Latest news with #APCoachoftheYear
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NCAA Sends Strong Message on Geno Auriemma After National Championship
When UConn closed the 2024-25 campaign at 37-2 and captured its 12th NCAA women's basketball crown with an 82-59 dismantling of South Carolina, it reaffirmed a dynasty built over four decades. On Wednesday, the NCAA March Madness X account shifted its focus from the hardwood to something more tangible: the gleaming collection of rings that symbolize Geno Auriemma's sustained supremacy. Advertisement In a brief video, Auriemma surveys a table laden with championship rings and deadpans, "How am I going to get all of these on? Sheesh, these hurt... After a while, you run out of shapes, you run out of styles. It's a good problem to have, right?" The clip is a playful yet pointed reminder that no coach in women's basketball has amassed hardware like Auriemma. Since 1985, Auriemma has won 12 national titles, 24 Final Fours, 23 conference tournament crowns, and has put together six perfect seasons. Over four decades, he has an all-time career mark of 1,250-165 (.883), has won eight Naismith Coach of the Year awards and nine AP Coach of the Year awards. Advertisement He's also helped to develop some of the game's brightest stars, including icons like Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and the WNBA 2025 No. 1 overall pick, Paige Bueckers. UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma.© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Burying the trumpets, the NCAA instead let the rings do the talking, underscoring that the UConn standard remains the summit all programs chase. And as he grapples with the good 'problem' of too many rings, the rest of the sport is left grappling with how to catch up. Related: Former UConn Star Paige Bueckers Leaves Fans in Tears Over New Post Related: South Carolina Sends Message on Dawn Staley's Transfer Portal Addition
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bruce Pearl earns AP Coach of the Year honors
Bruce Pearl earns AP Coach of the Year honors Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl earned AP Co-Coach of the Year honors on Friday. Auburn's leading man, who led the Tigers to their second Final Four in six years this season, shared the award with Saint John's head coach Rick Pitino. It was the first time in AP history two coaches received the same amount of votes (20) for the honor. Pearl became the winningest coach in Auburn history during a 2024-2025 campaign in which the Tigers have already secured program record for most wins (32) in a season. Pearl's Tigers, who have already won three championships - Maui Invitational, SEC Regular Season, South Regional - have as good a chance as any program to win a fourth, and most important, on Monday. The No. 1 overall seeded Tigers spent a program record 8 weeks ranked as the top team in the AP Poll this season. Auburn never fell outside of the top five after it received the No. 11 ranking in the preseason poll. The love in the polls, as well as from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, was mainly due to the fact the Tigers won a country-leading 16 Quadrant 1 contests in the regular season. Auburn's head coach navigated a schedule he referred to as the "most difficult in Auburn history" to near perfection. Pearl and his staff led the Tigers into battle 29 times against programs that appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn lost just 5 of those 29 games, two of which were against teams currently in the Final Four. If Pearl can cap off his magnificent season with an National Championship in a few days, Auburn's 2024-2025 season will be considered one of the greatest of all time for a college basketball program. The road will be difficult, but if any coach can lead a group of immensely talented players to the promised land, it's the SEC, AP, NABC Division I Coach of the Year. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
NBC Sports
04-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
UCLA coach Cori Close uses lessons learned from time with UConn's Geno Auriemma over a decade ago
TAMPA, Fla. — When Cori Close was starting out at UCLA 14 years ago, she called Geno Auriemma and asked if she could fly across the country to watch his UConn team practice during the NCAA Tournament because her team wasn't playing in March Madness. It was Close's first head coaching job, the Bruins had finished the season with a losing record and she wanted to see what made Auriemma's team so successful. Auriemma was happy to oblige and Close watched his team up close. She came back with her staff in the fall to try to learn more. 'He's a master teacher. He's done it in a style of play that I really enjoy, just personally, especially on the offensive end,' said Close, who was named AP Coach of the Year. 'Trying to think about as a young, first-year coach at that point what was that going to look like for me. It wasn't just Coach Auriemma. (Chris Dailey) and their assistant coaches, their whole program, just letting someone in in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and learn, I think it's a huge credit to them.' Over the past four decades, the Huskies have won a record 11 national championships and are nearly a perennial Final Four participant. The Bruins have been climbing steadily over the past few seasons, earning the school's first No. 1 ranking earlier this season and now are appearing in the Final Four for the first time. Their next opponent will be UConn. 'If I had known, I wouldn't have let her in,' Auriemma said, laughing. But then he was reflective of the experience. 'Basketball is basketball, you know? And it's our job to share it if we have anything that's worth it, and if they think that we have something that's worth it,' Auriemma said. 'You can't worry about anything else. Our relationship — and through USA Basketball, Cori and I got to know each other a little bit. 'We both share a passion for wines. And so her energy and all that she has, that she brings is just infectious, I think. And I'm glad when coaches have success. That's what we're here for.' This isn't the first time the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. UConn beat UCLA in the Sweet 16 in 2017 and 2019. A lot more is at stake now with the Bruins on the biggest stage for the first time. UConn is a veteran of the Final Four, reaching the national semifinals for the 16th time in the past 17 seasons. 'There's four teams left out of hundreds in the NCAA, so we're just so grateful,' Huskies star Paige Bueckers said. 'But we know like the journey isn't done. We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have this to finish, so we want to enjoy this, soak it up, be proud of each other.' Rice and Fudd are familiar opponents UCLA guard Kiki Rice and UConn's Azzi Fudd are no strangers to each other, having played at rival high schools in the Washington, D.C., area. 'Our high schools were 15 minutes away from each other. I think she's always been a fantastic shooter, one of the best shooters I've been able to see and stuff,' Rice said. 'And I think just grateful to have another opportunity to play against her and the UConn team. But it's really cool that both of us are from the DMV.' UCLA's Betts is feeling good physically and mentally Lauren Betts has been nearly unstoppable the last few weeks, helping UCLA win the Big Ten Tournament and leading the Bruins to their first Final Four. She has averaged 21.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field. She and her teammates credit some of the success to her opening up about her mental health struggles. 'I think one of the reasons why I wanted to come out with the story is because I felt like I was finally in the right place to do so,' Betts said. 'I think that I just had done a lot of healing since then. I was, like, you know what, I just don't feel like I have to really hide this anymore. 'I think the responses that I've had since then have truly just validated what I did and what I put out. And I think the amount of love and support that I've gotten just means a lot to me.' Betts along with Bueckers and Fudd are among a growing number of college players who have opened up about mental health struggles.
Associated Press
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
UCLA Bruins Coach Cori Close is named AP Coach of the Year
Cori Close, coach of the UCLA women's basketball team, is the AP Coach of the Year.
Associated Press
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
UCLA coach Cori Close uses lessons learned from time with UConn's Geno Auriemma over a decade ago
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When Cori Close was starting out at UCLA 14 years ago, she called Geno Auriemma and asked if she could fly across the country to watch his UConn team practice during the NCAA Tournament because her team wasn't playing in March Madness. It was Close's first head coaching job, the Bruins had finished the season with a losing record and she wanted to see what made Auriemma's team so successful. Auriemma was happy to oblige and Close watched his team up close. She came back with her staff in the fall to try to learn more. 'He's a master teacher. He's done it in a style of play that I really enjoy, just personally, especially on the offensive end,' said Close, who was named AP Coach of the Year on Thursday. 'Trying to think about as a young, first-year coach at that point what was that going to look like for me. It wasn't just Coach Auriemma. (Chris Dailey) and their assistant coaches, their whole program, just letting someone in in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and learn, I think it's a huge credit to them.' Over the past four decades, the Huskies have won a record 11 national championships and are nearly a perennial Final Four participant. The Bruins have been climbing steadily over the past few seasons, earning the school's first No. 1 ranking earlier this season and now are appearing in the Final Four for the first time. Their opponent on Friday night will be UConn. 'If I had known, I wouldn't have let her in,' Auriemma said, laughing. But then he was reflective of the experience. 'Basketball is basketball, you know? And it's our job to share it if we have anything that's worth it, and if they think that we have something that's worth it,' Auriemma said. 'You can't worry about anything else. Our relationship — and through USA Basketball, Cori and I got to know each other a little bit. 'We both share a passion for wines. And so her energy and all that she has, that she brings is just infectious, I think. And I'm glad when coaches have success. That's what we're here for.' This isn't the first time the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament. UConn beat UCLA in the Sweet 16 in 2017 and 2019. A lot more is at stake now with the Bruins on the biggest stage for the first time. UConn is a veteran of the Final Four, reaching the national semifinals for the 16th time in the past 17 seasons. 'There's four teams left out of hundreds in the NCAA, so we're just so grateful,' Huskies star Paige Bueckers said. 'But we know like the journey isn't done. We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have this to finish, so we want to enjoy this, soak it up, be proud of each other.' Rice and Fudd are familiar opponents UCLA guard Kiki Rice and UConn's Azzi Fudd are no strangers to each other, having played at rival high schools in the Washington, D.C., area. 'Our high schools were 15 minutes away from each other. I think she's always been a fantastic shooter, one of the best shooters I've been able to see and stuff,' Rice said. 'And I think just grateful to have another opportunity to play against her and the UConn team. But it's really cool that both of us are from the DMV.' UCLA's Betts is feeling good physically and mentally Lauren Betts has been nearly unstoppable the last few weeks, helping UCLA win the Big Ten Tournament and leading the Bruins to their first Final Four. She has averaged 21.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field. She and her teammates credit some of the success to her opening up about her mental health struggles last month. 'I think one of the reasons why I wanted to come out with the story is because I felt like I was finally in the right place to do so,' Betts said. 'I think that I just had done a lot of healing since then. I was, like, you know what, I just don't feel like I have to really hide this anymore. 'I think the responses that I've had since then have truly just validated what I did and what I put out. And I think the amount of love and support that I've gotten just means a lot to me.'
