Geno Auriemma: Coach Q&A

Up and coming coaches love to learn from the best and now you can too with this Q&A session with legendary Connecticut women’s head coach Geno Auriemma. Auriemma has over 1,000 wins and a remarkable 11 NCAA women’s national championships. He’s already in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and now you have the rare opportunity to hear Auriemma talk about such topics as attacking zone defenses, beating a press, teaching shot selection, and much more.

In this unique video, Coach Auriemma answers questions from audience, which includes a number of up and coming coaches. Listen as Coach Auriemma answers some of the most pressing questions from young, inexperienced coaches.

Beating the Press

Coach Auriemma shows you how to beat any press using something he picked up from Tex Winters and the Chicago Bulls. An action within the Triangle Offense forces a defense to load one side of the floor. This gives a ball handler plenty of space to attack an extended defense. Coach Auriemma will also share some of the most likely defensive pressure adjustments and how to beat them as well. It doesn’t matter what the defense throws at you; it can be defeated with intelligent spacing and quick ball reversals.

Quality Shot Selection

One of the most crucial aspects of winning comes down to the quality of the shots your team takes. Bad shot selection can be a cancer causing selfishness and, ultimately, ruin an offense. Coach Auriemma explains proper shot selection and gives you two basic rules. These rules create accountability without causing players to hesitate when in game situations. There is a balance between being aggressive and understanding your role. Auriemma helps players find that balance.

Offense vs. Zone Defense

Coach Auriemma shows you how to use dribble entries to attack a 2-3 zone. You will see how to use a diamond alignment to free up shooters against a 1-2-2 zone and how to get the ball to the post versus a 1-3-1. Coach Auriemma even shows you how free up your star player against a gimmick defense like the Box-and-1. In all, Auriemma shows you a multitude of ways to improve your offense against any type of defense.

Open Q&A Session

In addition to the Xs and Os of the game, Coach Auriemma also provides some insight into his philosophy and how he has maintained one of the nation’s most successful programs. Topics include:

• How to maintain success over time
• Characteristics of players you should recruit
• How to overcome a “defeated” mentality
• Reflections on Coach Auriemma’s biggest coaching mistakes
• A tactic used to get his most recent teams to minimize fouling on defense

What Coach Auriemma shares in this video can be implemented into your program to improve its culture. Learn more than just basketball from one of the game’s true greats.