FIBA U19W - Auriemma: USA, Australia, Brazil and Canada in the mix

PUERTO MONTT (2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women) - The FIBA U19 World Championship for Women is seeing a number of players shine bright and fast establish themselves as the stars of tomorrow.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that, among the onlookers, are members of senior women national team coaching staffs who are paying close attention to these players' every move.

One of the close observers is none other than Geno Auriemma, head coach of the USA senior women's team that took gold at last year's FIBA World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic.

The 57-year-old is no stranger to this tournament. Back in 2001, he led the USA's U19 Women's side to a bronze medal.

The famed University of Connecticut head coach is in Puerto Montt to catch the USA's Second Round games.

He took some time to talk to fiba.com and share his thoughts.

FIBA: What do you hope to see over the course of your stay?
Auriemma: I want to keep an eye on some of my players (UConn's Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson) and I want to see what some of the young international players look like. I'm always intrigued by things that coaches do. I think I can learn a little bit watching other coaches, other styles of play from other countries. I've always enjoyed that. To me the opportunity to watch basketball when a world championship is at stake - at any level - that's exciting to me.

FIBA: From your personal experience, what are the toughest things for a head coach at this point in the tournament?
Auriemma: I think as a coach sometimes you try to play a lot of players. I think that's ok in the first couple of games but as the tournament goes on you have to start narrowing your rotation a bit. But the USA always play a certain way and eventually we get it done when we have to. It will be an interesting few days for them.

FIBA: What goes into figuring out the best rotation?
Auriemma: I think it's about who works well with each other on the court, some line-ups that work better than others and also as a coach you get to develop a certain trust in some players that you believe in a little more than others. I think the big thing is that all these players are all really good players on their own teams and you have to try to find those that know how to play with other really good players but aren't trying to do too much. You have to stay within what the team is trying to do.

FIBA: How do you feel about having your players involved in a FIBA World Championship?
Auriemma: I encourage my players to play for the national team because playing against some of the best players in the world gives you a different perspective than playing against American players. Also the amount of practice that you have is better than what you would be doing otherwise. Practising with really good coaching and against really good players and then playing in a competition that's competitive, I think those things speed up your progress and your growth as a player.

FIBA: Is this a good indicator of what players will be part of the next generation for the USA's senior women's programme?
Auriemma: It will be interesting to see how many of these players make the kind progress that they have to make to reach the level and play for the senior team. Some do and some stop. I coached this team in 2001 and of all those players that were on that team I believe only two are on the national team right now. That speaks to the depth of the players that we have in America. Just because you're on this team, the U19 team, doesn't mean you're going to be on the senior national team because we have so many good players out there and there's always good players coming along. But I think the players that play very very well here and are very instrumental in winning a gold medal at the 19 and under level are probably also going to be the ones that are going to be on the national team.

FIBA: Who do you see as the main contenders in this tournament?
Auriemma: Australia is probably going to be in the mix at the end. Brazil I think has been very good of late and Canada has been very surprising. Also you would expect Russia to push. I think right now you would have to say the US, Australia, Brazil and Canada are the four best teams.

FIBA: Are the teams that challenge for supremacy in the women's game pretty much the same both at junior and senior levels?
Auriemma: I remember when I was doing the U19 World Championship, it was the USA, Russia, Australia, Czech Republic, Brazil back in those days. When we went to the World Championship last year, it was the USA, Australia, Russia and the Czech Republic. So those kids all grow up and the pecking order remains. Sometimes you get a group of players that just happen to be of that generation and they all stay together and they play. But it's a pretty good judge of success that if one country does pretty well at U19 they'll do pretty well in the following years.

FIBA: Jennifer Rizzotti played for you at Connecticut. What do you make of her as a coach?
Auriemma: (Laughs) She's pretty intense. She is excellent at teaching the game. When I watch this team play, it reminds me a bit of the teams she coaches at Hartford. It's also true of the way I coach (at UConn and with the USA). You have to be what you are. You coach to your strengths.

I'm very proud of Jennifer. She has a great future ahead of her with USA Basketball. I said to her: 'if you need any help let me know I'll do whatever I can but I have to tell you that when I coached this team we won the bronze medal in the Czech Republic so you may not want my opinion on anything' (Laughs).

She has a great mind for the game and is very smart, very bright, very intelligent. She's a great communicator. She'll make every one of these players better for sure.

FIBA: What are your impressions of the players as a whole?
Auriemma: I think that a lot of the kids that came back, just by virtue of being a little older and a little bit more mature, in a lot of cases they're in much better physical condition. Take Bria Hartley and Stefanie Oldson, they were high school players (when they played for the USA in 2010) and now they're coming back as college players - they're the only two college players on the team. So you would expect them to be a lot more advanced and better prepared for this tournament. I'm anxious to see how the next few games go.

FIBA: The USA are the three-time reigning champions in this tournament. Do you think that is something that the players are well aware of?
Auriemma: I'm sure it's on their mind. I think that every player that plays for USA Basketball is reminded all the time that...you know it's like being a Brazilian soccer player - you have to be at the top of the podium and if you're not, there's something not quite right.

FIBA: Regarding your involvement with USA Basketball, can we expect to see you in charge of the women's national team beyond 2012?
Auriemma: I don't know. On the women's side it's usually just one time. You know you do four years with the FIBA World Championship and the Olympics and then you're finished. I don't know what will happen after we're finished with London. Certainly if we don't win my career with USA Basketball will be over (laughs). But if we do win, I don't know. I don't know what would happen if they were to ask me to do it again. I know I enjoy it. I love all the time that I spent with USA Basketball and with the players.

FIBA