UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma is spending time at home with his family during this age of social distancing, and he’s using it to pick up a few new hobbies, including social media. On Tuesday, Auriemma took to Instagram Live for more than an hour to chat with Huskies legend Sue Bird about everything from working during the quarantine to Diana Taurasi’s greatness to fighting with teammates.
Here’s more from their conversation.
Auriemma and Bird improvising on the job
Hunkered down in an apartment in Greenwich, Bird, 39, has gotten creative to stay in basketball shape. She bought a Peloton and also runs outside, but she can’t remember the last time she shot on an actual hoop. She practices ball-handling using the HomeCourt app, in which she’s an investor.
The next season — when and if it begins — will be Bird’s 19th with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA.
“It’s getting a little more normal, it feels more normal,” Bird said of her workout routine. “Early on, I had to get real creative.”
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Geno Auriemma, head coach of the 2009 USA women’s basketball national team, stands with Sue Bird during their fall training camp at American University in Washington, D.C., in September 2009.
Photo: Susan Walsh / Associated PressGeno Auriemma, head coach of the 2009 USA women’s basketball national team, stands with Sue Bird during their fall training camp at American University in Washington, D.C., in September 2009.
Geno Auriemma, head coach of the 2009 USA women’s basketball national team, stands with Sue Bird during their fall training camp at American University in Washington, D.C., in September 2009.
Geno Auriemma, head coach of the 2009 USA women’s basketball national team, stands with Sue Bird during their fall training camp at American University in Washington, D.C., in September 2009.
As for Auriemma, he said he still goes into his office at the Werth Center, but if other members of his staff come in, they work in their respective rooms and chat over Zoom.
DT has Magic in her
Auriemma asked Bird whether her ex-UConn teammate Diana Taurasi is the female version of Michael Jordan.
Bird responded by telling him Taurasi’s mindset is similar to Jordan’s but that she plays more like Magic Johnson.
“Game-wise, she’s more Magic. Mindset, very similar to Jordan,” Bird said. “She’s funnier, she’s wittier, but very similar. And we talked about the all-or-nothing type mentality for a lot of athletes, that’s (her), too. … With Dee, it’s all or nothing.”
“You’re talking about the greatest of all time,” Bird added. “I think (Taurasi) is the greatest of all time.”
Remember when?
Bird recalled arguing during a game with Betty Lennox when they were teammates in Seattle.
“We’re on a two-on-one. If I give you a million dollars, what do you think I would do?” Bird asked Auriemma.
“Pass it,” he responded.
“I lay it in. The team calls timeout. … Our bench is on the other side of the court. I see Betty’s pissed, so pissed where I literally look behind my head to see who’s there. … She’s all up in arms that I didn’t pass her the ball,” Bird said. “All I kept saying to Betty was ‘Grow up, grow up.’ ”
Finally, head coach Anne Donovan interjected herself in the back-and-forth and the two eventually made up, with Lennox texting Bird after the game.
When will sports return?
Bird doesn’t think the WNBA season can begin without widespread access to COVID-19 testing. She has similar doubts about the Olympics next summer.
“Are you guys going to play next year?” Bird asked.
Auriemma replied vaguely, “Eventually.”
Auriemma wants more women to support women
Auriemma said it “pisses him off” when women who have the means to support women’s sports don’t do so, echoing a point made by Taurasi during a discussion last month with Bird and her partner, U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe. Taurasi has expressed interest in owning a team after her career’s over.
“There’s a lot of people out there that are in a position to be able to affect the trajectory of these things,” Auriemma said. “It doesn’t really matter what the sport is, that have the ability and for whatever reason choose not to step up.”
dbonjour@ctpost.com; @DougBonjour
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