Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection [Hardcover]

Geno Auriemma (Author), Jackie MacMullan (Author), Diana Taurasi (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

Controversial, confrontational, and driven, Coach Geno Auriemma is a force to be reckoned with-and the most accomplished male coach in women's basketball today. In his relentless quest for excellence at the University of Connecticut, he has led the Huskies to five national championships.Yet his soul never rests.For Auriemma, life affords only the briefest moments of happiness-a good round of golf, forty minutes of great basketball, a day at the beach with his family, a nice glass of wine-while disaster is seemingly always waiting to strike. It's a fatalistic philosophy, a remnant of his hardscrabble early years, but it's an outlook that has driven him to unparalleled success.In this deeply personal memoir, Geno Auriemma reveals for the first time the man behind the legend. He talks candidly about his coaching style-famed for being one of the most demanding in all the sports world. He spills the beans about his stormy dealings with other coaches such as his archrival, Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee. And with warmth and a genuine love for his champions, he writes openly about Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Nykesha Sales, Rebecca Lobo, Swin Cash, and all of his other UConn stars who have gone on to stellar WNBA careers. You get a courtside seat to all of the action-including an epilogue on the 2004-05 season, as well as interviews with the team's most celebrated players.A rare look inside the soul of a true competitor, GENO is the story of how one passionate man overcame his own fears to achieve an extraordinary record of success.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If nothing else, Auriemma, coach of the UConn women's basketball team since 1985, explains how little girls in Connecticut inherited the dreams of little boys in Indiana. The rise of a program with a leaky gym and roll-away bleachers to become a powerhouse with five national championships is a Hoosier-like tale. But Auriemma's book is merely the bones of the story, a slapdash chronicle of seasons. In his talky style, he is unable to flesh out the characters, and his anecdotes are stiff. One exception is his depiction of star Diana Taurasi cracking during a challenging season: "sitting on a bench, swaying back and forth and banging her elbows against the wall.... She is in withdrawal, like some kind of drug addict." On Auriemma's team, breakdowns are a good sign because they mean hunger. He prods individuals by saying things like "You suck" and "You are never going to make it." Auriemma's caustic style has earned him many critics, and his autobiography is more about self-defense than reflection. Nonetheless, it gives readers a chance to eavesdrop on the strategy of a hall-of-famer who chased perfection to the top. Auriemma's book will leave readers wishing he had told his story better—written his heart out, even. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Auriemma is one of the most successful college basketball coaches in the history of the sport, yet he is never mentioned in the same sentence as Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski. The reason? Auriemma coaches women's basketball at the University of Connecticut. In this revealing autobiography, written with the help of Boston Globe reporter MacMullan, Auriemma tells a version of the classic immigrant's journey. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy when he was seven. He was the new kid, the kid who talked funny, and the poor kid. He has been catching up ever since. Like all successful coaches, he drives his players very hard, but unlike many--see Delsohn and Heisler's Bob Knight, reviewed on this page--he seems to be universally admired by his former players. He manages to convey his investment in his players' growth as human beings, not just as basketball players. In addition to telling his own story, Auriemma reflects insightfully on the growth of women's basketball. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446577642
• ISBN-13: 978-0446577649
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #789,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > Coaching

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, March 18, 2006

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection (Hardcover)

It's rare these days -- I just couldn't stop reading. Auriemma's co-writer creates a style that makes Geno come across as a good guy who tries hard - a real rags to riches, Horatio Alger story.

As a basketball fan, I loved the glimpses into life at UConn and the stories beyond some legendary playeres. In particular, I liked Diana Taurasi's introduction and the brief mentions of her background and style. She's a fascinating person as well as a great player, adding charisma he way Lisa Leslie once did.

Geno tells the truth, too. After UConn, many players faced a letdown. I watched Taurasi play against Seattle next year, as a member of the Arizona team. She tried hard but was obviously frustrated being a top player on a mid-level team.

Ironically, there are many parallels between Taurasi and Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee's star, who would have graduated just before Taurasi went to UConn. Both began their WNBA careers as Number 1 draft picks on low-ranked teams. And both complained about being so famous. Tough, said both coaches.

I also liked Geno's report of recruiting,a coach's toughest job, he says.

A few times I flipped pages while Geno pontificated and philosophized. Most mostly I loved it...and despite a long and growing "To Do" list, I kept reading.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars all those people who say Geno is a conceited jerk but can't back it up...read this and hopefully you'll see how wrong you are, January 6, 2006

By 

deetaurasifan333 "deetaurasifan333" (lopez, wa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection (Hardcover)

I read this book in one day because I was excited to see what Geno would say about his life and career. I for one am a big fan of Geno, his career, his coaching methods, and how he has helped his players in life and in basketball. I have to admit that this book isn't written as well as it could be (some memories are somewhat fragmented and it sometimes gets confusing as he jumps from one story to another) but I still really liked it and learned a lot from it.
To all those people who think Geno is a jerk, read this book with an open mind and reconsider that idea. To those people that have read the book and still hate him, all I have to say is that you must have not been reading very closely because you missed the entire point of the book. Geno repeatedly makes statements about how he doesn't take himself seriously, and about why he acts how he acts because of how his life has gone, and he provides many instances where he had made mistakes that he has regretted and apologized for. He may be confident, but confident doesn't equal cocky. He is just a normal person that happens to be doing his job in the public eye, being observed by millions of people. Sure, he may have faults, but so does everyone, and that's what makes this book interesting. The fact that many people who call him a jerk are big fans of Pat Summit is another interesting point, which is addressed somewhat in the book. I am a fan of both coaches, and I was interested to hear about the Auriemma-Summit relationship from another point of view. I personally think Geno covers the subject well and also speaks highly of Summit much more than he criticizes her.
The parts of the book that makes me respect him the most are when he discusses how his players responded to his coaching methods, and how many of his former players are still in close contact with him years after graduating. Hearing how many of his former players refer to him as their second father makes you understand how much he has done for them in life and in basketball. I think anyone who is a basketball fan, especially a women's basketball fan, should read this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the insight into the Creation of UCONN women's program, January 15, 2006

By 

Hartford Pam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection (Hardcover)

I personally Loved the book, particularly all of the juicy little tidbits of info Geno gives about UCONN players from the year he started to present. Being a Type A personality and perfectionist myself, I understood totally, how and why Geno puts the pressure on himself and his players that he does. Anything less than Perfect is not worth playing the game for. This book was not as much a biography or memoir of Geno himself, as it was of Team players, the School, other coaches, his associate coaches, etc. His relationship with Pat Summit is covered.

If you love UCONN Women's basketball, you will love this book.
I couldn't put it down.