Geno Auriemma (Getty)LONDON Across a life of basketball, even as the victories and championships and perfect seasons piled up, Geno Auriemma always figured there was one goal out of reach: United States women's national team coach.

It wasn't just that he was born in Italy. It wasn't just that he was a man in a women's game. It wasn't just that he was from the college ranks and the trend lately swung to taking pro coaches.

It was Geno himself. He is, admittedly, an abrasive force. Unapologetic. Politically incorrect. Not at all a member of the inner cliques of the women's basketball. He's had longstanding feuds with any number of coaches, most famously Pat Summitt, the icon of the sport.

He wins games, not popularity contests. Getting to be national team coach is, quite often, a popularity contest.

"I did think that if there was a committee that picked the coach, then the chances of me getting picked were zero," Auriemma said Thursday.

[ Related: Kevin Love is not happy with his playing time ]

It turns out there wasn't a committee, at least not in a traditional manner. Carol Callan, the women's national team director had the most to say, and Auriemma isn't 804-129 (.862) by accident. So one day in April, 2009, Auriemma's phone rang in his office at the University of Connecticut, and Callan told him he was hired.

So here he sat at the Olympics' Main Press Center, talking about the women's teams' 33-game, four-gold-medals win streak, discussing six of his former UConn Huskies on the squad and basically revealing an opportunity he didn't see coming.

"I could never, ever, ever be here as an athlete," he said. "So you kind of live vicariously."

This is a culmination for an American original. He was an immigrant kid, moving to Norristown, Pa., at age seven, speaking only Italian. His parents weren't interested in sports, and Auriemma said he wasn't any good at them anyway. The only positive was since they never attended his games, he'd just tell them he played well.

Continued here:
Women's hoops coach Geno Auriemma on cusp of adding golden chapter to remarkable tale