Geno Auriemma rebuffs critics who say UConn’s dominance is bad

Hall of Fame Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma took some time at his team’s pregame press conference for its matchup against Texas in the Elite Eight to address questions about whether UConn’s dominance of women’s college basketball is bad for the game.

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Hall of Fame Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma took some time at his team’s pregame press conference for its matchup against Texas in the Elite Eight to address questions about whether UConn’s dominance of women’s college basketball is bad for the game.

Addressing the question that he and his player have often faced during the school’s current 72-game winning streak, Auriemma said that he doesn’t see how his team’s strong play is hurting the sport.

“When Tiger [Woods] was winning every major, nobody said he was bad for golf,” Auriemma said via ESPN. “Actually he did a lot for golf. He made everybody have to be a better golfer. And they did. And now there's a lot more great golfers because of Tiger.”

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Auriemma, who became the coach at UConn in the 1985–86 season, has tallied a 952–134 career record and won 10 national championships, tied for the most all-time with legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

Auriemma compared UConn’s current dominance to that of UCLA during the 1960s–70s.

“We don't appreciate people for how good they are and what a good job they do -- we always have to compare it to something,” Auriemma said. “It's only in women's basketball. It's the only sport where that happens. The only sport. Day in, day out, year in, year out, we're faced with those questions and those comparisons.”

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