STORRS, Conn. — If you thought UConn coach Geno Auriemma would immediately get all emotional and sentimental, then you probably haven’t been paying attention for the last 40 years. If you imagined he would sit back and take in the moment instead of getting in his steps on the sideline, then you haven’t paid much attention to how he got to this point.
Instead, when Auriemma notched career win No. 1,217 with an 85-41 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson to become the all-time winningest college basketball coach, it was impossible not to see first the relief and then how much his head was spinning.
Even as the streamers fell, 10,000 fans chanted “Ge-no! Ge-no!” and 63 of his former players filtered onto the floor to line up on the baseline, Auriemma puttered around midcourt with his frustrations seemingly emanating off him. How could his players let them shoot 55 percent in the first quarter? Why couldn’t they execute a scoring play (up 23 points) to end the first half? How could they shoot so poorly in the first half?
As he walked around the court, his former players closed in around him.
It’s impossible to quantify 1,217 wins or comprehend how Wednesday was really any different from Tuesday for Auriemma. He’ll say it wasn’t. The numbers, as concrete as they are,…
