Geno Auriemma, as he's done countless times before, will lead the the United States National Team that will compete in the 2014 world championships this fall. He'll be reunited with DePaul coach Doug Bruno, who was also on his staff when the U.S. won Olympic gold at the 2010 games, as well as the 2012 world championships.
Also named to Auriemma's staff: South Carolina's Dawn Staley and the the Minnesota Lynx's Cheryle Reeve.
“Overall, I think we’ve got a great mix,” Auriemma said, via SNY.com's Carl Adamec. “We certainly have enough experience, both USA Basketball-wise, college, pro; we have a mix of personalities that I think is going to be really, really good. We have some continuity with Doug back. We have an opportunity to bring in some younger coaches, who hopefully aspire down the road to be head coaches at USA Basketball. They’re proven winners. They’re the kind of people that USA Basketball is really important to them, and most importantly, they’re people I can work with, people I have a lot of respect for and I think the committee really did a great job.”
Bruno has previously earned gold medals leading the 2006 FIBA Americas U-18 championship and 2007 FIBA U-19 world championship teams, compiling a 13-0 record in the process.
“With Doug, there’s obviously a tremendous comfort level there, having not only been a friend of his and been around him for 30 years almost, believing in what he does and who he is,” Auriemma said. “The fact that he’s been through a world championship run already and an Olympic gold medal already, there’s a great rapport that he and I have and that he has with the players and his ability to interact with the coaches. In that respect I think it was something that I really hoped to accomplish again, to have Doug on the staff and I’m glad it worked out.”
Staley, meanwhile, brings a wealth of experience from her playing days, and Reeve went 93-43 in fours years with the Lynx, including WNBA titles in 2011 and '13.
“With Dawn, she brings not only the coaching experience of being in two separate programs at Temple and South Carolina, culminating with this year’s run when they were a No. 1 seed with a young team and her ability to mold them and guide them along, but she has a different perspective in that she is one of the most decorated women’s basketball players in history,” Auriemma said.
“[Reeve] may be the most accomplished coach in the WNBA in such a short period of time,” Auriemma said. “You look at the last eight or nine years, she has two titles in three-straight finals. She’s a tremendous teacher. Her style of play with her team is very similar to what I believe in.
