Paige Bueckers' 2-Word Verdict on UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Says It All
When speaking to the media on February 26, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma had a hilarious way to describe his relationship with star player Paige Bueckers.
"My relationship with Paige, it's one of those where love and hate, I guess they call it, right? I love it when I hate her, and she loves when she hates me," Auriemma said, per an X post from @ForGoodAri.
"There's something I want her to do and she's arguing with me about it, there's something that she wants, and I'm not letting her do it," he added. So our relationship on the court is I'm constantly b******* about something I want her to do, she's wanting to do things that she wants to do, and so we're always going back and forth.
"So yeah, our relationship is great. I'm glad we have two of them. I'm glad we have the on-the-court one, and I'm glad we have the off-the-court one," he concluded.
This man is so unbelievably moody when it comes to Paige, I can't pic.twitter.com/8PwHnrEKG6
— yapyap (@ForGoodAri) February 26, 2025
Bueckers and her star teammate Azzi Fudd were on a March 18 episode of ESPN Radio's Freddie and Harry show. And at one point, Bueckers conveyed her fitting two-word nickname for her head coach.
"I like to call him an evil genius," Bueckers said of Auriemma. "He knows everything, he has been through everything, he has so much wisdom. And there's nothing that he hasn't experienced in life, so just going... up to his office, just getting knowledge from him, getting knowledge, getting wisdom, asking him for advice.
"But he challenges you in ways that you never knew you could be challenged before," she added. "And makes you grow as a person, as a player, mentally, physically, and it's everything you came to UConn for."
"I like to call him an evil genius. He knows everything." @paigebueckers1
— Freddie and Harry (@FreddieandHD) March 19, 2025
Paige Bueckers and @azzi_35 on how impactful @UConnWBB Head Coach Geno Auriemma is in their life ⬇️ https://t.co/7ksUWPXOjJ pic.twitter.com/zbDBpQ8RgX
Bueckers and Auriemma always find ways to take little jabs at each other. But the praise and mutual adoration they have for one another is what ultimately shines through.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.