STORRS, Conn. — The UConn Women's Basketball team hosted a basketball clinic on Wednesday featuring boys and girls from the Hartford area, in partnership with the late Kobe and Gigi Bryant's Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.
The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation Skills Academy clinic was at the Werth Champions Center, where kids were able to train with the players at their practice facility using all the equipment available.
“We loved having this camp up here in Storrs, and welcoming these kids into our building,” head coach Geno Auriemma said. “We got to tell them a little bit about what the Mamba and Mambacita mentality is. Kobe and Gigi were so connected with us here at UConn, so it was a real honor for us to be involved with this. The players on my team really enjoyed being coaches for two hours and spending time with the kids who came out.”
The clinic included 40 Hartford-area girls and boys who are involved with Husky Sport, a community-campus partnership that uses the power of sport to connect and empower partners from Hartford and UConn.
The UConn players broke the campers into six stations, working on basketball skills like dribbling, shooting and ball handling while sharing Kobe and Gigi’s legacies and impacts.
Associate head coach Chris Dailey and Auriemma addressed the camp attendees to emphasize the Bryants’ impacts on and off the court.
The Bryants had close ties with Auriemma and the Huskies. Auriemma was a friend of Kobe Bryant after growing close at the 2012 London Olympics. Gigi Bryant was a fan of the UConn women’s basketball team and hoped to be a Husky in her college career. Kobe and Gigi Bryant attended a few UConn games together. Auriemma spoke at The Celebration of Live for Kobe & Gianna Bryant in Feb. 2020.
Kobe and Gigi’s vision was to create a world where young women had equal opportunities to pursue their dreams through sports. The foundation honors their legacy by funding programs that support their vision.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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