00:00Hanging out at Fanatics Fest with two people that need zero introduction,
00:03but they are the stars of Apple TV's, the dynasty of UConn Huskies,
00:08Hall of Fame coach Gino Auriemma, and then Rebecca Lobo.
00:11Coach, I'm going to start with Rebecca on this one,
00:13because in that first episode you were talking about how it was like the golden days of your life.
00:18You guys working hard during the week, drinking some Miller Lights on the weekend,
00:22before no social media.
00:24Hope I didn't give too much away there.
00:26But just talk about that experience and give us a story you remember
00:29about your days at UConn.
00:31I think that was a true experience for us back in those days.
00:34We worked really hard, we competed really hard,
00:37and then our teammates, we got along so well.
00:40We loved one another.
00:41So when it came to the weekends, we were enjoying our time together.
00:44And I think that's one of the things that bonded us.
00:46It's one of the things that helped us be a great team.
00:48And that's a small part of the story of our journey.
00:52And it's exciting that this documentary is out.
00:55It's going to show people what really has gone into Coach Oriama's incredible success
01:01and the program that he's built, the dynasty that he's had, the teams that he's produced,
01:06the incredible women who have come through his program to go on and do things
01:10and be successful after basketball.
01:13And so much of that is the four years that he has them, how he helps mold these women.
01:17And I think people are really going to get a chance to see that when they watch the documentary.
01:21You did an amazing job of doing that in a way that I feel like couldn't be done today,
01:26only by certain people.
01:27You're a Hall of Famer, you're a legend.
01:29When you first took the job, did you know that was going to have to be your approach
01:34to get the details and to get the best out of each player?
01:38I think any time you start a project, you don't really know where it's going, right?
01:43You just, and you don't even know if you have the right game plan
01:46or you're on the right track towards anything.
01:50So over a period of time, you know, a couple years, you start to find what works,
01:54what doesn't work, and you start to have to believe in yourself.
01:58You know, this is who I am.
02:00This is how I explain myself.
02:01These are the kind of people I want to be around.
02:04And then when you get those people, then you have to do the best you can
02:07to try to get the most out of them.
02:09And that group that we had at the beginning in 95 that started that championship run,
02:17they spent a lot of time together.
02:18They spent a lot of time together during the day.
02:21They spent a lot of time together at practice.
02:23They spent a lot of time together at night after games, in hotels, in airplanes.
02:29They were very close-knit group.
02:31And, yeah, did they play really hard?
02:34Yeah, they played really hard.
02:35They played really smart.
02:38And that's our three things on the board, play hard, play smart.
02:41And then afterwards, they had a lot of fun.
02:44And it's the kind of fun that I wasn't there at, but I know about it.
02:49And if they didn't have those kind of moments, then they shouldn't be at UConn.
02:56When I was in high school and I was growing up, you were that first celebrity college athlete
03:01that we knew about.
03:02Now he's had a bunch of them come through the program.
03:06Rebecca Loba is the mentor now.
03:08How have you helped the next generation of Lady UConn Huskies?
03:12You know, I don't know how much I've helped them.
03:14I do know that I'm certainly proud of sort of where I fall in the lineage of it all.
03:19You know, that I was the first women's player to have the number retired at UConn will always
03:25mean a lot to me.
03:25That I was part of that first team to win a championship for UConn means a lot to me.
03:30And at the time, I just thought, this is amazing.
03:32We win a championship.
03:33I didn't know that there was going to be 11 more.
03:36You know, that almost 30 years later, Paige Beckers was going to be winning her first
03:40and sort of walking in the same path that I had walked 30 years before.
03:44So I'm super proud of everything that he and Chris Daly and everyone at UConn have built
03:51because they've done it the right way.
03:52Of course, we live in the day of the portal and you've still been able to coach hard
03:56and still have the success that you're having.
03:59How and why?
04:02Again, it starts with getting the right people.
04:06It's not a transactional thing in that if I give you more money, you'll come to play here.
04:11If I give you even more money, you'll stay here.
04:14I want you to, you know, I want you to come to UConn because you think that's the best place
04:19for you to grow.
04:20And then once you're there, you're going to see that there's other people that do it great.
04:25Don't get me wrong because there's tremendous coaches and programs out there, but you're not
04:30going to find it better anywhere else.
04:32And I think too many times you get kids that it's almost like they're testing you.
04:37Hey, I'm going to give this a shot.
04:38And if it works great, I'll stay.
04:40And if it doesn't, I'd like to do the same thing.
04:42I'm going to try a kid out.
04:43And if it don't work, I see you.
04:48You've been watching this guy coach and have the level of success that he's had for a long
04:51time with the way that he coaches.
04:53Like what makes him such a great teacher and a great coach?
04:57I think one of his great strengths is his ability to communicate and relate to people.
05:01And that includes 18 to 22-year-old young women who are kind of learning who they are and
05:07finding themselves.
05:08It's incredible getting players and people to understand that there's more that they can
05:13give, even if they don't think that there is.
05:16And that's why you're never going to see again what he's built on the women's college
05:22basketball level.
05:23You're never going to see 12 national championships, 25 final fours, 1,400 or whatever it is, plus
05:30wins.
05:30And as those numbers continue to grow, it's just not going to happen again.
05:34And also, I think even more importantly, you look at the players who have left this program,
05:39not only the success that they've had in the WNBA, but the success that they've had in
05:43life and whether it's pushing social justice initiatives or whatever it is, the impact that
05:49they've had on their communities at large, it's his legacy is pretty incredible on all
05:54of those levels.
05:55Lastly, Coach, you've had that fire for a long time.
05:57How much longer do you have?
06:00How much does that fire keep burning?
06:02During the summer, not at all.
06:04But I think once you get back to school and you're around your players and you see the
06:13energy that they have, the commitment that they have, and as long as I can feel that,
06:17as long as I can go in the gym and feel a sense of excitement and the things that stirred
06:26you 40 years ago, if they still stir you, which they do, then who knows?
06:31But it's not today, but it will be someday.
06:35All right.
06:36Well, congratulations to both of you guys.
06:38Make sure you guys go check out the Dynasty UConn Huskies, and that's on Apple TV, August
06:4321st.
06:44Thank you guys for your time today.
06:46Appreciate you.
