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00:00Are we rolling?
00:01Yes.
00:02All right.
00:04Like in here?
00:07Yeah, just sounds good.
00:10Cool.
00:11Good catch for a cameraman.
00:13So where would you like to begin?
00:17Whatever you want.
00:19Just here.
00:20Trying to be an open book.
00:23That doesn't get me arrested.
00:25When I met my college coach, and he's like, what number do you think you want to be?
00:32I was like, I think I want to be zero.
00:35He goes, no.
00:36I was like, double zero.
00:38He goes, no.
00:40Only assholes are double zero.
00:41I was just like, it's just a number.
00:45He was like, you're going to be three.
00:47You're going to be the Babe Ruth of women's basketball.
00:50And I was like, who the fuck is Babe Ruth?
00:54No one has made more in WNBA history.
00:59Three NCAA titles.
01:01Three WNBA titles.
01:02Six Olympic gold medals.
01:04And six Euro league titles.
01:06Tarassi.
01:07Three.
01:08The league's first 10,000 points scored.
01:11Tarassi!
01:13This is what it's all about.
01:14Pretty simple.
01:15I just wanted to win.
01:17I didn't do it for a little bit of fame, a little bit of money.
01:20I did it to win and have the respect of the people around me.
01:23This inner fire of trying to be better.
01:25Better than myself.
01:26It's Diana Tarassi time.
01:28I'm the best player in the world and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist.
01:32There was this underworld that Russia had.
01:35I made such a bad decision.
01:36A stellar reputation tarnished extreme DUI charges.
01:40Diana Tarassi.
01:41Trusting positive for ban stimulant.
01:43I keep getting put in these situations where I have no control.
01:48I always wanted to be the best motherfucker on the court.
01:50That's literally my only goal.
01:51Yeah!
01:52Top one in the league.
01:54The best in the WNBA.
01:56Best player in the world.
01:57The GOAT.
01:58Tarassi to beat the buzzer.
02:02The GOAT.
02:03The GOAT.
02:04The GOAT.
02:05The GOAT.
02:06The GOAT.
02:07The GOAT.
02:08The GOAT.
02:09The GOAT.
02:10The GOAT.
02:11The GOAT.
02:12The GOAT.
02:13The GOAT.
02:14The GOAT.
02:15The GOAT.
02:16The GOAT.
02:17The GOAT.
02:18The GOAT.
02:19The GOAT.
02:20The GOAT.
02:21The GOAT.
02:22The GOAT.
02:23The GOAT.
02:24The GOAT.
02:25The GOAT.
02:26The GOAT.
02:27The GOAT.
02:28The GOAT.
02:29The GOAT.
02:30The GOAT.
02:31The GOAT.
02:32The GOAT.
02:33Looks like we have you here for two nights.
02:35Sounds good.
02:36Perfect.
02:37Let's see if I make it two nights.
02:40Hey, guys.
02:44Where's your portion?
02:45Just didn't make the wall.
02:46Didn't do enough.
02:47Only the champions.
02:49Wow.
02:51Nothing but luxury here at Connecticut.
03:01Achoocha!
03:02What are you doing, choocha?
03:04Choocha.
03:06Choochalini.
03:08What you got?
03:10Choochalini!
03:12Choochalini!
03:14Choochalini!
03:16She's not interested in anything but cupcake.
03:18All right, we better run.
03:19All right, hon.
03:20Bye.
03:21Bye.
03:22Bye.
03:23I hope the little raspy voice never leaves.
03:26It's just so cute.
03:28Gets me come take a shit with me.
03:30No, I'm kidding.
03:31No, I'm kidding.
03:32No, I'm kidding.
03:33Yeah!
03:34Yeah, it's so cute.
03:38Hmmm.
03:39Aaaaaaahhhh, Osskies!
03:42C!
03:43C
03:44C
03:45C
03:46O
03:47A
03:48And the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player in 2003 and 2004, Diana Taurasi!
03:59What's it feel like when you come back home?
04:25I mean, it's amazing. I haven't been in Gamble in probably 18 years.
04:29Really?
04:29So, you know, every time you come back, you see all these other faces, and it's home.
04:42That is nice.
04:47Is there a game tonight?
04:49Okay. Okay.
04:51I don't even know how we navigated these streets.
04:53I mean, back then, it's not like you had Google Maps.
04:56It was kind of just, I mean, I guess there's only two roads.
04:59You can't get too lost.
05:01You come here for four years, and then it's a whole different world of basketball that you have to put up with.
05:06I loved my four years of being broke.
05:11Being broke is a joke.
05:12I remember the first time.
05:16I took my visit to Connecticut with my mom in 99.
05:20When they visited, Mario, Diana's father could not come.
05:28So, it was only Lily and Dee.
05:31And I was like, what a lovely place.
05:37Look at these trees.
05:39Look at the foliage.
05:41From L.A., I don't know what foliage is.
05:43And my mom's just like...
05:44Dije yo, esto es para una pelĂcula de terror.
05:47Diana me pegaba asĂ, porque cada vez que yo hablaba y decĂa algo, Diana me pegaba una patada en el asiento para que no dijera nada.
05:54Porque yo decĂa, Âżcuántos árboles?
05:56Qué oscuridad.
05:57Qué feo que es esto.
05:57No me gusta.
05:58Where are we?
05:59And they're like, you're in Connecticut.
06:01She goes, why are there no streetlights?
06:02Why is it so dark here?
06:03Why is there no traffic?
06:04I don't like it here.
06:05My daughter's not coming to school here.
06:06If anyone has an Italian or Argentinian mom, it's always the family.
06:11Everything's for your kids.
06:12Everything's for your kids.
06:13Which can get a little annoying sometimes.
06:15Bueno, yo fui una mamá muy aforrada a mis hijas.
06:20Nunca les permitĂ ni que se fueran desde la puerta de mi casa a ningĂşn lado.
06:25Siempre aquà en casa con mamá y papá.
06:27Siempre juntos los cuatro comiendo en la mesa a su horario.
06:31Siempre.
06:33No matter what.
06:36Growing up with Dee was just a built-in best friend.
06:40We did everything together.
06:42My mom always said, no matter what happens, don't let anyone break you guys up.
06:46We weren't super girly.
06:48It was just always sports.
06:50Aparte de básquetbol, a la Jessica y a Diana le gusta jugar fútbol.
06:56Mi vida siempre jugué fútbol y le inculqué a mis hijas también.
07:00Pero como Mario trabajaba mucho, no se podĂa llevar al fĂştbol y al básquet.
07:04Entonces dijimos, ¿o básquet o fútbol?
07:07Y ella prefirió el básquetbol.
07:09Mamá querĂa tenista.
07:11Básquetbol consumió mi vida.
07:17Y yo siempre querĂa hacerlo.
07:19Yo recuerdo que fui a casa de la escuela, comer un bowl de cereales, shoot un poco.
07:26El partido está por empezar.
07:28Y yo iba a ir a mi casa, pute la TV en.
07:29Y yo iba a ver.
07:30Y eso es cuando me quedé en el 90s básquetbol.
07:34Con Magic y Jordan.
07:35Kids read a book.
07:38I watched a basketball game.
07:39That was my book.
07:40At halftime, she'd run out to the front porch and try to copy whatever shot they just took.
07:44A lot of it came from watching, but then a lot of it came just from her natural ability.
07:48Cuando llegaba del trabajo, mi segundo trabajo era bañar a mi hija a jugar al básquetbol.
08:01Diana me decĂa, bueno, mami, si yo voy a tirar free throw, vos me los contás.
08:05Era la once y media, hasta que no llegué a los 300, no nos vamos adentro.
08:08Mamá me decĂa, y llegaba, llegaba a los 300.
08:11Y nos tenĂamos muchos vecinos de garganta.
08:15Ellos sabĂan cĂłmo bien D era solo por mirar.
08:18Entonces, ellos irĂan recruterar a los chicos de los parques, de la calle,
08:21diciendo, tenemos alguien que es realmente bueno.
08:23Nos creemos que ellos te van a golpear en uno en uno.
08:26Primero ellos pensaban que ella no va a ser tan buena.
08:28Y luego mi hija simplemente les llevaba a la escuela.
08:35Ellos se sentĂan fuera esperando a mi hija a jugar al básquetbol.
08:39So, it was 1992, my parents had been in L.A. for 14 años.
08:52Things weren't going like they thought it was going to go in the U.S.
08:55Mario, oh no!
08:59They really miss their family.
09:02They miss the way of life.
09:03And they asked us,
09:16what do you think if we move to Argentina?
09:18And we're like, sounds good.
09:19Thinking it was going to be a lifelong vacation.
09:22So, we packed everything up and we went to Argentina.
09:24My sister loved it because she was a little bit older.
09:34She found the social side of living in that country amazing.
09:38We had a lot of family, which we were not used to.
09:41With that came a lot of freedom.
09:43We were able to, like, go down the street with the kids from the neighborhood
09:47and go get ice cream and play outside until nighttime.
09:49We were like, wow, we never got to do this at home.
09:53For me, the first couple months were very hard.
09:56I didn't find myself being able to integrate.
10:00Diana empezó a jugar al básquetbol en Estados Unidos.
10:03Y, claro, cuando fuimos a Argentina, nunca le gustĂł mucho a Diana.
10:07No son muchas las mujeres que se dedican a jugar al básquetbol, como aquĂ.
10:11Es minorĂa, eh.
10:13Bueno, es una vida un poquito diferente acta de los Unidos.
10:39Y, claro, es una vida.
11:09My dad's just like, be quiet, be quiet.
11:19And they just ransack the whole place.
11:21They steal everything we have, which wasn't much.
11:23I was in a bit of a depression.
11:33I was like, we're going back to jail, like, we're not going to get to do anything at home now.
11:51I have to suffer the consequences.
11:57My parents were focusing on her basketball.
12:00All the time was spent taking her to tournaments.
12:02I was a little resentful.
12:06I miss Argentina.
12:07And welcome back to the national championships for the AAU girls.
12:15At the free throw line now, Diana Taurasi.
12:19A lot of folks calling her the best player in this tournament.
12:22In 1996, our little AE team got together.
12:25At the time, there was just hundreds of tournaments everywhere.
12:28I just remember the weekends were the best.
12:32I'd get in my Toyota Corolla, stick shift, drive down to Huntington Beach, and then we'd play like five games on a Saturday.
12:38I got a wristband here, a wristband here, a wristband around my neck, a tall sock, a little sock, a blue shoe, a red shoe.
12:51It was fun.
12:52It wasn't a job.
12:53There was no pressure.
12:54I couldn't wait to do it every weekend.
12:56With high school basketball, things got serious.
13:02The freshman, she came in hot.
13:05People already knew her from junior high.
13:08And then people from other schools were coming to watch her.
13:12And she started filling up our gym.
13:14They were standing room only to watch her play.
13:30Our AAU team would travel.
13:31We went to Florida.
13:33We'd go to Louisiana.
13:34Basketball consumed my whole day, my whole week, my whole month.
13:38My whole year.
13:41I'm not talking about that.
13:43We already screwed it up.
13:44I'm talking about why would you leave that guy open?
13:47I had only heard about Diana.
13:49People had seen her play when she was really young.
13:51So my first opportunity to see her may have been...
13:54It was at Nike All-American Camp, Indianapolis.
13:5950 of the top players in the country.
14:02Usually it's juniors and seniors.
14:04And I got invited as a sophomore, which is huge.
14:06As I'm watching her, she just looked like I want to be different.
14:10I'm different in how I look.
14:11I'm different in how I play.
14:12I'm different in how outgoing I am.
14:15I like something about him.
14:18She just walked right over to where I was sitting.
14:20In front of a bunch of other coaches, too.
14:22And started talking to me.
14:23She basically said, this friend of mine wants your autograph.
14:25She goes, I don't really care, but she wants the autograph.
14:27You know, like that kind of attitude.
14:28I remember the interaction was very quick, but it lasted in my head for a long time.
14:33As I got to talk to her more and more, I realized that we had a lot in common.
14:37And I even asked her, was your father born in Italy?
14:39Because there's a great wine called Taurasi, and it's from down where I grew up.
14:44She told me, yes, he was.
14:45And that kind of made sense.
14:48Well, she's a six-foot-tall point guard who's just finished her high school basketball career
14:51with a very impressive 3,000-plus points.
14:55All right, Diana Taurasi is our Mervyn's California Female Athlete of the Week.
15:00I was a top high school recruit.
15:02My parents, they had no clue.
15:04They were just trying to pay the light bill.
15:07They weren't like, oh, he's the first one to graduate from college.
15:10That just is not part of my upbringing.
15:13And there was benefits like, hey, Mom, sign this report card that's an F.
15:17Okay, thanks, love you.
15:21When you get to be a sophomore, you start getting all these letters
15:25I wouldn't even read them.
15:26I'm like, I don't even know what this letter means.
15:28A scholarship?
15:28I don't even know what a scholarship is.
15:32It was an unexpected thing.
15:33We have photos, really.
15:34Look at the piece full of letters that I said, what is that, Diana?
15:38Every day I'd come home, and it's like tons of messages on the machine,
15:42and they were all coaches of, like, really prestigious schools calling for my sister.
15:46There's a handful of schools that I loved already from the beginning.
15:49I loved UCLA.
15:50That's like my hometown school.
15:52But when I started seeing Coach Rayma, he would come more often, right?
15:56He'd come to the games, come to practice, and then the home visits started.
16:01When I met Mario for the first time, there was a sense already of what his background was,
16:23what his thoughts are on life and kids in general.
16:27We didn't talk anything about basketball, he and I, when we first met.
16:31We were out back just having a drink, two old Italian guys talking about their family.
16:37I was like my uncle over here.
16:39I didn't know he was going to be the annoying uncle, but he's my uncle nonetheless.
16:42That's the one thing that Coach and I bonded on from the beginning.
16:44He just understood the way I grew up.
16:48His name is Gino Auriemma.
16:50The name of his game is women's basketball.
16:52Now has the longest winning streak of any women's Division I basketball team.
16:57Can you believe the reception you're getting here?
16:59No.
17:00He was the new kid on the block.
17:02Got to UConn in 85, and then the next couple years, you just see this influx of talent.
17:07Getting the number one player in the country every single year.
17:10Getting players with a winning mindset became the only thing I cared about.
17:18Deep down, my mom and dad always thought Diana would stay close.
17:22Because they knew she could pick wherever she wanted to go.
17:25And they always thought like, oh, she'll go to UCLA or USC.
17:28She'll stay local so mom and dad can come watch her and we can go see her games.
17:34Siempre en su mente estaba de ida a Canerica.
17:37Nunca nos decĂa.
17:38Hasta el Ăşltimo dĂa que nos dijo, papi, me voy a Canerica.
17:43Liliana dijo, y al final se la llevĂł Gino.
17:47Dice, ajecha Gino, ajecha Gino.
17:52She picked a school that was so far away.
17:55My parents were so depressed.
17:57They had quit smoking for years, and the minute she left for college,
18:01I would see my mom and dad outside smoking because they were all stressed out and depressed.
18:04It was a really, like, big shock to them.
18:14Cuando Diana se fue, imagĂnate, a mĂ me sacaron la mitad de mi vida.
18:18Porque siempre fue muy compañera nuestra.
18:22Y, ay, no, a mĂ me sacaron la mitad de mi vida ese dĂa.
18:25Iba la pieza de ella, limpiaba la pieza, cambiaba la sábana.
18:29No puedo asà más nada, no quiero llorar.
18:37ÂżYa?
18:38No, con todo el mal.
18:43Let's take a moment.
18:44Okay.
18:45Why don't we take a little break?
18:46Okay.
18:47We didn't have D in the house.
19:07We didn't hear the ball banging against the backboard.
19:09It was a hard adjustment.
19:17Moving to Connecticut, you know, it was all these things that I was just getting used to.
19:24I didn't know what scheduling was.
19:27I didn't know where the classes were.
19:30I didn't know who I was living with.
19:31I didn't know how to do my own laundry.
19:34And being from the West Coast, going to the East Coast, you know, people talk different.
19:40They think different.
19:41In Connecticut, it snowed for six months, and I was used to shooting in a t-shirt during Christmas outside.
19:47So there was all these things that were just not familiar to me.
19:51No!
19:51But I had a really great group of teammates that helped me out.
20:00D came in to school, and right away, there's an energy to her.
20:05There's a charisma to her.
20:06Sue, how do you feel about that she was gay?
20:09Well, I thought we played three.
20:11Is there a reason why your hands are behind your head?
20:13She was the first one to tease you, but also the first one to put her arm around you.
20:18It says a lot about her.
20:20Sue was two years older than me.
20:22You know, when you're a freshman, you're a freshman.
20:24No one gives a shit about you.
20:25But we became friends.
20:27But the only thing we do, we want to never get to see you.
20:30Practice.
20:30It's sweet.
20:31Oh, food in her belly.
20:33Food in her belly.
20:35Dia had that West Coast vibe.
20:37It's a little more chill.
20:38It's a little more showy.
20:39In practice, she'd be a little loose with it, turn it over.
20:43That wasn't going to fly.
20:44Coach Riamma made you have to kind of rein it in.
20:50Before Diana started her freshman year at Connecticut, she didn't spend a lot of time on things other
21:05than give me a ball, put it in my hand, let me go play.
21:08And coming here, there was a whole new way to prepare to play basketball.
21:17When she got here, we were a team that had already won two national championships.
21:21And now here comes Diana, and she's the obnoxious freshman who thinks she's better than everybody else.
21:26She wasn't a big fan, let's put it that way.
21:29Hey, D, when you catch the ball over there, you got to look for that low guy first.
21:32She's wide open.
21:32What do they say, D?
21:34Why would you leave that guy open?
21:35Come on, man.
21:36I just said that.
21:37When I was young, the basketball court, it was just a canvas, and I would just throw shit at the wall.
21:43Throw paint.
21:44I could throw whatever I wanted.
21:46And I got to Connecticut, and they took all the paint away from me.
21:49If I dribbled a little bit awkward, or I would throw a pass without looking, he would always get on me.
21:54D, this is not the fucking California All-Star game.
21:58And I'm like, what did I do?
21:59That's what I have to say.
22:00See, that's my...
22:01I remember throwing her out of practice the third day of the season.
22:05We were doing this drill, and she was frustrated because she couldn't get it right.
22:07Her response to not being able to play defense on somebody was every time they dribbled by her,
22:12she'd just punch them, or smack them, or push them, or try to trip them, or knock them on their ass.
22:23That's like a brat.
22:25He thought I was undisciplined, and I would foul a lot.
22:28And that would turn into me yelling at the ref, and then he would yell at me, and then he would take me out of the game.
22:33Well, you're not taking this serious.
22:34Oh, you think this is just fun and games.
22:36She's a pathological liar.
22:37I said, you've lived your entire life bullshitting people.
22:40You've managed to talk your way out of a lot of things, and your parents have no idea what you're doing, because they never lived that life.
22:46But here in the real world, you're not going to get away with that nonsense.
22:49I think there was two different concepts of how basketball should be played.
22:54And he was trying to teach me the way that would impact winning.
22:57Hey, this is hard as hell, right?
22:58If it was easy, everybody would be undefeated, number one.
23:01This is hard as hell.
23:02It's supposed to be.
23:03The practices are set up where you will feel miserable no matter what.
23:08Physically was so hard for me that I would dread going to the gym.
23:12I was an 18-year-old kid that hadn't lifted a weight, and conditioning, and training, and all that stuff was so important to them.
23:19He would find one little thing.
23:21Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up!
23:23And he would just go at it all practice.
23:25He knew you couldn't win.
23:27It was like, how quickly are you going to give up?
23:28I'm going to make you keep doing it until you get it right, or until you just die trying.
23:32I really don't care. Either one of those two things is fine with me.
23:38I think he knew I could take it, so I think he would turn the screws a little bit harder.
23:42Don't go to the wing, Dave. Stay up top, Dave.
23:51Tonight's just another game for us.
23:54For them, this is revenge.
23:58Beyond being an amazing basketball coach, he could sit down with you for 10 minutes,
24:03and he, in a weird way, knew everything about you.
24:07I knew what she wanted, so I'm going to give her everything that I possibly can
24:11so that if she has it in her, I'm going to get it out of her one way or the other.
24:15Went from being, you know, the best kid on every team I ever played on
24:19until I got to college.
24:20I was like, oh, I don't think I'm going to play this year.
24:22I was just at the end of the bench, clapping.
24:31Watching.
24:33Getting my ass lit up every day in practice.
24:39So we get to the second half of my freshman year.
24:41And both our starting guards go down.
24:46Rosimova knocks it out of bounds.
24:48She goes down.
24:52We hate to see this for the Huskies.
24:56Dave Brown.
24:58Oh, goodness.
24:59Oh, no.
25:01Whatever schedule he had me on, he was forced to play me.
25:05He goes, there's no age to being great.
25:10And I said, that's cool.
25:11That's profound.
25:13I mean, I couldn't get off the bench last month,
25:14but now you want me to be great?
25:16Okay.
25:18Diana Taurasi into the lineup for Connecticut.
25:22Naturally a point guard,
25:23but she's going to play all over the court for Connecticut this season.
25:26It was her time.
25:27We're now on this march towards a national championship.
25:30She now has to be in the starting role.
25:32She has to perform.
25:33Dudley stripped by Taurasi ahead to Byrd,
25:36who had to run down the lead pass
25:38and now waits for some help.
25:40Taurasi left side three.
25:42Long rebound to Schumacher.
25:44Taurasi another three.
25:51And I was kind of like the fifth Beatle.
25:53He kind of slotted right in,
25:54and that's when I started feeling like,
25:56okay, I can play here.
25:57I'm just as good as these guys,
26:04and I can help the team win.
26:06She really established herself.
26:08She was playing beyond her years.
26:12She brought an edginess that was kind of already here,
26:15but she took it to another level.
26:17That was the moment where our relationship changed.
26:28She played an unbelievable role.
26:30She ended up being the Big East's most valuable player
26:33and the Eastern Regional most valuable player,
26:35and we went to the Final Four.
26:37Are you satisfied tonight?
26:38We have a lot of work to do still.
26:39I mean, you know, getting to the Final Four
26:40is a big accomplishment,
26:41but we're looking for a little bit more.
26:45Most teams get to the Final Four,
26:46and it's like the year's done.
26:48Celebrate.
26:49Whatever happens is just icing on the cake.
26:52At Connecticut, you got to win.
26:54We're playing Notre Dame,
26:56and we played pretty well in the first half.
26:57And we start the game off amazing.
27:03Offensive rebound.
27:04Bird for three.
27:05Got it.
27:06They are UConn,
27:07and they have been impressive in the first half,
27:08and how about the pitch?
27:09But we didn't play very well in the second half.
27:11Right now with Kinnick.
27:13And he goes by a double-team bucket,
27:15and the foul.
27:17Missed a shot.
27:18Offensive rebound.
27:19Schumacher, she can't hit it.
27:21And he is not happy with Diana Taurasi.
27:24And then all of a sudden,
27:25it just started snowballing,
27:26where the other team just picked up momentum.
27:28This evening kicks it outside to Harvey.
27:30Line drive.
27:31Three by Notre Dame with its biggest lead of the game.
27:35Moving to take the lead.
27:37You can feel it getting away from you.
27:42I'm having a complete berry.
27:44I'm having the worst game of my life.
27:48She has missed all ten of her shots.
27:51Sometimes in the game,
27:53you try so hard to make shots.
27:55And Taurasi bricks that one.
27:57She has just had a brutal night.
27:59Because you want to win so bad
28:00that nothing goes right for you.
28:03It was just one of those times
28:05where you're on the court
28:06and everything is just happening really fast.
28:08And you can't control anything.
28:10Boy, the contact getting more and more physical.
28:13And Connecticut turns it over again.
28:15The stage shrunk me for the first time.
28:18I felt tiny out there.
28:19And that's how I played.
28:20And that would be the fifth and final foul
28:24on Diana Taurasi
28:25who just had a brutal night shooting the basketball.
28:29Eventually they won the championship
28:31but they were the better team.
28:32She puts so much pressure on herself
28:35to be great that game.
28:36Usually the biggest moments are her best moments.
28:38That's one of the few times
28:40that I've seen her struggle in a big moment.
28:43I was embarrassed.
28:45I was disappointed.
28:48My parents were in the stands.
28:50They looked like they'd seen a ghost.
28:52At that time, Coach Rima was very consoling.
28:59He just sees how miserable I am
29:01and he comes over and he says a couple words
29:04and that helped me out.
29:07She reacted the way people that are really invested
29:10and give their heart and soul to it.
29:12That's how they react.
29:14Diana Taurasi had an off night.
29:160 for 11 from three-point land.
29:18Tough for a freshman to take.
29:19Probably the worst game in her life at that point.
29:22But in a lot of ways,
29:23that informed pretty much everything moving forward.
29:27There's no, I don't know.
29:29There's no positive twist to this.
29:31There's no positive twist?
29:32No, not now.
29:34Sometimes you have to have those moments
29:35to understand what it takes.
29:45We go back to campus
29:46and we get together for post-season workouts.
29:49There was tension about going forward
29:52We're all in the locker room
29:55and he went around the whole locker room
29:58and he told everyone the truth about themselves.
30:01You think this is a joke.
30:03You don't work hard.
30:05You don't go to class.
30:06All the things that make you who you are,
30:11he kind of made me look in the mirror.
30:13And that set the tone for my next three years.
30:16We're not going to stop until we win a national championship.
30:20Four senior stars and a sophomore sensation seek perfection.
30:24There was this look on their faces
30:26that reflected that loss for an entire year.
30:29And we are underway.
30:32Diana Taurasi!
30:33We were just a machine.
30:35We each did what we had to do every single night without fail.
30:39Did you see that?
30:40That was pretty.
30:42Perfection is spelled U-C-O-N-N!
30:45My class, we're seniors, so we're the older ones.
30:48D is sophomore year, but D is the anchor of the team.
30:53Taurasi!
30:54Yeah, again!
30:56Everywhere we went, turnout was insane.
30:58UConn!
30:59UConn!
30:59Everyone expected us to win.
31:01We just played the tournament as if we knew we were going to win.
31:04UConn's back on top!
31:05This redemption story, it's almost destiny.
31:08Watching Diana in those years at UConn,
31:11it was a revolution in women's college basketball.
31:14She makes things happen, and she's tough to defend
31:16because you don't know whether she's going to take the shot or drive by her.
31:19Taurasi, touchdown!
31:22Taurasi, and again for three!
31:26And on the most talented team in the country,
31:28the sophomore might wind up being the best player.
31:3139-0, Connecticut is perfect!
31:372002 championship trophy to the Huskies from the University of Connecticut!
31:41We went 39-0 undefeated.
31:43How can you argue with that?
31:48You've got Diana for two more years.
31:50What's your outlook for your team with her at the helm?
31:53It's going to be a little harder on D.
31:54Can she get us back here?
31:56I don't know.
31:58We've got fighters on this team.
31:59When you think of UConn, you think of domination.
32:02Domination, that's it!
32:03We didn't have any seniors.
32:04We were basically the seniors of the team a year earlier.
32:07She's in charge of these guys who have never played.
32:10The table's a turn, where I'm looking at these kids like,
32:12now I get why I got on everyone's nerves.
32:18Because you didn't know anything!
32:19Then she does something I don't think people in women's basketball expect it.
32:25Puts a team on her back.
32:26And she was like, I'm just going to win no matter what it takes.
32:30If you need me to score, I'm going to score.
32:32If you need me to pass, I'm going to pass.
32:33Holy cow!
32:33What a pass by Caracci!
32:35I'm so bad!
32:36Three for number three!
32:40That was good, right?
32:45D was the one holding everything up.
32:48That's always been one of her biggest strengths.
32:50If you're good, she'll elevate you to great.
32:53If you're average, she'll make you good.
32:55And she took every one of our players and just lifted them.
32:58And I felt like as long as we have her pulling the strings,
33:01we're going to be okay.
33:06Final four, finals.
33:10She's on a roll right now.
33:11They can't find a way to stop her.
33:13You can't let Diana Tarazzi shoot open threes, people.
33:16I just did what I had to do.
33:17Connecticut Huskies, after going 39-0,
33:23they go 37-1 and win back-to-back national championships.
33:29That was a back-to-back, right?
33:30Yeah, that was.
33:32Back-to-back, I'll just make a share.
33:33Yeah, all right, I'm good.
33:34I'm happy.
33:36It's my last go-around with this team and my coach,
33:39and I wanted to be a good one.
33:43Perhaps the best women's college basketball player of all time.
33:47What separates her is her mentality.
33:49Diana launches this UConn dynasty.
33:53Every young player wanted to put on that UConn jersey.
33:56The team has reached rock star status.
33:58Everybody wearing her jersey in college,
34:10and I was like, dang, she really is a star.
34:12All the sacrifices we made with leaving Argentina,
34:15it was all worth it to see her play at UConn.
34:17This moment at UConn is like a collision of the ESPN
34:21in a tiny town that has drawn the best recruits across the country.
34:28ESPN introduces the national audience
34:31to the players who wear the Huskies uniform,
34:34and they are like rock stars.
34:37Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and now you.
34:40Oh, oh, really?
34:41Yeah.
34:41Is this for me?
34:42Yeah.
34:46Taurasi has led her team to two consecutive titles.
34:50It's number three in the cards tonight.
34:54She has been the leader of this club ever since she arrived.
34:57Two-time Naismith National Player of the Year.
35:00Leads Connecticut all-time in assists.
35:02Third all-time in points.
35:04The only collegiate player invited to try out for the national team.
35:07Tonight, we stand on the brink of history.
35:15Taurasi wins three national championships in a row.
35:21Diana Taurasi will go out on top.
35:25If it wasn't for the way Diana Taurasi is,
35:29and the way she plays the game,
35:31and the kind of teammate she is,
35:33there's no way that the rest of her teammates
35:35would have been able to do what they did tonight.
35:37I can't believe how many people came back.
36:00That's a testament to what we created here,
36:02but I think it's a testament to the people
36:04that graduated from here
36:06and how much you still hold the four years
36:09that you had here in such unbelievable regard
36:13that you would want to keep recreating this
36:15as much as possible.
36:18Playing for Coach Riema,
36:20everything you do is at the highest level.
36:23I was just so thankful that I had that four years of training.
36:27After UConn, it was time for me to go into the pros,
36:30and I felt as ready as you can be.
36:32Hi, I'm Pam Ward.
36:35Welcome to ESPN and NBA TV's first-round coverage of the WNBA draft.
36:40The class of 2004 considered to be the best ever.
36:43This class also represents the first group of players
36:45who were high school freshmen when the WNBA began,
36:49and they knew there was a future for them in the pros.
36:51With the first pick of the 2004 WNBA draft,
36:58the Phoenix Mercury Select,
36:59Diana Taurasi from the University of Connecticut.
37:02Washington, let's say it.
37:04She came to be the first-round one of the first-round ones.
37:12It's something that one is there, but it's not.
37:15Because we thought that it could not be,
37:19but it's an inner joy of us.
37:24Some memories that we have for the rest of our lives,
37:27that sometimes I comment with Dayana and say,
37:29Mom, do you remember me?
37:30And yes, Mom, how do you remember me?
37:32I'm going to be the first-round one of the first-round ones.
37:38Diana, congratulations.
37:40Some people are saying you are the future of women's basketball.
37:43Are you?
37:43Um, we'll see.
37:44I think there's...
37:45When Dee went to the WNBA draft,
37:48she wore this weird pantsuit
37:49with, like, a really low-cut shirt
37:52and had her hair down.
37:55She looked like a Barbie doll.
37:58You got to do what you got to do.
37:59You got to get the league out there.
38:00And she's like, I don't know if I like this.
38:04This is about growing the league.
38:06Yeah.
38:07What were we doing for last week?
38:09You know what?
38:10Can't use it.
38:10You've been doing it for 10 years.
38:11It looks like a picture, though.
38:12I want you to tell me something about yourself that most people don't know.
38:17about Diane.
38:18Um...
38:18In the early days of the WNBA,
38:20they felt they had to capture
38:24the cookie-cutter audience
38:25that they thought was going to bring in the bigger dollars
38:27and make advertisers happy.
38:31everybody had to be presented as straight,
38:34hyper-feminized, mainstream,
38:37hyper-feminized,
38:38mainstream,
38:39people who are going to bring in the bigger dollars
38:41and make advertisers happy.
38:43everybody had to be presented as straight,
38:50hyper-feminized, mainstream,
38:50pretty-quiet women.
38:51they thought was going to bring in the bigger dollars and make advertisers happy everybody had
38:58to be presented as straight hyper feminized mainstream pretty quiet women where d was just
39:08incredibly under marketed was the swag was the confidence was the one-liner i don't dance for
39:15free diana has the biggest personality she was the wmba's jackpot but she never got the chance
39:30to really live into that they were trying to go the opposite way of what d was bringing
39:39i had to navigate what makes them happy
39:41i get it we're trying to sell tickets here but it was all an act was that good yeah hi i'm diana
39:50terrazzi when i wake up in the morning i'm tuning in to cold pizza i had to do whatever they wanted
39:56so i could go play basketball
40:04as the high clouds move out tomorrow we'll top out at about 100 98 degrees currently in uptown phoenix
40:09i've only been here a week and a half and there really hasn't been you know that much time to
40:13to see the town but i liked it so far you know there's uh you know that laid-back sense out here
40:18which i like a lot so it's been really good uh yeah all right did we see you last night i was excited
40:23to become a pro and i was excited to see a different type of basketball now we're ready to go here
40:28it was a big change the style of play was different rossi comes up short trossi she goes down the
40:46ground there's no call rossi couldn't get the shot off it's knocked out of bounds and all of a sudden
40:51you're the young kid and you have to catch up again rossi from way downtown marching shot and the
40:56sparks pull one out against the phoenix mercury 17 and 17 when you go to a school like connecticut
41:03you do a lot of winning and then when you get to the pros you do a lot of losing my first couple
41:07years in the wmba we didn't even make the playoffs i am a rossi not happy is this just what the pros are
41:13like when do you ever win sucks you think you can control everything and then all of a sudden you
41:19control nothing when you get to the pros diana was coming from the spotlight of a stores connecticut
41:25and then walking into a professional product that had none of that
41:33when diana's first in the wmba it's not seen in the sports business world as a valuable commodity
41:41that affects everything my first salary as a rookie i was at 42 000 before tax of course
41:55sue she was a sounding board for my rookie year and then going into my second year
42:01she goes let's go to russia and i was like russia what am i going to do in russia
42:06they take care of you it's pretty decent money's good and i was like well that sounds pretty good
42:10it was already like let's do this thanks guys good luck to you fam back to you
42:1920 years ago going overseas is what everyone did and that's where you made most of your money it was
42:24just a different type of lifestyle chartering everywhere the hotels we were staying at best
42:29watches best diamonds that's a big difference for a kid that had no money we had the world at our
42:34fingertips chaptide owned spartek the best russian team he just always wanted to make sure you were
42:39taken care of there was always rumors and there was always stories i don't know if anyone knew where
42:45his money came from business man we just went with it there's no point in asking questions this is a
42:51world that i will never understand we're the best team in the world and then all of a sudden it was gone
42:56just like that
43:15so
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