Catchings, Auriemma Honored

Tamika Catchings succeeded with her skill on the court, Geno Auriemma with his work on the sideline. Both have their teams in the NCAA Final Four and they were honored Thursday as The Associated Press player and coach of the year in women's basketball.

Catchings has led Tennessee to a 32-3 record with her solid and often brilliant all-around play and kept the player of the year award in the Lady Vols' court for the third straight season.

Former teammate Chamique Holdsclaw won in 1998 and 1999.

Auriemma, who has turned Connecticut into one of the nation's strongest and most visible programs, received the coach of the year award for the third time. His team is 34-1 and was ranked No. 1 all season.

The awards were determined in a vote of AP member newspapers and broadcast outlets nationwide.

Catchings, a 6-foot-1 junior, was marked for excellence the day she arrived at Tennessee and has met those expectations. She was a second-team All-American as a freshman and earned first-team honors the past two years. This year, she was the leading vote-getter.

On a team with outstanding balance, Catchings leads the Lady Vols in scoring (15.7) and rebounding (7.9) and is second in assists. She's also a fierce defender, and her 98 steals leads the team.

"I've tried to focus more on playing defense," Catchings said. "I'm not worried anymore if I miss a shot on offense. Basketball is a team game and you have to play defense and rebound for the team to be successful."

As she proved against Texas Tech in the Mideast Regional final, Catchings does those things even when hurt. She sprained her right ankle in the first half, returned seven minutes later with it heavily taped and finished with 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Lady Vols won 57-44.

"She's a warrior," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "It's interesting how people have matched up on her this year. Basically, it seems the general approach to playing Catchings is physically try and take her out of her game.

"She's had people shove her from the back and come at her physically. I think she's handled it well, and at times, I think I'm more upset about it than she is."

Auriemma's team has swept through the season with the best record in the country. The Huskies' only loss was by one point at home to Tennessee and that was after they had won at Tennessee.

Yet for all its glittering numbers UConn is averaging 97 points and shooting 59 percent in NCAA tournament play it's a team that has challenged Auriemma.

"In the beginning it was difficult because they have a 100 mile an hour mentality," he said. "They only want to go one speed and it took us a long time to get them into a good zone to work with.

"I don't remember exactly when it happened, but there was a point where practices became very productive. I would talk, they would listen. I would sk them to do something, they would do it. I would make a point, they would respond. I would make a little adjustment, they would get it and we were done practicing."

In his 15th season at UConn, Auriemma is 391-95 with three previous Four Final appearances and a national championship in 1995. He also was the AP coach of the year in 1995 and '97. Through it all, he has found there's always something to learn.

"I've always been the kind of guy to try to make things go a certain way all the time," he said. "This group has taught me to give them some direction, tell them what you want and then step back and let them do it.

"Even when they mess it up or whatever - let them figure it out. And you know what? The more I've done that, the better they've responded."

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