UConn women's basketball

Geno Auriemma will receive the Winged Foot Award for the fifth time in his career Thursday, at the New York Athletic Club. The prestigious Winged Foot Award is presented annually to the winning coaches of the NCAA Women’s and Men’s Division I Basketball championships. North Carolina’s Roy Williams will also be honored Thursday.

UConn’s 76-54 rout of Louisville in the 2009 NCAA National Championship Game placed an exclamation point on an undefeated season for the Huskies. They finished the season an incredible 39-0 – the third perfect season in the program’s history and quite possibly its most dominant – as the Huskies became the first program in NCAA Division I history (men’s or women’s) to win each of its games by a margin of 10 points or more.

For his career, Auriemma has coached three undefeated teams (1995, 2002, 2009), won six national championships, garnered a total of 24 National Coach of the Year honors and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He also will coach the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

WINNERS OF THE WOMEN’S WINGED FOOT AWARD: Carolyn Peck, Purdue (1999), Geno Auriemma, Connecticut (2000, 2002-04), Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame (2001), Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor (2005), Brenda Frese, Maryland (2006) and Pat Summit, Tennessee (2007-2008), Geno Auriemma (2009)

WINNERS OF THE MEN’S WINGED FOOT AWARD: Rick Pitino, Kentucky (1996), Tubby Smith, Kentucky (1997), Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (1999 and 2004), Tom Izzo, Michigan State (2000), Mike Krzyzewski, Duke (2001), Gary Williams, Maryland (2002), Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (2003), Roy Williams, North Carolina (2005) and Billy Donavan, Florida (2006 and 2007).Bill Self (2008), Roy Williams (2009)

Rich

Jamelle Elliott’s phone rang at 7:30 this morning. Her former coach and boss and dear friend was on the other end. Geno Auriemma wanted to know if she felt like head coach yet. It was 8 ½ hours before Elliott was to be formally introduced as the eighth head women’s basketball coach at Cincinnati.
“I said, `I haven’t been able to sleep for two nights.’ So if that’s what it means to be a head coach I think I feel like that,’’ Elliott said. “But he gave me some great advice that I’m going to use. I told him, `Coach, I just want to do things right and I want to do things the right way. And he said to me, `You know you’re not going to get everything right. But do something right every day and make sure you do it the right way.’ He didn’t know it, but at the time tears came to my eyes and it just made me feel good about going into this situation. And he’s right. I’m not going to have the answers to everything. But if I do things the right way and I make sure I do something right every day I think I’ll be OK. And I promise him I’m going to do things the right way here at the University of Cincinnati.’’
Elliott would begin to cry twice during her news conference, which was streamed live on the Internet, when she began to speak about her relationship with Auriemma. She arrived at UConn as a 17 year old freshman in 1992. She spent the last 17 years of her life in the same place. As a player she helped lead the Huskies to a record of 117-18, including their first national championship and undefeated season (35-0) in 1994-95. She ranks 22nd all-time in team history in scoring (1,387) and second in rebounding (1,054). She is one of only two Huskies to amass 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (Rebecca Lobo).
The Huskies went 402-36 since Elliott joined Auriemma’s coaching staff in 1997-98. She was part of five national championships, seven Final Four appearances, 10 Big East regular season championships, nine conference tournament championships and two unbeaten seasons in her tenure.
Elliott had previously been offered the head job at Fairfield and went deep into the process for vacancies at George Washington and Penn State in the past couple of years when she truly wanted to become a head coach. Still, Elliott remained an assistant coach at UConn. Her 12-year tenure ended this afternoon, and Auriemma not only made sure to tell her how he felt over the phone this morning but he made sure he was there at Fifth Third Arena to see her off.
There was no question it meant a lot to Elliott to have Auriemma there, just like he was last year in Philadelphia when Tonya Cardoza moved on to Temple after 14 seasons at UConn.
“Oh, it means the world,’’ Elliott said. “He plays a lot of roles in my life. He’s been my coach. He’s been my boss. Most importantly, he’s been my friend. He’s been a father figure. I’ve known the man half my life. So forget about the coaching stuff that I learned from him. The thing that I value most is the friendship and the relationship and that’s what I’m going to miss.’’
Said Auriemma: “This is the right time for Jamelle. She is more than ready to take on this challenge. There isn’t an aspect of this job that she isn’t prepared for. The kids will love her and the fans will love how hard her kids will work and the style of play. There is a lot of sadness in Storrs, Connecticut, today, but a lot of joy for Jamelle personally for her getting this opportunity. I don’t know that I’ve been around a better coach.”
Elliott said she hopes to find a place to live in the next two to three weeks at the most. Her three main focuses right now are her players, her staff and recruiting. She hopes to also have a staff in place in the near future.
Elliott hoped to have former Huskies guard and Cincinnati native Mel Thomas on her staff as a graduate assistant. But that does not look like it will happen … at least not this year. She said that Thomas recently had surgery on the same right knee that prematurely ended her career with the Huskies in January of 2008 and still wants to continue her playing career.
“She just had surgery recently on her knee and she wasn’t sure how that was going to work or what the recovery period was going to be with her knee surgery,’’ Elliott said. “And I know that Mel has desires to play overseas and I thought she would be a great addition to the staff by her being from Cincinnati and being such a great player here at Mount Notre Dame. But I know she has aspirations of playing overseas, but maybe if not this year then maybe a year from now, maybe two years from now. But I know Mel comes back to Cincinnati quite a bit and hopefully she’ll come around and work out with the players and be a little bit of a mentor to them and give them some advice or conversation or help them with any questions or anything that she can do. I know that she’s going to be there to help with them.’’
Elliott succeeds J. Kelley Hall, who was fired April 10 after two just seasons at Cincinnati (26-33). The Bearcats were 14-17 this season, which included a last-place finish in the Big East at 3-13. The challenge to right the situation is one that she is ready to grasp. She has never backed down from a challenge. That’s why she has been so successful as a player and as a coach to this point. There’s no reason to believe it will change now.
“To be honest, I don’t know if you are ever ready to be a head coach until you’re in that position,’’ Elliott said. “I can’t say that I’m ready to be a head coach because I haven’t been a head coach. Have I prepared myself to be a head coach in any way that I can? Yes I have. What has Connecticut done and how has Connecticut been a part of that? I mean, it’s obvious. He has done things the right way from the very beginning. He’s instilled that in his players. He’s instilled that in his staff. He doesn’t cut corners. He’s surrounded himself with a long-time assistant in Chris Dailey who has done a great job for him. I just learned that if you surround yourself with the right people and you’re willing to work really, really hard there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be successful. I think the biggest compliment that I can give them is that everybody there prepared me for this moment and I’m going to make them proud and I’m not going to disappoint them.’’

Rich

UConn assistant coach Jamelle Elliott has been a candidate for several head coaching positions in recent years. She is finally moving on after 12 seasons with the Huskies.
Sources familiar with the coaching search have confirmed that Elliott has been named the new head coach at Cincinnati. She will be officially introduced during a news conference Tuesday at the Fifth Third Arena media room at 4 p.m.
This marks the second straight off-season that a long-time UConn assistant coach has been hired as a head coach. Tonya Cardoza left after 14 seasons to become the coach at Temple last June.
Elliott first interviewed with Cincinnati late last month. She had been a candidate at Fairfield, Penn State and George Washington –among others – in recent seasons. Coach Geno Auriemma expressed his surprise that she had not been hired each time she remained with the Huskies.
Elliott will succeed J. Kelley Hall, who was fired by Cincinnati Director of Athletics Mike Thomas April 10 after two seasons with the Bearcats. They finished 14-17 this season (3-13, last Big East), were a combined 6-26 over the last two years in the conference and are 19-45 since joining the conference four years ago.
Hall was a combined 26-33 at Cincinnati. He became the seventh head coach in program history April 4, 2007.
Elliott won a national championship as a player during UConn’s 35-0 season in 1994-95 and helped lead the team to two Final Four appearances during her career. Since joining Auriemma’s staff in 1997-98 she was part of five national championships – two unbeaten seasons – and seven Final Four appearances.
The Huskies were a combined 402-36 during Elliott’s tenure, winning 10 Big East regular season championships and nine conference tournament championships. She worked primarily with the post players, grooming Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams, and Tina Charles into All-Americans.

Rich

Geno’s Cancer Team, which is spearheaded by Geno and his wife Kathy, will host the second annual “Horsin’ Around’’ charity event Saturday at Geno’s Fast Break Restaurant at the Mohegan Sun Casino from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm. The event boasts a Derby Day theme centered around the running of the 135th Kentucky Derby, which will be viewed on big-screen TVs.
The Team raised more than $75,000 at last year’s event and has already generated more than $100,000 this year. The hope is to surpass $150,000 when the donations from the live and silent auctions are factored into the equation.
The net proceeds from the event will be donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The afternoon will include hors d’oeuvres, a wine tasting provided by Connecticut Distributors and live entertainment
provided by Out of the Basement. Auction items include a UConn 2009 national championship basketball, signed Rafael Nadal photos and tickets to see Brittany Spears at Mohegan Sun. The live auction will be highlighted by two tickets to be guests of Geno and Kathy at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Ring Ceremony at the Mohegan Sun Sept. 12. This year’s inductees include Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton and Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer.
Nick Valvano, the brother of legend Jim Valvano and CEO of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, will be a guest Saturday.
Tickets are $150 at the door. For more information regarding the event or to make a donation log on to www.genoscancerteam.org or call 860-558-1987.

The Huskies have already landed four elite players in the Class of 2010. Sources have said that they currently have their eyes on a pair of 6-foot-3 post players – Chiney Ogwumike from Cypress, Texas, and Natasha Howard from Toledo, Ohio. Of course, landing Bria Hartley, a 5-10 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y., remains a top priority. The recruiting process will again heat up in July.

Rich