Q&A Geno Auriemma
SI: Do you think most of your coaching peers like you?
Auriemma: Being Italian, being Catholic and being a coach, those things add up to Paranoia 101. So I say none of them like me. But I would say that the ones that I've gotten to know respect me for what I've done.
SI: Your rivalry with Tennessee is covered in this book. What's your relationship like with Pat Summitt (below) today?
Auriemma: Pretty good. It's cyclical. It went from being good at the beginning to real competitive and emotional--maybe more on my end than hers. It got contentious, probably because I'm kind of a smart aleck and she's more down to earth.
SI: Is it important to you that this book outsells Reach for the Summitt?
Auriemma: No. [Laughs.] But that is a pretty cute name for a book. I can't top that.
SI: You're one of the most popular people in Connecticut. So is UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Who would win if you both ran for governor?
Auriemma: They have a better team right now, so I'd give him the nod. But there's a lot more Italians living in this state than just about any other, so I'd have a shot.
SI: What's left for you in terms of professional goals?
Auriemma: Someday I would like to coach the Olympic team. It's something I've always wanted to do.
SI: Say the Knicks or the Celtics offered you an NBA job tomorrow, would you leave UConn?
Auriemma: I don't think I'm qualified to coach at that level. But if an NBA guy offered me a job as an assistant, depending on who it was and if I was finished at UConn, that would kind of be my dream job.
• For more from Geno Auriemma, go to SI.com/scorecard.
PHOTO
DAMIAN STROHMEYER (AURIEMMA)
PHOTO
ELSA/GETTY IMAGES (AURIEMMA AND SUMMITT)