DePaul’s Bruno to help lead national women’s team
From now until about 9 p.m. Saturday, women’s basketball coaches Doug Bruno of DePaul and Geno Auriemma of Connecticut will be fierce adversaries.
Then, for the next seven months, they’ll be the tightest of teammates.
On Friday, USA Basketball announced that Bruno and Auriemma, Big East rivals who face off at 7 p.m. Saturday at sold-out McGrath-Phillips Arena in Lincoln Park for an important conference showdown, will help guide the 2012 U.S. national women’s basketball team in its quest for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in London.
Auriemma will be the head coach and Bruno, along with Olympic gold medalist and Washington Mystics assistant coach Jennifer Gillom and Atlanta Dream head coach Marynell Meadors, will be the assistants. The four also made up the coaching staff for the 2010 U.S. national team that captured gold at the World Championships to qualify for the Olympics,
“It’s humbling and an honor to serve the United States of America on a national sports stage. It doesn’t get better than that in athletics,” Bruno, a longtime friend of Auriemma’s, said at a news conference. “It’s just a thrill.
“I never imagined anything like this could happen to me.”
Bruno is forever humble, but this appointment is certainly not a stretch.
DePaul’s beloved, cornerstone coach is one of the most decorated, respected and enduring in the business.
In 26 years, Bruno has won 502 games at DePaul and guided the Blue Demons to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 21 years, with trips to the Sweet 16 in 2006 and 2011.
In 2010, the court at McGrath-Phillips Arena was named for Bruno, who has served as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and has coached multiple junior teams for USA Basketball, including most recently the 2006 Under-18 national team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship.
“It’s time, but it’s time doing what you love to do,” Bruno said of his year-round commitments to the junior national teams as well as the senior national team, which he has been involved with since 2009.
Right now, Bruno would love to take it to Auriemma’s Huskies before the two officially join forces.
DePaul, which is 15-4 and ranked as high as 19th in the national polls, has never beaten Connecticut, which is 16-2 and ranked No. 3. Bruno is 0-8 against Auriemma, a seven-time NCAA national champion.
Popular girl:
There just aren’t enough tickets to go around.
Connecticut reserve forward Michala Johnson has been inundated with ticket requests for tonight’s game against DePaul in Lincoln Park and simply cannot keep up.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore from West suburban Bellwood starred at Montini and has plenty of friends and family who want to support her while she’s back home.
“I’ve been able to get about 14 tickets for people,” Johnson said. “But some more people are going to be there as well. I really am excited to see my family, my friends, my sister and my coaches.”
Johnson is also trying to see more court time.
She missed the final games of her senior season at Montini with a knee injury and has spent most of her career at Connecticut trying to get back to her old self. She’s played in 15 of 18 games so far but is averaging only about six minutes per game.
Making a comeback at a place like Connecticut, where nothing but All-Americans are fighting each other for playing time, isn’t exactly easy.
“It’s been a challenge because we have so many great players on this team,” Johnson said. “I just keep working as hard as I can because I feel like I am getting better. I really try to focus on the positives and block out the negatives.”
Depleted Demons:
Somehow, DePaul has managed to stay ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation.
Not an easy feat, considering the Blue Demons are without some of their best players.
Recently, senior forward Keisha Hampton, who was averaging nearly 17 points per game and was a first-team all-Big East selection last year, learned that her season and career was over due to a knee injury.
The Blue Demons had already been playing without senior guard Taylor Pikes, the Big East’s Sixth Player of the Year in 2011. She is also dealing with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, highly touted freshmen Chanise Jenkins (ankle) and Alexa Gallagher (knee) are also out for the season with injuries. Jenkins started the first two games of the season at point guard for the Blue Demons before the injury bug got her.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
ŸPatricia Babcock McGraw, who covers the WNBA for the Daily Herald, provides color commentary for Chicago Sky broadcasts. She also is a color analyst for the Big Ten Network, the IHSA Television Network and DePaul women#146;s basketball broadcasts.