by Dondria Cooper

Created on: May 03, 2009

When trying to select which coach was better, that was a very hard decision because I have been following both coaches for some time now. The reason I selected Geno Auriemma is because of his coaching style and his number of win percentage. Don't get me wrong both coaches have high winning records, but it is also a matter of looking at the gender and type of talent you are looking at. With Jim Calhoun you have a men's college team who has to complete with schools like Duke, North Carolina, and etc. On the other hand, Auriemma is a male head coach of women's basketball so the table is turned to look at how he can interact with his players, but still be comfortable coaching them.

Auriemma has been around for 24 seasons at UConn and has a record of 696-122. He has won 6 national championships and was entered into the Basketball and Women's Hall of Fame. Every since I have followed the Huskies I have loved his decisions in recruiting players from all over the states. He realizes that great players help build a great team. When you have several teams who can go unbeaten an entire season, that makes you a great coach. Also to mention he has had rankings of being number 1 for over majority of his seasons at UConn.

Just on a little personal side of why I love Auriemma is because he helped bring me to a better understanding of what I wanted to do in life. When I was in the fifth grade I was flipping the TV through the sports channels, and women college basketball was on. UConn and Tennessee were playing and the game was pretty close. I took a look at the coaches and was amazed by their different coaching styles. That game was the initial spark of my love for sports today. I loved the was Auriemma coached so well I wanted to go to UConn for my college degree in Sport Administration to get a shot a working underneath him, but my parent said it was to far.

One of my favorite seasons of Auriemma would have to be with the championship team of 2002. The young women he selected to be his starters were all key players. One of the outstanding players of that line up is well-known superstar Sue Bird. It was a no brainer for the WNBA to draft her as the number one pick for the 2002 draft. As she led her teammates throughout the season, it was expected that her teaching and coaching from Auriemma would guide her to be a great success in the WNBA as well as her other teammates.

Overall UConn has no doubt of two great head coaches, but when it comes to the wire Auriemma is the best pick. I sometimes wonder if it could be arranged that the men and women basketball teams of UConn could play a little season opener game for fans to see, who would win the men or women. It could be something ESPN or the campus of UConn could look into.

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