[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 42 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E538-E539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN'S 
                            BASKETBALL TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 16, 2002

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 
2002 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women's Basketball 
National Champions, the University of Connecticut Huskies. On Sunday, 
March 31, the Lady Huskies completed their perfect season with an 82-70 
victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, finishing with a record of 39-0.
  Of the five starters, four of them were seniors: Sue Bird, Swin Cash, 
Tamika Williams, and Asjha Jones. Over their four years at the 
University of Connecticut, the team had a record of 136-9, made three 
Final Fours, and won two National Championships. They were only the 
fourth team in women's college basketball history to complete a season 
undefeated, tying the record for the most wins in a season. The team 
had an average margin of victory of 35.4 points and never trailed in 
the second half of a basketball game.
  Members of team won various awards this season. Senior Sue Bird won 
the Wade Trophy for National Women's Player of the Year, Naismith 
Player of the Year, and was selected for AP First Team All-America 
Honors. Swin Cash and sophomore Diana Taurasi were selected to the All-
America Second Team, Asjha Jones made the All-America Third Team, and 
Tamika Williams received Honorable Mention All-America. Coach Geno 
Auriemma was selected as Naismith Coach of the Year and 2002 Russell 
Athletic/WBCA Division I National Coach of the Year.
  Commentators for women's college basketball claim that this Husky 
basketball team is the best team in the history of women's college 
basketball. While the Huskies tend to shy away from that statement, 
opponents tend to agree with those in the media. I believe the ultimate 
compliment was paid to this team when Pat Summitt, coach of the 
Tennessee Lady Vols, an archrival of the Huskies, responded if she was 
relieved to see these four seniors graduating by saying: ``[Geno's] 
done a great job with them and they're big play people all across the 
board. And what I really admire about this Connecticut team is how hard 
they play and how inspired they are in every possession. I did not 
recall seeing a player not play hard every possession. And that speaks 
for their character and what they brought to the court tonight against 
us. But I may go to the graduation and cheer. You think they'll let me 
go? I might be there.''
  I would like to extend my personal congratulations to the UConn Lady 
Husky basketball team. The entire State of Connecticut is proud of the 
Husky team, who has helped turn Connecticut into the center of women's 
college basketball. I would also like to extend my best wishes to the 
four graduating seniors, and I am confident that they will be 
successful in their future endeavors.
  I am also submitting for the Record an article by Randy Smith of the 
Journal Inquirer, who captured the essence of the team and their 
outstanding coaches.

               [From the Journal Inquirer, Apr. 8, 2002]

               Away From Arena, All Bets Off For Huskies

                            (By Randy Smith)

       There are many beautiful elements attached to the 
     University of Connecticut women's basketball program, but 
     none is more essential. That is the first stone upon which 
     everything else has been built. When a young basketball 
     player honors the game, she, in turn, honors herself and the 
     uniform she wears.
       As soon as players step over the lines and away from the 
     arena, all bets are off.
       UConn's undefeated national champions took swipes at one 
     another and laughed their way around the streets of Hartford 
     during a parade Saturday, witnessed by throngs of people 
     estimated at 150,000. When Diana Taurasi egged on the crowd 
     while coach Geno Auriemma was trying to speak at the state 
     capitol, he wondered aloud if the WNBA could make an 
     exception and draft Taurasi, say, in the next five minutes. 
     The crowd booed.
       The energy these people emit is contagious. They are 
     constantly on the go. They

[[Page E539]]

     smiled and waved and signed autographs and said thank you a 
     million times. The spotlight agrees with them. Lord knows, 
     they earned it. They played hard, had fun, and won 'em all.
       Stop and think. When was the last time you did anything 
     successfully 39 times in a row? I'm not sure if I could count 
     from one to 39 successfully 39 straight times. I'm bound to 
     skip, say, a 23.
       The first thing Auriemma did, it's worth remembering, was 
     thank his staff. Because of his position and the power of his 
     personality, he is the main character in all of this, but 
     couldn't be who he is or do what he does without a strong 
     supporting cast. Associate head coach Chris Dailey has worked 
     alongside him for 17 years. She is as demanding as he is, and 
     sometimes, even more so. A diligent sentry who stands guard 
     on the whole concept of ``Connecticut basketball,'' Dailey is 
     part-coach, part-educator, and part-den mother. Problems, big 
     or small, go through her. Tonya Cardoza, in her eighth year, 
     and Jamelle Elliott, in her fifth, are bright and tireless.
       The closer one gets to the women's program, he is struck by 
     two revelations: how good they are at playing the game of 
     basketball and how much fun they seem to have together both 
     on and off the court. The team's signature is a smile.
       Auriemma hinted that Hartford's fourth parade in eight 
     years--three for women's national champions and one for 
     UConn's men--may not be the last.
       ``My guess is we might be here again down the road,'' he 
     said.
       If there is another shindig at the Capitol, organizers 
     would be wise to get a smaller podium or a taller coach. The 
     only people who could see Auriemma were behind him. Those in 
     the bleacher seats probably thought they were listening to 
     the voice of God, although chants of ``Geno, Geno'' indicated 
     otherwise.
       This year, he was Cortez in Mexico. Upon landing there, the 
     16th-century Spanish conqueror burned all ships to send a 
     message to his troops that there was no turning back. In a 
     town built, in large part, on remembering the Alamo, Auriemma 
     instructed his team to remember St. Louis and last year's 
     loss to Notre Dame in a national semifinal game. After 
     eliminating Tennessee and reaching the national championship 
     game, Auriemma delivered a Cortez-like message to his team in 
     San Antonio.
       ``I told them about Mt. Everest,'' he said. ``in the last 
     500 yards, everybody dies.''
       The thought made him roll his eyes.
       ``Man, you've got to keep coming up with things,'' he said.
       Auriemma was guilty of coaches-speak when he said there was 
     no pressure on UConn to win. Part of a coach's job is to 
     absorb as much pressure as he can and prevent it from seeping 
     into his team's locker room. Auriemma is good at it. Before 
     the Tennessee game, he said, ``I'm the most nervous man in 
     America.'' Before meeting Oklahoma in the national title 
     game, he openly worried that fate and the elements might be 
     conspiring against UConn. He understood that there was only 
     one way out for this senior-laden group. They had to win them 
     all.
       Knockers were everywhere, ready to pounce. Kelli Anderson 
     wrote, ``UConn is a perennial favorite that has won just one 
     title in the last six years,'' in the March 18th edition of 
     Sports Illustrated. How's that for revisionist history? 
     Presumably, a half-dozen or more editors read the copy 
     without bothering to change it. UConn had won two titles in 
     seven years and now has won three titles in eight, finishing 
     undefeated twice. The Huskies sure went from 1-of-6 to 3-of-8 
     in an awful hurry, didn't they?
       Like most of his players, Auriemma enjoys his time on a 
     national stage.
       ``We're ready, that's all I can tell you,'' he said upon 
     arrival in San Antonio.
       ``Players decide games'' and ``I'm always amazed when 
     players do what I tell them'' were a couple of his other 
     nuggets. He relishes his time with media and rarely holds 
     anything back.
       ``My biggest strength is I give you guys a lot to write 
     about and my biggest weakness is I give you guys a lot to 
     write about,'' he said. ``Like a lot of people, my greatest 
     strength is my greatest weakness.''
       Connecticut state troopers shaded the rules by getting 
     autographs at a third-floor press conference in the Capitol 
     after the parade. Players signed the inside brims of their 
     hats. If a chief back at the barracks asked the troopers to 
     remove their hats to show him how they had spent their day, 
     there would have been a whole of pump-faking going on.
       Hartford police, meanwhile, walked the women's team from 
     the capitol, underneath the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch to 
     the P-3 level of the Civic Center to watch the Phoenix WBCA 
     All-America High School Game. Try as they did to sneak in the 
     back door, the women were greeted by a standing ovation from 
     more than 10,000 fans.
       Applause wanes. Appreciation of a 39-0 national champion 
     team never will. And neither will those jabs that seem to 
     keep everybody in place and everything in its proper order.
       ``I've been around Geno for 17 years,'' Dailey said. ``I 
     don't think he's funny, charming, or good-looking. And you 
     can quote me.''
       Nothing is sacred except the game.

       

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