Orimma, Gino

Gino Orimma was born March 23, 1954 in the city of Montella (province of Avellino , region Campania , Italy ). At the age of seven, he emigrated with his family to the USA , where he settled in the city of Norristown ( Pennsylvania ), where he spent the rest of his childhood ^[1] . He attended Bishop Kenrick High School, in which he played for the local basketball team. In 1977, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at West Chester , where for four years he played for the West Chester Golden Rams student team. After graduating from university, Orimma got a job as an assistant head coach to the St. Josephs Hawks student team, where he worked for the 1978/1979 season ^[2] . He then took a two-year hiatus from his university career, becoming an assistant coach at Bishop Kenrick’s home school ^[2] . In 1981, he got a job as an assistant coach to the Virginia Cavaliers student team, where he worked for four seasons.

Before Gino Orimma’s invitation to Storrs in 1985, where the main campus of the University of Connecticut is located, the Connecticut Haskis women's basketball team could not boast of their results, with only one winning season in their history. The decision to appoint Orymmu as the new head coach of Laek was part of the university’s commitment to improve the financing of women's sports ^[3] . To recruit staff, the team management arranged an interview, which Gino was the last to interview. Most of the other candidates were highly qualified trainers and most of them were women. One of those who participated in the interview process was Chris Daly, who entered the coaching staff of Orimma and is currently continuing to work as his assistant. Daily was the main candidate for a vacancy if Gino rejected a tempting offer ^[4] .

The contract with Orimma was concluded in August 1985, after which the Connecticut Haskis quickly gained immense popularity. The first season as a Laek mentor turned out to be not entirely successful for him and ended with a negative difference in wins and losses (12–15), but the 28 next Haskis seasons invariably ended with a positive balance for this indicator, five of which the team went through at all without defeats (1994/1995, 2001/2002, 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2013/2014), setting during this time two record series in 70 (from 2001 to 2003) ^[5] and 90 (from April 6, 2008 to December 30, 2010) wins in a row. On December 21, 2010, the Orimma team won the 89th victory in a row, breaking the seemingly eternal record of 88 victories, set back in the 70s of the last century (from 1971 to 1974) by the UKLA Bruins men's team, led by the legendary John Wooden ^{[6 ]} .

Gino Orimma is one of the best coaches in student basketball history, having a very high percentage of victories among male and female basketball coaches, NCAA teams of any level (86.9%). At the end of the 2013/2014 season, he won 879 victories with 133 defeats as head coach. Gino has the highest percentage of victories among current coaches of the I division of the NCAA ^[7] . During his coaching career at Haskis in 19 seasons, he scored 30 or more victories. Under the leadership of Orimma, the Likes won nine national championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014) ^[8] and reached the Final Four 15 times (1991, 1995-1996, 2000— 2004, 2008-2014), as well as won the regular season of the conference 20 times (19 Big East and 1 American Athletic ) and 19 times the conference tournament (18 Big East and 1 American Athletic).

The Orimma team is particularly successful at their Harry A. Gampel Pavilion homepage in Storrs and at the larger XL center located in Hartford , the capital of Connecticut . Between 2000 and 2003, the Likes set a record among NCAA Women's Basketball Teams in 69 straight home wins. They broke this record in 2011, losing to the Willanova Wildcats team, and the winning streak was already 70 games. In addition, from the moment of signing the contract with Orimma until the end of the 2004/2005 season, UConn won 295 home games under his leadership, and lost only 31 (90.5%). Haskis also holds records for attendance at the Big East conference both in a single game and in the season as a whole.

Gino Orimma is also known for his personal training of players, having raised 12 basketball players who have been included in the NCAA All-American team at different times - Rebecca Lobo , Jennifer Rizzotti , Kara Walters , Nikesha Sales , Svetlana Abrosimova , Sue Bird , Pig Cash , Diana Taurasi , Maya Charles , Stephanie Dolson and Bria Hartley - together they won eight Naismith awards , seven Margaret Wade trophies and nine titles of the most outstanding NCAA player . The UConn sports website also notes that since the 2006/2007 season, every freshman who graduates from Storrs becomes a graduate with a degree.

The fierce rivalry between Connecticut Haskis by Gino Orimma and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers Pat Summitt continued for many years until the latter voluntarily resigned. From the media it became known that the two great coaches quite often were at odds. At the end of the 2009/2010 season, Gino slightly outperformed Pat among current coaches of the I division of the NCAA in the percentage of victories over his career, 85.8 against 84.1%. Much to the disappointment of a large number of female college basketball enthusiasts, Summitt refused to continue the annual games in June 2007. Rumors of tensions between Orimma and Haskis men's team coach Jim Calhoun were widespread, but they seem to have come to terms after the double triumph of Laek in the men's and women's national championships in 2004, on April 5 and 6, respectively. Currently, his main competitor is Muffet McGraw , the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish team, which in the last ten games against UConn has a positive balance of wins and losses (6-4).

Since winning their first league title in the 1994/1995 season, Haskis under the leadership of Orimma, speaking as the strongest squad, have gained 186 victories with 10 defeats. As of the end of the 2009/2010 season, he had a record of 127–52 against rivals from the top 25 and 57–35 against opponents from the top 10. He won his 600th victory on December 31, 2005, for which he needed only 716 games, becoming, along with Philip Kahler, the fastest female basketball coach to reach this milestone. On November 27, 2009, Gino won his 700th victory in 822 games, becoming the fastest coach in the history of male and female student basketball at any level. Now he is one of eight active coaches in female student basketball, having 700 or more victories ^[7] . On March 6, 2012, Orimma became the sixth coach in the history of the NCAA Women's Basketball, reaching 800 career victories in just 928 matches, faster than any other coach in student basketball history for men and women of any level. On December 21, 2006, Orimma became one of the first members of the Connecticut University of Honor Likes, the original Hall of Fame, recognition program for achievements of the most significant female basketball figures ^[9] .

For the first time, Gino Orimma was invited under the banner of the U.S. women's national team before the start of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as an assistant to Nell Fortner , then the head coach of the team. At the Olympics, the US team won all eight games, defeating the Australian national team 76–54 in the final match, and deservedly won Olympic gold medals ^[10] .

Orimma was appointed as the head coach of the U.S. junior team in 2001, in which his team played at the U19 Women's World Championships in Brno ( Czech Republic ). The team won the first five games, including a record victory over Mali with a score of 97–27, which is still the largest victory of the US team at world junior championships in history. According to the results of the preliminary round, the US team qualified for the decisive round, where they faced the hostesses of the tournament. With the deafening support of the fans, the Czech team in the semifinals beat the Americans with a score of 92–88, and then in the decisive match they beat the Russian team with a score of 82–80, thus winning the gold medals of the home championship. The Americans in the match for third place beat the Australian national team with a score of 77–72 and won bronze medals. The leaders of the US team at the tournament were Diana Taurasi and Alana Beard , who scored an average of 19.3 and 18.0 points per game, respectively. Nicole Powell was the best in rebounds, which made an average of seven rebounds per game.

On April 15, 2009, Orimma headed the country's main team ^[10] , which he first directed in September next year in preparation for speaking at the Czech World Cup . Many members of the team did not take part in it, as they played in the decisive WNBA matches, so the US team completely had only one day of practice with the whole team before leaving for Ostrava and Karlovy Vary . Despite limited practice, the Americans managed to confidently win their first game against the Greek team with a difference of 26 points (99-73). In the future, the US team continued to dominate the tournament, winning in the first five games with a difference exceeding 20 points. In the sixth game, the Orimma team met the Australian team, which was invincible until then, which they outplayed in a bitter struggle with an advantage of only eight points, although during the meeting they led with a difference of 24 points (83–75). In the first games of the playoffs (quarter-finals and semi-finals), the wards of Gino defeated their opponents by a margin of more than 30 points, and in the final they reached the host team of the tournament . After the first quarter, the Americans had only five handicaps, which in the second quarter were reduced to three points, but then the Czechs scattered and eventually lost with a difference of 20 points (69-89). The US team won the championship gold medals, winning all the matches of the tournament, and the Czech team was content with the silver home championship ^[11] .

The next major tournament in the coaching career of Gino Orimma was the 2012 London Olympics . From the very beginning, Americans dominated the tournament, having won the group stage in five games with a difference exceeding 20 points. In the quarterfinals, the wards of Orimma defeated the national team of Canada with a score of 91-48. However, already in the semifinal match, they met fierce resistance from the Australians, who after the first half of the meeting were 4 points ahead (47–43), but in the second half the US team gained in defense, as a result of which they deservedly won 86–73. In the final, the Americans, without any problems, broke the resistance of the French women with a score of 86-50 ^[12] .

Two years later, Gino Orimma led the US national team at the World Cup in Turkey . The Americans went through the group stage of the tournament without any problems, scoring three victories with a total difference of +126 and gaining a total of 300 points. According to the new rules of the tournament, the winners of the groups missed the first round of the playoffs (1/8 finals), and in the quarterfinals, the Americans without any problems beat the French team with a score of 94–72. At the next stage, the rivals of Orimma got the Aussies, who fiercely competed with the main favorites of the tournament, even having won the third quarter, but still lost 70–82. In the decisive match, the US team met with the Spaniards , easily winning the first half of the meeting with a margin of 19 points. In the second half, the rivals fiercely resisted, but all they managed to achieve was to win the fourth quarter and slightly reduce the difference in the score, losing with a decent result (64–77) ^[13] . At the end of the championship, the US Basketball Federation extended the contract with Gino Orimma until 2016, so that he will continue to work with the national team until the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro .

Gino Orimma became a full-fledged US citizen in 1994 ^[14] , noting in his autobiography that he finally decided to naturalize only after a tour to Italy was planned for his team in the summer of that year, which caused concern among national services about the occurrence of potential problems, since he never made any necessary official requests to these authorities ^[15] .

For many years, Gino and his wife Katie have been running their household in Avalon , New Jersey , to be with their parents who live near Philadelphia. ^[16] His closest friends, the head coach of the St. Josephs University men's basketball student team , Phil Martelli ^[17] and his son, Mike Orimma, used to play in the St. Josephs basketball team.

During the off-season in college basketball, Orimma acts as an analyst at the matches of the women's national basketball association on the air of American cable television on sports channels ESPN and ESPN2, where she often criticizes her former players. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of the Kay Yow / WBCA Cancer Fund ^[18] .

• 19-time champion of the Big East conference (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).
• 18-time champion of the Big East tournament (1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
• 3-time American Athletic Conference Champion (2014, 2015, 2016).
• 3-time champion of the American Athletic tournament (2014, 2015, 2016).
• 10-time trainer of the year of the Big East conference (1989, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010 ^[19] , 2011 ^[20] ).
• 17-time participant of the “Final Four” of the NCAA (1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).
• 11-time champion of the NCAA (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).
• A high percentage of victories among basketball coaches for both men and women, NCAA teams of any level (87.7%; 955 wins in 1089 matches).
• In 2004, with Jim Calhoun and in 2014 with Kevin Ollie , representatives of the University of Connecticut became holders of an honorary prize for both men and women .
• In six out of ten championship tournaments, Connecticut Haskis has not lost a single match for the entire season (1994/1995, 2001/2002, 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2013/2014, 2015/2016).
• The greatest number of consecutive exits to the NCAA “Final Four” (9, 2008–2016), a record among men's teams belongs to John Wooden UCLA Bruins (9, 1967-1975).
• The fastest trainer for female student teams in recruiting wins (500, 600, 700, 800 and 900).
• The fastest coach, having scored 800 (for 928 games) and 900 wins (for 1034 matches) for the least number of matches, among basketball coaches for both men and women, NCAA teams of any level.
• The greatest number of consecutive wins among basketball coaches for both men and women, NCAA teams of any level (90, from April 6, 2008 to December 30, 2010).
• The biggest difference in the score was in the final match of the NCAA Division I tournament (+33, 93-60 against Louisville Cardinals , 2013).

• Naismith Prize to the NCAA Coach of the Year (1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2008-2009, 2016) ^[21] .
• John Woodan Prize (2012).
• NCAA Coach of the Year according to the Associated Press (1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2008-2009, 2011, 2016) ^[22] .
• The NCAA Trainer of the Year according to USBWA (1995, 2003, 2008-2009, 2016) ^{[23] [24]} .
• The trainer of the year by the NCAA according to the WBCA version (1997, 2000, 2002, 2008-2009, 2016) ^[25] .
• Basketball Hall of Fame (2006) ^[26] .
• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2006) ^[27] .
• National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame (2007) ^[28] .
• Winged Foot Award (2013) ^[29] .
• ESPNW's Impact 25 (2014) ^[30] .

• Auriemma, G .; MacMullan, J. Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection. - New York City: Grand Central Publishing , 2006 .-- 336 p. - ISBN 0-446-57764-2 .
• Grundy, Pamela. Shattering the glass. - The New Press , 2005 .-- 306 p. - ISBN 978-1-56584-822-1 .
• Karmel, Terese. Hoop Tales: UConn Huskies Women's Basketball. - Guilford: Globe Pequot Press , 2005 .-- 192 p. - (Hoop Tales Series). - ISBN 0-7627-3501-5 .

• Geno Auriemma Bio (English)
• University of Connecticut biography
• Geno Auriemma Hall of Famers