Geno Auriemma Speaks at A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant

I'm here today to talk about your friendship with both of you it's the 11th. I'm n-c-double Huskies championship coach Geno Auriemma. There are some amazing women in this room and you just heard from three of them. I'm Geno. Auriemma and I are the coach of the UConn women's basketball program and a lot of people are going to talk about basketball today and I don't know why I'm here. I'm not here for the basketball part. I tried the right to a long, flowing speech about basketball and I can't do it, there are too many thoughts in my head since Vanessa asked me to speak, too many things that made me realize more that I am here as a father, not as a basketball coach and we Italians, as these just showed, were very, very emotional people, right, Mike, he's half Italian, so the thoughts I started having after I was asked to speak obviously refer to all people that were on board and if you're a parent, a grandparent, you feel a different kind of emotion when there are children involved, because it's always about the children, we've lived our lives, we have a little bit left, they're just starting their lives and then my next thought .

I came to the original team that Kobe was responsible for Natalya Bianca Capri Vanessa because we are always teammates, you know, we are always on a team, sometimes it is a big team, sometimes it is a small team and that is the most important team and Coby and I share. some history that started in Italy went to Philadelphia and then it was the spotlight and the lights and the glamor of Los Angeles I went to Philadelphia I went to Philadelphia and I went to the cows in the stores that was a joke because there are no lights and no glitter and glamor and shops Connecticut and how ironic that he talked to me about coaching the coachable young man one wants to talk about coaching probably the most difficult player to coach in the NBA during his career he wants to know about coaching and I wanted to know why he said "I" I'm coaching my daughter's team and I was like, "Oh my God, poor girl," so when I saw the highlights of her game and about the third or fourth time she touched the ball, Gianna passed it when it was open, I thought she wasn't listening to his father, so he would call and say what kind of defensive drills he should do, we have practice and we were going to work on defense, which he believes is the most important thing to teach the man, further proof that he never heard a word that none of his coaches told him, so I tried to explain to them, I mean Kobe, they're 13, I think you should just say hey, you know, and watch the kid with the ball, try not to let it go past you and see If you're defending the other guys, they hate to see. that girl with the ball over there don't let her throw the ball to your guy, keep it a little simple, you know, he said no, I want to know what the rotations are when they drive, but I said, come on, come on, come on, then.

These are the conversations we have as basketball people and as parents who have ever coached their kids, if you've ever been in that situation, as a lot of people here in this room probably have been, and I remember when GG came in and he dresses. In that video, she came to the first game she ever attended and walked into the locker room and here she is and the look on her face, the smile on her face, the way her eyes took in how excited she was. for being. in her mind Saronic royalty, her father's royalty and she is excited to be around royalty that looks like what she wants to be and the most impressive thing about that moment was how Kobe stepped back as much as he could so that Anyone will take photos of anyone. he wouldn't know this was Kobe Bryant's daughter this was his moment here's where it hurts his moment to shine this was his moment to experience all the things he's experienced his whole

life

he was being a dad he wasn't being Kobe Bryant and he was to allow Gigi to be Gigi and not Kobe Bryant's daughter today, that's an amazing thing for parents to do.

I'll leave you with just two things, we got a letter, oh I have to tell you about what you did. I didn't see him, but he met the Oregon Ducks women's basketball team and they all gathered around and said "do you want to take a picture" and they all ran and GG left. "I'm glad she knew what his heart was and you know that good little sarcasm and when they came to, when they came to UConn and they sat behind the bench and there was dad taking his daughter to a game and they had their shirts on." and she had this coat and her hat on and she was just a little kid at a game and again I felt more like a parent than a basketball coach because I already did that with my kids and lastly the number 24 the number 8 and the number 2 those are basketball numbers those are numbers in the past those are numbers we are not going to get back what we have today is how many kids like Dianna have been inspired to do more to work harder and strive for more and the numbers we don't have either it's how many children in the future how many women will be inspired by Gigi's

life

how many fathers will be inspired by Kobe to be fathers to actually be fathers the way a father is supposed to be in this room there is an incredible amount of talent in This room maybe the greatest collection of talent I have ever known, but in this room there is a family and there is still a team at home and they still have a great coach and from now on I will support that team like thank you very much. a lot