Geno Auriemma was so shocked that he was named the Big East Co-Coach of the Year today that he forgot for an instant who was on his coaching staff. He did not forget associate head coach Chris Dailey. But instead of praising assistants Shea Ralph and Marisa Moseley, he mentioned former assistants Tonya Cardoza, who now the head coach at Temple, and Jamelle Elliott, who is now the head coach at Cincinnati.
Here’s that segment of his acceptance speech:
“No matter how many times you get this award you’re always appreciative because the other coaches in the league think highly enough of you to cast a vote for you,’’ Auriemma said. “To my players who, believe me, I can’t even put into words sometimes what I feel like when I’m around you guys and when I’m watching you guys play. And our coaches. … Our coaching staff has changed, but some things always remain the same. And Chris and Tonya and Jamelle and Jack (Eisenmann, director of basketball operations) … They’re the best in the country at what they do. Keith (Anderson, video coordinator). We just have an unbelievable staff. We really, really do. It’s because of you guys that we get to appreciate and enjoy all this stuff.’’
Laughter could be from the players when Auriemma misspoke. When he was made aware of his error following the awards ceremony he felt horrible. But he more than made up for it.
“I’ve got to be the dumbest son of a (gun) that ever lived,’’ Auriemma said. “I’m fried I guess. I need a couple days off myself. But, obviously, when you’ve got the people that we have surrounding us it’s really, really … I don’t want to say it’s easy because nothing’s easy. But, for me, I don’t have the same worries maybe, the same issues that maybe some other coaches would have. And even bringing in two new coaches, it’s like bringing in two new players that just play well right away. You just bring in the right people and CD’s done a great job of kind of mentoring them. And they are unbelievably hard workers and they had big shoes to fill when they got here, and they’ve done it. They’ve done it in their own way. I wish I could give them all the trophies that you end up getting.’’
Rich
Perhaps another “goof” from Geno on Friday was his late appearance. Others were kept waiting for almost an hour. Surely, he, or his staff, should have realized that traffic was heavy at that time, especially with Break, and allowed extra time. Most of us plan ahead for time scheduled events such as meeting, planes, shows, etc.
Comment by jake — March 6th, 2010 @ 9:34 am