KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - FEBRUARY 06: Talaysia Cooper #55 of the Tennessee Lady Vols is defended by Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies during the first half of the game at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 06, 2025 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

He doesn't recall much about that Jan. 6, 1996, meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee, the third time in 12 months his UConn Huskies faced Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Vols. But he remembers how electric the environment was, how there wasn't an arena of that size, with that energy, on any other college campus in the country.