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Geno Auriemma on UConn’s basketball dynasty: ‘We’ve tried for 40 years to empower women’

The 12-time national title-winning coach discusses Connecticut’s time on top, his bond with Paige Bueckers, the Pat Summitt rivalry and why he isn’t retiring just yet

Let’s get one thing out of the way right from the jump: UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma says he isn’t retiring anytime in the “foreseeable future”.

That may come as a relief to fans of the program who have never known anyone else to be at its helm. Though he declined to promise an exact timeline, Auriemma made one thing clear while speaking to the Guardian last week: he’s going to be sticking around.

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© Photograph: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

© Photograph: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

© Photograph: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

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‘Here we are 30 years later’: the Olympic team that transformed US basketball

The 1996 US women’s Olympic team enter the Hall of Fame on Saturday after giving momentum to the WNBA and re-launching an era of American dominance

For the US women’s basketball team, the 1996 Olympics weren’t just about winning gold in front of their home crowd.

It was about the future of women’s basketball in America. The US women were knocked out of the 1992 Olympics in the semi-finals by the Commonwealth of Independent States – a stunning and embarrassing defeat. Heading into the 1996 Games, which were held in Atlanta, turning around the program was a top priority not just for USA Basketball, but the NBA as well, which was looking to start a women’s league that would become the WNBA.

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© Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

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