“One of the best experiences of my life”: Breanna Stewart reflects on UConn coach's Geno Auriemma’s unique legacy
Breanna Stewart will forever be linked to the legacy of UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. Stewart carved out her career at Connecticut, winning four national championships and being named Naismith College Player of the Year three times.
The New York Liberty star was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. She spent six seasons at the Seattle Storm and won two WNBA championships.
On Wednesday, ahead of Geno Auriemma's 40th-anniversary of coaching at UConn, CBS Sports writer Isabel Gonzalez shared on Twitter an interview she conducted with Stewart before the start of this season.
Gonzalez asked Stewart for her thoughts on Auriemma's legacy and whether he might be retiring soon.
"I am not surprised that coach Auriemma is still gonna be continuing to do his thing at UConn," Breanna said. "It was one of the best experiences of my life and being able to play for him, something that I definitely miss."
"For these young kids, these players that are there now, I really hope they just appreciate and enjoy this moment because he is one-of-one."
The Syracuse, New York native arrived at UConn in 2012 as the top recruit in the nation. From 2012 to 2016, she led UConn to four consecutive national championships.
Breanna Stewart missed Geno Auriemma’s 40th anniversary celebration
Several former Huskies returned to Connecticut on Wednesday night to pay tribute to Geno Auriemma's legacy as UConn coach including Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Napheesa Collier, Maya Moore, Kia Nurse, Shannon Saunders and Rebecca Lobo.
But one notable absentee was Breanna Stewart, who did not attend the ceremony at Gampel Pavilion.
Auriemma became the winningest college basketball coach on Wednesday surpassing Tara VanDerveer, the former Stanford coach. He achieved his 1,217th career win with an 85-41 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson.
"We never sat down and said hey let’s make a 40-year plan and see if we can make this happen," Auriemma said. "It’s about coming here every day and trying to be better than we were yesterday."
Breanna Stewart did not attend the celebration because, as the cofounder of Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, she was busy with the draft and roster announcements.
"I'm just feeling really excited," Stewart said. "Like I said, I compared it to the draft, but there hasn’t been this [kind of] anticipation before and I hope that the fans are also feeling it."
On Wednesday, Unrivaled revealed its roster for the inaugural season, which will begin on Jan. 17.