oh, Jesus, man.
[stammers] This is gonna go wrong, this is
gonna go wrong, this is gonna go wrong,
this is gonna go wrong,
and we're gonna lose."
But I'm Italian and I'm Catholic,
so I gotta think like that.
I gotta be pessimistic,
negative and hate life.
I gotta do that. It's in my DNA.
[bells tolling]
I was born in this little village
in Italy. Montella.
Me, I was only seven when I came over.
We settled in Philadelphia.
You know, my mother can't read or write.
My father went… barely went to school.
[stammers] They worked.
But they dumped me in Catholic school,
and every kid's looking at you
because, you know…
[stammers] …you don't speak any English.
I didn't speak English.
I wore funny clothes.
I mean, they had peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches,
and I had sausage and peppers.
But I was desperately wanting
to be like an American kid.
As I got older,
I always felt like,
you know, I'm not that guy.
I'm, like, you know, you get reminded.
But there was this part of me where if…
If I can be really, really, really good
and be better than you,
then I can… I can prove that I belong
in your… in your group, so to speak.
I mean,
it's just a little kid's mentality.
And, unfortunately, it stayed with me
for 40 years into coaching,
that I have to prove that I'm better
than anybody else at doing what I do.
- But I need to be better than you.
- [buzzer sounds]
[commentator 1]
The Eagles have defeated UConn.
The biggest win in the history
of the Boston College
women's basketball program.
[commentator 2] They lose another one.
[no audible dialogue]
[commentator 3] There has never, all year
long, been a clearly defined leader
on this basketball team.
[commentator 4] Big win to the Cyclones.
They have knocked off the top seeds.
[reporter] UConn Huskies'
NCAA tournament ride is over.
The Huskies lost to Iowa State
today in the Sweet 16.
- [interviewer] How do you explain it?
- [Auriemma] I don't.
[sighs] It's hard. It's hard.
[Auriemma] It's not complicated.
We were too young, too immature,
and we weren't tight enough
to go any further.
You know, after pulling teeth and
all the fighting that we've been doing,
we knew we needed to change.
And so we went to Europe in August.
And I told them, "From now on,
hopefully you're here for each other."
[photographers] One, two, three.
This was an opportunity
for us to drop the hatchet
about who's upperclassmen,
who's coming in as freshmen,
get that sisterhood and that tightness
that we needed.
To a great year.
[Ralph] It wasn't just a trip overseas
where we're going to the Eiffel Tower.
It forced us to take a look in the mirror.
Like, we can control the things
that got in the way.
Come.
I'm gonna stab her.
She deserve it.
There was this one night
where we wanted to go out,
and so we're able to, like, figure out
where the bar was and we find our way out.
I think we were,
like, a drink and a shot in,
and then somebody, I don't even
remember who, comes in, and is like,
"Coach Auriemma wants you
to come back to the hotel immediately."
And we're just like, "Fuck."
But, honestly, like, we were pissed.
We were just about to get going.
And, in a weird way, I think he united us.
It has to be us against him. It has to be.
You won't survive
if you don't figure that out.
[bells tolling]
[Auriemma] We were in Rome,
and we found an outdoor basketball court.
[chattering]
Everybody move.
[Auriemma] And it had to be
a hundred degrees out.
Kept them out there
for two straight hours.
What you're learning
is how hard it is to win.
Me, I'm in a constant state
of pissed-off that it isn't an A.
And then once you get all A's,
I'm pissed they're not all A pluses.
And if I'm not coaching guys
that are the same way,
we're never gonna be happy together.
We were intent
on tightening the screws a little bit.
Stand there and wait for your screen.
Do not move until the screen is set.
[Auriemma] No more nonsense.
Come on! Come on! Come on! Talk!
[Auriemma]
They hated every minute of it. I'm sure.
I know I'm not supposed to get frustrated,
but this is fucking frustrating.
I spent five minutes walking over
to the spot where I want the screen set.
Were you looking at me then? Probably not.
Probably weren't looking at me.
[chattering]
[Auriemma] I had a new offense
planned to the second.
We would make a pass,
and we'd make a certain cut,
and there was always an opportunity
every time we passed it
for somebody to make a cut
and get a layup.
We're gonna get this right,
and we're gonna do it right,
and I don't give a shit
what you guys think.
This is how it's gonna get done.
- [chattering]
- Come on, Sue. Help them out.
[Bird] Coach Auriemma, God,
he was like a father figure.
You know, you really wanted
his approval in a lot of ways.
Go to this side.
He was, like, holding the key
to all that you wanted to achieve.
[Auriemma]
Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up!
I made life so miserable
for them every day. Every day.
I was relentless.
But come game day, man.
Whoo!
[commentator 1]
Here's Shea Ralph on the steal.
[Ralph] There was
just this urgency we felt.
[player screaming]
We are going to show it
right from warm-ups
that this is something different.
You're gonna feel the heat from me.
[commentator 1] The defense
of the Huskies are swarming,
and they've got their bodies
flying all over the floor.
[commentator 2]
Well, look at the tenacity.
We were coming out the gates,
like, just terrorizing everybody.
[commentator 1]
Connecticut won't take off the pressure.
[commentator 3]
This is a machine out there.
They bought into it,
and it worked perfectly.
We only lost one game that year.
And it was at home against Tennessee.
We're number one!
We're number one! We're number one!
[Goldberg] UConn and Tennessee,
they were both at a peak.
Everybody is looking
to the end of the year.
The national championship game
between UConn and Tennessee.
[cheering]
And it's gonna happen
in Geno Auriemma's hometown?
Well, that just makes it even better.
[reporter] In Philly,
it's all about cheesesteaks.
You're either a Geno's fan or a Pat's fan,
but in some strange cosmic way,
you wonder if this has any bearing
on a UConn-Tennessee final.
In Philadelphia, people don't know
Pat Summitt from nobody, man.
They know Pat's steaks.
[DeMoss] Geno was doing
an interview about cheesesteak.
Obviously Geno's, and one
is Pat's across the street in Philly.
And he made a comparison.
Geno's was new and upcoming.
Pat's was old and dilapidated.
I mean, at that point, we'd won six,
and he'd won one.
So I'm not sure where he got
Pat was old and dilapidated.
But she said,
"Well, if I said things like that,
my daddy would take me out
and whip me behind the shed."
[broadcaster] Every time these
two teams meet, one of the hot topics
is the relationship
between Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt.
[Jenkins] When I first came around,
they had a good relationship.
I mean, one of the first questions
I ever asked Pat,
I said, "So do you get along
with that UConn coach?"
And she said, "You know, I do."
She said, "I like him."
But in Philly, that was the first time
that I think he did get under her skin.
And I was a little surprised by that.
I was like, "That's just Geno being a,
you know, horse's ass."
[MacMullan] In women's basketball,
I think a lot of people thought,
"Why are you picking on Pat Summitt?"
Some people are just off-limits, right?
But that's just Geno, man.
He likes the sparring,
and people ate it up.
UConn and Tennessee was literally
rocket fuel to propel the women's game.
It becomes must-see TV.
George Washington was
the father of our country.
- Yeah.
- [Taurasi] Not really.
[speaks indistinctly]
I am the greatest coach of all time.
[people chuckling]
[Auriemma] Lots of people are good.
- He had too much wine.
- [person chuckling]
[Auriemma] Lots of people are great.
But that night in Philly,
I wanted to make sure that everybody
knew we're the best in the country.
[player] This is it!
- [people cheering]
- [Auriemma] I mean, everyone,
they're all people I grew up with.
They're all kids I grew up with.
So being surrounded
by all that and family…
Yeah.
The desire to win.
I want that so bad.
I'll-I'll do anything to get it.
We're going to throw the first punch
just like we've been doing.
Hit 'em with the first shot.
They're going to hit us back.
And we're going to hit 'em again.
It's gonna be war, baby.
[announcer]
Introducing the Tennessee Lady Vols.
[cheering]
Connecticut Huskies.
[cheering]
For Geno,
this was one that he really wanted.
You know, local boy comes home
and is successful.
And I remember his mom,
as we're walking out,
throwing the holy water on us.
[chuckling] Like, we're getting soaked.
But there she is giving us the holy water
to make sure that we had
an extra blessing to win.
[cheering]
[Bird] That year, Coach Auriemma,
he basically was just like,
"Forget Tennessee,
forget Pat Summitt and the championships."
[no audible dialogue]
We took all of that away.
And it was just like, us versus them.
"You guys would kick their fucking ass."
[commentator 1]
Bird goes left, down the lane,
the pull up bank is around and in,
and Sue Bird puts UConn in front.
Tennessee was not prepared
for what was about to happen to them.
Right corner, Abrosimova for three…
Good!
[Goldberg] UConn was ready,
and Geno knew they were ready.
[commentator 2]
Little backdoor cut, Shea Ralph.
It's 17-6.
UConn on a tremendous run
at the start of the ball game.
[Jenkins] After all those years
trying to catch Pat, Geno was brilliant.
You have to understand,
his kids don't fold under pressure.
They knock down shots under pressure.
That's a skill too, teaching that.
You don't just recruit that.
[commentator 1] Ahead Abrosimova,
two-on-one, Ralph left, gives it to her,
back to Abrosimova who lays it up and in.
[commentator 2] Tennessee
looking a little unnerved right now.
Randall. Blocked again by Schumacher.
[Randall] We had that
"deer in a headlight," that glaze,
like, "What… What the hell
is happening right now?"
[commentator 1]
It's a 25-point Husky lead.
And we didn't just, like, lose it.
We got our asses kicked.
[commentator 2] And it would take,
uh, something of a miracle
to get Tennessee back in this game.
That day in Philly,
close your eyes and look back
at that afternoon in Rome.
[players chattering]
That's exactly what we did that game.
[commentator 1] Textbook backdoor.
And it was poetic. It really was.
[buzzer sounds]
[commentator 1]
What began in France in August
ends in Geno Auriemma's hometown
in Philadelphia,
with a national championship.
We just came out with a vengeance.
We came out like we wanted something,
and we got it, and I think we deserve it.
[all] Who let the dogs out?
Who? Who? ♪
I said, who let the dogs out? ♪
[crowd cheering]
[reporter 1] Geno, you won it in Philly.
Anything special about that?
[Auriemma] It's hard for me to
put into words, you know, with, uh…
My family and everybody, it's, uh…
It's just really special. It really is.
[Auriemma] Once we won that championship…
[kisses] …we got that hit again.
Now you're like… [whistles]
You're flying, right?
That one in Philly,
that separates you automatically from
99.9% of the people that are coaching.
You know? Almost everyone.
Almost.
[Goldberg] So now,
they've won this championship.
They've beaten Tennessee
not once but twice.
But for UConn, it wasn't enough.
[crowd chanting] Geno! Geno!
I'm telling you right now, we are gonna
be back here next year with a third one.
- I promise you that. Thank you very much.
- [cheering]
[Goldberg] Pat Summitt,
she still had six championships.
So, really, nothing had changed.
This was still Tennessee's world,
and we were all living in it.
[reporter 2] Now, there may have
been one particular face in the crowd
just a little bit more excited
than the rest to see the Huskies today.
That's 'cause she'll be
a Husky herself next year.
Diana Taurasi, a guard from California.
She was psyched just to be
in the same room with the team.
It's definitely cool 'cause I was
watching them on TV, you know,
and I think I'm in the game,
but I'm in my living room.
So, it's exciting.
[Taurasi] With Coach,
there was that instant connection.
My parents came from Italy
and Argentina to Los Angeles in the '70s.
Didn't speak a lot of English.
You know, when he saw that in me,
I think it instantly reminded him
of his childhood.
[Auriemma] Our backgrounds were identical.
You know,
we're a product of immigrants, you know?
And it wasn't just, you know,
"I'm your coach, you're my player."
There was always, "I understand.
I understand where you come from.
I understand why you think like this,"
or "I understand why you act like this."
[Taurasi] I think when he saw me play,
it was like his upbringing,
like him on the playground,
trying to prove himself again.
I wanted to be that person.
That person
that is willing to win at all costs.
I didn't come to UConn
to play for Miss Smiley.
I mean, I came to play for Coach Auriemma.
- Get around!
- Hands up, Di. Knock the pass down, Di.
[Taurasi] And when I got there,
they had won two championships.
They were on the map.
He didn't wanna be on the map.
He wanted to create a new map.
It almost made him more mad
that he had won twice.
There was this, like,
inner fuel that he had
that he was always just pissed.
You know, we were the defending champs.
But women's basketball was
all about Pat Summitt and Tennessee.
She was the All-American coach.
Certainly not a immigrant Italian
from Philly.
Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top ♪
Down in the Tennessee hills… ♪
[Taurasi] That was the dynasty
in women's basketball.
I understood that when I walked
through that building.
There's 20,000 people on top of you,
and they play that song
over and over and over.
[screams]
You know,
they would run out for introductions,
and there was fireworks and shit.
And, you know,
they had all the banners to prove it.
So, it's the games that
I always wanted to be my best.
It was the game that I wanted
to make sure we never lost.
[commentator 1]
The entire basketball world awaits
number one UConn and number two Tennessee
before what could be the largest crowd
in the history
of women's college basketball.
Let's go, Lady Vols!
[Goldberg]
So, the 2002 team takes the court.
They have Sue, Swin, Tamika and Asjha.
A team of stars.
[commentator 1] Bird drives.
Excellent pass to Swin Cash.
[Goldberg] But the thing
that really set them apart
is that Diana Taurasi
had now come into her own.
She could even take over a game.
And sure enough, the first time
that she showed that she could do that
was against Tennessee.
[commentator 1] This game
always lives up to the billing.
- Taurasi…
- [whistle blows]
Oh, what a play.
Boy, Taurasi is special, isn't she?
Taurasi. Jump stop.
And, oh, the deuce again
off the left hand.
Taurasi off the pick. [chuckles]
She's been unstoppable.
[reporter] Somebody on this
Tennessee team will have to step up
and say, "I can guard Diana Taurasi."
But you are not aware of Taurasi.
It has been a one-woman exhibition.
[Goldberg] They went down to Knoxville,
and she dumped 30 points on 'em.
- [commentator 1] Loose ball.
- [whistle blows]
- Taurasi again. [chuckles]
- [grunts]
[Goldberg] And at one point,
she ran into the basket
with a giant Tennessee orange logo on it,
and she punched it.
[grunts]
I know when she sees orange,
she lights it up.
If we could change uniform colors,
I might suggest that would be an option.
You know, I-I say it over
and over again, you know?
We have Diana, and they don't.
Probably the biggest reason why
we're here and why we won tonight.
[Goldberg] With Diana,
Geno had his secret weapon.
- And the two of them together…
- [screams]
…they never looked back.
[commentator 2] The UConn Huskies
may be remembered as the perfect storm.
Tonight, they face Oklahoma
in the national championship game.
[announcer] At guard for Connecticut,
number three, Diana Taurasi.
[cheering]
[Auriemma] Di just became this assassin.
[commentator 1] Taurasi!
And she knocks down a three.
[Auriemma] By "assassin," I mean,
when you step out on to court,
and you see Di coming at you,
she's coming right for your throat.
[commentator 2] Taurasi.
What a shot!
[Auriemma] She might even
say it to your face,
"I'm gonna stab you right in the throat.
I'm gonna choke the life
out of you right now."
[commentator 1] Geno Auriemma's Huskies.
[cheering]
Thirty-nine and 0, Connecticut is perfect.
[commentator 3] Diana Taurasi, she's the
one, and she'll lead the team all the way.
[commentator 4] For UConn,
Taurasi has sort of been on her own
after four great seniors
were lost to graduation.
[Taurasi] After you play
for a personality like Coach,
you get why he was pissed.
[commentator 5]
From day one in a Husky uniform,
Taurasi has been the ultimate winner.
[Taurasi] I understand
that competitive fire.
[commentator 5] It seems the more things
change, the more they stay the same.
It'll be UConn and Tennessee
in the national championship.
[Taurasi] You have a little resentment.
[commentator 6]
Taurasi over Jackson… Three!
Drained it.
You hate everyone a little bit.
Everyone hates you a little bit.
[commentator 6] The Connecticut Huskies
with back-to-back national championships.
Pat Summitt denied
a seventh national title tonight.
But I think that's what fueled Coach.
[reporter] What if you're driving down
a dark highway in Tennessee,
car broken down…
It's Geno. Do you drive by?
Do you stop?
[stammers] Well,
I stop and ask if I can help him.
[chuckles]
- I'd walk.
- [laughing]
[commentator 7] The bragging rights
in women's college basketball
get even bigger.
Tennessee'll try to stop Connecticut
from winning three in a row.
My senior year,
I wanted to make sure they go away.
And they can go away quietly.
[commentator 8]
Diana Taurasi will go out on top.
Three Championships
in her four-year career.
It was the nail in the coffin.
You know,
it's what dreams are-are made out of.
[commentator 9]
For four years, Geno Auriemma has said,
"The difference between UConn
and everybody else
is that we have Diana, and you don't."
When you think of UConn,
you think of domination.
Domination. That's it.
[Goldberg] At that moment,
they were the new dynasty
and the basketball capital of the world.
We're the capital of the world
tonight in Storrs, Connecticut.
- That's all I got to say. Go Huskies!
- [fans screaming]
They've completely taken
Tennessee off the map.
[chanting] U-C-O-N-N!
- Go, Huskies! Go!
- [chanting] U-C-O-N-N!
Go, Huskies! Go!
[reporter 2] It's the castle
in a kingdom where the women reign.
College basketball's royal court.
[crowd chanting, indistinct]
[presenter] Seriously,
it's about time that we threw a dinner
to honor the greatest coach
in women's basketball history.
[audience cheering]
Unfortunately, Pat Summitt's schedule
did not permit her to be here tonight.
[laughing]
[MacMullan] For Geno, he could win,
but I think he wanted
to be loved and respected
and admired the way Pat Summitt was.
And that… that just still hasn't happened.
[audience laughing]
But that was something Geno brought
upon himself because of his persona,
because of the things he said.
He didn't understand.
It was much bigger
than just winning championships.
That simplifies
what Pat Summitt accomplished.
She wanted to grow the women's game,
one little girl at a time.
I didn't give a shit
about the game growing. I didn't.
I was growing our game here, at UConn.
[Jenkins] Oh, that's such bullshit.
I'm hard-pressed to name too many people
who-who've done more for women than Geno.
Geno!
Geno!
[Jenkins] It's just… Geno had
the unfortunate fate of coaching in an era
with one of the great civil rights figures
in women's sports.
[no audible dialogue]
His commitment to the women's game
is one of the things
that I think is really worthy of respect.
But that doesn't mean that he always
understood the burden on someone like Pat.
[Summitt] I don't have his cell number.
We don't talk.
We speak before
and after the games. That's it.
But that's the relationship
that Geno worked very hard to create.
Pat just felt that the more he won,
the more unpleasant he was
to her and about her, you know?
And it felt like he was kicking her
when she was down.
I do have a sense of humor, uh,
but maybe I don't have the same sense
of humor as some other people.
[MacMullan] The reason
Pat Summitt kept playing him
was because it was good for the game.
But at some point,
Pat Summitt looked at it and said,
"You know what? I don't think this is
what the women's game should represent.
We're out."
[reporter 3] After Auriemma signed papers
to renew the series that began in 1995,
Summitt refused to sign.
I think Geno knows why. If he wants
to talk about it, then he can do so.
[Jenkins] There was just a lack of trust.
It became untenable.
Sour grapes, that's what it was.
We'll play anybody anywhere,
anytime. I don't care.
So if somebody doesn't wanna play,
they don't wanna play. I'm okay with that.
[interviewer] You're the coach everyone
loves to hate, correct? Why is that?
- [chuckles] 'Cause we win all the time.
- Why?
- Simple as that?
- Among other things.
- What are the other things?
- [chuckles]
I'm not exactly the right face that you
would want to put on women's basketball.
[Auriemma] I think back to those years.
I felt like Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
And the Rubicon, the river…
Once you cross that river,
there's no return.
All right. [clicks tongue]
You're now an enemy of the people.
[crowd booing]
[commentator 1]
Auriemma is going ballistic.
An obvious technical foul call.
[MacMullan] Geno likes it down and dirty.
He likes the battle.
[no audible dialogue]
I think he was interested
in complete annihilation.
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 2] You know when
you're gonna go play for Geno Auriemma,
it is not gonna be all love,
roses and chocolates.
[Auriemma] I remember thinking,
"We can't go backwards now."
This is gonna be the standard every night.
[in Latin] I came. I saw. I conquered.
[in English] We're gonna come in, we're
gonna beat the shit out of everybody,
and then we're gonna go home.
Just clinical.
[commentator 3]
Like their sisters before them,
2009 Huskies win the National Championship
by going 39 and 0.
When I got to UConn,
it was just kind of the assumption
that there's no reason
we should lose a game.
[commentator 4] Seventy-eight and 0.
Connecticut has won
the national championship again.
[Moore] We only kinda knew
how to be one way.
Just relentless pursual of being great.
[reporter] The University
of Connecticut's Women's Basketball
won their 89th game in a row,
the longest winning streak in the history
of college basketball, men or women.
I think sometimes when
you're so results-driven and focused,
it can suck the joy out of the journey.
[commentator 5]
It's great number eight for UConn.
The Huskies have won a record-tying
eighth national championship.
[Auriemma] Back then,
we were chasing perfection.
There ain't no such thing as "happy."
There's angst.
There isn't happiness.
[commentator 6]
It's another perfect ending for UConn.
Geno Auriemma has broken the tie
with Pat Summitt. He now has nine.
[announcer] Now, we would like to present
the most outstanding player
of this national championship,
Breanna Stewart.
You know, this season we want to…
we wanted to chase perfection,
and we did that tonight.
It seemed like it was easy, you know?
Then, it seemed very, very easy.
But now that I look back,
we were playing like robots.
[whistle blows]
[commentator 7] UConn has done it again,
for the tenth time.
[commentator 8] Eleventh title,
and the fourth in a row.
[Barack Obama]
No team has ever won four in a row.
Congratulations, National Champions,
the UConn Huskies.
[cheering]
Is the UConn Women's Basketball
the most dominant program
in any sport of all time?
[commentator 9] They unveiled
just the latest championship banner.
[Auriemma] This doesn't give me anything.
Tomorrow, I get up, and it's gonna be
exactly the same as this morning.
And the next day is gonna be the same.
Uh, it was like that after we won
our 11th national championship. It was…
Okay, it's the same as after number ten.
It was… [stammers] It was the same.
It had gotten to the point
where I was numb.
Like, I don't feel that high anymore.
I don't get that… jolt.
[commentator 10] Mississippi State
trying to stun Connecticut,
in overtime of the national semifinals.
Five to get off a shot.
[Auriemma]
We had a 90-game winning streak.
And then we had a 111-game winning streak.
I knew it couldn't go on forever.
- [buzzer sounds]
- [commentator 11] Got it! She got it.
Mississippi State has ended the streak
at 111 consecutive games.
But if somebody
would've given me the script,
"By the way, here's what's in store
for you the next nine years."
I would've said, "Damn, man.
That's some really bad luck."