One of the perks of playing for the UConn women’s basketball team is the fact that there are so many great alumnae. But what makes it even more special is the fact that they come back to Storrs, CT to practice with the team or just hang around.

Sue Bird, Kalana Greene and Kelly Faris to name just a few have come back to practice. The likes of Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters, Meghan Pattyson, Swin Cash, etc, etc are around the program at different times. Some are around all the time, some at different points of the season.

All of those names are iconic in UConn women’s basketball lore. They were all a part of something special at UConn. They are sisters, a family. That’s what UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and his consigliere Chris Dailey have established at UConn.

When you listen to them talk when they are together, it’s like none of them have left. I was able to listen to Swin Cash tell a story about Auriemma and CD while in Albany. And the way they all interacted, it was like they were never apart at all.

It’s not the nine National Championships that makes UConn women’s basketball special. Of course they help.

It’s the culture that’s built there. There’s nothing else like it.

Watch and/or listen below as members of the current UConn women’s basketball players talk about what it is like when the former players come back to practice:

If you’ve been around UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, you know he can be quite witty or even sarcastic at times.

Whether it be yesterday when he made a joke about Kia Nurse knowing more about the Yukon then UConn as a kid or saying Breanna Stewart wasn’t the best player in the country during the Albany Regional, he does it because he cares.

The UConn women’s basketball coach does it to motivate his players or even shield his players.

The joke about Nurse was more so to get the spotlight off her. The Stewart quip was said to wake her up and get her going. It worked.

He even poked fun at Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis during the media festivities on Monday saying she was pretty good at playing fake defense.

Of course when Auriemma wasn’t around, KML got the last laugh in, for now at least.

Watch and/or listen as KML talks about Auriemma’s sarcasm and how she’s learned to give it back:

Ho hum, just another meaningful game where the UConn women’s basketball team and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are playing.

That’s what the casual fan is thinking. Sure it would have been nice if Maryland maybe played South Carolina for the title on Tuesday night or even South Carolina getting another chance at the UConn women’s basketball team.

The serious fan though knows that this game between UConn women’s basketball and Notre Dame is very good for the game. All eyes will be on this matchup. The casual fan will still tune in.

This is what is good for women’s basketball. Two great teams playing each other.

May the best team win (UConn).

Watch and/or listen below as members of the UConn women’s basketball team talked after Sunday night’s game against Maryland about facing Notre Dame for the title on Tuesday night.

The answer to the question of the title of this post is quite simple. UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma gets the best players.

He also gets the best out of his players. There’s reasons beyond winning national championships that players want to play for the UConn women’s basketball coach.

The UConn women’s basketball coach makes them into the best player they can be. Now who doesn’t want that.

Watch and/or listen below as the UConn women’s basketball coach talked after the win over Maryland on Monday night as to why his team is playing for the 10th title in program history:

Let’s take a look at the UConn women’s basketball junior class.

You have Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck (redshirt sophomore). In that have you have a consensus first-team All-American, a first time All-American and winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as a point guard and you have someone who missed last season with a knee injury who should have been an All-American this season.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget that the junior class is a perfect two-for-two when it comes to winning National Championships. Now on Tuesday night, they’ll look to make it three in a row.

Watch and/or listen below as UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma talked after Monday night’s win over Maryland about how dynamic his junior class is:

When you tune into the UConn women’s basketball game in the NCAA Championship against Notre Dame on Tuesday night, don’t expect to see Geno Auriemma giving a pregame speech.

It’s not that he doesn’t do them. It’s that the UConn women’s basketball coach doesn’t like them to be filmed.

Watch and/or listen below as the UConn women’s basketball coach talked on Monday night after the win over Maryland about why he doesn’t let his pregame speeches be filmed.

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has been in Muffet McGraw’s shoes before. No, he hasn’t literally been in her shoes. It’s more of a metaphorical thing.

When the UConn women’s basketball program started to get really good, all eyes were on Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Volunteers. But as time went on, more attention was paid to the UConn women’s basketball team.

And it’s only grown from there.

So you can understand if there was a rift between the two head coaches before. It wasn’t personal. It was just basketball.

Watch and/or listen below as the UConn women’s basketball coach talked after the win over Maryland about being in the shoes of Notre Dame in the past:

UConn’s Breanna Stewart has won National Player of the Year honors two years in a row from some outlets. There’s no doubt she’s a special player. And being as good as she is, it brings attention to her from defenses.

When she was younger, Stewart would be fouled hard and not be the same player. But as she has matured as a basketball player, it seems now doing that just fuels her.

Watch and/or listen below as UConn head coach Geno Auriemma talks about Breanna Stewart’s growth as a basketball player after his team beat Maryland on Sunday night.