SAN ANTONIO -- Christyn Williams was wounded by the remark, probably more than UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma intended. When he referred to Williams as being "uncoachable" last season, she took it to heart.
"I would say that was definitely a turning point because what player wants to be uncoachable?" Williams said after UConn's 92-72 victory over Iowa in the River Walk Region semifinals Saturday at the Alamodome.
It was a brilliant performance by the junior guard Williams to tip off the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's tournament: 27 points, four rebounds and tight defense on Iowa freshman star Caitlin Clark. Afterward, Williams could look back on what Auriemma said and smile.
"I really just try my best to listen to every little thing that he was saying and to do it," Williams said. "Because Coach has coached for years and he knows what he's talking about. Look where I am now."
She and the Huskies are in the Elite Eight, a step away from the program's 13th consecutive Women's Final Four appearance. Billed as a freshmen showdown between UConn's Paige Bueckers and Clark, who were ranked first and fourth, respectively, in the ESPN HoopGurlz Class of 2020 rankings, it instead was the No. 1 recruit from the Class of 2018, Williams, who shined the brightest.
"Well, a lot of words come out of my mouth. 'Uncoachable' probably comes out 10 times a day with every one of my players," Auriemma said, remembering his comment. "I think the thing that Christyn struggled with early on was putting too much emphasis on her offense. That if the ball didn't go in the basket, she didn't really know how to contribute to us winning. That put way too much pressure on her. It was like every shot, every possession for her, was life and death.
"Today she looked like the Christyn Williams that we saw when we were recruiting her, a kid that can make shots from everywhere. She was guarding one of the toughest players in America to guard. I thought this is the best game that Christyn Williams has probably played in her career. No question about that."
Williams made headlines at UConn when she had 28 points as a freshman in her first matchup with rival Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2018. And in some ways, that was the worst thing to happen to her, because it set her up with unreasonable expectations. She averaged 11.7 points her first season, when UConn lost to Notre Dame in the 2019 national semifinals.
Last season, she averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for a 29-3 UConn team. And this year, she's averaging 16.0 points for a squad that is now 27-1. Yet Williams often had a nagging feeling she wasn't living up to her potential. She didn't mind all the hype that Bueckers got this season, but she wanted to remind everyone of her ability, too.
"I've had my ups and downs during my time here at UConn," Williams said. "Everybody knows it. So it just feels really good to be able to play this basketball game as well as I did, just to show the Christyn Williams I am. Because I am a complete player, and I feel like people have forgotten that.
"It's a lot of hard work that has been put into this. I'm just happy that you guys can see the progress that I've made."
Williams wasn't alone in guarding Clark, who came in the Division I leader in scoring at 26.8 points per game, but she was responsible for most of the Huskies' defense against her. Junior teammate Evina Westbrook just missed a triple-double (17 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists), and freshmen Bueckers (18 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and Aaliyah Edwards (18 points on 9-of-11 shooting) were also very solid for UConn.
Auriemma praised Clark as well, although she struggled shooting at times, going 7-of-21 from the field for 21 points. A lot of credit for that goes to Williams.
"I think we all like to coach for the same reasons that teachers like to teach. Because we are teachers at heart," Auriemma said. "We love when our students get something and the light goes on.
"Coaches try to do their best to give their players the tools that they need to be successful. You just love it when players use those tools and are successful. [Christyn] takes great pride in her defense now and her rebounding, her ability to make a play for someone else, to see things.
"Just a whole litany of things that I've been hoping that Christyn would eventually acquire. She certainly found the perfect time to do that."