It was during an otherwise amusing text exchange the other night with The Greatest Coach Of Them All that Geno Auriemma wrote, “people are making this out to be a big deal.”

And, hey, to paraphrase that sage Ron Burgundy, the career record for wins in the pantheon of college basketball is kind of a big deal. And it’s going to happen. Auriemma and the UConn women are a bigger favorite than Secretariat against Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, the victory that will give the coach his 1,217th victory, enabling him to eclipse former Stanford savant Tara VanDerveer.

But those of us who have been around Auriemma and the program for a few years now understand just how Un-Geno-like the celebration(s) will be. It’s always been about the kids, but not individual accomplishment, in the program he and Chris Dailey built from modest beginnings and resources.

This has been about coaching, educating, cultivating, encouraging, cajoling, laughing, crying, hollering, supporting and teaching. All for one reason: So they can experience the unparalleled joy of winning a national championship. And what’s driving Auriemma as hard as ever now — even 40 years later. The obsession with getting this group a title amid the program’s championship “drought” (relative term here clearly).

That applies to all the players, but perhaps to Paige Bueckers more than anyone else. Bueckers has become the Next Great One here. And Auriemma would rather somebody remove his spleen with a pair of pliers than for Bueckers to leave Storrs with a “yeah, but” attached to her resume. As in: “Yeah, but she never won a national championship.”

All in due time. Meanwhile, we have 1,216 wins for now to appreciate. Here are my top five (in chronological order) since Geno has been here:

• Jan. 10, 1996: UConn 59, Tennessee 53. This one ended Tennessee’s 69-game home court win streak — and was the first meeting since the Huskies beat the Lady Vols in the 1995 national championship game.

UConn guard Rita Williams got shoved out of bounds and got called for traveling in the second half, prompting Auriemma to yell across the court to press row, "Now you see why they've won 69 in a row!"

The Huskies rallied late. The team got stranded in Knoxville because of — giggle — about four inches of snow that fell after the game and grounded the traveling party. Auriemma rented out the bar (named "Knuckles") at the team hotel to pass the time the next day. Jennifer Rizzotti obliterated everyone (including the media) playing pool. The team flew to Miami the next day while a blizzard crippled Connecticut. Auriemma managed to play a round of golf at Doral the day before the game, inviting some of us to join. The alligator sunning itself near the 14th green was a learning experience.

• Jan. 27, 1999: UConn 56, Rutgers 55. My favorite UConn game ever. The genesis began a year earlier when joyous fans carried Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer off the floor in Piscataway after the Scarlet Knights upset the Huskies.

This wasn't long after Stringer landed the job and the team's media guide pronounced Rutgers the "Jewel of the East."

"There's 30 seconds left in that game and I'm sitting on the bench. It's over and we're going to lose," Auriemma said. "Someone is shooting free throws at the other end. (Freshman) Linda Miles walks all the way back near us and yells, "Get used to this Geno! Four more years!'”

Fast forward to this game. Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Shea Ralph and Amy Duran were all out injured. A few days earlier, the Huskies lost at Boston College. Next came a road game at Rutgers. We all predicted doom. It was probably the first time UConn was a legitimate underdog to someone other than Tennessee in several years.

"It was typical UConn-Rutgers. Physical. Back in the days when you could foul on every possession," Auriemma said. "We're down one, maybe 10 seconds left. In the huddle, I say to Svet (Svetlana Abrosimova) '(gosh darnit) Sveta, we need a steal right now.' She nods once. No smile, nothing. Just like if the KGB asked someone to murder five people.

"She goes out there, gets a steal and a layup and we win by one," Auriemma said. "I said, 'Damn. That kid is unbelievable.'"

After the game, Abrosimova deadpanned in her endearing Russian accent, "Coach said we needed a steal. So I got one."

• April 2, 2000: UConn 71, Tennessee 52. This win gave the program its second national championship and first since 1995.

It happened in Philadelphia, no more than a deep three-pointer away from his hometown of Norristown. It should be noted that Auriemma threw a humdinger of a Final Four party at a place called Finnegan’s Wake the night before. Many of us were there well past 6 a.m. And about 12 hours later, UConn barely broke a sweat in victory.

• March 6, 2001: UConn 78, Notre Dame 76. Sue Bird’s mad dash touched off madness at Gampel in the Big East Tournament final.

Again, though, the context was delicious. UConn and Rutgers played the night before in the semifinals with a raging blizzard outside. The game had to be stopped for 90 minutes because the Gampel roof was leaking, leaving building engineer Bill Sehl hoisted on a lift to fix it.

So now the game was over and dozens of reporters were on deadline at midnight, wondering if they’d ever get home. Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer entered the room and said, "Is there a Chris Elsberry in here?"

Elsberry, a columnist at the Connecticut Post, wrote something Stringer didn't like. So Stringer went on a good 15-minute rant. Elsberry tried to cut her off several times, begging her to take this outside and let the other writers do their jobs. Stringer never broke stride.

The next night, with many fans still stranded in their homes and the players sleeping at Gampel, Bird sent everyone home — finally — buzzing from an instant classic.

• April 7, 2003: UConn 71, Texas 69. The most underrated win of all 1,216 to date. This was in the national semifinals against Texas.

The game was in Atlanta. UConn, down nine most of the second half, was deader than Hoffa. Auriemma looked across the court to press row shaking his head many times. But then Big Wil — Willnett Crockett — kept on turnin.’ Or reboundin’ in this case. She got seemingly every rebound in the last nine minutes and kept the Huskies afloat until Diana Taurasi made a late three-pointer to win it. Robbery.

As you can tell: They were fun times. Here’s to 1,216 more for Auriemma.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro